Chevrolet has Found Speed, but is it Enough?....w/Kansas notes

When will Alex Bowman get that elusive first win?

Bowman finished runner-up for the third week in a row in what has to be his best performance ever in his Cup Series career. And he isn’t alone as Chevrolet has seemingly found the right

formula to be contenders.

For the third week in a row, the manufacturer boasted the most cars in the top 10 with seven. While expected Chevy contenders like Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch and Kyle Larson finished in the top 10, unexpected drivers like Tyler Reddick (who is only running a few Cup races this season) and Chris Buescher also finished near the top of the leaderboard.

It’s great to see more competition in the Cup Series as Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske continue their on-track rivalry, but now the Chevy teams need to come up with ways to close deals.

Despite having the most drivers in the top 10 for the past three weeks, the manufacturer has just one win to its name at Talladega. The other winners from the past two weeks? Martin Truex Jr. (Gibbs) and Brad Keselowski (Penske), and neither of them led the most laps en route to their most recent victories.

In a playoff system that favors wins over consistency, simply being near the top will not work for championship success.

Gibbs Toyotas have won seven of this year’s 12 races and Penske Fords have won four races now. Come playoff time, it will not matter who leads the most laps; it will only matter who takes the final checkers.

Fantasy team owners however should rejoice for now that their Chevy drivers are starting to post solid results.

Notes from Kansas

• The top 10 streak is over for Kyle Busch! But let’s face it, the guy has at the very least, like three wins left in him this year.

• Erik Jones’ third-place finish is his best since the Daytona 500 this February. It’s his third top 5 of the season. Could big things be on their way for Mr. Jones?

• Tyler Reddick was the highest finishing Richard Childress Racing driver with his 9th place posting. Could he be the team’s much-needed future?

• Kevin Harvick had five wins going into the All-Star weekend last year. He has none this year, and despite leading the most laps at Kansas, finished a mediocre 13th.