Eric knew exactly what he was doing putting Denny as the main face in the thumbnail

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.

Just imagine if *Michael McDowell or someone pulled a Ryan Newman 2014* and took Kyle Larson’s spot away… lol

Whenever KFB says he hates something he usually wins with it

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.

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

When McDowell makes it to the round of 8 don’t say I didn’t warn you

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

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 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.

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.

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

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

Can’t wait to see you at Darlington!

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.

Hey Eric, for each of the playoff races pick a non-playoff driver to win uppsetting the playoffs drivers.

Eric with the nice playoff predictions

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

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!

I think you pretty well nailed it

Great vid

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

Man 2 uploads in a day

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.

Can’t believe this dude had Keselowski exiting in the first round🤣🤣

I think your spot on with your predictions

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)

My championship 4 prediction is Kyle Busch , Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman , and either Hamlin or Truex

I at least want McDowell to get past the first round tbh

Yooo I really how your right Eric about the championship cuz I’m a huge MTJ FAN

When is the Daytona vlog going to be out? Just curious

Exactly the same as mine apart from I put Keselowski through to RO12 and Kurt out in the RO16

i think you got one right 🤘🏻🏁

Eric, I’ll be there at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday September 26th, see u soon

Are you going to talledega in October?

When an Eric Estepp video has less views in an hour than your most popular video: small success but a needed one

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.

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

Nice diecasts on your wall. My local Walmart hasn't restocked them for a month now

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

Your probably correct with Brad. They are probably gonna give their best stuff to the other two drivers.

Oof I had my bird ready if he didn't say Kyle was moving onto the Championship 4 lol

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!

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

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

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.

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

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.

Great video. I think this is accurate. As a Blaney fan, I can see him going out in the round of 8. I also see him as a dark horse if he makes it to the round of 8. He’s really good at Martinsville. Nevertheless, Eric, I believe these are good predictions.

I'm gonna remember this.

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

Who’s here after keselowski made it to the round of 8

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've had this championship 4 for a while. I think a Gibbs vs Hendrick final 4 makes so much sense.

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

Eric are you going to the championship race in Phoenix?

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

I made my final 4 pic the other day and it’s identical to yours

I'm just not sure in Truex Jr. right now. Like Keselowski, he hasn't won since the first half of the regular season (though, he has won 3 times to Kes's 1) and he might sneak by the 1st round, but I don't see him making it farther than the 2nd round unless he does really, really well.

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

Your prediction is True!! Truex got this

Definitely agree with Championship 4. Rooting for Kyle Larson!

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?

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

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 have 3 out of my final 4 picked and my first 4 out picked but the rest I'm not sure

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

Love how he put Larson and Hamlin on the thumbnail and they finished 1-2

Man that would be a great top 4..

I wanna see Reddick get that first win….I think this will finally be his coming out party

In last year playoffs I put Aric Arimola in the Championship 4 😂😂

Harvick always finds away to run better under pressure. I can see him poke his way in some how.

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 think Harvick is going down the slippery slope Johnson started in 2018

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).

Bowman could solidly have a shot at final 4 he almost won Vegas a year ago and would have had the caution not come out Talladega is anyone’s race, and he was leading at the roval last year and was running up front, at Kansas he finished 3rd last year, led a few laps at Texas and ran up front and at Martinsville he finished 6th I wouldnt say round of 12 exit round of 8 is more likely and less likely is final 4

kyle busch martin truex kyle larson denny hamlin chase elliott ryan blaney william byron joey logano brad kesolowski kevin harvick christopher bell aric almirola tyler reddick kurt busch michael mcdowell BOOM!!

I'm going to the texas race this fall

Im hoping to see truex make it to the final four and win. itd be amazing especially with the fact he might retire after 2022 if the next gen car isnt to his liking

I had the same top 4 although I know it probably won’t happen but I want McDowell to win the ship😂

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

no race winning pace? what happened to Homestead for Reddick?

I like this final 4, Thinking Bowman keeps sneaking when you least expect it. Larson out just because he's never had this much to lose.

I'm sticking with my pre-season pick RB12!! I dont think hes done winning yet this year, he has at least 1 race coming up in each round that hes capable of winning

I have KFB eliminated from the Championship 4.

Bill Elliott!! for the WIN!! I want to hear the it got off in Dawsonville GA!!!!

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.

Let's go!!! MTJ 19

I honestly got truex winning it

i will be in south carolina and i did not know that darlington was thare i wish i cuold come

Kyle Busch pointed his way into the Championiship 4 in 2015, mainly thanks to Kenseth

With Phoenix and Larson he came up the field 3 times and got a top 10 still and was the fastest guy on track.

Larson at Phoenix did come from the back to the front 2 times

i think the champ 4 is gonna be a 2v2 between hms and jgr, hms will be larson and elliott and jgr will be kfb and hamlin, maybe truex will take one spot of them but still a 2v2