By Jared Turner With only Darlington and Richmond left before the playoff field is locked, it’s looking increasingly likely that the 16 drivers currently in position to make the cut will be the 16 drivers who ultimately do. Sure, an underdog could go to Victory Lane in the next two races (see, for example, Trevor Bayne, who in the past two weeks has posted his best finishes of the season), but it’s just not likely. With a whopping 58 points separating Jamie McMurray (the last driver in the playoffs) from Clint Bowyer (the first driver out), it’s going to be nearly impossible…

By Jared Turner Toyota continued its recent hot streak with a superb showing at Bristol, where cars representing the Japanese manufacturer claimed the top four finishing positions and led all but 73 of 500 laps. Toyotas have now won five of the past seven races after winning just once in the season’s first 10 events. Meanwhile, a Toyota driver — Furniture Row Racing’s Martin Truex Jr. — continues to lead the standings and has amassed more race victories, stage victories and playoff points than any other driver in 2017. What makes Toyota’s domination even more impressive? Toyotas account for just six cars…

By Jared Turner Can Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s final season get any worse? Apparently so. It certainly did on Saturday night at Bristol. Making his last start at the popular .533-mile short track where he picked up his only win in 2004, Earnhardt Jr. finished an embarrassing 23rd— three laps down. This after qualifying 31st.  Now without a top-10 finish in his last eight starts (he’s posted only four top-10s all year), NASCAR’s most popular driver is faced with the seemingly inevitable reality of missing the playoffs in his final season. Earnhardt Jr. continues to stand by crew chief Greg Ives, whom he…

By Jared Turner Fans love to loathe Kyle Busch. This was never more evident than on Saturday at Bristol, where boos rained down on the 2015 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion after his victory in the Bass Pro Shops / NRA Night Race. The victory capped an amazing four-day stretch for Busch, who won the NASCAR XFINITY Series race a night earlier after going to Victory Lane in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race two nights before that. When Busch parked his No. 18 Toyota at the start/finish line and emerged from his car with arms raised in celebration after…