NASCAR: Five surprises from the first half of the 2017 Cup season

As the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series makes the turn for home, with 18 races complete and 18 to go, here’s a look at some surprising story lines so far:

New names in victory lane: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Dillon and Ryan Blaney. All are familiar to die-hard NASCAR fans, but they probably weren’t in the lexicon of new viewers.

Stenhouse was better known as Danica Patrick’s boyfriend for some, but in his fifth full-time season with Roush Fenway Racing, he changed that. His first career win finally came at Talladega Superspeedway in May, which also earned him his first playoff slot. And his next-to-last-lap pass during an overtime finish at Daytona International Speedway earlier this month proved his team finally has found its groove.

Dillon, who made headlines when he took the No. 3 made famous by seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt Sr. to the Daytona 500 pole as a rookie in 2014, also got his first win. He broke through in NASCAR’s longest test — the Coca-Cola 600 in May.

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And then there’s Blaney. His victory at Pocono Raceway last month put the Wood Brothers back in victory lane for the first time since Trevor Bayne won the 2011 Daytona 500. There has been chatter that Team Penske is looking to make room for Blaney in a third car. The Wood Brothers are considered a satellite team and Blaney, in this third season with them, probably will find himself under the Team Penske umbrella sooner rather than later.

2017 NASCAR CUP SERIES RACE WINNERS

Blaney’s star on rise: Speaking of Blaney, the 23-year-old is a hit off the track, too. His social media game is strong. Blaney has made headlines for his 2-minute recap of every Star Wars movie — not surprising considering part of his Twitter bio reads ‘Aspiring Jedi’ — to his back-and-forth chatter with close friend Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Joe Gibbs Racing: This four-car team makes the list, but for all the wrong reasons. In 2016, JGR rang up 12 wins in 36 races and saw two drivers — Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards — advance to the championship race. While a repeat of that feat would have been difficult, everyone expected the team to have won a race by now. But 18 races in, Busch, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin and rookie Daniel Suarez — who replaced the retired Edwards — still haven’t visited victory lane.

Stage racing: The concept may have been confusing to viewers at first and the TV interviews may sometimes be stilted, but there’s no question the intensity of the racing has picked up as drivers vie for those precious points awarded to stage winners and those in the top 10. Martin Truex Jr. has proven a master, with 16 stage wins – including three race victories — at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway and Kentucky Speedway. His 28 playoff points has him lapping the field, with seven-time series champion Jimmie Johnson next-closest with 16.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: NASCAR’s 14-time most popular driver was under intense scrutiny at the beginning of the season as he returned to the sport after missing half of 2016 with concussions. He got married in the offseason to longtime girlfriend Amy Reimann and there was speculation this year could be his last. But he seemed to put that notion to bed when he returned at Daytona, again detailing all of the hard work and rehabilitation that went into getting him prepared to be back in the car. He told reporters before the Daytona 500: "There’s motivations to racing: the fans and camaraderie and all the great things you get to experience, but if I’m gonna come back I have to be racing because I want to be out there."

But just two months later, Earnhardt announced he was stepping away from full-time driving at the end of this season, sending Junior Nation into shock and landing another blow to a sport that has seen four-time champion Jeff Gordon and three-time titlist Tony Stewart leave since 2015. While he has been competitive, Earnhardt still lacks a win that would put him in the playoffs and give his fall retirement tour more juice.

Follow Tucker on Twitter @HeatherR_Tucker

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