Articles
Chase Elliott Has Subpar Qualifying Effort Friday
Chase Elliott did not have the best qualifying lap on Friday, ending up a mere 23rd. The silver lining is that the Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver keeps improving on this type of track. The 0.533-mile course kind of suits Elliott's swashbuckling style of driving. The last few years have been interesting. Elliott won an All-Star […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoKyle Busch On The Outside Looking In At Bristol
Kyle Busch and his Joe Gibbs Racing car are on the outside looking in at Bristol on Saturday night. He starts 21st which is not the greatest but far from fatal. The younger Busch has shown the ability to advance through fields on short tracks with ease. Overall, he is the only active driver with […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoTyler Reddick Under Heavy Stress At Bristol
Tyler Reddick has been here before at Bristol. There was the dirt race that everyone talks about. Reddick was on his way to a win before Chase Briscoe torpedoed his checkered-flag aspirations. The Richard Childress Racing driver is right on the cutoff line. Well, he's a couple of points above it, technically. Somewhat fortunately, Austin […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoWilliam Byron On Cruise Control For Bristol
William Byron has racked up good results with a stage win and extra stage points in the playoff chase so far. The Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver is now 48 points above the cutoff to advance. Barring some catastrophe of epic proportions, Byron will be in the Round of 12. With Texas, Talladega, and the ROVAL […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoJoey Logano Begins 15th At Bristol Motor Speedway
Joey Logano and his Team Penske Ford qualified 15th for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Saturday night. Logano has a solid average finish of 12.4 at Bristol. The No.22 car is third among active drivers in terms of short track results over the past three years and yet has not won a race. […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoBubba Wallace Looks To Keep On Rolling At Bristol
Bubba Wallace had been rolling along and then the 23Xi Racing driver found a way to win last week at Kansas. To be fair, the Kurt Busch No. 45 car had been excellent at Kansas this year. First, it was testing, then qualifying, and then on Sunday afternoon. Wallace has been great in this ownership […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoRoss Chastain Still Marked At Bristol
Ross Chastain still races the way he is used to. That makes him a marked man as the TrackHouse Racing driver begins 12th at Bristol on Saturday night. The No. 1 Chevy has shown a knack for just being at the front at the right time. Chastain has had his issues at Bristol, particularly on […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoBrad Keselowski Rounds Out Top 10 At Bristol
Brad Keselowski will start the Bass Pro Shops Night Race from the 10th position on Saturday night. The RFK Racing driver has a role in this NASCAR Playoff Chase. Keselowski has led 13.5% of the laps in his past five appearances. That goes along with a win, two top-fives and three top-10 results. Keselowski is […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoAustin Cindric On The Bubble For Bristol
So, Austin Cindric is on the bubble as Bristol looms Saturday night. The good news is that Cindric will start ninth in his Team Penske Ford. The not so good news is that quite a few drivers are eyeing that 12th position which Cindric holds currently. The driver is among seven Ford's who qualified in […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoChristopher Bell Has Advanced In NASCAR Playoffs
Christopher Bell has been racking up points on the stages in the NASCAR Playoff Chase. Because of that and some nice finishes, Bell is locked into the "Round Of 12" already without even winning a race. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver will start a solid eighth on Saturday night. Like Denny Hamlin, Bell and his […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoKevin Harvick Likely Needs Win To Stay In Playoffs
Two DNF's have put Kevin Harvick in an extremely bad bind. The Stewart-Haas Ford will start seventh on Saturday night from the Bass Pro Shops Night Race. Simply, the No. 4 car stands dead last in the chase a full 35 points behind the 12th place cutoff. There are plenty of mathematical theories to advance […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoRyan Blaney Has Work To Do At Bristol
Ryan Blaney and his Team Penske car have been pretty solid. The No. 12 Ford stands fifth in the playoff chase and 36 points above the cut line. Blaney will now start sixth at Bristol. The bigger question is can Blaney win this week on the short track? He has led 10.5% of the laps […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoKyle Larson Excels At Leading Laps At Bristol
Kyle Larson leads all active drivers when it comes to led laps percentage at Bristol Motor Speedway (15.8%). The Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver has two top-ten results in his three races over the past three years. That includes the win last September where the No. 5 Chevy led a race-high 175 laps in all. Other […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoDenny Hamlin Wants To Win Saturday At Bristol
Denny Hamlin keeps rolling along in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. The No. 11 car ended up fourth in qualifying on Friday as Hamlin is almost a lock to advance to the Round of 12. Behind consecutive second-place results, Hamlin is even a bit of a threat at Bristol. The driver has an average finish […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoAlex Bowman Fast Around Bristol Track Friday
Alex Bowman and his Hendrick Motorsports Racing car were quite agile on Friday in practice and in qualifying. Overall, Bowman and his No. 48 Chevy ended up third with a lap just under 15 seconds. Though Bowman is below 15th in average finish at Bristol, he is sixth in the playoff chase -- 30 points […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoChase Briscoe Starts Outside Row 1 At Bristol
Chase Briscoe needs all the help he can get as the Stewart-Haas Racing driver is now nine points away from 12th place in the NASCAR Playoff Chase standings. It helps that he is qualified second for the Bristol race on Saturday. However, he likely needs a top-ten result or better. Briscoe's Ford finished 13th on […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoAric Almirola Grabs Pole At Bristol
Aric Almirola snagged the pole at Bristol Motor Speedway for the Bass Pro Shops Night Race on Saturday night. Almirola got around the 0.533-mile track in just 14.946 seconds. The one thing about the 500-lap race at Bristol is it goes by extremely fast. Almirola and the Ford's were quite fast on the high-banked turns. […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoDenny Hamlin Up For A Challenge At Kansas
Denny Hamlin qualified nearly 3/4 of a second off the pace for the Kansas race on Sunday. That put him into 25th position. Hamlin is fortunate to have a 30-point cushion early in the playoff chase but has some solid results to fall back on at the intermediate track. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has […]
Chris Wassel 2 years agoChase 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 ago