A Comprehensive 2021 NASCAR Preview

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A comprehensive 2021 NASCAR preview begins at the end of a long off season.

As long as 2020 may have felt, the NASCAR Cup Series offseason has felt even longer. That being said, Daytona is quickly approaching. So, it’s time to take a look at what we could see in 2021. We start with storylines to watch, the drivers who could make headlines, and what may be ahead in 2022 and beyond.  

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Kevin Harvick Tosses his Career-Best Season Upside Down

Kevin Harvick tosses his career-best season with nine victories upside down during the playoffs and ends his chance to run for the NASCAR Cup title.

COMMENTARY—The No. 4 team’s elimination was their fault, not NASCAR, not the points format, or the actions of any other team

The elimination of the NASCAR Cup Series regular-season champion Kevin Harvick after the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway sure is sparking a lot of hand-wringing and discussion among NASCAR fans.  NASCAR Twitter and Reddit saw a flood of posts on the subject ranging from well-reasoned analysis to outright ranting and raving. 

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Kyle Busch Finally Finds Victory Lane in 2020

Kyle Busch finally finds victory lane in the NASCAR Cup Series Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 on Wednesday night at Texas Motor Speedway.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS – OCTOBER 28: Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Skittles Zombie Toyota, crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR Cup Series Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on October 28, 2020, in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Kyle Busch finally finds victory lane in the NASCAR Cup Series Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 on Wednesday night at Texas Motor Speedway.

Three races remained heading into this past race at Texas Motor Speedway. With solid runs the previous week at Kansas Speedway, the top-four teams have built a solid foundation holding them above the cutline. This left the drivers of Martin Truex Jr. and Kurt Busch in must-win situations coming into the final two races before the Championship 4 race.

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NASCAR Cup Series Cash or Pass Picks for Texas

NASCAR Cup Series Cash or Pass picks are for the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS – JULY 19: Austin Dillon, driver of the No. 3 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, crosses the finish line to win the NASCAR Cup Series O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on July 19, 2020, in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images

NASCAR Cup Series Cash or Pass picks are for the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend.

With the 2020 season coming down to its final three races, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Texas Motor Speedway for the middle race in the Round of 8. The playoff contenders will have a chance to join Joey Logano, the Kansas winner from last week, in locking a spot in the championship race with a win. 

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Rain Delays Cup Playoff Race at Texas UPDATES

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Rain delays the Cup Playoff, Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway from Sunday to Monday, October 26th at 10 am ET.
FORT WORTH, TEXAS – OCTOBER 25: Jimmie Johnson, driver of the No. 48 Ally designed by Noah Sweet Chevrolet, and Clint Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 Rush Truck Centers/Cummins Ford, exit their cars after a rain delay during the NASCAR Cup Series Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on October 25, 2020, in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images

EDITOR’s NOTE: Due to the delay of the NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, our Fan4Racing Radio show is rescheduled to Tuesday, October 27th at 8:30 pm ET.

Rain delays the Cup Playoff, Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway from Sunday to Monday, October 26th at 10 am ET.

Misting rain interrupted Sunday’s Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500 at Texas Motor Speedway and ultimately forced a postponement of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race until 10 am ET Monday (NBCSN, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

NASCAR called a caution on lap 42 because of wet track conditions. In the second race of the Round of 8, the Cup cars ran ten laps under caution before the sanctioning body brought the field to pit road and red-flagged the event.

Roughly half the field opted to pit under the caution, leaving Clint Bowyer and seven-time Texas winner Jimmie Johnson in the top two positions awaiting the resumption.

Early Issues for Top Playoff Drivers

The two drivers who have dominated the series this season both had issues in the early going. Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Ford was a victim of the slick track on lap 29, scraping the wall in the tri-oval when his car refused to turn.

Harvick made an unscheduled pit stop on lap 32 and was 36th, one lap down when the race was halted. 

Denny Hamlin slipped up the track on a lap 28 restart and fell back to 28th in the running order, but the driver of the No. 11 Toyota avoided contact with the wall and worked his way back to 15th by lap 42.

Monday Update

Persistent rain has again delayed the running of the NASCAR Cup Series playoff race at Texas Motor Speedway.

The 501-miler is the second of the three races in the Round of 8 playoff bracket that will whittle the field to the four drivers who will compete for the Cup Series championship on Nov. 8th at Phoenix Raceway.

Update

NASCAR’s fleet of Air Titans and additional dryers were on the track multiple times throughout Monday to combat the wet weather, but bouts of rain have severely hampered the process.

As of 4:30 pm ET, there is still no estimate as to when the track will be ready to race.

Update

NASCAR officials have postponed the remainder of the Cup Series playoff race from Texas Motor Speedway to a Tuesday restart at 12 noon ET on NBCSN because of persistent rain.

Tuesday Update

Track-drying progress had been made under chilly, damp conditions Tuesday at the 1.5-mile Fort Worth track, but morning rain scratched the proposed noon ET restart time. Mist and light rain intensified near 2 p.m. ET, stalling efforts to dry the speedway. Hope was renewed in the 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. ET hours, but the return of light rain eventually halted a tentative 8:30 p.m. ET restart and forced race officials to postpone the race’s conclusion again.

A tighter turnaround is anticipated for teams, broadcast crews and NASCAR personnel to set up for Sunday’s event in Martinsville, Virginia. Officials said that if the conclusion of the Texas event is completed Wednesday that

“NASCAR plans to leave the advertised Martinsville schedule in place. Any additional postponements will require an adjustment to the Martinsville schedule, and we will notify you of those changes as they happen.”

NASCAR officials have postponed the completion of the Cup Series playoff race from Texas Motor Speedway for a third consecutive day because of continuing rain Tuesday.

The next scheduled time is for Wednesday, Oct 28th at 3 pm ET on NBCSN.

This post will be updated as needed.