Top Dog Bubba Wallace stood atop the underdog pile when the final checkered flag waved on Sunday at Phoenix Raceway. After a tumultuous season of ups and downs, Wallace put a period on his tenure in the Petty No. 43 with a 15th-place finish. He ran as high as seventh, …
Read More »The Underdog House: Ty Dillon Survives Spooky Weekend at Martinsville
Top Dog Ty Dillon was the highest-finishing NASCAR Cup Series underdog in Sunday’s (Nov. 1) Xfinity 500. Adorned with a “GEICOween” paint scheme, Dillon drove the No. 13 Chevrolet to 16th after starting 25th. Dillon had an up and down day in Germain Racing’s final trip to Martinsville Speedway. An …
Read More »The Underdog House: John Hunter Nemechek Just Plain Speedy in Kansas
Top Dog John Hunter Nemechek was back on top of the underdogs on Sunday as the rookie driver finished 17th in the Hollywood Casino 400. Nemechek earned his only career Xfinity Series win at Kansas Speedway, so perhaps we should have seen this coming. Not only that, but his first …
Read More »The Underdog House: Bubba Wallace Leads on the Long, Lonely Road Home
Top Dog Road courses at the top level of NASCAR are something of an equalizer. A good driver can elevate the performance of an entire team even without the benefit of top notch equipment or research data. So it’s a logical assumption that at least one or two underdogs will …
Read More »The Underdog House: Ty Dillon Best in Class as Underdogs Run Wild at Talladega
Top Dog As usual, a NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway resulted in a “Big One.” No, not just a big crash, though there were plenty of those. I’m referring to a big group of underdog teams scattered throughout the top half of the finishing order. Leading the line …
Read More »The Underdog House: John Hunter Nemechek Loses Pit Strategy Gamble in Las Vegas
Top Dog There hasn’t been much to get excited about for our Cup Series underdogs lately. We’ve primarily talked about the best in the category barely making the top 20 by the end of each race. Las Vegas Motor Speedway and its surrounding environment may have inspired you to bet …
Read More »The Underdog House: Michael McDowell Does Better, Still Best At Bristol
Top Dog Being the top underdog each week can be a funny thing. Take for example Front Row Motorsports’ NASCAR Cup Series driver Michael McDowell. McDowell earned the proverbial best in class award for the second consecutive race at Bristol Motor Speedway last Saturday, Sept. 19, by finishing 10th. However, …
Read More »The Underdog House: Virginia Is for Lovers, Not Underdogs
Top Dog When covering underdog teams, there’s always a distinct possibility that looms over each and every race. That possibility is the potential for every Cinderella at the ball to wind up with a broken glass slipper. Or perhaps more appropriate, the ugly, well-funded stepsisters might steal all of the …
Read More »The Underdog House: Michael McDowell Rides Again In Darlington
Top Dog Michael McDowell spent numerous weeks being highlighted in this category earlier in the season, as he and his Front Row Motorsports teammate John Hunter Nemechek divided most of the top finishes between themselves. Lately, things have taken a less favorable turn. Coming into Sunday’s event at Darlington Raceway, …
Read More »The Underdog House: The Agony of Defeat
Top Dog For the first time, the NASCAR Cup Series held its regular season finale at Daytona International Speedway, and it did not disappoint. Though the intensity revved up after each restart, the race stayed relatively calm after stage two until a late caution with about 17 laps to go. …
Read More »