By Jared Turner Notice a couple unusual names in the top 10 at the conclusion of Sunday’s race at Michigan? Fifth-place finisher Trevor Bayne and sixth-place finisher Chris Buescher both recorded their best results of the season, with Bayne bettering his previous best finish by five spots, and Buescher bettering his previous best by three positions. Given that Michigan International Speedway is just down the road from Ford headquarters in Dearborn and Chevrolet headquarters in Detroit, the two drivers couldn’t have picked a better venue to put their best foot forward. “It’s refreshing,” said Bayne, a Ford driver. “We’ve had a tough…

By Jared Turner With three races remaining until the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoff is set, two names everyone expected to be playoff bound by this late juncture of the season — Joey Logano and Dale Earnhardt Jr. — each need a victory to get in. And here’s the even more complicated part: None of the three upcoming tracks are particularly good for Junior, who has never won at Darlington, and hasn’t won at Bristol or Richmond in more than a decade. Although the tracks are better for Logano, at least historically speaking, it’s hard to make a case that the…

By Jared Turner Following a big restart with nine laps to go in Sunday’s Pure Michigan 400, Martin Truex Jr. was driving away from the field and appeared to have the race firmly in hand. Then, just when it seemed that all hope was lost for everyone else, the caution flag waved, erasing Truex’s healthy lead and setting the stage for a green-white-checkered finish. Truex got a decent restart but lost the lead to Kyle Larson, who got a huge jump from the second row and blew past Truex and Truex’s rookie teammate, Erik Jones. Then, once Larson was out front in…

By Jared Turner Saying what many others undoubtedly believe but are reluctant to actually articulate, Kevin Harvick suggested on SiriusXM Radio last week that Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s lack of on-track success is at least partly to blame for NASCAR’s stagnant growth in recent years. Yeah, you think? It doesn’t take someone with a PhD to understand that when a sport’s most popular driver or team wins on a consistent basis, the natural result is increased fan interest in the form of more fannies in seats and more eyeballs on the television. On the flipside, mediocrity from a most popular driver or team…

Riley Herbst fortunate for chance with JGR By Joseph Wolkin Riley Herbst made the swap from the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East to the ARCA Racing Series in 2017. Through 11 contests, the 18-year-old Las Vegas native sits third in points and wants to win the title. What’s the experience been like of competing in ARCA? “It’s cool to be running full-time at the big tracks that the Cup guys go to. It’s a lot of fun and I’m learning every day. We’re all really close and work hand-in-hand in everything. I feel like we’ve gotten caught on getting pit strategies and…