Jamie McMurray

Here’s the starting lineup for today’s (Feb. 17) Daytona 500. Forty-two drivers attempted the race, competing for 40 spots. Rookie William Byron won the pole with Alex Bowman on the outside of the front row. It was a 1-2 sweep for Hendrick Motorsports and Chevrolet but Ford pulled a counterattack in Thursday’s Qualifying Duels, pulling 1-2-3 finishes in both qualifying races to sweep the next six spots.

The 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs wind down Sunday, Nov. 18, at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the Ford EcoBoost 400. But after nine races, surprise winners and even a cheating scandal, the usual suspects are the ones competing for the series title.

Imagine for a second the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is like an NFL game. You’re three days out from a 38-17 finish where your favorite team simply dominated their opponent. Then, on a Wednesday, you find out the victory has been stripped. Why? Your favorite team got called for a 10-yard holding penalty, after the fact, that officials feel altered the outcome of the entire game.

There are just three races left in the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season and heading into Sunday’s AAA Texas 500, none of the sport’s Big Three is guaranteed a shot at the championship. It was Joey Logano, not Martin Truex Jr., in Victory Lane at Martinsville last weekend after a last-lap bump-and-run secured him a spot.

Talladega Superspeedway is known for the Big One. But as the track prepares for the final restrictor plate race in its 30-year history it feels like the equivalent of a NASCAR earthquake has already happened.