THE LEFT TURN
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Oct 15, 2021, 2:23 pm
Kyle Busch rolls off fourth this weekend. Photo via: Wiki Commons.
The Round of 8 kicks off this weekend at Texas as the championship battle continues on. This track is one groove 1.5 mile racetrack, it is extremely tough to pass here so restarts will be essential. If last season's race here is any indication, tire fall off won't play as much a factor, so we could see the possibility of two tires or gas-only pit stops at some point during the race.
Last week, Kyle Larson went on to his seventh victory of the season after battling back from a battery issue. While there were many obstacles for this team, Cliff Daniels and this team were able to continue to fix the issue and get back to the front. The dominant car of the day though was his teammate William Byron. In the closing stages, it looked like he was on his way to a win and would lock himself into the next round, but after contact with Tyler Reddick, Byron's chances seemed to be dashed. He did make a run towards the end, but there simply wasn't enough time for him to come back.
While there were plenty of battles for the lead between Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Byron and Kyle Larson. What everyone really paid attention to was Kevin Harvick and Chase Elliott as their feud came to an ugly conclusion. On lap 56, Kevin Harvick decided it was time to even the score after their dust up at Bristol. Going into turn 8, Harvick jumped on the throttle and turned Chase into the wall. This gave the #9 major damage and appeared that it would end any chances of advancing but miraculously, Alan Gustafson and his crew were able to get the car in good enough condition to keep him on the racetrack. For a while, Elliott was limping around badly and appeared to be dead in the water but then his back bumper cover fell off, and everything changed. After catching a break with a debris caution, Elliott caught fire. He drove all the way back up into the top 20 right into Kevin Harvick's rearview mirror, then it happened. Going into Turn 1, Harvick missed turn one and slammed the wall head-on ending his day.
Easily this was the biggest topic of discussion in the NASCAR world. Who was at fault? Who overreacted? If you ask me, Kevin Harvick was completely out of line to go and make a move like that. I know he was upset about getting held up at Bristol, but never once did he get wrecked by Chase. And for him to come out here and potentially end someone's championship chances is disgraceful. Of all the active drivers in the sport, no one has logged as many laps as Harvick. He has been doing this for 20 years. For a champion of this sport to do something like that is embarrassing. There has been a pattern of this over the years though. He is known as a selfish racecar driver, granted a talented driver, but he will do whatever it takes to win. This crossed the line though, if it were my call, I would have suspended Harvick for at least two races as they did when Matt Kenseth did the same thing to Joey Logano at Martinsville in 2015.
Lost in all of the controversies, a driver who really impressed this week was Chris Buescher. He went on to score his first top-five of the season after coming home third. This team has really improved a lot this season and with the addition of Brad Keselowski, I think that we will see this team really break out into a playoff contender. Look for Buescher to only improve.
The driver that I have winning this weekend is Kyle Busch. The round of 12 was quiet for the two time champion. Although he seemed to be in a bit of jeopardy coming into the Roval, he really shined by winning a stage and finishing fourth. This type of racetrack is where he makes his hay. Besides, he is the defending winner here, so he can get around this track. With all the stats, the most important factor is where he will be starting as he rolls off fourth. If he can get to the lead, don't expect him to be easy to pass. Look for Kyle to capture his 3rd victory at Texas.
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There was a conversation Cleveland guard Donovan Mitchell had during training camp, the topic being all the teams that were generating the most preseason buzz in the Eastern Conference. Boston was coming off an NBA championship. New York got Karl-Anthony Towns. Philadelphia added Paul George.
The Cavs? Not a big topic in early October. And Mitchell fully understood why.
“What have we done?” Mitchell asked. “They don't talk about us. That's fine. We'll just hold ourselves to our standard.”
That approach seems to be working.
For the first time in 36 seasons — yes, even before the LeBron James eras in Cleveland — the Cavaliers are atop the NBA at the 25-game mark. They're 21-4, having come back to earth a bit following a 15-0 start but still better than anyone in the league at this point.
“We've kept our standards pretty high,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “And we keep it going.”
The Cavs are just one of the surprise stories that have emerged as the season nears the one-third-done mark. Orlando — the only team still unbeaten at home — is off to its best start in 16 years at 17-9 and having done most of that without All-Star forward Paolo Banchero. And Houston is 16-8, behind only the Cavs, Boston, Oklahoma City and Memphis so far in the race for the league's best record.
Cleveland was a playoff team a year ago, as was Orlando. And the Rockets planted seeds for improvement last year as well; an 11-game winning streak late in the season fueled a push where they finished 41-41 in a major step forward after a few years of rebuilding.
“We kind of set that foundation last year to compete with everybody,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “Obviously, we had some ups and downs with winning and losing streaks at times, but to finish the season the way we did, getting to .500, 11-game winning streak and some close losses against high-level playoff teams, I think we kind of proved that to ourselves last year that that's who we're going to be.”
A sign of the respect the Rockets are getting: Oddsmakers at BetMGM Scorebook have made them a favorite in 17 of 24 games so far this season, after favoring them only 30 times in 82 games last season.
“Based on coaches, players, GMs, people that we all know what they're saying, it seems like everybody else is taking notice as well,” Udoka said.
They're taking notice of Orlando as well. The Magic lost their best player and haven't skipped a beat.
Banchero's injury after five games figured to doom Orlando for a while, and the Magic went 0-4 immediately after he tore his oblique. Entering Tuesday, they're 14-3 since — and now have to regroup yet again. Franz Wagner stepped into the best-player-on-team role when Banchero got hurt, and now Wagner is going to miss several weeks with the exact same injury.
Ask Magic coach Jamahl Mosley how the team has persevered, and he'll quickly credit everyone but himself. Around the league, it's Mosley getting a ton of the credit — and rightly so — for what Orlando is doing.
“I think that has to do a lot with Mose. ... I have known him a long time,” Phoenix guard Bradley Beal said. “A huge fan of his and what he is doing. It is a testament to him and the way they’ve built this team.”
The Magic know better than most how good Cleveland is, and vice versa. The teams went seven games in an Eastern Conference first-round series last spring, the Cavs winning the finale at home to advance to Round 2.
Atkinson was brought in by Cleveland to try and turn good into great. The job isn't anywhere near finished — nobody is raising any banners for “best record after 25 games” — but Atkinson realized fairly early that this Cavs team has serious potential.
“We’re so caught up in like the process of improve, improve, improve each game, improve each practice," Atkinson said. “That’s kind of my philosophy. But then you hit 10-0, and obviously the media starts talking and all that, and you’re like, ‘Man, this could be something special brewing here.’”