2 years agoRoad-course racer Joey Hand will be starting inside the top 10 on Sunday as he starts in ninth place at Road America. Hand has only had two races this season, and they've come at the only two road-course races at COTA and Sonoma. His best finish was 20th at Sonoma, and he looks to improve on that on Sunday. A win would most likely shock the whole NASCAR world. Hand is a Rick Ware driver, which would also make a finish inside the top 10 pretty crazy and shocking. Hand isn't worth a look, even though Sunday's race is at a road course.--Maison MaerzSource: NASCAR

2 years agoAlex Bowman will be starting in eighth place on Sunday at Road America. Bowman will be looking for an outstanding performance after he finished dead-last at the Nashville race last week. With stats of one win, three top-fives and nine top-10 finishes, Bowman sits in eighth place in the standings. If Bowman wants to make a deep run into the playoffs, he will need more consistent finishes to do that. In last season's Road America race, Bowman finished in 22nd place, which is not very promising, but we have some faith in him as a risk/reward play this Sunday.--Maison MaerzSource: NASCAR

2 years agoChris Buescher will be looking for another solid finish at a road course when he starts in seventh place on Sunday at Road America. In the last road-course race at Sonoma, Buescher finished in second place and had a great car. It will not shock anyone if Buescher is up front for most of the day. With zero wins, one top-five and four top-10 finishes, he is in 22nd in the standings. Buescher will need a win to make the playoffs, and he has a great shot on Sunday. Buescher will be a very risky play, but he should be a fun one.--Maison MaerzSource: NASCAR

2 years agoMichael McDowell will be starting in sixth place on Sunday at Road America. This is a must-win for McDowell, and he said in an interview during the rain delay that Road America is his best track. The former Daytona 500 has a great chance to win and make the playoffs on Sunday. With stats of zero wins, one top-five and six top-10 finishes, McDowell sits in 21st in the standings and he is 97 points back of the final playoff spot, which shows he needs a win to make the playoffs. It's go time for McDowell as he looks to make the playoffs again. McDowell is nothing more than a risky play on Sunday.--Maison MaerzSource: NASCAR

2 years agoAustin Cindric will be starting in fifth place on Sunday at Road America. Cindric is on a minor hot streak, as he has a top-five and a top-10 finish in his last two races, which was a nice turnaround after previous struggles. With stats of one win, two top-fives and four top-10 finishes, it puts Cindric in 10th place in the standings. It seems like this will be another strong performance from Cindric, as he comes from a background of road-course racing. You should never count Cindric out at a road course, so he should be worth a look on Sunday at Road America.--Maison MaerzSource: NASCAR

2 years agoTyler Reddick will face a must-win situation on Sunday as he starts in fourth place at Road America. Reddick is 52 points out of the last playoff spot, making it a steep hill to climb to make the playoffs. A win will lock him into the playoffs, however, and Reddick will be starting towards the front, so this could be his best chance in the remainder of the races. With stats of zero wins, four top-fives and six top-10 finishes, it puts Reddick in 18th place in the standings. If Reddick were to win, it would mean he would be in the playoffs while getting his first career win. Reddick will be an exciting play on Sunday.--Maison MaerzSource: NASCAR

2 years agoKyle Larson will be starting in the second row as he will be starting in third place on Sunday at Road America. On Saturday, Larson raced in the Xfinity Series, where he placed second, which shows he can be a dangerous car on Sunday. However, Larson is not having a great season compared to his 2021 campaign, when he finished the season with 10 wins. This season, Larson has stats of one win, seven top-fives and nine top-10 finishes. If Larson were able to win on Sunday, he is a driver that can build momentum and rip off a bunch of wins. Larson should be one of the favorites to win on Sunday.--Maison MaerzSource: NASCAR

2 years agoChase Briscoe will be starting on the front row in second place on Sunday at Road America. For the practice run for Road America, Briscoe was the fastest car, so it looks like he will be a contender to win at Road America. With stats of one win, three top-fives and four top-10 finishes, it puts Briscoe in 11th place in the standings. In NASCAR's last trip to Road America, Briscoe ripped off a top-10 finish with a sixth-place result last season. With past success at Road America, Briscoe will be looking to put it all together and get his second career win.--Maison MaerzSource: NASCAR

2 years agoFresh off a win at Nashville, Chase Elliott will be starting on the pole as he looks to go back-to-back on Sunday at Road America. After last week's win, Elliott has jumped into the top spot for the points lead with stats of two wins, four top-fives and 11 top-10 finishes. In the spring race at Road America, Elliott had a top-five placement with a fourth-place finish. It also helps that Elliott is one of the best on road courses. In his 21 road-course races, he has won seven of them, proving he could easily dominate on Sunday. Elliott should be the odds-on favorite to win at Road America.--Maison MaerzSource: NASCAR

2 years agoKevin Harvick, like William Byron, wound up a good ways further down the qualifying list than expected on Saturday. Byron begins Sunday 29th but Harvick starts 28th. The No. 4 Ford was looking to start a bit higher as the Stewart-Haas Racing driver does not have a win yet in 2022. He has four top-five and nine top-tens in 17 races. Again, he appears to be on the bubble playoff wise. Last year, this did not end well. This year, Harvick needs to find that long-run speed at some juncture. Can his pit crew adjust the car for Road America? He was seventh after Stage 2 last year before the problems hit so it is possible.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoA.J. Allmendinger comes in just outside the top-20 in his Kaulig Racing car. The No. 16 Chevy did seem to lose nearly a second in the middle turns of the Road America course. That was the difference on Saturday in qualifying. Can Kaulig and Allmendinger find that speed and adjust to those turns in particular on Sunday? That's a question mark. The hope is yes. The expectation is that Allmendinger moves up the field and could very well challenge for more than just a top-ten position. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoRyan Blaney and Team Penske had to expect a better qualifying run on Saturday but Blaney finished nearly a second behind Chase Elliott. That placed him just inside the top-20 but left the Ford with quite a hill to climb. Blaney has done everything but wins this year with six top-five results, nine top-tens, and is third overall in the standings. Blaney has four stage wins and nearly 400 laps led too. His Ford could gain later in the race but may need some help too. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoDaniel Suarez has one of the two road wins for TrackHouse Racing this year. That came at Sonoma. Now, the 4.048-mile course could be an aid for a driver like Suarez. His No. 99 Chevy could get faster as the race goes on. Some sectors saw Suarez as well as Chastain gain tenths of a second after ten laps. Keep in mind that this race is just 62 laps, however. Just a few caution flags could impact Suarez. He starts 17th and has to get on the throttle early. Otherwise, he may not make much headway when it comes to track position. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoIf one of these Toyota drivers can overcome the limits of the race car, it may just be Christopher Bell. Bell finished second last year at Road America. Though Bell qualifies just 16th, that means little come race day. The No. 20 car just needs to find a little more speed for Bell to use his road smarts to get a little ahead on the course as far as track position. Does Bell have the ability to lead laps? Now, that is a much taller task. Can he end up in the top ten? Absolutely. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoMartin Truex Jr. is another driver who laments the lack of speed and especially acceleration on road courses this season with the Next-Gen car. Toyota's, especially Truex Jr.'s seemed to be losing a quarter to a third of a second in sectors they did not last year. The No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing car will at least have two Toyota's to draft from early in the race. If the team can work together well enough, they could advance several spots early. The key is how many longer runs are there in this race. More of them hurts Truex Jr. Less of them favors the driver. It's that simple. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com