Articles
Daniel Suarez Trying To End Season On Good Note
Daniel Suarez qualified 16th on Saturday for the season-ending race from Phoenix Raceway on Sunday. Suarez has struggled to contend and has two top ten results in his past 11 races. It is hard to believe he had three finishes of sixth or better and then struggled badly once again. It has been one of […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoAlex Bowman Has Work To Do On Sunday
Alex Bowman finished ninth in March after starting 18th at Phoenix. It seemed hard to believe the Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver pulled this off and yet Bowman did. The No. 48 car calls nearby Tucson, Arizona home. His debut race was his best on the Avondale 1-mile short track. Bowman led 194 laps and finished […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoAric Almirola Begins Way Back At 28th For Phoenix
Aric Almirola takes one last ride in the No. 10 Stewart-Haas car on Sunday as he begins 28th at Phoenix Raceway. He finished sixth two years ago but the past few races have been a struggle. It is likely Almirola will drive some here and there next year, but his days as a full-time driver […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoJoey Logano Ends Up 17th Qualifying At Phoenix
Joey Logano is very proficient at Phoenix Raceway. He won the Fall race last year to win his second NASCAR championship. The Team Penske racing driver has not finished worse than 11th since late 2018. However, he did start 16th in the Spring and only ended up 11th. This Fall, he begins 17th. The No. […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoCole Custer Near The Back Of The Field To Start Sunday
Cole Custer was a late add to the lineup. The driver is replacing Brad Keselowski, whose wife is expecting a third child anytime now. With it being the last race of the season, this made a lot of sense giving Keselowski and Chris Buescher are both out of the playoffs. RFK Racing did see Buescher […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoTyler Reddick Comes Up Short In Final Qualifying Group
Tyler Reddick had a good deal of speed in the early stage of qualifying on Saturday. When it came to the final group, Reddick tried to gun it a little too hard. The result was the 23XI Racing driver got loose and end up brushing against the wall. In the end, Reddick qualified tenth more […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoMartin Truex Jr. Almost Gets The Pole At Phoenix
Martin Truex Jr. squeezed through qualifying to get to the final group. Then, he surprised quite a few pundits. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver came up 0.018 seconds short of William Byron on Saturday afternoon. Truex Jr. has been fast in qualifying the past two weeks. Between the pole at Martinsville and second at Phoenix, […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoChristopher Bell Misses Out On Top Ten In Qualifying
Christopher Bell had a lot of expectations heading into qualifying at Phoenix Raceway. In the end, Bell and his Joe Gibbs Racing car ended up 13th. Among the Championship four cars, Bell is third with Blaney two spots behind the No. 20 driver. The Toyota was a bit of a mixed bag as far as […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoAric Almirola Nearly Pulls Off Win At Martinsville
Aric Almirola stayed close to the front all afternoon at Martinsville on Sunday afternoon. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver will not drive full time in 2024 as he announced he would not return to the team next season. The driver of the No. 10 Ford started in 12th, led 66 laps, and contended in the later […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoWilliam Byron Does Enough To Make Championship Four
William Byron did not have the best of days at Martinsville. However, the Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver had a 30-point cushion. That cushion was just enough as Byron fought his back up to 13th on Sunday. He finished one lap down from eventual winner Ryan Blaney. Byron ended up eight points ahead of Denny Hamlin […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoMartin Truex Jr. Sees Playoffs Strike Midnight At Martinsville
Martin Truex Jr. started off on the pole for the Xfinity 500 Sunday afternoon from Martinsville. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was third after Stage 1 but began having problems in Stage 2. Truex Jr. never recovered as he dropped into the 20's and though he got back to 12th, that was nowhere near enough […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoHarrison Burton Still Hard To Figure Out At Martinsville
Harrison Burton likely thought his Saturday qualifying session would go better. However, he ended up 28th. The Wood Brothers Racing driver carried results outside the top 25 when he did not qualify well. His only good effort was a tenth last Fall. Burton wound up 11th in that race. That is the problem. Burton does […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoTy Dillon Begins From The Back On Sunday
Ty Dillon will begin Sunday's Xfinity 500 from the 34th position. Dillon has never finished better than 13th on the short track. Martinsville Speedway has not been kind to Dillon. He has three results inside the top 20 with the rest outside. To be fair, the Spire Motorsports driver cannot be expected to finish in […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoJustin Haley Qualifies 24th For Xfinity 500 On Sunday
Justin Haley will start from the 24th position on Sunday afternoon at Martinsville Speedway. This is only the second time in six races that Haley will start from better than 25th position. He has never finished 25th or better. The No. 31 Chevy has not even seen his driver rating climb above 50. Now, that […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoAustin Dillon Searching For Results At Martinsville
Austin Dillon has endured a rough 2023 season. Dillon's average finish of 22.0 is the worst of his career since he starting racing full-time. Worse, though the Richard Childress Racing Chevy has seven top-ten results, Dillon really has not contended much and has quite a few rough results. Stage points have been far and few […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoAustin Cindric And Diminishing Returns At Martinsville
Austin Cindric's 2022 season was very good and the 11th on the short track was promising. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver dropped to 22nd in the Fall and then 33rd this Spring. The No. 2 car has not been anywhere close to the top ten. Although, 21st is an improvement over 30th and 25th as far […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoChase Briscoe Blazes To Third In Qualifying On Saturday
Chase Briscoe ended up being the highest qualifying Ford on Saturday. He will start third for Sunday's Xfinity 500. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver has finished inside the top ten three straight times on the short track. Briscoe even lead 109 laps in the Spring before falling back to fifth. Last Fall, he led 25 lap […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoAric Almirola Begins Martinsville Sunday From 12th Position
Aric Almirola starts 12th on Sunday afternoon for the Xfinity 500. Almirola will not return to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2024. The No. 10 car is 3-for-3 in top-15 results during the Fall races since 2020. It will be intriguing to see what happens on the day of the race. Almirola has not shown much place […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoMichael McDowell Starts 23rd At Martinsville On Sunday
Michael McDowell does not excel at Martinsville. His best finish since 2020 was 14th and the Front Row Motorsports driver even has a DNF as well. Since that June 2020 ride on the short track, McDowell has not had good place differential at all. Worse, he begins 23rd on Sunday. The chances of even a […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoRicky Stenhouse Jr. Again In Middle Of The Pack For Martinsville
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. qualified 20th for the Xfinity 500 on Sunday afternoon at Martinsville Speedway. The JTG Daugherty Racing driver has an average finish of 20.1 since 2020. He only has one top ten (8th) in his last seven appearances at Martinsville. In the Spring, the No. 47 car netted that top ten. The Fall […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoWilliam Byron All But In The Championship Four
William Byron has a huge cushion in the race for the Championship Four. Byron is 30 points above the bubble and has even Ryan Blaney's spot to fall into. Byron qualified 16th while Blaney ended up 11th during Saturday's session. The Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver has a win at Martinsville like every other Hendrick driver […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoMartin Truex Jr. Wins Pole At Martinsville
Martin Truex Jr. pulled off an unexpected performance in qualifying on Saturday. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver snagged the pole for Sunday's Xfinity 500. It could not have come at a more crucial time for Truex Jr. The No. 19 racer needs a huge performance on Sunday afternoon and arguably a win. Truex Jr. stands […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoRyan Blaney Holds On For Second-Place Finish At 4EVER 400
Ryan Blaney was getting chased down by Tyler Reddick while trying to catch Christopher Bell. In the end, the Team Penske driver settled for second. However, that result boosted Blaney up into fourth in the playoff race. Blaney now enjoys a ten point cushion over Tyler Reddick and 17 over Martin Truex Jr. The No. […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoTyler Reddick Ends Up Third At Homestead
Tyler Reddick enjoys those 1.5-mile intermediate tracks. Even with Homestead as high-wear as it is, Reddick managed to finish third on Sunday at the 4EVER 400. The Homestead-Miami speedway result helped the 23XI Racing driver move up to fifth in the playoffs standings. He still stands ten points behind fourth position. That is currently held […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoBubba Wallace Ends Up Sixth At Homestead
Bubba Wallace began in second for the 4EVER 400 on Sunday afternoon. After an adventurous afternoon, the 23XI Racing driver managed to get into the top ten and stay at the right time. His 17th after Stage 1 and 19th after Stage 2 probably did little to inspire much confidence. However, mix in a little […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoKyle Larson's Accident Wipes Out One Very Fast Car
Kyle Larson had the best car in the early going at the 4EVER 400. He led a race-high 96 laps but made a mistake on pit road while running 1-2 with Ryan Blaney. Larson did not notice Blaney slowing down until it was too late. The Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver turned hard to the right […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoMartin Truex Jr. On Outside Looking In After Homestead
Martin Truex Jr. did not have the greatest car on Sunday afternoon. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver saw his Championship Four chances take a major hit. This was right after Denny Hamlin hit the wall on the first turn. Truex Jr. reported that it felt like his engine was blowing up. Sure enough, after 237 […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoRyan Newman Could Lag Behind Once Again On Sunday
Ryan Newman will begin Sunday's race in Homestead from the 34th position. Newman did have a seventh for Roush in February of 2021. However, that feels like a lifetime ago. Newman, now in the Rick Ware Racing Ford, was slow in practice. Not only was he 1.051 seconds slower than the fastest time, Newman also […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoTy Dillon Rough Year Continues With 33rd At Saturday Qualifying
Ty Dillon has not qualified well at Homestead but even the 33rd on Saturday was a little surprising. This is only because the Spire Motorsports driver will start 13 positions below teammate Corey LaJoie. The No. 77 Chevy has lacked speed throughout the turns and the accelerations into the straightaways have been even worse. While […]
Chris Wassel 1 year agoRyan Preece Begins 29th For 4EVER 400 On Sunday
Ryan Preece ended up well back in qualifying on Saturday at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver was one spot (29th) ahead of teammate Aric Almirola. Preece mentioned the loss of speed later in runs and that was evident. His overall practice time was 34.151 seconds which was 34th. Even his 25 and 30-lap averages […]
Chris Wassel 1 year ago