Bubble Breakdown: Rough Day for NASCAR’s Road-Course Ringers
This week at Watkins Glen, those that raced for a coveted Top 35 slot in the Sprint Cup Standing suffered through wrecks, ringers and early retirement.
Andy Lally
Bubble Breakdown: Rookie Andy Lally Fights Off His Rivals At Pocono
_It was a tough weekend for the bubble crowd at Pocono, where even strategy calls didn’t seem to keep the underdogs in contention for long. Without a top-25 result from anyone, the race became more a matter of survival than success, a day at the office with little if anything to hang their hat on. Pocono has a history of tearing up equipment, and more than one driver found himself babying it to the finish in the name of keeping their status intact in owner points._
_So after a weak weekend overall, which teams continue to stand out above the rest? And could rookie Andy Lally keep quietly impressing, just one week after Robby Gordon’s blown engine handed his team, TRG Motorsports a spot inside the top 35? Check out the Bubble Breakdown this week to see how the battle to keep a “locked in” spot is shaking out amongst NASCAR’s little teams that could…_
Bubble Breakdown: A Day of Near-Misses for Landon Cassill, Trevor Bayne
Landon Cassill learned a hard rookie lesson at Indy: no matter how wide the straightaways are, it’s impossible to go into the corner four-wide.
Bubble Breakdown: Status Quo Maintained at Loudon
With positions 31-34 in the owner points all but stagnant, the three-way battle for the last locked-in spot in the Cup field took a number of turns at Loudon.
Bubble Breakdown: Hendrick Equipment, Former Proteges Best in Kentucky
With Hendrick horsepower under the hood, Landon Cassill was the frontrunner of the bubble drivers for the entire 400 miles at Kentucky.
Bubble Breakdown: Daytona Great Equalizer Does Little to Impact Owner Points Race
Though 26th place is not what the No. 51 team had in mind for the return to Daytona, their longtime expertise at plate racing shone through again.
Bubble Breakdown: Big-Time Engine Deals Pay Off for Cassill, Others in Motor City
Landon Cassill came out of nowhere to score a 12th-place finish, his first career top-15 result at the Cup level and by far a career-best finish.
Bubble Breakdown: Results at a Premium in Pocono Top-35 Battle
Pit strategy was the only means for the teams fighting the owner points battle to secure any TV time even over a four-hour broadcast at Pocono.
Bubble Breakdown: Hot Hot Heat Wears Down Bubble Drivers in Kansas City
While fuel mileage proved to shuffle the front of the Cup field on a hot afternoon in Kansas City, the same could not be said for the Top-35 bubble roster.
Bubble Breakdown: Stenhouse Shines, 600 Miles Chews Up Backmarkers
Momentum, thy name is Stenhouse.