HOT DRIVERS

• Cody Porter-Xpress Esports-Chevy- Cody Porter has taken the Cup Series by storm. With 2 wins in his 4 starts, it seems like we are looking at a future Crown Jewel Champion in the years to come.
• Vince Mitchell-Uber Motorsports-Ford- The curse may have lifted off of Vince’s season and boy is it the right time! 2 top 10 in the last 2 races and he has moved his way up to 8th in the points standings.
• Justin Bell-Uber Motorsports-Ford- Justin Bell has taken form late in the season with 2 top 15’s in his last 2 starts. Moving up to 20th and out of the playoff battle, but a win with his recent form could be all the difference he needs to add another Uber Motorsports driver to the playoffs.

NOT DRIVERS

• Zack Saunders-BBR-Chevy- Yes we know, Zack has had an amazing season so far but currently he has been out of form the last 3 races(outside of the top 5). With expectations so high for him can he turn his form around to make a late push for the regular season championship.
• Paul Maziere-Independant-Toyota- With his last 2 races being a long cry from recent and outside of the top 20, the multi race winner may not retain his spot in the playoffs due to his extended leave of absence.

DRIVER NEWS

• Thomas Villano penalty appeal was approved last week after some heated hearings. Even with him retaining his points it seems like he will be on the outside looking in during playoff time.
• Nic Vasquez’s suspension has been lifting and will be racing tonight at Indy.
• The silence of Mike Burnett has been felt this week with no statements to the media after his wreck. The 39 cars hauler was spotted entering the speedway in the early hours of the morning.
• We still have no sign of Zander Short, even after the vague comments from principal owner of FMS Stephen Menke on his whereabouts. The 38 cars hauler has arrived at Indy but has not entered the gates.

PLAYOFF BUBBLE

• FIRST IN: Natheniel Campbell(15th) Allen Phillips(12th) Caleb Tipton(10th)
• FIRST OUT: Joe Wright(19th) Ben Lawson(18th) Garth Griswold(17th)

FAN PICK OF THE WEEK

Zach Thomas Johnson-Top Tier-Chevy
Zach has not had a good run as of late but luckily his win at Atlanta has sealed him into the playoffs. Some fans calling into Crown Jewel SiriusXM radio have stated that the driver of the #8 Zone chevy has become complacent this season after the win and believe if he doesn’t get to work, he will end getting eliminated in the first round of cuts. We on the other hand feel like this week is his chance to prove haters wrong. The Top Tier PR team has informed us that his sim time this week has shown great promise for him to secure his second win and get the team back on the right track before the playoffs. Johnson’s odds currently are sitting at +11000 for a win and +3700 for a top 5 and we believe this is good money based on the information received.

HOT DRIVERS

• Cody Porter-Xpress Esports-Ford: Cody has only raced 3 races this season with his late addition to the number 04 car but with all 3 races being in the top 5, the new kid on the block is shaking things up in the Circuit Cup Series.
• Caleb “the uberman” Tipton-UberMS-Ford: Goes to show you longevity will lead you to the mountain tops. The Uberman hasnt had a finish outside of the top 20 in his last 10 races.
• Zack Saunders-BBR-Chevy: Even after a 15th place finish in Chicago, He should be thanking the city of Chicago for its traffic jams that left his teammate Mike Burnetts hauler stranded on the I-90. He moves up to 2nd in the points standings.

NOT DRIVERS

• Nic Vasquez-FMS- Ford: With all the woes, suspensions, and looming news coming from Factory motorsports press conference this morning. This 3x winning driver has had all the wrong news for a season that was going so right. Seems like he is on his final lifeline from principle owner Stephen Menke.
• Zander Short-FMS-Ford: We have heard our first rumblings of the well being of the driver for the 38 car. Even though much information was not given to us by Stephen Menke and those at FMS, We do know Stephen is attempting to get Zander to the track for tonights race. With all the new talent in the league will he be able to come out as the same Zander we all know or are the lights to bright now.

DRIVER NEWS

• Nic Vasquez will be serving his 1 week suspension. Even though he was not at the FMS press conference, reporters and fans have seen him walking around the pit area today.
• Stewart Harding-Walker was given a week suspension as well but appealed with league officials so we are unsure if he will be on the track tonight at Pocono.
• Zander shorts number 38 hauler was spotted entering Pocono. However the driver remains in the wind. With rumors of ongoing benders and a possible mandatory stay at a rehab facility, FMS executives have been playing this news close to the chest.
• Mike Burnett and Cody Porter continue their back and forth that started after the Truck race at Chicagoland, which even spilled over into todays drivers meeting. Sources say both drivers were being held back by team members and the drivers meeting concluded with the last 15 minutes taking place on a zoom call.

FAN PICK OF THE WEEK

Ray Gill-MMC-Toyota:
If you can’t tell by now the fans dont want favorites to win, they want this current playoff situation shaking to its core. Ray Gill winning at Pocono would not only shake the fight for the playoffs but throw it off a 80 story building onto its back. Personally, I feel as if this race is all about strategy and who makes the right calls nearing the end of this race. If Ray Gill sitting currently at +26550 for a win and +9800 for a top 10 wins this it will all be about strategy. We tried to get a comment from his crew chief and we were “we will answer questions after the race.” Seems like they are locked in and dont want anything they have planned getting out for other teams to see. Tonight the points guys will get their points and a whole lot of them, but the winner, that driver will do something out of the box.

The Grant Park 110: presented by The Bryan A. Leach Foundation. Green Flag Flies at 8:15pm est. https://www.twitch.tv/crownjewelrn

HOT DRIVERS

• Thomas Wolfe-BBR-CHEVY- With 3, count them 3 second place finishes in the last 6 races, Seems like the 7th time might be the charm for Thomas in Chicago.
• Allen Phillips-Hollywood-CHEVY- After securing his first top 10 in the last 4 races, Allen moves up to 12th place in the heated battle for the last remaining playoff spots.
• Steven Carlile- PMR- CHEVY- Who would have thought a 6th place finish would bump him into the top 5 in points but here we are. Steven sits 4th in the points standings.

NOT DRIVERS

• Paul Maziere-Independent-TOYOTA- After missing the last 2 races because of logistical reasons, Paul has slipped outside of the top 15 and may not have a spot in the playoffs even with his win.
• Zander Short-Factory-FORD- Also not having raced since Iowa due to team issued substance abuse therapy, Zander, the series former points leader, finally falls outside of the top 5.(6th)

DRIVER NEWS

• Factory Motorsports have hinted at surprise news to come next week.
• Cameron Romano has signed a 1 year extension with WRL racing.
• New comer Cody Porter shocked the league with sweeping Nashville.
• Zach Johnson is reported to be back after his hauler was seen arriving in Chicago.
• Driver of the 15 Ford Cody Leach was ask about incident with Thomas Villano last week at Nashville. He responded “No Comment”

FAN PICK OF THE WEEK

JOE T WRIGHT-WRL-FORD

Some may think lets go with the easy pick, throw Saunders or Wolfe on here because they have been showing some of the quickest times here in Chicago. On the other hand, with Thomas sitting at +470 for the win and the 91’s hauler not even spotting in Chicago yet, Joe sitting at +1850 seems just Wright. Joe is no stranger to road circuit being a former formula driver before heading over to the oval side of things and his times are right there with the top of the competition for Wednesday night! Its a safe pick in terms of his experience but a big winner if you decide to chase the dream of Joe Wright getting his first win of the season and secure his spot in the playoffs.