2 years agoWilliam 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 surprise a few pundits even. This is a type of track Byron should be able to run well on. The key for Byron and his pit crew is not to beat themselves. That has happened on several tracks this season.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoChristopher 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 the 1.366-mile track. Bell has had some success at the track "too tough to tame". He finished sixth in May and had been running in the top six both times in 2021 before the dreaded unscheduled pit stops derailed his races. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoJoey 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 that longer race segment at the end. Logano did lose a couple of tenths of a second to the other top drivers. That may be nothing but a minor adjustment to be made, however. Logano comes into the playoff chase on track where he has four top ten finishes and a good handling of the 25-28 degree banking. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoRyan Blaney still has not won a race this season. It seems hard to believe but the Team Penske driver has done everything but win. That being said, the No. 12 Ford starts 16th which is not an issue. Blaney does have three top-fives, four top-tens, and a win in his last seven Daytona appearances. That win came last summer on the 2.5-mile track where Blaney came from sixth after Stage 2 and charged his way to glory. Simply, if Blaney stays ahead or tied with Martin Truex Jr. in points, that very likely is enough to clinch a playoff spot. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoAustin Cindric has experienced the highest of highs at Daytona as he won the Daytona 500 this year. He runs very well on the 2.5-mile track. In 2021, he was running close to the front before an accident ruined his day. Cindric still finished 15th after starting 39th. However, the Team Penske driver has never raced in the summer at Daytona on the highest level. There is no playoff bubble for the Ford driver to worry about and starting 14th will not impact him much. If anything, he should be able to move up the field. His late speed at the 500 could translate well (led 21 laps) on Saturday night. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoMartin Truex Jr. (starts 13th) got a bit of a boost when Kurt Busch was announced that he would be out of the playoffs. However, that race is far from over as Daytona beckons for the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing driver. If there are no new winners, Truex Jr. clinches a playoff spot. If he wins, he obviously clinches a spot. There are a series of tie-breaking scenarios that hopefully do not come to fruition. Truex Jr. finished fourth here two years ago at the summer race and was 1st after the first two stages of the Daytona 500 this year. One could say there is a chance Truex Jr. could get in the playoffs on points alone. Maybe. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoRoss Chastain did not have to qualify at Daytona this weekend and that probably helps. The TrackHouse Racing driver has had some issues lately. The No. 1 driver's last top ten was an eighth at New Hampshire. Since then, it has been a mix of DNF's, car issues, and worse. He does tend to like the superspeedway despite that early wreck at the Daytona 500. After all, he won at Talladega and finished twice in second at Atlanta. This is a year where stacking the middle might be more strategic but expect a wild time with Chastain on Saturday night. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoErik Jones probably did not want to see Daytona on the schedule now. He finished 29th at the Daytona 500 to start the season and often has run into some bad luck with car issues and wrecks on the 2.5-mile track. The Petty GMS Motorsports driver is right on the bad side of the bubble (17th) going into the race. Simply, he needs a win and Jones is in. Ironically, Jones has won on two of the crazier courses in NASCAR (2019 at Darlington and 2018 at yes, Daytona). That latter win feels like a lifetime ago with the Next-Gen car, however. Jones is another driver who might fall back. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoAlex Bowman does have two top tens in his last seven races at Daytona. However, more often than not, it has been a bit of a struggle. The Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver has had some issues lately. The No. 48 car has not cracked the top five since way back at Dover. His last top ten was at Michigan (Charlotte before that). It has been an odd season for Bowman but another concern is this year at Daytona. He started off 1st at the Duel and second for the Daytona 500. He failed to finish in the top ten both times. Bowman could be one that falls back position wise. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoMichael McDowell's greatest moment of triumph was on this very track. He won the 2021 Daytona 500 by leading the lap that mattered. However, the Front Row Motorsports driver does tend to perform well on the 2.5-mile course. He did finish seventh in this year's Daytona 500. That goes along with top-tens at Darlington and Talladega. This is something not easy to do given the 10+ cautions averaged on each of those tracks. McDowell tends to avoid carnage on the courses with the most carnage. He still needs a win to make the playoffs as well. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoChris, or Christopher, Buescher has one last shot at Daytona to make the playoffs. This goes for several drivers obviously. However, Buescher will begin eighth on Saturday night with a bit of success historically on courses like this superspeedway. The RFK Racing driver is in better form too with three top-tens in his last four races. Is it too late? Maybe. However, all it takes is one win to make the playoffs. Atlanta does not correlate perfectly to Daytona but he did race to that Duel 2 win at Daytona way back at the start of the season. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoKevin Harvick and his Stewart-Haas Racing Ford went from missing the playoffs to two wins in the span of a couple weeks. The No. 4 car will be inside Row 4 for the Coke Sugar Zero 400 (seventh). Harvick managed to stay around the top-ten recently at Atlanta which could help some at Daytona. Though Harvick and 2.5-mile courses have been a mixed bag lately (just two top tens in last seven at Daytona), he has managed to lead 3.1% of the laps on the Florida course since 2019. It is not much but Harvick will not miss the playoffs trying to chase down a spot this year. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoTyler Reddick has been great on road courses lately but the Richard Childress Racing driver has been less so elsewhere. He has the two wins at Indianapolis and Road America plus a seventh at Watkins Glen. However, a spattering of outside top-20 results on courses with only right turns is a little concerning. Other than the second at Pocono, the No. 8 Chevy has struggled some on 2.5-mile tracks. Keeping the car on course will be a priority for Reddick this week as he gets ready for the playoff chase from the sixth position at Daytona.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoChristopher Bell has been one of the most consistent drivers from Joe Gibbs Racing all season. On Saturday night, he starts the Coke Zero Sugar 400 from the fifth position. Bell and his No. 20 car have just one win on the season but 14 top-ten results along with seven top-fives. Bell has five top-12 results in his last six races including a win at New Hampshire. He did have some bad luck at Daytona earlier in the season but his sixth at Darlington raised some eyebrows. Do not count out the Toyota driver so quickly. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoDaniel Suarez, and not Ross Chastain, will be the highest placed TrackHouse Racing driver to start the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday night. Suarez and his No. 99 car will start fourth based on a NASCAR formula that emphasized recent results. Qualifying just was never in the cards after waves of thunderstorms on Friday. Saturday's uncertain weather conditions could play havoc as well. However, Suarez is well prepared. He bounced back after a few off races to deliver a fifth at "The Glen" last week. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com