Studs 'n' Duds: This week's look at who's hot and who's not
The Go Bowling 400 at Kansas Speedway in in the books, with defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Kyle Busch scoring his series-high third victory of the year.
And that’s a perfect lead-in to this week’s edition of Studs ‘n’ Duds.
STUD: KYLE BUSCH -- Yes, it’s impressive that Busch’s victory in Saturday night’s Go Bowling 400 at Kansas Speedway was his series-high third of the year. But the number that’s truly impressive is Busch’s nine top-five finishes in just 11 races. He and his Joe Gibbs Racing team are in their prime right now.
DUD: GREG BIFFLE -- The senior driver at Roush Fenway Racing, Biffle doesn’t have a single top-10 finish on the season. Biffle is 24th in points right now, behind teammates Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (19th) and Trevor Bayne (20th). While no one on the team has had a great season, Biffle has struggled the worst. He was 27th at Kansas.
STUD: KEVIN HARVICK -- Yeah, the Joe Gibbs Racing boys have dominated the headlines so far and with good reason, but don’t take your eyes off the 2014 series champion. Harvick leads the points and is one of those rare drivers who doesn’t seem to have any weak points to his game. He was second at Kansas.
DUD: KYLE LARSON -- When Larson came into the Sprint Cup Series in 2014, he was fast early on, nearly winning a couple of races in his rookie season. But since then, he’s not made any real progress in terms of results. He got caught in a wreck at Kansas and finished 35th.
STUD: CHASE ELLIOTT -- Yes, expectations for the second-generation rookie driver were sky high. After all, replacing a legend like Jeff Gordon is a huge responsibility. But so far, Elliott has done an outstanding job, posting three top fives and sitting 11th in points right now. He likely will win sooner rather than later. He was a solid ninth at Kansas
STUD AND DUD: MATT KENSETH -- While Kenseth did a great job to finish fourth in the Go Bowling 400 on Saturday night, it was his first top five of the season in 11 races. A rash of bad luck so far has cost Kenseth a couple of victories, and he his both last in points among the Joe Gibbs Racing drivers and the only team driver winless in 2016.
