Race Weekend Central

Frontstretch Podcast: 2019 NASCAR Quarterly Review

In this week’s edition of the Frontstretch PodcastDustin Albino and Mike Neff discuss the state of NASCAR at the quarter mark of the 2019 season.

With Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske claiming all nine Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races, what grade can we give it? How do we think the new aero package has affected the on-track product? Is Kyle Busch‘s dominance throughout the sport good for NASCAR? Ryan Blaney‘s got to be the next driver to win, right?

Then, we offer our biggest surprises and disappointments. JTG Daugherty Racing, specifically Chris Buescher, has been a mainstay of running inside the top 10 early in the race. Matt DiBenedetto‘s transition to Leavine Family Racing has gone well, as has Ryan Newman‘s move to Roush Fenway Racing. Meanwhile, Ty Dillon is off to the best start of his Cup career.

As far as disappointments, Neff believes Jimmie Johnson and the No. 48 team are still struggling, while he and Albino both agree that Kyle Larson has been a big disappointment this season. Alex Bowman isn’t far behind, having yet to post a top-10 finish.

Next is the NASCAR Xfinity and Gander Outdoors Truck Series. Busch has the most wins in both series, but it’s a three-horse race in Xfinity, with Cole Custer and Christopher Bell trading wins, as Tyler Reddick has been consistent. As for the Trucks, Stewart Friesen might be the most non-talked about championship leader in series history because of Busch’s dominance.

Make sure to leave us a rating, review and subscribe to the Frontstretch Podcast: iTunes

About the author

Dustin joined the Frontstretch team at the beginning of the 2016 season. 2020 marks his sixth full-time season covering the sport that he grew up loving. His dream was to one day be a NASCAR journalist, thus why he attended Ithaca College (Class of 2018) to earn a journalism degree. Since the ripe age of four, he knew he wanted to be a storyteller.

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