Aric 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 […]

Michael 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 […]

Ricky 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 […]

William 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 […]

Martin 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 […]

Ryan 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. […]

Tyler 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 […]

Bubba 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 […]

Kyle 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 […]

Martin 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 […]

Ryan 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 […]

Ty 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 […]

Ryan 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 […]

Austin Cindric Drops To 26th In Qualifying on Saturday

Austin Cindric had the fourth overall best practice time on Saturday. However, it was a different story for the Team Penske driver when it came to qualifying. Cindric and his No. 2 Ford ended up 26th. That bodes poorly for his fortunes on Sunday. Also, he started 26th last year as well in the Ford. […]

Michael McDowell Starts 17th At Homestead On Sunday

Michael McDowell and his Front Row Motorsports car will begin the 4EVER 400 17th on Sunday afternoon. While McDowell will not be able to hang around the contenders, he should hang around his qualifying position. His 12.3 average finish is sandwiched by 16th and 15th place results during the Fall races on the 1.5-mile track. […]

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Consistent At Homestead-Miami

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has finished between 13th and 20th three straight years. He starts 23rd this time around for the 4EVER 400 on Sunday afternoon. The JTG Daugherty Racing driver has an average finish of 16.0 with an average start of 20.3. He never has been close enough to lead a lap and the chances […]

Brad Keselowski Begins Fourth At Homestead Sunday Afternoon

Track conditions held nicely as Brad Keselowski will start fourth from Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday afternoon. Keselowski and the RFK Racing team did start to lose speed late in practice. Again tenths of a second do not seem like much but late afternoon conditions on the 1.5-mile track figure to be different than Saturday morning. […]

Ross Chastain Not Quite As Fast As Expected For Sunday

Ross Chastain still managed to qualify eighth for the 4EVER 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Trackhouse Racing driver was still more than 0.3 seconds slower than Martin Truex Jr. However, the No. 1 car does have a solid 9.5 average finish on the track in two races. He does have a win on intermediate tracks […]

Kyle Larson Starts Fifth At Homestead On Sunday

Kyle Larson has zero pressure on him. The Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver won last week at Las Vegas. However, do not expect the No. 5 car to go easy right away. This is one of his best tracks. Larson has led 38.2% of the laps over the past three years. Yes, he has only raced […]

Martin Truex Jr. Takes Pole For 4EVER 400

Martin Truex Jr. turned in the fastest lap when it counted on Saturday. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver clocked in at 32.256 seconds which was 0.057 seconds faster than Bubba Wallace. Truex Jr. is only two points above the playoff cutline with teammate Christopher Bell right behind him. Naturally, conditions in the middle of the […]

Christopher Bell Nearly Wins At Las Vegas

Christopher Bell was a mere 0.082 seconds from winning at Las Vegas on Sunday afternoon. He had the second best car on the day and nearly got by Kyle Larson on the final lap. One of the more interesting wrinkles with the Joe Gibbs Racing driver is that he has potential at Homestead. However, Martinsville […]

Martin Truex Jr. Now On The Playoff Bubble

Martin Truex Jr. enjoyed his best result since the back-to-back road course races. His eighth-place result at Las Vegas keeps him on the right side of the playoff bubble. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver now holds a slim three point lead over teammate Christopher Bell for a spot in the Championship Four. The good news […]

Austin Cindric Has Much Work To Do Sunday At Vegas

Austin Cindric enjoyed a somewhat charmed life at Las Vegas. His first three races saw him qualify in the top ten each time. His sixth-place finish in March seems like a lifetime ago. However, he was running in the top ten late last October before disaster struck. Ultimately, the Team Penske Ford dropped all the […]

Michael McDowell Square In The Middle For Las Vegas

Michael McDowell begins the South Point 400 from the 18th position on Sunday afternoon. There is only one problem with the Front Row Motorsports driver. McDowell has never finished above 17th on the 1.5-mile intermediate track. Michigan and Kansas have seen McDowell finish outside the top 20 three times in a row. Place differential is […]

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Expected To Have Long Sunday

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Las Vegas have come up snake eyes the last several times. The JTG Daugherty Racing driver has finished 20th or worse in the previous three races. Now, there will be some temptation with him starting 30th for DFS purposes. However, the chances he finishes in the top 20 are about 15%. […]

Ryan Preece Did Not Enjoy Qualifying At Las Vegas Saturday

Ryan Preece could never get his Stewart-Haas Racing car going on Saturday afternoon. His practice times were slow enough. Worse, he qualified 32nd for the South Point 400 on Sunday afternoon. Ford cars have lost speed typically later in runs, especially the Stewart-Haas cars. When he was a full second off Christopher Bell's time, that […]

Austin Dillon Runs Solid Mostly At Las Vegas

If one throws out a few outliers, Austin Dillon runs pretty well at Las Vegas. He has finished in the top 15 eight of the past 11 races on the 1.5-mile intermediate track. The Richard Childress Racing driver does not typically contend. He has only led 12 laps during his entire career on the course. […]

Chase Briscoe Begins In Middle Of The Pack Sunday

Chase Briscoe qualified in 17th for the South Point 400 on Sunday afternoon. Briscoe has had a rough 2023 to say the least. His Ford has not led a lap in five appearances at Las Vegas. Worse, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver has seen his car lose more and more speed in longer runs. His practice […]

Brennan Poole Endures Rough Saturday At Las Vegas

Brennan Poole did not have the best of time at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Saturday. Driving for Rick Ware Racing, Poole ended up only 34th in qualifying. He was the slowest among all cars that did not end up at the back. Poole wound up 1.712 seconds off the best lap set by Christopher […]

Aric Almirola Starts 13th On Sunday At Las Vegas

Aric Almirola had a solid qualifying effort on Saturday at Las Vegas. He starts 13th on Sunday. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver does have five top-2o finishes in his past six appearances on the intermediate track. Starting 13th hurts his place differential potential as most of the Ford cars have faded later in runs. That is […]