There have been a number of surprise stories to materialize in the early portion of the 2021 NASCAR season.
HARVICK STRUGGLES
The driver that won nine times a year ago has yet to make it to Victory Lane this season. Make no mistake, there are a number of Kevin Harvick’s competitors that would love to have the “off” start to the season the Stewart-Haas Racing driver has recorded so far. He’s still inside the top 10 in points and has finished top 10 in five of the seven races run to date. But Harvick has led only 17 laps and there is still work to be done for the potent No. 4 team to get back to at least being near the level of the 2020 campaign.
HAMLIN SOLID BUT WINLESS
There hasn’t been a more consistent driver than Denny Hamlin in the opening seven races of the Cup season. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver leads the point standings on the strength of finishing in the top five six times in seven outings. However, none of those efforts has resulted in a win for Hamlin, who celebrated seven trips to Victory Lane last year. Unlike Harvick, Hamlin has been in position to take a checkered flag or two but things haven’t worked out just yet. Smart money says that will happen soon, but it is still somewhat surprising Hamlin has a goose egg in the win column heading to Martinsville this weekend.
AVERAGE START FOR ELLIOTT
The defending Cup champion hasn’t started the year on a hot streak by any means. Chase Elliott has been very average some weeks, and after finishing second in the Daytona 500, he has only put one other top five on the board. A blown engine in Atlanta handed Elliott a DNF and provided a bitter homecoming for the Georgia native. Elliott showed a year ago he was capable of catching fire, but in 2021, he’s still looking for that spark.
ALLMENDINGER STRONG
It was apparent when AJ Allmendinger joined Kaulig Racing in a limited role a year ago it would be a potent pairing. Thus far in 2021 the No. 10 team has the look of a championship contender. Allmendinger has four top-five finishes in the opening six races, including a victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Kaulig is turning into an Xfinity Series powerhouse with the trio of Almendinger, Justin Haley and Jeb Burton, and a title appears well within reach of the organization.
STELLAR START FOR RHODES
Kicking off the year with back-to-back victories quickly established Ben Rhodes as a force to be reckoned with in 2021. The Thorsport Racing driver has come home with top-10 finishes in the first five races of the Camping World Truck Series season and is a fixture near the front of the field. Things appeared to come together late for the team with a switch back to Toyota as ThorSport’s manufacturer, but you would never know it based on how strong Rhodes has come out of the gate.
