2 years agoSaturday nights are meant for racing and Joey Logano knows this well. The Team Penske driver hopes to snag win number three on the season at Daytona. He begins third and unlike previous years with "restrictor plate" racing, the Next-Gen car is a bit different. Keep the car on the track is more of a mantra. Given the amount of cautions in the shorter Xfinity race Friday night, that will be even more of a priority. Logano has fared below the top 12 active drivers on superspeedways like Daytona but has four straight top-six results including a third at Watkins Glen last week.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoChase Elliott gets a nice boost starting second for Saturday's Coke Zero Sugar 400 from Daytona. The Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver got nudged off line narrowly by Kyle Larson just missing out on a win at Watkins Glen. The good news is that he still finished fourth. Elliott has produced points consistently all year with just one DNF. That is impressive given the volatility of the Next-Gen Car. The No. 9 car is good at Daytona with an average finish of 13.0 the last three years. That includes four top-tens and two top-fives in that seven race span. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoKyle Larson wins the pole for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday night without practice or qualifying. Thunderstorms washed out the ability to do much of anything on Friday. Based on a formula that placed emphasis on last week's race results, Hendrick Motorsports benefitted quite well. The 1st, 2nd, and 10th place cars are all from the team. Larson will try to win from the pole at Daytona. After his win last week, the No. 5 car is second in points just 134 behind Chase Elliott. That is in spite of five DNF's. With Daytona's propensity for double-digit cautions a possibility, Larson will have to be a little careful. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoKyle Busch had the only Toyota to qualify for the last round of qualifying. He ended up tenth suffering from engine issues which seemed to be a theme. Toyota had just two cars in the top-20 (Ty Gibbs - 16th). The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has had a "hard as hell" year and the lack of a good car on road courses has not helped. It is no secret that Toyota keeps having issues not with their build but with something in their engines. What that is remains a mystery. Until that is solved, the younger Busch will have a difficult time staying anywhere near the front at Watkins Glen. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoDaniel Suarez got to the final round of qualifying and looked like his TrackHouse Racing car could wind up in the top five. That did not materialize as Suarez fell more than a second off the pace of Kyle Larson. Suarez's No. 99 car started slow and never truly recovered bleeding time on every turn. His times started to look like Ross Chastain's at one point leading to speculation that the TrackHouse cars would be going to the garage for some rear adjustments. Suarez has looked better lately on the road and the Next-Gen car helps level his chances.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoAustin Cindric faded a little later in his qualifying lap on Saturday as he lost even more time compared to Chris Buescher. The Team Penske driver and his No. 2 car dropped six to seven tenths of a second over the final four turns. It felt like he was a little late particularly in turns 10 and 11. On the bright side, there were times for adjustments and Cindric did hint that some were made later on Saturday. He does have five top-tens in his last seven races on the road. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoFor now, we will still call him Chris Buescher (sorry Dale Jr.). That being said, the Ford driver begins seventh but did drop about a half second on the second half of his qualifying lap Saturday. That was a bit disappointing because it looked like he might end up on Row 1 at first. Buescher has qualified around 20th or so previously. Now, what does he do with the extra boost in positioning? The fact that he inched up a few spots the two previous appearances bodes well. It may mean the No. 17 can stay around the front a bit longer on the 2.454-mile course.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoOne of the real wild cards for the race at Watkins Glen may just be AJ Allmendinger. The No. 16 Chevy driver from Kaulig Racing starts sixth and again the racers from the top six positions often have the best chance to win over the past decade or so at The Glen. That said, Allmendinger has had some bad luck on the road courses this year. Is it the Next-Gen car or just other bumpers? Either way, some car issues have also plagued Allmendinger this year as well. From blown tires to engine problems, Allmendinger could win the race or flame err spin out. One never knows. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoTyler Reddick has won two road courses this year. He finished tenth in his only appearance at Watkins Glen last year. With a faster race car on courses with left and right turns, Reddick has been even more formidable. He won at Indianapolis while leading 38 laps. Reddick is capable of holding most anyone off on the road and he might have to on Sunday. The Richard Childress Racing driver has just become better and better on road courses. Watch how he turns and gains tenths of a second each lap late in stages and races. That could serve him well later today.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoPutting aside what happened later on Saturday, William Byron's No. 24 looked great in qualifying for Watkins Glen. He will start fourth for the Go Bowling at The Glen and could be a major factor in a race in what feels like months. The Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver does have four top-12 results in his last five races. However, this is in stark contrast to last year where Byron was "Mr. Top Ten" with 14 in a 15 race span. Aside from Indy, Byron showed good patience and could be part of the Chevy contingent that contends for victory. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoMichael McDowell with the Next-Gen car on road courses has been surprisingly good. Lately, he has run well at quite a few tracks. McDowell and his Front Row Motorsports car surprised the field and pundits by qualifying third for the Go Bowling at The Glen. McDowell was a bit slow in the practice session some eight tenths of a second back of Kyle Larson. However, he turned it up on the qualifying lap when it counted. McDowell's car did appear to get slower after four or five laps so it will be interesting to see how he maintains speed later in runs. It does seem a top-ten result is plausible.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoKyle Larson's car looked as fast as it has in months on Saturday as he qualified second for the Go Bowling at The Glen. His 70.516 second lap probably would have been good enough for the pole if not for Elliott. It was quite the day for Hendrick Motorsports as the top three cars would go 1st, 2nd, and 4th in qualifying. Their practice runs were quite good as well. If they just employ some good pit strategy, Larson may just have a shot at his fourth road win in his past 15 road appearances. The No. 5 car might not be as fast as the No. 9 but all it takes is one mistake. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoChase Elliott found a way to nab another pole at Watkins Glen on Saturday. It was not all great but Elliott and his Hendrick Motorsports racing car edged Kyle Larson by 0.039 seconds to start from the top spot on Sunday. When one thinks about it, on road courses, it is those top five or six sports where one wants to start. Elliott has not won once on four road tracks this year but still has won in six of his past 16 appearances on courses with left and right hand turns. He has a win and a second in his last two Watkins Glen appearances while leading 44.4% of the laps. Starting from the front gives him quite the chance for a win.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoGranted, the Finnish Formula 1 driver will start 27th on Sunday but his TrackHouse Racing car may afford him the ability to move up some positions at the very least. His No. 91 Chevy showed some flashes of speed in practice and though he was 20th there, enough adjustments could be made to get his lap times closer to Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez. Is there a second to be had in that car? The answer is possibly yes. It will not get him into the top ten but from a place differential standpoint, Raikkonen may be worth a look on Sunday.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoThis was probably not how Ryan Blaney drew it up for Sunday. He starts 26th at "The Glen". The No. 12 Ford just could not accelerate properly out of most of the turns. One could see Blaney just kept bleeding time. His practice laps were not that much better. Now, 1.25 MPH slower does not sound like a lot but that was the difference between 17th and 1st in that practice session. Things only got worse when Blaney tried to qualify. Hopefully, adjustments can be made because Blaney ideally wants to win one of the last two races for The Chase. It is looking like Daytona may be the better bet. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com