Articles
Chase Elliott Begins Back Outside Top 20 Sunday
Chase Elliott qualified just 22nd for Sunday's race at Kansas. It does appear the Hendrick Motorsports Racing car has some good late speed on this 1.5-mile intermediate track. Elliott has an average finish of 8.6 and four top-five results in his last seven races. It does appear the No. 9 car is getting better and […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoKyle Busch Could Be Decent DFS Possibility Sunday
Kyle Busch starts 20th on Sunday in the Joe Gibbs Racing car. The No. 18 has much speculation to his future but the present is simpler. Busch is 11th in the playoff chase currently and very much on the bubble so to speak. He qualified nearly six tenths of a second off the pole run […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoDaniel Suarez Bit Of A Wildcard At Kansas
Could Daniel Suarez slip a bit under the radar compared to his teammate Ross Chastain? The TrackHouse Racing driver suffered in the Spring with a number of issues that knocked him down to 33rd. However, he did finish 15th and 11th respectively last year. Every so often, the No. 99 has shown some signs of […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoKevin Harvick Expects To Bounce Back From Darlington
Kevin Harvick and his Stewart-Haas Racing Ford qualified 14th for the Hollywood Casino 400 on Sunday. Harvick and Kansas are quite synonymous with consistency. He has five top-ten results and the highest average finish (6.9) among all active drivers. Harvick finished third in the race last Fall but the concern is his 15th in the […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoAustin Dillon Needs Good Result At Kansas
Austin Dillon needs a good result at Kansas on Sunday. The Richard Childress Racing Chevy starts in 11th position just 0.152 seconds off the pole position time of Tyler Reddick. Dillon has a couple of top ten results on the 1.5-mile intermediate track. The No. 3 car has been oddly consistent at Kansas in his […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoWilliam Byron Steady In Qualifying And Practice
The best news for William Byron is how steady he is typically at Kansas. The Hendrick Motorsports Racing car has five top-tens in his last seven appearances. He even has managed to lead 6.2% of the laps in spite of just one top-five result. The No. 24 Chevy finished 0.281 seconds behind Tyler Reddick in […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoAustin Cindric Intriguing Possibility At Kansas
Austin Cindric and his Team Penske teammate Joey Logano appear in a good position for Sunday's race. Cindric begins Kansas in eighth position. The rookie has had some year in NASCAR. He made the playoff chase, won Daytona, and has proven to be not just a one-race wonder. The No. 2 Ford was in the […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoKyle Larson Primed For Kansas Success On Sunday
Kyle Larson begins seventh at Kansas while leading the most laps over the past three seasons (a 26% rate). That includes a win with several top-ten results. The Hendricks Motorsports Racing car ended up a couple of tenths of a second slower than teammate Alex Bowman. However, that concerns Larson and his pit crew very […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoBubba Wallace Flourishes In Kurt Busch Car At Kansas
Bubba Wallace and the No. 45 car combined forces to end up sixth in qualifying on Saturday for the Kansas race. Wallace results plus Busch's car makes for interesting bedfellows so to speak. The Busch car had two top tens in its last four races at Kansas. It does seem to be the better car […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoRoss Chastain Enjoys Good Qualifying Run For Kansas
Ross Chastain's race problems aside hid the fact that the Chevy enjoyed a good qualifying run on Saturday. Chastain begins fifth for Sunday's race at Kansas just 0.167 seconds off from Tyler Reddick's time. The TrackHouse Racing driver does not quite have the track record at Kansas that some of the qualifiers around him possess. […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoChristopher Bell Consistent At Kansas On Saturday
Christopher Bell and his Joe Gibbs Racing car will start the Hollywood Casino 400 in fourth place on Sunday. Bell has three top-tens in his five appearances on the track. He even sprinkled in a top-five as well. The No. 20 car has the long-run speed to contend but has not truly ended up in […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoAlex Bowman Surprises Some In Qualifying For Sunday
Alex Bowman turned out to be the fastest Hendrick Motorsports Racing car on Saturday in qualifying. He was quicker than Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott even. Bowman ended up in the final round and will start the Hollywood Casino 400 third. Normally, the No. 48 is the fourth best when it comes to results but […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoJoey Logano Outside Row 1 For Hollywood Casino 400
Joey Logano and Team Penske enjoy this Kansas track. Now, it appears the weather should cooperate this afternoon as temperatures cool into the 70's. Logano won the Spring race after a half dozen pretty mediocre results (average finish 15.9 in last seven races). It is clear with the Next-Gen car that the No. 22 has […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoTyler Reddick Steals The Pole For Sunday's Race
Tyler Reddick and his Richard Childress Racing car stole some thunder for Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400. That's right. Reddick took the pole by the slimmest of margins over Joey Logano. It appeared like Logano might have a chance but Reddick was fastest in the turns and ended up 0.037 seconds quicker. Reddick's No. 8 Chevy […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoKevin Harvick Always One To Watch At Darlington
Kevin Harvick is one of those drivers to watch out for at Darlington. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver can be a threat to win. He has won twice over the past seven appearances. Furthermore, Harvick and his No. 4 Ford have an average finish of 3.4 over that span which includes all seven races in the […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoAlex Bowman Hoping For Better Luck At Darlington
Alex Bowman has been struggling a bit for Hendrick Motorsports Racing of late. He starts 16th on Sunday at Darlington. Though he has won twice on intermediate tracks since 2019, Bowman has had his issues. The No. 48 Chevy did place second two Springs ago while leading 41 laps. That feels like a lifetime ago […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoErik Jones Hopes Past Success Helps At Darlington
Erik Jones did not make the playoff chase but did qualify 15th on Sunday at Darlington. Jones and his No. 43 Chevy have enjoyed past success on the track. He has four top-ten results in his previous seven appearances. That includes a win in 2019. Though his past three races have been far from incident […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoAustin Dillon Looks To Build Off Daytona Momentum
Now that Austin Dillon is in the NASCAR playoff chase, what can the Richard Childress Racing driver do next? All it takes is that one win and Dillon waited till the last possible minute. By winning at Daytona, Dillon sets up reasonable well in the first three segments of the playoffs. Naturally, it will not […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoRoss Chastain A Marked Man Heading To Darlington
Ross Chastain will start 12th at Darlington on Sunday evening. The No. 1 Chevy was just 0.046 seconds off the top lap set by Joey Logano. Chastain and his TrackHouse Racing car has been one of the more polarizing figures this season. He gets a bit of a marked man reputation and he has caused […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoDenny Hamlin In Solid Position For Darlington
Denny Hamlin has been here before. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver won last year at Darlington for his first win of the season. He led 146 laps of the 367 in total and even won Stage 1 while placing fourth after Stage 2. The No. 11 car was very quick in early qualifying. Though he […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoMichael McDowell Rounds Out Top Ten For Qualifying
Michael McDowell's car was particularly slow in turns three and four at Darlington during the final round of qualifying. He finished tenth nearly three tenths of a second off Joey Logano's pole lap. The No. 34 Front Row Motorsports does not have the best history here but the lower wear Next-Gen car could be some […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoRyan Blaney Needs An Early "Big" Playoff Chase Result
Ryan Blaney and his Team Penske Ford need to send a statement of sorts on Sunday. He begins ninth after qualifying. Blaney and his No. 12 car finished 0.266 seconds behind Joey Logano. He traditionally starts well at Darlington with an average start of 7.6. Unfortunately, his finishes leave a bit to be desired. Blaney […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoBubba Wallace Begins Eighth At Darlington
Bubba Wallace will be driving Kurt Busch's No. 45 car for 23XI Racing during the final ten races. It was a decision made so that the team could compete for the Owners Championship. The elder Busch had already waived his spot out of the playoff chase. Anyway, Wallace turned in some fast laps as he […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoKyle Larson Hopes Xfinity Result Buoys Playoff Start
Kyle Larson did not win the Xfinity race on Saturday but his podium finish and racing turned some heads once more. He qualified seventh for this race at Darlington. Larson normally is one of the best intermediate track drivers out there with five wins in his last 27 starts. Only Denny Hamlin has a better […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoAustin Cindric A Bit Of A Wildcard At Darlington
Austin Cindric and his Team Penske car qualified sixth for the Cook Out Southern 500. With most mindful that overtime is pretty rare for this event (last time in 2014). Cindric and his Ford will be looking at that long run near the end. After some good practice where his car maintained top ten speed […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoKyle Busch Starts Playoff Chase Fifth At Darlington
Kyle Busch and his Joe Gibbs Racing car turned in a nice qualifying performance on Saturday. As a result, his No. 18 starts fifth for the Cook Out Southern 500. Busch led 19 laps of the Spring race before an accident ended his race. He had been in the top-five after Stage 1. Before two […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoTyler Reddick Looks To Get Off To Good Playoff Start
Tyler Reddick and his Richard Childress Racing car has strategic points of strength in every segment of this year's playoff chase. Darlington may not be the best of tracks but Reddick did his Chevy into the fourth spot starting Sunday's Cook Out Southern 500. The No. 8 car has just two top-tens in his last […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoWilliam Byron Starts In Third On Sunday At Darlington
William Byron leads Hendrick Motorsports Racing into Sunday's race at Darlington Raceway. Byron will start third after finishing a mere 0.058 seconds off the pole. The really odd thing here is that Hendrick has not won a race here in three years. Team Penske has one win and Stewart-Haas has the other two. That does […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoChristopher Bell Leads Toyota Into Cook Out Southern 500
Christopher Bell lead the Toyota cars in qualifying by making the final round with a time just 0.009 seconds off the pole set from Joey Logano. Now, the question is can the No. 20 car from Joe Gibbs run well at Darlington? Joe Gibbs Racing cars have won a series-leading four times since 2019 on […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoJoey Logano Snags Pole For Cook Out Southern 500
Joey Logano and his Team Penske car snagged the pole position for Sunday evening's race at Darlington. Logano won the Spring race in may while leading 107 laps. Could this be a bit of deja-vu? Anything is possible and the Ford was quite fast in qualifying and in practice laps. The only concern may be […]
Chris Wassel 2 years ago