Articles
Harrison Burton Hoping To Bounce Back At Fontana
Harrison Burton did not get off to a good start last year. The Wood Brothers Racing driver crashed twice ending his runs in Daytona and Fontana in 2022. This year, the No. 21 Ford gimped to a 26th-place result. Burton begins Sunday 24th from Auto Club Speedway. Limited loop data shows that the driver never […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoCody Ware Not Ideal Option For Auto Club On Sunday
Cody Ware unexpectedly finished 14th last Sunday at Daytona. The Rick Ware Racing driver will start 11th partially as a result. Now, the problem for the No. 51 Ford is that his two previous appearances at Fontana ended poorly. Ware finished 32nd both times and the fear is he could slide back down the field […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoKevin Harvick In Good Position For Fontana Race
Kevin Harvick looked happy heading into this final NASCAR season. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver expects to race all 36 races in 2023. He begins Sunday in tenth at the Auto Club Speedway. Harvick's No. 4 Ford only led a couple of laps, but he managed an average finish of 8.0. Overall, the driver produces good […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoTodd Gilliland Expects Another Lesson At Auto Club
Todd Gilliland showed he could compete at the Daytona 500. Then, Daytona showed him a thing or two about being at the wrong place at the wrong time. A promising top-15 results turned into a 27th instead (started 14th). If there is any solace, Gilliland and his Front Row Motorsports Ford starts 25th this week […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoNoah Gragson Could Stay Near Middle On Sunday
Noah Gragson mostly stayed out of trouble at Daytona. The Legacy Motor Club driver started 22nd and ended up in 24th behind a solid ride. Gragson's Chevy was not the fastest but certainly not slow. The No. 42 car begins 20th this week. Young drivers take their lumps and the 24-year old will get a […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoA.J. Allmendinger Looks To Continue Daytona Success
A.J. Allmendinger showed an ability to stay out of trouble last Sunday. Despite a few near misses, the Kaulig Racing driver wound up sixth at Daytona. That was after starting 29th. One of the concerns with Allmendinger is that he starts sixth at Fontana this week. Can he race with the top intermediate track drivers? […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoMartin Truex Jr. Trying To Turn Clock Back At Fontana
While Martin Truex Jr. produced another solid result at Daytona, that was not good enough for the Joe Gibbs Racing driver. Truex Jr. ended up 15th despite getting to the front a couple times on Sunday (13 laps led). Late in the race proved more challenging. The same happened at Fontana last season. What did […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoBubba Wallace Could Step Up At Fontana
Bubba Wallace showed late run speed at Fontana last year. Unlike most Toyota cars early, the 23XI Racing driver moved up as he picked off cars one by one. That resulted in a +15 place differential (34th to 19th). This year, Wallace starts 18th at Auto Club Speedway. The No. 23 car even slipped into […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoAric Almirola Solid DFS Choice At Fontana
Aric Almirola likes to race at Auto Club Speedway. His last two races at Fontana have been successful. The Stewart-Haas driver has an average finishing position of 7.0 which is third best among active drivers. Almirola even started 31st last year (17th this year). The No. 10 car steamed up the field before settling in […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoRicky Stenhouse Jr. May Slide Back At Fontana
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. stunned the NASCAR world by winning the Daytona 500 last week. He led the lap that counted at the time the race stopped. When the switch flipped, Stenhouse and his JTG Daugherty Racing car were number one. This week, the No. 47 Chevy figures to have a more challenging time at Fontana. […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoAustin Cindric Begins From Middle Of The Pack Sunday
Austin Cindric does not get the luxury of starting from the pole like last year at Fontana on Sunday. The Team Penske driver begins 19th this time around. Last year, the No. 2 Ford was able to parlay that top spot into a 12th-place finish. What did Cindric learn from last year? That is an […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoRyan Preece Bit Of An Unknown For Auto Club
Ryan Preece raced twice at Auto Club for JTG Daugherty Racing with two very nondescript results (23rd and 30th). He did not finish on the lead lap either time. Now, Preece starts 27th on Sunday in the Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. The No. 41 car got collected in one of the late crashes at Daytona last […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoAustin Dillon Intriguing Wildcard At Fontana
Austin Dillon did not lead a single lap at Fontana in 2022 but managed to leap all the way up to second after 200 laps. Dillon and his Richard Childress Racing car began that race in 16th. This time around, the No. 3 finds himself 28th for Sunday's race at Auto Club Speedway. Dillon has […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoJustin Haley Shows Potential At Auto Club
Justin Haley showed something at Fontana in 2022. Disregard his 32nd place finish at Daytona for Kaulig Racing. The No. 31 Chevy expects to be reasonably fast in the cooler conditions on Sunday afternoon. That +12 place differential last season caught many eyes as Haley improved in the later portions of the race. A 29th-place […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoB.J. McLeod Not Expected Much Out Of At Fontana
On the bright side, B.J. McLeod did finish the Daytona 500. The bad news is he ended with a 30th-place result. The Live Fast Motorsports driver carried little speed throughout last week and basically limped in eight laps down. Last year, McLeod managed to end up on the lead lap but wound up 22nd. That […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoChase Briscoe Begins 31st On Sunday At Auto Club
Chase Briscoe likely wants to forget the Daytona 500 last week as he ended up 35th after being collected by one of the later race wrecks. The rain aids the Stewart-Haas Racing driver somewhat on Sunday. He starts 31st with his No. 14 Ford and did enjoy some success on the track last year at […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoChase Elliott Part Of Stack The Back Strategy At Fontana
Chase Elliott almost lucks out in a sense at Fontana for Sunday. He begins the race 33rd as a result of Hendrick's mostly poor showing at Daytona last week. The No. 9 car did lead 12 laps on the track last year and finished fourth in 2020. A quirky stat is that Elliott started 31st […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoTy Dillon Might Struggle To Gain Places At Fontana
Ty Dillon will start the Pala Casino 400 from Auto Club 36th out of the 36 cars entered. In five races at Fontana, the best Dillon has finished was 17th. Place improvement has been minimal for the Spire Motorsports driver. With qualifying washed out, NASCAR used their metric which weighs driver performance along with fast […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoAaron Rai Looks To Improve Putting At Honda Classic
Aaron Rai has not had the greatest start to 2023. Worse, the English golfer has not cracked the top 25 since the Houston Open in November. Results are gradually improving against some odds though. Rai did end up tied for 29th at the Genesis thanks to a 69-68 weekend. That masked a difficult opening 36 […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoRussell Knox Trying To Turn 2023 Around
Russell Knox has gotten off to rough starts the last two tournaments, which caused him to miss both cuts. Even the three events in which he made the cut, the Scottish golfer then proceeded to struggle during the final round (71, 71 and 73). Knox did almost win the tournament in 2014, losing in a […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoDenny McCarthy Could Be One To Check Out
Denny McCarthy could be a golfer to watch this week at the Honda Classic. McCarthy finished tied for third two years ago. That ability to make some putts can elevate the potential. The American golfer made 22 birdies at Pebble Beach which did lead the field. That is part of the reason why McCarthy ranks […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoSepp Straka Improving Early For Honda Classic
Sepp Straka has only played twice on the PGA Tour in 2023, but has looked pretty solid so far. He kept things level at The Genesis shooting -1 for the four rounds. It was not great but the Austrian golfer did not blow up either. He could improve getting off the tee where he ranks […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoDavis Riley Searching For Answers At Honda Classic
Davis Riley has not hit rock bottom, but the past several weeks have been difficult. The American golfer missed the cut again at Phoenix. This marked his third tournament of missing the final rounds. Riley never got below par en route to a plus-five finish after 36 holes. While he ranks 24th in approaching the […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoMark Hubbard Trying To Repair Game At Honda Classic
Mark Hubbard has endured an ugly stretch of golf. The American golfer has missed the cut six times in his last eight tournaments (add in a DQ in Houston). When so little is going right, the simplest thing may be to keep playing. Hubbard does that this week in Florida at the Honda Classic. The […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoAlex Bowman Gets Top-Five Finish After Starting On Pole
Alex Bowman found his way into the top five late at Daytona on Sunday evening. The Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver took his No. 48 car and kept driving his race. Bowman led 12 laps in all on Sunday. It was a hell of a finish as Bowman's previous best at the Daytona 500 was 11th. […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoChris Buescher Ends Up Fourth At Daytona
For Chris Buescher, it was not a bad result despite being in contention most of the afternoon. The RFK Racing driver expected to be in the top-ten and fourth was a bonus. However, Buescher would have liked to have been three places higher. He led 32 laps in all and wound up racking up some […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoChristopher Bell Finishes As Best Toyota In Third
Christopher Bell was just behind Joey Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. He started the race in fifth for Joe Gibbs Racing. However, the best Bell could do on Sunday was third. Bell led 20 laps in all and managed 44 points from the race. It was a much better start than last year or the […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoJoey Logano Almost Wins The Daytona 500
Joey Logano and his Team Penske car have to wonder what might have been. Logano started third on Sunday at Daytona. He surfed up and down the field a few times. After Lap 188, he got nearly turned, and some thought that may be it. However, the No. 22 car fought its way into a […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoRicky Stenhouse Jr. Snaps Long Drought And Wins Daytona 500
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. snapped his 199-race winless streak in grand fashion on Sunday evening. The JTG Daugherty Racing survived when a caution hit at the perfect time. On lap 212, Stenhouse Jr. and his No. 47 Chevy were in the lead. The win was his first Daytona 500 triumph as he lead ten laps. Considering […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoTravis Pastrana At The Back For Daytona 500
Travis Pastrana impressed the NASCAR faithful and even some drivers on Wednesday by qualifying a respectable 25th. He even finished ahead of Denny Hamlin (26th). The 23XI Racing driver admitted he was nervous. Now, that showed a bit in the 60-lap Duel on Thursday night. Pastrana got in a wreck late and was not able […]
Chris Wassel 2 years ago