Articles
Matt DiBenedetto May Surprise At Sonoma
Now, Matt DiBenedetto is one of those drivers that unexpectedly thrived at Sonoma the last time NASCAR came to town in 2019. He finished fourth out of almost nowhere. Could DiBenedetto do it again? At the very least, the Wood Brothers Racing driver should improve track position and nicely. In five appearances, DiBenedetto has moved […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoDaniel Suarez One To Stay Away From At Sonoma
While Daniel Suarez is not the worst idea on Sunday, he is certainly not the best either. In 2019, Suarez got into the top-five qualifying. During the race, he repeatedly had issues on longer runs. That could present itself as the TrackHouse Racing driver may not have the speed or the ability to make good […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoBubba Wallace Not Recommended At Sonoma
Bubba Wallace has an average finish of 27.5 in two races at Sonoma. The 23XI Racing driver has not had one top-ten result all year. He has won a stage and been at the forefront of more than a few accidents. It has been a learning experience for Wallace in 2021, to say the least. […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoRicky Stenhouse Jr. Quite Dicey At Sonoma
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has one really good performance this year in 16 races. He has no top-ten results in seven races at Sonoma. Few should expect much of anything from the JTG-Daugherty Racing driver. He finished 21st on the Carousel in 2019 and did not factor much in the race. That is the most likely […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoJoey Logano Being Forgotten About At Sonoma
Joey Logano starts 13th on Sunday at the California track. Logano seems to have been overlooked in some circles but he does have four top-tens and two top-fives at Sonoma. The concern is how much the Team Penske driver fell off two years ago as he plummeted to 23rd. That being said, the No. 22 […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoChris Buescher May Have Limited Upside At Sonoma
Chris Buescher has been able to stay around the top-15 at the California track. The problem for Buescher may be the downforce. It does not seem he fares that well with that. Combine this with the 750HP package and the JTG-Daugherty Racing driver may have trouble especially at first. Buescher may be able to cope […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoRyan Blaney Will Have Upside At Sonoma On Sunday
Ryan Blaney starts from the 11th spot on Sunday at Sonoma. The Team Penske driver has had some success on the longer version of the track known as the Carousel. He finished third on the 90-lap version just in 2019. Blaney is one of those road drivers that just finds a way to adapt. Even […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoTyler Reddick A Wildcard At Sonoma On Sunday
Tyler Reddick has eight top-tens in 15 races this year but just one top ten in four career starts on a road course at the top level. Reddick showed at Austin he could drive with the top road contenders. However, Sonoma is a different animal. Again, there is a lot of unknown where it comes […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoBrad Keselowski May Not Do Well At Sonoma On Sunday
Brad Keselowski had one great run in the last five races at Sonoma. That was a third in 2017. Every other result surrounding that has been 13th or worse. He hung on the lead lap in 2019 with the Carousel and speed-wise just could not come. close. The Team Penske driver may have even more […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoKevin Harvick Another One To Watch At Sonoma
Will the downforce be an equalizer on Sunday for Kevin Harvick? No one quite knows that answer but few drivers can adapt as well as Harvick. He starts eighth on Sunday and the Stewart-Haas Racing driver has won once at Sonoma. Also, Harvick has five straight top-six finishes. The racer knows this track and knows […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoAlex Bowman Should Hang Around Top Ten At Sonoma
Alex Bowman will begin Sunday's race at Sonoma from the seventh position. The final Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver hung around the top ten on the Carousel course before finishing 14th in 2019. That is the likely expectation again as Bowman could even maintain his track position a little better this time around. The No. 48 […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoAustin Dillon Expected To Fade At Sonoma
Austin Dillon will start from the sixth position at Sonoma on Sunday. However, any expectation of him contending likely will be dashed rather quickly. The Richard Childress Racing driver has had 17 starts on the California track. He has not finished in the top ten even once. His average finish on road courses is 24th. […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoKyle Busch Given Fifth Position At Sonoma
Kyle Busch is right behind teammate Denny Hamlin in fifth for Sunday's race at Sonoma. The Toyota / Save Mart 350. The younger Busch has won twice before on the California track in 15 races (2015). He finished second in 2019 behind Martin Truex Jr. Another couple of laps and Busch may have won. The […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoDenny Hamlin Expects To Contend At Sonoma
Denny Hamlin starts fourth on Sunday at Sonoma. How the downforce and 750 HP package affect the Joe Gibbs Racing driver is anyone's guess. However, Hamlin is still looking for his first win of 2021. That seems hard to believe but true. Despite nine top-fives and 11 top-tens, that is the case. The No. 11 […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoWilliam Byron Starts Third At Sonoma, Another Top Ten Is Likely
William Byron starts behind Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott on Sunday at Sonoma, The third position should suit the Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver just fine. Byron has finished 11th or better in every race since the Daytona swing. That consistency included a win at Homestead. If not for the rain, that 11th at Austin might […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoChase Elliott A Favorite Again At Sonoma
Chase Elliott has won six road races in 14 starts including this year's shortened Circuit Of The Americas at Austin. Elliott is getting on a bit of a role as he has finished in the top-seven or better in five straight races. Last week at Charlotte, the Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver led 22 laps. There's […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoKyle Larson Awarded Pole, Should Thrive At Sonoma
The questions with every driver, including Kyle Larson, when it comes to the 750 HP package and downforce together will be answered on Sunday. How will it affect the Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver? That is the great unknown. Larson has a fast race car and everyone knows it. Sonoma will come down to adjustments and […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoNHL DFS Lineup Picks for FanDuel, DraftKings (6/2): Value Plays, Goalies, Stacks
Welcome, RotoBallers. Hockey season has entered the second round of the playoffs! As always, I will do my best to give you the stats and info you need to build the best lineups possible for your GPP and cash game NHL contests on DraftKings and FanDuel. If you are new to playing NHL DFS, there […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoCameron Davis Likely To Play Weekend At Memorial
Cameron Davis has looked a little off his game the past two weeks. At Colonial, Davis drove the ball less than 300 yards most of the time (309 average -- 14th on tour). It just seemed like his swing was less than 100%. Davis has found a way to make a good number of cuts […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoStewart Cink To Lurk Around At Memorial
Stewart Cink can just linger around at most any tournament. It is why he is 8th in the FedEx Cup Standings. He won the RBC Heritage Open by doing the opposite. He held on for dear life and shot a clutch 70 on Sunday. It is that adaptability in 2021 that has served Cink well […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoSi Woo Kim Not One To Look At For Memorial
Si Woo Kim has trended in the wrong direction for weeks and that culminated in him withdrawing from the Colonial last week. Keep in mind, he missed the cut at the PGA with a 75-76 and missed a bunch of putts at the Byron Nelson. This is not the same golfer that was on the […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoC.T. Pan May Have Issues At Memorial This Week
C.T. Pan got better at Colonial last week as the tournament wore on. This week is a rough test at the Memorial. Pan driving the ball off the tee was problematic in the early rounds at the Charles Schwab. The fact he hits about 294 on this long course could present him with a few […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoChris Kirk Still Struggling Heading Into Memorial
Chris Kirk looked like he had it together at Colonial for about three rounds last week and then Sunday happened. It was more than the 77, Kirk just could not do anything right. Suddenly he could not drive or hit accurately. Too many things went wrong. The last three tournaments (two missed cuts) have illustrated […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoSam Burns A Wildcard At The Memorial This Week
Sam Burns was hot on tour with a first and second at Valspar and the Byron Nelson buoyed by incredible Thursday and Friday rounds and steady weekend play. Then, there came the withdrawal at the PGA. That front nine was so disastrous and it left Burns little choice. The question again is where is his […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoBranden Grace's Withdrawal Leaves Questions For Memorial
Branden Grace shot a 76 at Colonial and then withdrew from the tournament last week. The idea would be to see where he is even at this week and even then. Straying away from Grace may be a good plan. He did have a decent run of four weekends before a 78 on Sunday at […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoHarold Varner III May Not Fare As Well At Memorial
Harold Varner III from tee to green is one of the better golfers on tour (24th overall -- .949 strokes gained). He has solid numbers driving a ball 301 yards on average and getting on the greens at 67th. The problem always seems to come down to putting and often later in tournaments. When one […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoCameron Tringale Interesting Option At The Memorial
Do not expect a top-five or ten finish from Cameron Tringale in Ohio come Sunday. However, the Californian lurked around the top-20 or so most of the weekend at the Charles Schwab before falling back to 33rd. He is one of the best at sand saves (15th) on tour and that could help him if […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoAdam Hadwin Could Have Some Potential At Memorial
Adam Hadwin could put in a decent weekend at Memorial but might implode too. After much bad play, the Canadian managed 66-67 at the Charles Schwab last week. His putter hurt him a bit on the weekend but Hadwin finished tied for 8th. A longer, tighter course this week likely means a lower finish but […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoChristiaan Bezuidenhout Not Expected To Do Much At Memorial
Christiaan Bezuidenhout can putt a golf ball (fifth on tour with .866 strokes gained). However, he is not accurate off the driver or in the fairway and that could hurt a lot this week. The Memorial is an unforgiving course that makes a golfer pay for the errant tee to green play (119th at -0.008). […]
Chris Wassel 3 years agoBilly Horschel Has Some Upside At Memorial
Billy Horschel will likely not be in that top tier to contend but a top-30 or so is not unreasonable at The Memorial. He excels at match play but not so much on Sunday. He was very good at the PGA (68-72) weekend but just a 72-67 at an easier Charles Schwab. His putting ranks […]
Chris Wassel 3 years ago