By Jared Turner Let’s be totally honest: NASCAR needed Dale Earnhardt Jr. to make the playoffs — and for multiple reasons. The most obvious reason, of course, is that he’s been NASCAR’s most popular driver for 14 consecutive years and generates buzz for the sport like no one else can. Good luck finding a silver lining in any sport’s most popular competitor not being part of its playoffs. But what makes Earnhardt’s absence from the 16-driver championship field particularly disappointing is that this is his final season as a driver in NASCAR’s top series. That means this was supposed to be his…

By Jared Turner Entering the regular season finale at Richmond, Joey Logano had only one pathway to the playoffs. That pathway? Winning. But for the first time since joining Team Penske in 2013, Logano won’t arrive at the final 10 races with a chance to compete for the championship. The only consolation? He went down swinging, finishing second at Richmond to race winner Kyle Larson. “We came into the weekend saying second would be a failure, and we finished second,” Logano said moments after the race at Richmond concluded. “So one spot short. But, overall, I’m proud of this team. We came in here…

By Jared Turner If you don’t think there’s a clear favorite to win the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship as the playoffs are set to begin, then you’re either in denial or simply haven’t been paying much attention this season. Martin Truex Jr. begins the 16-driver playoffs as the No. 1 seed thanks to his 53 playoff points amassed for race wins and stage wins during the regular season. The No. 2 seed, Kyle Larson, has 33 playoff points — four more than third-place Kyle Busch. But the points drop-off is steep from there, which is appropriate when considering that…

By Jared Turner By all accounts, Jimmie Johnson hasn’t had the season that he wanted or that most observers expected. But don’t think that Johnson’s performance over the first 26 races eliminates him as a viable championship contender for the final 10. While it has been a struggle for Johnson in recent weeks, haven’t we seen this song and dance before? Well, of course. “We can get hot,” a seemingly confident Johnson said after Richmond. “We did it last year. I know we’re very capable of it again.” Johnson entered the 2016 playoffs riding a 21-race winless streak. He went on to…

Easily the most bizarre moment of the 2017 NASCAR season occurred in Saturday night’s Monster Energy Series finale at Richmond when an ambulance — yes, an ambulance — sat idle on the apron approaching pit road, blocking the entrance and causing drivers to take evasive action as they attempted to enter the pits under caution. The driver most impacted by the poorly positioned safety vehicle was Matt Kenseth, one of three drivers who arrived at Richmond in position to make the playoffs but not assured of advancing. Thankfully, Kenseth only missed out on a good finish as a result of the damage…