NASCAR: What to watch for in the 2018 Ford EcoBoost 400

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will wrap up the 2018 season this Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the Ford EcoBoost 400.

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will finish its 2018 season this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the Ford EcoBoost 400. Only four drivers remain left in the hunt for the championship and they have just this one race remaining before they are either crowned once again or given the trophy for the first time. After this weekend, we will have a long offseason until the Daytona 500 in February, but I am not in the right frame of mind to think of that just yet.

Sunday, we will see if Martin Truex Jr. can go back-to-back in the final year of Furniture Row Racing’s tenure in NASCAR or if Kevin Harvick will finish off the season with his second championship trophy for his son Keelan to play with.

Maybe it will be Kyle Busch winning the trophy legitimately with a full season of racing as opposed to his 2015 title, which came after he was injured and missed 11 races of the season. Lastly, there is the possibility we see a first-time champion with Joey Logano cementing his name in NASCAR history.

No matter what happens and who wins on Sunday, I think we can all agree that the 2018 season has been a great year of racing. If Sunday is anything like the previous 35 races, then we are in for quite the show.

Here is what you can expect to see this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the Ford EcoBoost 400.

What to watch for

Championship 4 up front all day

The Championship 4 drivers will have everything on the line on Sunday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The remaining drivers will be doing everything they can to run well but to stay out of the Championship 4 drivers’ ways.

With very little left to drive for, the non-Championship 4 drivers will want to avoid being the reason a driver fails to claim victory. Wouldn’t you feel dumb if you were a driver who caused a fellow competitor to lose the championship because you messed up? You’re probably shaking your head yes, however, that you wouldn’t be upset if it were Joey Logano you ruined the chances for.

Pit road wont lie

In the sport of basketball, there is an old saying that goes “missed free throws tell the story of the game”, basically just implying that the free throw is a small part of the game that makes a huge impact on its outcome.

The same story can be said about pit road in NASCAR. In order to win as a team, your team needs to be perfect for those 12-15 second pit stops throughout the race. Mark my words; one of the Championship 4 drivers will lose the championship on Sunday because of a mistake on pit road. This mistake will either be speeding on pit road, a slow stop or too many crew members over the pit wall.

The final laps will be remembered for a long time

In a perfect world, we would get a caution flag period with less than 20 laps remaining and have the four Championship 4 drivers in the front for a shootout like we have never seen before. I expect to see two of the combatants race in a battle that will go down as one of the best in history.

I predict that we will either see Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch go back and forth for the win with Busch being crowned your 2018 NASCAR Cup Series champion following a last-lap pass or Martin Truex Jr. dump Joey Logano on the final turn to get revenge for their incident in the round of 8 race Martinsville Speedway. No matter how it happens, I hope it comes down to a fight to the finish to cap off a great season of racing.

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What will you be watching for in the 2018 season finale this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway? Who is your pick to be this year NASCAR Cup Series champion? Tune into NBC at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, November 18 for the live broadcast of the Ford EcoBoost 400.

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