why does everyone seemingly ignore that Larson's 7th place finish in the spring Phoenix race came despite him having to come from the back TWICE. He started at the rear and was in contention late when a speeding penalty on his last stop sent him to the back UNDER GREEN and yet he STILL finished 7th.
@I win You lose i mean he is a threat he has the highest average finish of all playoff drivers and hes good at super speedways and 1-1.5 mile tracks which is everything leading up to the final race but then again is Phoenix which he always chokes at so who knows
As Jeff Gordon fan, I can't help but notice the parallels of his 2010 season and Denny Hamlin's 2021 season. Really fast in the beginning part of the season, but can't quite close out the deal. Then just kinda fades at the end. Edit: It's Labor Day and Darlington has come and gone... If anything it looks like Denny is coming alive at the right time. I was wrong after all.
I watched this again after the ROVAL; just to see how your predictions played out for the round. You got the whole "Elite 8" right, minus the Keselowski for Harvick switch. Well done.
Everyone counting out Almirola and McDowell. Me hoping for chaos and want to see one those two to get an upset 😈....also cool, seen you on 5 points vids
Well, Hamlin has achieved this season despite being winless: *Points leader since Daytona RC until New Hampshire race *Best average finish - 9.1 *Swept stages 2 times - Daytona 500 and Toyota Owners 400 *Consistent top 5s and top 10s *Has the tightest fight for the regular points championship title in whom he competed against the winningest driver of the season, Larson for which Larson bagged that title. *Best Playoffs scheduled racetrack/s: Richmond, Talladega, and Bristol
Every year there’s that one guy who we all think will make it past the first round but then they don’t. This year I feel like Brad Keselowski will be a surprise early exit.
Either him or Truex Jr. The only saving grace for Truex Jr. is that he got 3 wins early and scored enough playoff points to be near the top. He hasn't looked all that great since he won at Darlington earlier in the year
Pretty Solid list but I wanted to join the trend of putting mine Round of 16: McDowell Almirola Reddick Keselowski Round of 12: Logano Hamlin Kurt Busch Bell Round of 8: Byron Truex Jr Harvick KFB Championship 4: Bowman Blaney Elliot Larson Champion: Bowman Admittedly I am very biased
Watch Harvick go from dominating the season last season and missed the championship, to not winning a thing and win the championship like Matt Crafton did in 2019
Out in the round of 16: -McDowell -Almirola -Reddick -Bell Out in round of 12: -Keselowski -Logano -Kurt Busch -Harvick Out in round of 8: -Bowman -Elliott -Byron -Blaney Final 4: - Larson - Truex - Hamlin - Kyle Busch Champion: - Larson
@@miketakeflight7870 I agree but Kurt has more experience and in the last 5 races (non road courses and last week at Daytona) he hasnt finished outside the top 10 and only has 6 less points right now barely a worse year.
I think Blaney makes round of four. Je’s not my realistic favorite to win the championship, but if it happened I would be jumping up and down screaming
I have the strangest feeling that either Hamlin and/or Harvick is gonna go on a tear now that it's the postseason and one of if not both of them is gonna make it to the final four and possibly win. It feels like this was their plan all along, play it safe, just get into the playoffs and once it's playoff time, drop the kid gloves and win like crazy. After all, with this format these are the only races that really matter
No cause if they played it safe and ran like shit throughout the year they wouldn’t have made it into the playoffs sooo you’re wrong and harvick will be out early
In my opinion unless something really catastrophic happens in the playoffs, I think that Championship 4 Should be more or less locked. Though Hamiln or Blaney could get in as well.
My prediction for what the playoff standings will look like at the end of the season 1. Kyle Larson 2. Chase Elliott 3. Kyle Busch 4. Joey Logano 5. William Byron 6. Martin Truex JR. 7. Ryan Blaney 8. Kurt Busch 9. Denny Hamlin 10. Alex Bowmen 11. Brad Keselowski 12. Kevin Harvick 13. Christopher Bell 14. Tyler Reddick 15. Aric Almirola 16. Michael McDowell
Brad Keselowski is my #1 driver, but as much as I hate to admit it... I think you're right. It just seems like every time you hear a driver is moving on to a different team for whatever reason... They cease being competitive at the level they usually are. I hope we're both wrong.
Imagine this: SHR falls on their face and both drivers go down in round of 16. Brad K falls off. Reddick comes up short. Mcdowell somehow squeezes through and then wins Dega lmao.
Chase led 1247 laps last year, but he really turned it on in the playoffs leading 717 in the final 10 races which is 187 more laps that he had led in the first 26 races. He also led laps in every race except for Texas in the playoffs. Led 41 laps or more in 6 of the 10 races, led 73 laps or more in 4 of the 10 races and led 114 laps or more in 3 of the 10 races. And when he needed to win to advance he led 236 laps and won at Martinsville to make the Championship 4, then started in the back because of failing pre race tech and still led 153 laps at Phoenix and won to claim the Championship. Don't count out Ole Chase from the Same Place as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville. Yeah I'm biased, sue me.
And he actually has a better avg finish than last year. Take in account the daytona road course phantom rain that would've been a win and ALL the points he lost because of penalties all season he would be second in points. Take in account theres a road course cut off race he will be able to snag some points and dare we say win at. If he's in the round of 8 I dont see a way he doeant make it to the round of 4, I dont see him being in another win to get in scenario.
@@brittxmorin true he has had a lot of points lost this year, and the disqualification that took away a stage win. But yeah he could have won at the Daytona Road Course if not for certain circumstances, and Watkins-Glen if he didn't pit 4 times instead of 3 like everyone else. Couple of other races he could have won if things went his way, but I guess that's the case for a couple of other drivers as well, things don't always go your way. Regardless though he has been one of the best all year overall and if he can turn it on like he did in the playoffs last year he should have another shot at the Championship.
I've been waiting for this all week My predictions Round Of 16 1. Michael McDowell 2. Aric Almirola 3. Christopher Bell 4. Tyler Reddick Round Of 12 1. William Byron 2. Brad Keslelowski 3. Kevin Harvick 4. Kurt Busch Round Of 8 1. Joey Logano 2. Denny Hamlin 3. Kyle Busch 4. Alex Bowman Championship 4 1. Kyle Larson 2. Chase Elliott 3. Ryan Blaney 4. Martin Truex Jr KYLE LARSON 2021 NASCAR CUP SERIES CHAMPION
My championship 4, as a Chase Elliot/Hendrick fan. maybe a little spicier than some? Chase Elliot (wins his second championship) Logano Harvick Kyle Busch 5-8 Larson Hamlin Keselowski Kurt Busch 9-12 Bowman Blaney Truex Jr Bell 13-16 McDowell Almirola Reddick Byron
@@jingleoctopus4160 I’m aware initially I had Bell leaving in the 16 but I felt like it would be interesting if he maybe beat out Byron for the cut line.
Eric remember in Phoenix race earlier this year both chase and Larson had 2 speeding penalties each during this race and still managed to finish top5/10. Once they keep pit road clean, Martin and Busch getting licks as we say in the Caribbean
Wow, I’m pretty surprised. As a newer fan, I expected my predictions to be way off from anyone else’s, but it turns out that the only difference between mine and Eric’s is that I have Keselowski in the round of 12 with Bell being eliminated Edit: I did also have Larson getting the championship, but still
You make a great point Eric, in 2020 not a lot of fans picked Elliott to win the title. Most of us picked Keselowski, Logano , and Hamlin. Because Keselowski won at short tracks, logano won at Phoenix before the pandemic, and Hamlin was dominant in 2020. But Elliott came out of nowhere. So watch out for those drivers that we won’t pick
@I win You lose he's more consistent then larson since Hamlin has an average finish of 9.1 this year while larson has an average of 9.7 so yes Hamlin is consistent
The thing about Harvick is, can you trust SHR to give him what he needs to succeed? Can you trust that team to turn it on now when they haven't all year?
@@johnhaas2523 Oh I know they will, but that's the thing. Harvick has had a huge dropoff from last year, hell, SHR as a whole hasn't looked the same. To be honest, even with the rain, if NHMS ran the full length and darkness didn't shorten it, I'm not sure Almirola would have still won, I think Bell would have caught him or a caution would have happened. Harvick has the benefit of Almirola and McDowell being obvious first round outs, but that doesn't help him much. He NEEDS to win stages, hell, he needs a fucking win at this rate. That's the only way I see him getting out of the first round. Momentum is all you need. Its the same reason why, if you watch my predictions video, I don't have Hamlin or Truex Jr. making it out of the Round of 12. Hamlin because no wins in the regular season, and just not having enough stage & playoff points, and Truex Jr. due to a lack of momentum entering the 1st round and squeaking by with Keselowski going out early.
Round of 16: Almirola, Bell, Keselowski, McDowell Round of 12: Bowman, Reddick, Harvick, Kurt Busch Round of 8: Larson, Elliot, Hamlin, MTJ CHAMP 4: Logano, Kyle Busch, Byron, Blaney Champion: Ryan Blaney (Logano fan so a bit biased cause Penske Yknow but here’s my reasoning); 1. Christoper Bell has only been good at a few races, winning at DRC, that’s why he’s out early. 2. Bowman hasn’t been the most consistent this season 3. I have a gut feeling larson won’t make it like Harvick last year 4. Byron is gonna come up clutch some how I feel it. 5. Blaney has run up front a LOT this season and is a threat at all Racetracks. 6. Logano has run up front most of the season jus gets bad luck. (Spun by keselowski in the Daytona 500, flipped by at dega, hit the stupid curb at Indy, blew a tire at Daytona)
I have Reddick as a sleeper round of 12 driver. He’s been constantly running top 10 lately. He’s better than Almirola and McDowell. I see him beating out Harvick and Bowman in the 1st round
Not sure about Truex making the final 4 as a good take. But hey I picked Willy B for the title so that's probably not much of a good take either haha. I've got these picks Round of 16 eliminations Michael McDowell Aric Almirola Tyler Reddick Christopher Bell Playoff Board (Not counting playoff points from inside the playoffs) Larson Blaney Truex Kyle Busch Elliott Bowman Hamlin Byron Logano Keselowski Kurt Busch Kevin Harvick Round of 12 Eliminations Brad Keselowski Kevin Harvick Kurt Busch Martin Truex Jr Playoff board Larson +37 Blaney +9 Kyle Busch +7 Elliott +6 Bowman -6 Hamlin -6 Byron -7 Logano -8 Round of 8 Eliminations Alex Bowman Joey Logano Ryan Blaney Chase Elliott Final 4 Denny Hamlin Kyle Busch William Byron Kyle Larson Championship prediction I may have some personal bais but I'll go with a wacky pick in William Byron.
coming into this year, I thought the Final 4 would be Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Brad keselowski and Kevin Harvick, Now i think it will be, Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch and either Elliott or Bowman. Leaning towards Bowman
I know McDowell won’t win. But my heart says to pick him. I’m amazed and happy that, not only did McDowell make the playoffs, he didn’t have the worst average finish going in.
I wouldn't be surprised if Kevin Harvick does something similar to what Tony Stewart did just 10 years ago in 2011 and kills it in the playoffs to win the championship
Eric what is the big announcement Tony Stewart was suppose to release Wednesday and now he has postponed it for a few days, what's strange is an hour after Tony's posting on Facebook, Hailie Deegan posted Tuesday that she had a big announcement coming on Wednesday, come Wednesday Hailie posted that she has to postpone her announcement for a few days, so what's going? Maybe the official notice that Deegan has signed with SHR to drive the #98 car in Xfinity in 2022. I think she's only doing 6 races....
I'll be elated if any of the four HMS drivers win the championship. Larson has had the best season and deserves it the most. The smart ass in me would love to see Elliott repeat so all the haters that claim "he's only competitive on road courses" can try to explain away back-to-back championship race wins at Phoenix.
Out in the round of 16 Harvick Mcdowell Keslowski Almirola Out in the round of 12 Reddick Keslowski Bowmen Bell Out in the round of 8 Willy B Kyle Busch Blaney Truex Jr Championship 4 Larson Logano Ellliott Hamlin
@@jacksonhagen2377 I’m assuming he has Larson since anyone saying otherwise is just trying to seem different or don’t like Larson so they don’t want to call him the championship favorite.
My predictions for the most part, 1 is extremely bold and others especially in round 1 and 2 I'm on the fence of who advances and who doesn't. Eliminated round of 16 McDowell and Almorola: Speed hasn't been there Kurt Busch : Not as fast in Richmond and maybe slight Bristol problems BOLD prediction, Chase Elliot: Has not shown dominant speed on tracks that aren't road courses, cant rely on road courses to bail him out every time. True he lead a lot of laps in the Southern 500 last year with the 550 but he was 7th in Darlington with the 750, Richmond he missed the setup in the spring, and Bristol madness can easily combo him Round of 12 Christopher Bell: 1st appearance but maybe won't survive the Big one at Talladega Tyler Reddick: Might just miss out after being solid but just not quite enough Brad Keselowski: As underrated as I think he might be at times for his standards this has been a down season for him and the 2 team Alex Bowman: Not from the lack of speed but from Harvick winning at Talladega to knock the 48 out Round of 8 William Byron EXTREMELY Consistent but not quite dominant Joey Logono and Ryan Blaney barley miss on a tight race in the cutoff. Kevin Harvick: That 4 team have overachieved from what has been a disappointing year for SHR and itll catch up to them Championship 4 Kyle Busch Denny Hamlin Kyle Larson MTJ Champion: Denny Hamlin After all the Denny doubters and all the Hamlin haters saying he isn't championship material or thinking he'll never be a champion I hope and pray this is the year he wins it. After a winless 2018 people thought he lost his edge but early on in 2019 he proved those people wrong, after a mistake in the Texas playoff race that year some questioned if he was ready for big moments just for the 11 to win his way in at PHOENIX, and now people dont think he ever will be a champion and after the first 26 raceshe's under the radar and could easily peak at the right time when it's too late to stop him
For all who doubted Hamlin, y'all need to keep an eye on him and see if they will doubt more. We may not know that he'll translate that winless to fearless dominance at the playoffs!!
@@vellbariaofficial There isn't a week track for him, Darlington and Richmond are tracks he can be in the running almost every time, Bristol he's no slouch at that track, Vegas especially lately has been solid like last year in the Vegas playoff race he lead the most laps in so definitely can get a top 5, Hamlin is an excellent superspeedway racer, and Hamlin is solid at road courses, Kansas he's won at 3 times, Texas he's won on the repave in the 2019 spring race, Martinsville the 11 is a 5 time winner and he dominated the spring race, and Phoenix acts like a short track plus the 11 finished 3rd in the spring. Sunday he'll be on the front row so this can be a strong start needed to collect a lot of stage points
16. McDowell 15. Reddick 14. Almirola 13. Bell 12. Harvick 11. Ku Bush 10. Hamlin 9. Keselowski 8. Logano 7. Blaney 6. Byron 5. Truex jr 4. bowman 3. Larson 2. Elliott 1. Ky Bush That’s my playoff prediction in order
Really hoping brad can find success at roush and be a long term owner. It would be great to see brad and jack get that team on track, they used to be the fastest team in the sport but it’s been a while
What are the odds that Denny Hamlin chokes yet again this year and continues to show he's not Championship material...lmfao!!! What happens if Logano decides not to wreck Keselowski at the Daytona 500 & Keselowski wins the 500 like he was going to do until Joey decided he wasn't gonna let that happen?
There's no guarantee Logano or Keselowski would have won in that scenario, cause they could still wreck in 3 & 4 or coming off of 4/coming to the line. Even if they don't wreck at all, Keselowski will have to try and block, and that might fuck him up and McDowell could have still won
by that logic, what happens if Briscoe doesn't wreck Hamlin? Hamlin is the regular season champion and doesn't choke. I wouldn't even call it a choke. He still finished 2nd to the hottest driver in sometime in Larson. By less then 15 points. Not really a choke. So you can use what ifs all night long.
Out in Round of 16 McDowell Almirola Bell Keselowski Out in Round of 12 Harvick Logano Bowman Reddick Out in the Round of 8 Kurt Busch MTJ Byron Elliott Championship 4 Larson KFB Blaney Hamlin Champ: KFB My heart wants Larson though.
My pick to win it all is also MTJ, but in regards to Hamlin I think some people are forgetting that in the first year of this format Ryan Newman nearly became a winless/1 win champion. I'm not saying Denny could do it, but I see him getting into the Champ 4.
I like your predictions but here’s how my will go. 16. Aric Almirola 15. Michael McDowell 14. Christopher Bell 13. Brad K ------------- 12. Reddick 11. Byron 10. Ku Busch 9. Kevin Harvick ------------ 8. MTJ 7. Denny Hamlin 6. Alex Bowman 5. Kyle Busch ------------ 4th Blaney 3rd Chase Elliot 2nd Kyle Larson 1st/Champion Joey Logano
I agree with the Championship 4. I think you can say that those have been the best 4 drivers this year and all would be considered worthy champions. Hard part is picking between them but I like the Truex pick. Definitely think it comes down to him and Larson.
Round 1 Almirola: Won in the main season, but wasn't particularly strong otherwise C-Bell, same as above MTJ finds himself in an unlucky scenario and can't make up lost ground Reddick: Can't quite put it together, barely left out Round 2 Brad: Involved in a crash and is unable to make up lost ground Harvick suffers from a late-season slump Kyle Busch, same as above Larson - continuing the trend of the best driver not winning, gets taken out in early crashes at Vegas and Dega, and barely misses a win on the Roval in a massive upset Round 3 McDowell: FRM saves up resources for the playoffs, and he barely squeaks by in the first two rounds by sheer luck before finally being taken out, with an 8th place points finish Kurt Busch: An all-around respectable push for the title ends here Logano: Suffers major issues at Martinsville and is unable to move on Blaney: Makes a valiant effort, but can't quite make it into the Final Four Champion: Denny Hamlin outperforms Elliott, Bowman, and Byron, and wins the championship by sheer consistency, having no wins all season *Just for fun, obviously. Not actually expecting any of this to happen
We may see harvick doing a "smoke" and he wins the championship. Stewart-haas knows how to do it. (I'm not a kevin fan, but i feel like he's going to win it).
It's Kevin Harvick so it's possible, but look what happened to Jimmie his last few years, everyone falls off eventually. But he could pull a Smoke 10 years after Stewart did it.
Wouldn't it be ironic if after last years dominance Harvick won the championship this year by just about getting enough of a run to keep getting through each round this year
I love the fact that least you have the balls to say who and when everything is going to happen in the future nobody else has two balls to put this out there online
Denny has been a bad boy. I would like to say "I knew there was a reason I never liked the guy!" ...but I really have no idea what his girlfriend was talking about. I just don't like him because he's always come across as a nancy to me...
I don't know what she said make it seem like he cheated on her and hasn't been the best Dad to his daughters. I mean it all speculation at this point but you never know. Hopefully it's nothing serious, but she made it seem like something serious.
bowman only finished 27th at vegas cause he blew a tire with a few laps to go while running 3rd… vegas is one of his best tracks and has been in contention to win there the past 3 races there. and he’s also be elite at the roval
Eric knew exactly what he was doing putting Denny as the main face in the thumbnail
Also the "like a couple" quip when talking about Brad.
Denny's wife is the main News this week she dumped Denny
Denny is the new Mark Martin.
@@93ryan5 duh, also Denny has never had a wife lol
He did Larson and Blaney too, he put the top drivers on the thumbnail lol
why does everyone seemingly ignore that Larson's 7th place finish in the spring Phoenix race came despite him having to come from the back TWICE.
He started at the rear and was in contention late when a speeding penalty on his last stop sent him to the back UNDER GREEN and yet he STILL finished 7th.
I know right
Was actually running second and was running down truex until that late caution
I agree shadytnu24
It was almost like Bill Elliott being 2 laps down and winning at Talladega. He straight up wheeled that car around.
Because you’re still going to lose the championship if that happens in Phoenix in November.
Just imagine if *Michael McDowell or someone pulled a Ryan Newman 2014* and took Kyle Larson’s spot away… lol
Stage racing makes it hard for this to happen anymore
I wouldn’t call that pulling a Newman.
@I win You lose i mean he is a threat he has the highest average finish of all playoff drivers and hes good at super speedways and 1-1.5 mile tracks which is everything leading up to the final race but then again is Phoenix which he always chokes at so who knows
No way
just imagine a world where you didn’t bold every single comment you make
As Jeff Gordon fan, I can't help but notice the parallels of his 2010 season and Denny Hamlin's 2021 season. Really fast in the beginning part of the season, but can't quite close out the deal. Then just kinda fades at the end.
Edit: It's Labor Day and Darlington has come and gone... If anything it looks like Denny is coming alive at the right time. I was wrong after all.
Does fade mean choke 🤷🏻♂️
Tell me about it man we coulda legit had 5-7 wins in 2010 we were that fast
Yup. He's gonna need wins early in the playoffs if he wants to get anywhere beyond at least the 2nd round.
Because he is over rated
@@dshih199 Definetley. Vegas especially stings because of the hot rod they brought. But, so it goes.
Whenever KFB says he hates something he usually wins with it
I watched this again after the ROVAL; just to see how your predictions played out for the round. You got the whole "Elite 8" right, minus the Keselowski for Harvick switch. Well done.
Everyone counting out Almirola and McDowell. Me hoping for chaos and want to see one those two to get an upset 😈....also cool, seen you on 5 points vids
If McDowell can get to the round of 12, he can get to the round of 8, the Roval and Talladega will suit him well
If anyone is gonna cause chaos out of that back 4, its gonna be Reddick
I honestly want to put almirola in the final 4 for the lols
Almirola should be top 7 speed at Richmond
Yeah! I'm counting on Stewart Haas, Hendrick and Rick Ware Racing
Well, Hamlin has achieved this season despite being winless:
*Points leader since Daytona RC until New Hampshire race
*Best average finish - 9.1
*Swept stages 2 times - Daytona 500 and Toyota Owners 400
*Consistent top 5s and top 10s
*Has the tightest fight for the regular points championship title in whom he competed against the winningest driver of the season, Larson for which Larson bagged that title.
*Best Playoffs scheduled racetrack/s: Richmond, Talladega, and Bristol
Every year there’s that one guy who we all think will make it past the first round but then they don’t. This year I feel like Brad Keselowski will be a surprise early exit.
Definitely
Yes he has been way off this year probably because he knows he’s starting over next year
this shouldn’t even be a surprise. That team has been off all year.
I have him out in round of 16
Either him or Truex Jr. The only saving grace for Truex Jr. is that he got 3 wins early and scored enough playoff points to be near the top. He hasn't looked all that great since he won at Darlington earlier in the year
Pretty Solid list but I wanted to join the trend of putting mine
Round of 16:
McDowell
Almirola
Reddick
Keselowski
Round of 12:
Logano
Hamlin
Kurt Busch
Bell
Round of 8:
Byron
Truex Jr
Harvick
KFB
Championship 4:
Bowman
Blaney
Elliot
Larson
Champion:
Bowman
Admittedly I am very biased
Watch Harvick go from dominating the season last season and missed the championship, to not winning a thing and win the championship like Matt Crafton did in 2019
My playoff grid: Round of 16
Almirola, Reddick, McDowell, Bell.
Round of 12: Keselowski, Harvick, Kurt Busch, Hamlin.
Round of 8:
Blaney, Byron, Logano, Kyle Busch.
Champ 4:
Larson, Truex, Elliott, Bowman.
Champion: Chase Elliott
I'm rooting Kyle Larson or Chase Elliott. LET'S GO HENDRICK TEAM!
bowman final four??? lol
Well he is one of only 4 drivers to win more than two times. I wouldn't be surprised if he wins a couple races in the playoffs.
@@irlydothis_p I feel like Bowman is either going to somehow make it to the champ 4, or will somehow get eliminated in the first round
Larson all the way
When McDowell makes it to the round of 8 don’t say I didn’t warn you
@@johnhaas2523 all needs to do is squeak by round of 16 and win Dega
@@sirnickels9979 he doesn't even need to win Talladega, if he can have a clean race there, while other people falter, then run well at the Roval
He gonna be the first one out
Can’t believe this dude had Keselowski exiting in the first round🤣🤣
Thinking him and the team just wouldn’t care because he’s leaving next season LOL
Yeah I know but now he’s in the round of 8
Out in the round of 16:
-McDowell
-Almirola
-Reddick
-Bell
Out in round of 12:
-Keselowski
-Logano
-Kurt Busch
-Harvick
Out in round of 8:
-Bowman
-Elliott
-Byron
-Blaney
Final 4:
- Larson
- Truex
- Hamlin
- Kyle Busch
Champion:
- Larson
I would swap Kurt and Byron, Kurt has been strong lately but everything else I agree with
That final 4 is almost the exact same as mine except I have Logano instead of Truex
@@zumptt I wouldn’t Byron has the better equipment and has had a better year than Kurt Busch
@@miketakeflight7870 I agree but Kurt has more experience and in the last 5 races (non road courses and last week at Daytona) he hasnt finished outside the top 10 and only has 6 less points right now barely a worse year.
@@zumptt I agree don't sleep on Kurt
I think Blaney makes round of four. Je’s not my realistic favorite to win the championship, but if it happened I would be jumping up and down screaming
I think he somehow gets into final 4 in a Ford and Busch gets knocked out.
I have the strangest feeling that either Hamlin and/or Harvick is gonna go on a tear now that it's the postseason and one of if not both of them is gonna make it to the final four and possibly win. It feels like this was their plan all along, play it safe, just get into the playoffs and once it's playoff time, drop the kid gloves and win like crazy. After all, with this format these are the only races that really matter
I kinda have the same feeling for Kurt Busch
No cause if they played it safe and ran like shit throughout the year they wouldn’t have made it into the playoffs sooo you’re wrong and harvick will be out early
In my opinion unless something really catastrophic happens in the playoffs, I think that Championship 4 Should be more or less locked. Though Hamiln or Blaney could get in as well.
Blaney, possibly. Hamlin, nope.
@@AlanNadeauIII if Hamlin gets a win or to he probably would as he’s been one of the best drivers this year
Hey Eric, for each of the playoff races pick a non-playoff driver to win uppsetting the playoffs drivers.
My prediction for what the playoff standings will look like at the end of the season
1. Kyle Larson
2. Chase Elliott
3. Kyle Busch
4. Joey Logano
5. William Byron
6. Martin Truex JR.
7. Ryan Blaney
8. Kurt Busch
9. Denny Hamlin
10. Alex Bowmen
11. Brad Keselowski
12. Kevin Harvick
13. Christopher Bell
14. Tyler Reddick
15. Aric Almirola
16. Michael McDowell
Brad Keselowski is my #1 driver, but as much as I hate to admit it... I think you're right. It just seems like every time you hear a driver is moving on to a different team for whatever reason... They cease being competitive at the level they usually are. I hope we're both wrong.
Imagine this: SHR falls on their face and both drivers go down in round of 16. Brad K falls off. Reddick comes up short. Mcdowell somehow squeezes through and then wins Dega lmao.
mcdowell round of 8 is so cursed i am all for it
I think Harvick is going down the slippery slope Johnson started in 2018
Chase led 1247 laps last year, but he really turned it on in the playoffs leading 717 in the final 10 races which is 187 more laps that he had led in the first 26 races. He also led laps in every race except for Texas in the playoffs. Led 41 laps or more in 6 of the 10 races, led 73 laps or more in 4 of the 10 races and led 114 laps or more in 3 of the 10 races. And when he needed to win to advance he led 236 laps and won at Martinsville to make the Championship 4, then started in the back because of failing pre race tech and still led 153 laps at Phoenix and won to claim the Championship. Don't count out Ole Chase from the Same Place as Awesome Bill from Dawsonville. Yeah I'm biased, sue me.
And he actually has a better avg finish than last year. Take in account the daytona road course phantom rain that would've been a win and ALL the points he lost because of penalties all season he would be second in points. Take in account theres a road course cut off race he will be able to snag some points and dare we say win at. If he's in the round of 8 I dont see a way he doeant make it to the round of 4, I dont see him being in another win to get in scenario.
@@brittxmorin true he has had a lot of points lost this year, and the disqualification that took away a stage win. But yeah he could have won at the Daytona Road Course if not for certain circumstances, and Watkins-Glen if he didn't pit 4 times instead of 3 like everyone else. Couple of other races he could have won if things went his way, but I guess that's the case for a couple of other drivers as well, things don't always go your way. Regardless though he has been one of the best all year overall and if he can turn it on like he did in the playoffs last year he should have another shot at the Championship.
I've been waiting for this all week
My predictions
Round Of 16
1. Michael McDowell
2. Aric Almirola
3. Christopher Bell
4. Tyler Reddick
Round Of 12
1. William Byron
2. Brad Keslelowski
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Kurt Busch
Round Of 8
1. Joey Logano
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Kyle Busch
4. Alex Bowman
Championship 4
1. Kyle Larson
2. Chase Elliott
3. Ryan Blaney
4. Martin Truex Jr
KYLE LARSON 2021 NASCAR CUP SERIES CHAMPION
YES!
KYLE LARSON! 2021 CHAMPION!!
Can’t wait to see you at Darlington!
My championship 4, as a Chase Elliot/Hendrick fan. maybe a little spicier than some?
Chase Elliot (wins his second championship)
Logano
Harvick
Kyle Busch
5-8
Larson
Hamlin
Keselowski
Kurt Busch
9-12
Bowman
Blaney
Truex Jr
Bell
13-16
McDowell
Almirola
Reddick
Byron
Byrons like 25 points to the good
@@jingleoctopus4160 I’m aware initially I had Bell leaving in the 16 but I felt like it would be interesting if he maybe beat out Byron for the cut line.
Eric remember in Phoenix race earlier this year both chase and Larson had 2 speeding penalties each during this race and still managed to finish top5/10. Once they keep pit road clean, Martin and Busch getting licks as we say in the Caribbean
I at least want McDowell to get past the first round tbh
Wow, I’m pretty surprised. As a newer fan, I expected my predictions to be way off from anyone else’s, but it turns out that the only difference between mine and Eric’s is that I have Keselowski in the round of 12 with Bell being eliminated
Edit: I did also have Larson getting the championship, but still
You make a great point Eric, in 2020 not a lot of fans picked Elliott to win the title. Most of us picked Keselowski, Logano , and Hamlin. Because Keselowski won at short tracks, logano won at Phoenix before the pandemic, and Hamlin was dominant in 2020. But Elliott came out of nowhere. So watch out for those drivers that we won’t pick
When an Eric Estepp video has less views in an hour than your most popular video: small success but a needed one
Really excited for the start of the chase! Miss when they raced at Chicago. I’ve been there 9 times for cup races, always a fun time!
My championship 4 prediction is
Kyle Busch , Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman , and either Hamlin or Truex
@I win You lose yes because the person with no wins who nearly won the regular season championship based on consistency wouldn't make it
@I win You lose he's more consistent then larson since Hamlin has an average finish of 9.1 this year while larson has an average of 9.7 so yes Hamlin is consistent
Nice diecasts on your wall. My local Walmart hasn't restocked them for a month now
Same, same with target
@@WyattWinterfeld I really want to get the main Hendrick cars, especially Bowman since I'm a Bowman fan.
The thing about Harvick is, can you trust SHR to give him what he needs to succeed? Can you trust that team to turn it on now when they haven't all year?
@@johnhaas2523 Oh I know they will, but that's the thing. Harvick has had a huge dropoff from last year, hell, SHR as a whole hasn't looked the same. To be honest, even with the rain, if NHMS ran the full length and darkness didn't shorten it, I'm not sure Almirola would have still won, I think Bell would have caught him or a caution would have happened.
Harvick has the benefit of Almirola and McDowell being obvious first round outs, but that doesn't help him much. He NEEDS to win stages, hell, he needs a fucking win at this rate. That's the only way I see him getting out of the first round. Momentum is all you need. Its the same reason why, if you watch my predictions video, I don't have Hamlin or Truex Jr. making it out of the Round of 12. Hamlin because no wins in the regular season, and just not having enough stage & playoff points, and Truex Jr. due to a lack of momentum entering the 1st round and squeaking by with Keselowski going out early.
Eric with the nice playoff predictions
I think you pretty well nailed it
You and I pretty much have the same 1st round picks aside from me having Reddick pull off the upset win at Darlington and Harvick doing jack squat.
Round of 16: Almirola, Bell, Keselowski, McDowell
Round of 12: Bowman, Reddick, Harvick, Kurt Busch
Round of 8: Larson, Elliot, Hamlin, MTJ
CHAMP 4: Logano, Kyle Busch, Byron, Blaney
Champion: Ryan Blaney
(Logano fan so a bit biased cause Penske Yknow but here’s my reasoning);
1. Christoper Bell has only been good at a few races, winning at DRC, that’s why he’s out early.
2. Bowman hasn’t been the most consistent this season
3. I have a gut feeling larson won’t make it like Harvick last year
4. Byron is gonna come up clutch some how I feel it.
5. Blaney has run up front a LOT this season and is a threat at all Racetracks.
6. Logano has run up front most of the season jus gets bad luck. (Spun by keselowski in the Daytona 500, flipped by at dega, hit the stupid curb at Indy, blew a tire at Daytona)
I'm going to agree,(I'm a Logano fan) but Logano is a good and consistent racer. Had the lead at the DRC last lap, but just had bad luck.
@@beckwaldman1621 mhm. He has had a great season but statistically it’s not good at all
I have Reddick as a sleeper round of 12 driver. He’s been constantly running top 10 lately. He’s better than Almirola and McDowell. I see him beating out Harvick and Bowman in the 1st round
Not sure about Truex making the final 4 as a good take. But hey I picked Willy B for the title so that's probably not much of a good take either haha.
I've got these picks
Round of 16 eliminations
Michael McDowell
Aric Almirola
Tyler Reddick
Christopher Bell
Playoff Board (Not counting playoff points from inside the playoffs)
Larson
Blaney
Truex
Kyle Busch
Elliott
Bowman
Hamlin
Byron
Logano
Keselowski
Kurt Busch
Kevin Harvick
Round of 12 Eliminations
Brad Keselowski
Kevin Harvick
Kurt Busch
Martin Truex Jr
Playoff board
Larson +37
Blaney +9
Kyle Busch +7
Elliott +6
Bowman -6
Hamlin -6
Byron -7
Logano -8
Round of 8 Eliminations
Alex Bowman
Joey Logano
Ryan Blaney
Chase Elliott
Final 4
Denny Hamlin
Kyle Busch
William Byron
Kyle Larson
Championship prediction
I may have some personal bais but I'll go with a wacky pick in William Byron.
coming into this year, I thought the Final 4 would be Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Brad keselowski and Kevin Harvick,
Now i think it will be,
Kyle Larson, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch and either Elliott or Bowman.
Leaning towards Bowman
I was thinking Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, and Denny Hamlin. (I like how your thinking)
I know McDowell won’t win. But my heart says to pick him. I’m amazed and happy that, not only did McDowell make the playoffs, he didn’t have the worst average finish going in.
My Playoff Prediction:
1. Alex Bowman
2. Kyle Busch
3. Kyle Larson
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Martin Truex Jr.
6. Chase Elliott
7. Ryan Blaney
8. William Byron
9. Brad Keselowski
10. Joey logano
11. Kevin Harvick
12. Kurt Busch
13. Christipher Bell
14. Tyler Reddick
15. Aric Almirola
16. Michael McDowell
Round of 16: Darlington, Richmond, Bristol
Darlington: Kyle Busch (3)
Richmond: Denny Hamlin (1)
Bristol: Ryan Blaney (4)
Round of 12: Las Vegas, Talladega, Roval
Las Vegas: Kyle Busch (4)
Talladega: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (1)
Charlotte Roval: Martin Truex Jr. (4)
Round of 8: Texas, Kansas, Martinsville
Texas: Kyle Busch (5)
Kansas: Alex Bowman (4)
Martinsville: Ryan Blaney (5)
Championship 4: Phoenix
Phoenix: Alex Bowman (5)
Its 2021, Anything could happen, Solid predictions
I wouldn't be surprised if Kevin Harvick does something similar to what Tony Stewart did just 10 years ago in 2011 and kills it in the playoffs to win the championship
Byron was extremely fast at Texas and is strong at Kansas and Texas, he'll probably be in a must-win position but definitely possible!
He’s also very fast at Martinsville, probably one of his best tracks.
Are you going to talledega in October?
Love how he put Larson and Hamlin on the thumbnail and they finished 1-2
My playoffs predictions:
Round of 16 eliminations: 34, 20, 10, 4
Round of 12 eliminations: 8, 24, 48, 2
Round of 8 eliminations: 1, 18 , 11, 12
Championship 4: 5, 9, 19, 22
Championship winner: 5
Don't judge me on my predictions
I like your predictions!
@@whitneywilliams7694 thanks
@@johnhaas2523 he had Kevin going out in the round of 16?
I know not everyone has the same opinion but I think we can all agree Michael McDowell isn’t making it past the first round
I slightly disagree. I think it’s POSSIBLE he could sneak into the Round of 12.
Mk now I'm putting him as the series champion
I wanna see Reddick get that first win….I think this will finally be his coming out party
I think your spot on with your predictions
Eric what is the big announcement Tony Stewart was suppose to release Wednesday and now he has postponed it for a few days, what's strange is an hour after Tony's posting on Facebook, Hailie Deegan posted Tuesday that she had a big announcement coming on Wednesday, come Wednesday Hailie posted that she has to postpone her announcement for a few days, so what's going? Maybe the official notice that Deegan has signed with SHR to drive the #98 car in Xfinity in 2022. I think she's only doing 6 races....
@@johnhaas2523 Thanks John
Oof I had my bird ready if he didn't say Kyle was moving onto the Championship 4 lol
Man 2 uploads in a day
Round of 16
McDowell
Almirola
Reddick
Bell
Round of 12
Harvick
Ku.Busch
Keselowski
Bowman
Round of 8
Byron
Logano
Blaney
Truex
Championship 4
Hamlin
Elliott
Ky.Busch
Champion:Kyle Larson
I honestly don't see Hamlin making it into the Final 4 tbh
@@briangriffinfamilyguyfan81 with the tracks in the round of 8 he def could get a win
@@JackCallSports but he chokes them away though so again I doubt it
You put Hamlin twice
@@briangriffinfamilyguyfan81 hey anything can happen lmfao
I'll be elated if any of the four HMS drivers win the championship. Larson has had the best season and deserves it the most. The smart ass in me would love to see Elliott repeat so all the haters that claim "he's only competitive on road courses" can try to explain away back-to-back championship race wins at Phoenix.
I would personally love a HMS championship 4. It's not gonna happen but that would be pretty great with Elliott winning or larson and I'd be happy
@@timothylites3653 That is my dream scenario too. Very unlikely to happen but fun to think about.
Out in the round of 16
Harvick
Mcdowell
Keslowski
Almirola
Out in the round of 12
Reddick
Keslowski
Bowmen
Bell
Out in the round of 8
Willy B
Kyle Busch
Blaney
Truex Jr
Championship 4
Larson
Logano
Ellliott
Hamlin
Champ?
@@jacksonhagen2377 I’m assuming he has Larson since anyone saying otherwise is just trying to seem different or don’t like Larson so they don’t want to call him the championship favorite.
Where is Kurt
My predictions for the most part, 1 is extremely bold and others especially in round 1 and 2 I'm on the fence of who advances and who doesn't.
Eliminated round of 16
McDowell and Almorola: Speed hasn't been there
Kurt Busch : Not as fast in Richmond and maybe slight Bristol problems
BOLD prediction, Chase Elliot: Has not shown dominant speed on tracks that aren't road courses, cant rely on road courses to bail him out every time. True he lead a lot of laps in the Southern 500 last year with the 550 but he was 7th in Darlington with the 750, Richmond he missed the setup in the spring, and Bristol madness can easily combo him
Round of 12
Christopher Bell: 1st appearance but maybe won't survive the Big one at Talladega
Tyler Reddick: Might just miss out after being solid but just not quite enough
Brad Keselowski: As underrated as I think he might be at times for his standards this has been a down season for him and the 2 team
Alex Bowman: Not from the lack of speed but from Harvick winning at Talladega to knock the 48 out
Round of 8
William Byron EXTREMELY Consistent but not quite dominant
Joey Logono and Ryan Blaney barley miss on a tight race in the cutoff.
Kevin Harvick: That 4 team have overachieved from what has been a disappointing year for SHR and itll catch up to them
Championship 4
Kyle Busch
Denny Hamlin
Kyle Larson
MTJ
Champion: Denny Hamlin After all the Denny doubters and all the Hamlin haters saying he isn't championship material or thinking he'll never be a champion I hope and pray this is the year he wins it. After a winless 2018 people thought he lost his edge but early on in 2019 he proved those people wrong, after a mistake in the Texas playoff race that year some questioned if he was ready for big moments just for the 11 to win his way in at PHOENIX, and now people dont think he ever will be a champion and after the first 26 raceshe's under the radar and could easily peak at the right time when it's too late to stop him
For all who doubted Hamlin, y'all need to keep an eye on him and see if they will doubt more. We may not know that he'll translate that winless to fearless dominance at the playoffs!!
@@vellbariaofficial There isn't a week track for him, Darlington and Richmond are tracks he can be in the running almost every time, Bristol he's no slouch at that track, Vegas especially lately has been solid like last year in the Vegas playoff race he lead the most laps in so definitely can get a top 5, Hamlin is an excellent superspeedway racer, and Hamlin is solid at road courses, Kansas he's won at 3 times, Texas he's won on the repave in the 2019 spring race, Martinsville the 11 is a 5 time winner and he dominated the spring race, and Phoenix acts like a short track plus the 11 finished 3rd in the spring. Sunday he'll be on the front row so this can be a strong start needed to collect a lot of stage points
@@vellbariaofficial Started off winning at Darlington so now tonight is a question to see if he fills that playoff bucket more
Welp, time to delete.
16. McDowell
15. Reddick
14. Almirola
13. Bell
12. Harvick
11. Ku Bush
10. Hamlin
9. Keselowski
8. Logano
7. Blaney
6. Byron
5. Truex jr
4. bowman
3. Larson
2. Elliott
1. Ky Bush
That’s my playoff prediction in order
Eric, I’ll be there at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday September 26th, see u soon
Who’s here after keselowski made it to the round of 8
i think you got one right 🤘🏻🏁
Eric are you going to the championship race in Phoenix?
Let's go!!! MTJ 19
Yooo I really how your right Eric about the championship cuz I’m a huge MTJ FAN
Really hoping brad can find success at roush and be a long term owner. It would be great to see brad and jack get that team on track, they used to be the fastest team in the sport but it’s been a while
18:24 Jordan Fish agrees
Exactly the same as mine apart from I put Keselowski through to RO12 and Kurt out in the RO16
What are the odds that Denny Hamlin chokes yet again this year and continues to show he's not Championship material...lmfao!!!
What happens if Logano decides not to wreck Keselowski at the Daytona 500 & Keselowski wins the 500 like he was going to do until Joey decided he wasn't gonna let that happen?
There's no guarantee Logano or Keselowski would have won in that scenario, cause they could still wreck in 3 & 4 or coming off of 4/coming to the line. Even if they don't wreck at all, Keselowski will have to try and block, and that might fuck him up and McDowell could have still won
by that logic, what happens if Briscoe doesn't wreck Hamlin? Hamlin is the regular season champion and doesn't choke. I wouldn't even call it a choke. He still finished 2nd to the hottest driver in sometime in Larson. By less then 15 points. Not really a choke. So you can use what ifs all night long.
@I win You lose had Larson not moved up to Hendricks he would’ve done it so it’s not really wrong
Do you happen to be a chase Elliot fan?
@I win You lose don’t have to be but a majority of people who dislike Denny are Elliot fans
Round of 16: McDowell
Almirola
Harvick
Reddick
Round of 12: keslouski
Bowman
Truex
Ku. Busch
Round of 8: bell
Blaney
byron
Logano
CHAMPIONSHIP FINALE: Elliot
Larson
Hamlin
Ky. Busch
/Kyle Larson champion/
When is the Daytona vlog going to be out? Just curious
Your probably correct with Brad. They are probably gonna give their best stuff to the other two drivers.
My elimination prediction
16.Michael McDowell
15.Aric Almirola
14.Christopher Bell
13.Kevin Harvick
Round of 12
12.Tyler Reddick
11.Brad Kewelowski
10.Alex Bowman
9.Denny Hamlin
Round of 8
8.Kurt Busch
7.William Byron
6.Martin Truex jr
5.Chase Elliot
Final 4
4.Joey Logano
3.Kyle Busch
2.Ryan Blaney
1.Kyle Larson
Out in Round of 16
McDowell
Almirola
Bell
Keselowski
Out in Round of 12
Harvick
Logano
Bowman
Reddick
Out in the Round of 8
Kurt Busch
MTJ
Byron
Elliott
Championship 4
Larson
KFB
Blaney
Hamlin
Champ: KFB
My heart wants Larson though.
I honestly got truex winning it
McDowell 16th
Bell 15th
Harvick 14th
Byron 13th
--------------------
Reddick 12th
Keselowski 11th
Kurt Busch 10th
Hamlin 9th
------------------------
Bowman 8th
Almirola 7th
Logono 6th
Kyle Busch 5th
----------------------
Elliott 4th
Larson 3rd
Truex Jr. 2nd
Blaney 1st
My pick to win it all is also MTJ, but in regards to Hamlin I think some people are forgetting that in the first year of this format Ryan Newman nearly became a winless/1 win champion. I'm not saying Denny could do it, but I see him getting into the Champ 4.
I like your predictions but here’s how my will go.
16. Aric Almirola
15. Michael McDowell
14. Christopher Bell
13. Brad K
-------------
12. Reddick
11. Byron
10. Ku Busch
9. Kevin Harvick
------------
8. MTJ
7. Denny Hamlin
6. Alex Bowman
5. Kyle Busch
------------
4th Blaney
3rd Chase Elliot
2nd Kyle Larson
1st/Champion Joey Logano
Your prediction is True!! Truex got this
I agree with the Championship 4. I think you can say that those have been the best 4 drivers this year and all would be considered worthy champions. Hard part is picking between them but I like the Truex pick. Definitely think it comes down to him and Larson.
I support Kurt Busch Sunday isn’t here yet. May the best man win with no crashing cars on purpose. Let’s have a clean championship race
Kyle Larson or Denny Hamlin taking this one. The final race being Phoenix changes a lot
Round 1
Almirola: Won in the main season, but wasn't particularly strong otherwise
C-Bell, same as above
MTJ finds himself in an unlucky scenario and can't make up lost ground
Reddick: Can't quite put it together, barely left out
Round 2
Brad: Involved in a crash and is unable to make up lost ground
Harvick suffers from a late-season slump
Kyle Busch, same as above
Larson - continuing the trend of the best driver not winning, gets taken out in early crashes at Vegas and Dega, and barely misses a win on the Roval in a massive upset
Round 3
McDowell: FRM saves up resources for the playoffs, and he barely squeaks by in the first two rounds by sheer luck before finally being taken out, with an 8th place points finish
Kurt Busch: An all-around respectable push for the title ends here
Logano: Suffers major issues at Martinsville and is unable to move on
Blaney: Makes a valiant effort, but can't quite make it into the Final Four
Champion: Denny Hamlin outperforms Elliott, Bowman, and Byron, and wins the championship by sheer consistency, having no wins all season
*Just for fun, obviously. Not actually expecting any of this to happen
Now let the jinxing begin just like every time Unrinatingtree makes a playoff prediction
I've been a Kyle Larson fan since before his suspension. I think he's our next champion. He's not prone to mistakes. I call him the "come back kid".
We may see harvick doing a "smoke" and he wins the championship. Stewart-haas knows how to do it. (I'm not a kevin fan, but i feel like he's going to win it).
At the age of 45
It's Kevin Harvick so it's possible, but look what happened to Jimmie his last few years, everyone falls off eventually. But he could pull a Smoke 10 years after Stewart did it.
I've had this championship 4 for a while. I think a Gibbs vs Hendrick final 4 makes so much sense.
Chase Elliott is going back to back
Great vid
I feel like that Brad Keselowski isn't even trying anymore.
Harvick always finds away to run better under pressure. I can see him poke his way in some how.
Wouldn't it be ironic if after last years dominance Harvick won the championship this year by just about getting enough of a run to keep getting through each round this year
I love the fact that least you have the balls to say who and when everything is going to happen in the future nobody else has two balls to put this out there online
no race winning pace? what happened to Homestead for Reddick?
Ah, it’s that time of the year in the NASCAR world. My final 4 are Kyle Busch, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and Chase Elliott
Thoughts on Denny’s girlfriend troubles?
Great video Eric. :)
Denny has been a bad boy. I would like to say "I knew there was a reason I never liked the guy!" ...but I really have no idea what his girlfriend was talking about. I just don't like him because he's always come across as a nancy to me...
Odds are just him being too focused on racing.
I don't know what she said make it seem like he cheated on her and hasn't been the best Dad to his daughters. I mean it all speculation at this point but you never know. Hopefully it's nothing serious, but she made it seem like something serious.
Chase win championship 2021
bowman only finished 27th at vegas cause he blew a tire with a few laps to go while running 3rd… vegas is one of his best tracks and has been in contention to win there the past 3 races there. and he’s also be elite at the roval