2 years agoChase Briscoe will be starting in 15th place at Sonoma Raceway on Sunday. Briscoe falls off a little bit after getting the pole for last week's race at Gateway, not even qualifying in the top 10. Briscoe will aim for his second win of the season in the first Sonoma race since 2019. With stats of one win, three top-fives and four top-10s, Briscoe is ninth in the standings. If Briscoe wants to show that he can make a deep run in the playoffs, he needs to start being more consistent, and it can begin on Sunday with a good finish at Sonoma. Briscoe should be treated as a risky play in fantasy.--Maison MaerzSource: NASCAR

2 years agoKyle Busch and his Joe Gibbs Racing car begins Sunday 12th at Sonoma Raceway. The younger Busch has come close the past two races at the California track. He finished in the top-five on both occasions. The No. 18 car has led 2.7% of the laps as well. Can his Toyota maintain speed without the carousel? That will be a question for a lot of the Toyota drivers on Sunday. It remains to be seen if Busch can keep up with Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoKurt Busch beat out his younger brother Kyle in qualifying for Sunday's race at Sonoma. That is the good news. The bad news is that the elder Busch just missed out on the final qualifying round. He will begin Sunday from the inside of Row Six. Busch started 30th last year and wound up sixth. The 23XI Racing driver shows a unique composure on road courses and could gradually gain track position as the race goes on. One would not be surprised if the No. 45 driver ends up close to a top-five result. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoDenny Hamlin finished last from the top ten qualifiers in the final round on Saturday afternoon. Hamlin and his Joe Gibbs Racing car finished 0.736 seconds behind Kyle Larson and almost a quarter of a second behind Joey Logano (ninth place). The No. 11 Toyota has a top-five and a near top-five in his last two results at Sonoma. He led 3.3 % of the laps. Now, the question is can Hamlin and his Toyota keep up with the Next-Gen Chevy's on the road course? That answer remains unknown. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoJoey Logano and his No. 22 Ford got around the road course at Sonoma a half second slower than Kyle Larson on Saturday afternoon. That was good for the ninth spot on Sunday. Logano won last week as his second win of 2022 got him within 40 points of Chase Elliott for the overall points lead. Logano has led 2.7% of the laps in his last two appearances at Sonoma. However, he has not won a road race in 13 straight races dating back to 2019. Logano has come close with four top-five finishes, however.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoThe TrackHouse Racing cars were indeed quite quick on Saturday afternoon. Ross Chastain will be on the inside of Row 4 and Daniel Suarez will be on the outside. Suarez was just 0.011 seconds behind his teammate in qualifying. The Sonoma track may be a bit of a challenge for the No. 99 car but there is little denying Suarez enjoyed some of his best speed intervals. Suarez with an average finish of 14.5 the last two appearances at Sonoma could nudge into the top-ten with a faster Next-Gen car on Sunday.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoRoss Chastain keeps getting closer and closer to the points lead. He stands in third place just 17 points behind Chase Elliott. It will be a tall order for Chastain to finish ahead of Elliott on Sunday but Chastain did find a way to win at COTA for his first win of the season. Aside from the watermelon smash, the TrackHouse Racing driver has been fast, almost too fast, when it comes to the day of the race. Can Chastain channel that single chute speed and carry that momentum to some easier passes? That's a huge question. It will determine his fortunes on Sunday.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoCole Custer put together a solid lap on Saturday afternoon as the Stewart-Haas Racing driver qualified sixth for the Toyota/Save Mart 350. Custer's No. 41 Ford got around the track in 78.07 seconds (0.294 behind the pole-sitter Kyle Larson). Custer has shown some good speed the past few races. It will come down to the finish. Can the Ford's run well late? That was an issue last year as the two Chevy's ran away with the race in the final laps. Custer will be one to watch from a DFS standpoint to see if he can maintain track position.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoTyler Reddick did not seem that fast at first but the Chevy finished 0.245 seconds behind Kyle Larson. That was good enough for fifth place in qualifying. The No. 8 car driving for Richard Childress Racing has been fast in the Next-Gen setup all season. On road courses, Reddick has been improving. In his last ten road races, Reddick has finished in the top-ten five times with two top-five results. It does feel like the young driver is getting closer and closer on these road courses. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoMichael McDowell did not have the best practice session but managed to put one good lap together when it counted. At 0.165 seconds behind Kyle Larson, the No. 34 Ford will start from the outside of Row Two (fourth spot) on Sunday. Does the Front Row Motorsports driver lose speed as the laps mount early? That is very possible. Lap intervals were more than a second off from some of the fastest cars in practice earlier on Saturday. That could be a concern. McDowell may not be a good recommend for DFS as he could lose some track position. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoChris Buescher and his No. 17 Ford car got around the Sonoma Raceway track just 0.162 seconds off the time of Kyle Larson on Saturday. That placed Buescher in third behind the two Hendrick cars (Elliott) for Sunday's race. Qualifying at Sonoma was dominated by Chevy and Ford with the first nine spots taken by one manufacturer or the other. Buescher was faster than Larson and Elliott initially but lost a little speed near the chute and towards the end of his qualifying lap. The RFK Racing driver does not have a top-ten here but he was faster in speed intervals this time around. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoChase Elliott drove his No. 9 almost to the pole position on Saturday afternoon. He came up just 0.023 seconds shy of the lap time from Kyle Larson. The Hendrick Motorsports racer has won six of the last 13 road races including ten results in the top ten. His average finish of 6.8 since 2019 is better than any other active racer when it comes to tracks involving left and right turns. The one benefit for Elliott is the single chute. It may help Elliott carry the speed needed as he was faster than Larson in that stretch. Carrying that extra speed may help the No. 9 in passing on Sunday.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoKyle Larson and this Sonoma Raceway are like synergy. Larson won the pole again on Saturday afternoon finishing 0.023 seconds ahead of Chase Elliott. It is not a surprise how fast the two Hendrick Motorsports racers were on Saturday. Larson won and led a bunch of laps last year. In his last two appearances, the #5 driver has led 31.3% of the laps. The race is only 110 laps and is on the shorter course with just the single chute (1.949 miles). That will limit laps led but if Larson can stay ahead, this might be a repeat of last year. Simply, the race may come down to pit strategies and tires. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoAric Almirola will be starting in eighth place on Sunday at Gateway Raceway. A good finish at Gateway will put Almirola in a great spot to gain on 16th-placed Tyler Reddick, who holds the last playoff spot. Almirola is only eight points behind and sits in 17th place in the standings. His stats are zero wins, one top-five and four top-10 finishes this year. If Almirola can steal a win at Gateway, he will be in a great position to steal a playoff spot. Almirola will be nothing more than a risky option for fantasy managers, however.--Maison Maerz

2 years agoJoey Logano will be starting in seventh place on Sunday at Gateway Raceway. Logano has been having an up-and-down season with an average finish of 15th place. With stats of one win, four top-fives and six top-10 finishes, it puts Logano in sixth place in the standings. Hopefully, Logano can have some luck on his side when it comes to Gateway, with this being the first race in the NASCAR season since 2010. A win on Sunday will show everyone that Logano has not lost a step and should contend for the championship. Logano should be worth a look on Sunday.--Maison Maerz