2 years agoIt was mostly a nightmare once again for the Toyota cars as Martin Truex Jr. will start 25th on Sunday. The Joe Gibbs Racing car just could not generate enough lap speed to do well in qualifying. This felt like a familiar refrain with the Next-Gen car. Road courses and Toyota have mostly not been kind all season. Kyle Busch starts 10th and Ty Gibbs begins 16th. After that, the starting positions for Toyota are 22nd, 23rd, 25th, and 38th. This tends not to be good and bodes poorly for the race at "The Glen" Sunday.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoJoey Logano led a ton of laps and just could not win last week. This week, he begins way back in 20th for Watkins Glen. The twist is the Team Penske driver may be better off. Logano has finished in the top-ten in eight of the past 16 road races he has entered. While the No. 22 has not won any of those races, he has come close several times. The one concern is Watkins Glen where he finished 22nd and 23rd the past two attempts. Maybe the Next-Gen will be kinder to Logano. At the very least, it's a coin flip for him to wind up in the top-ten. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoRoss Chastain fell back a bit and wound up qualifying 18th for Sunday at Watkins Glen. That was a bit of a shock as Daniel Suarez easily made the top-ten (starting ninth). The TrackHouse Racing driver and his No. 1 car seemed just a little off in the later turns of the lap. That took away from his time as he lost several tenths of a second. Chastain did finish 12th in a slower Chip Ganassi setup last year and was in the top-ten for most of the second half of the race (sixth after Stage 2). He should move up the field but will it be too little too late to catch the Hendrick cars?--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoTy Gibbs qualified 16th despite the issues with the Toyota cars. Road courses and Toyota this year do not seem to get along. Gibbs and the 23XI Racing car was one of only two drivers to make the top-20. It was that kind of Saturday. Even Kyle Busch had engine issues along with Christopher Bell. The setup just seemed better than the engine again. Can it be fixed well enough tomorrow to get Gibbs a good finish? That remains unknown but Gibbs can drive pretty well when left and right turns are involved. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoBrad Keselowski did turn in a pretty solid lap on Saturday. That will get him in the top-15 to start the Go Bowling at The Glen. Now, how does his RFK Racing Ford do once the race starts is the question? He is not among the top third when it comes to average finish on the track or on road courses for that matter. Typically, the road is a struggle for Keselowski. Last year, he wound up 35th despite starting on the pole. A multitude of issues sacked his afternoon after he led nine laps early on. Those struggles could continue again Sunday.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoChase Briscoe starts from the 14th position on Sunday for the Go Bowling at The Glen. Briscoe and his Stewart-Haas Ford car finished ninth last year and was in the top five after the second stage. What will happen with the No. 14 this time around? Briscoe will have to find some of the speed he could not during practice. It may be there for the race. The driver will not have the luxury of moving up the field like he did last year (started 27th). However, he might be able to inch into the top ten.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoAustin Dillon and his Richard Childress Racing Chevy will start Sunday from the 12th position at Watkins Glen. Dillon and the No. 3 car have not had the best results on road courses like "The Glen" however. It will be interesting to see what kind of speed Dillon holds as the runs get longer on Sunday. He could slip back a bit which makes him a bit tougher to own from a DFS standpoint. Dillon did finish 15th last year and the chances he slides too far back is lower than usual. Contending to win may be different for the Chevy compared to just lurking around. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoAlex Bowman qualified in 11th on Saturday for Go Bowling at The Glen. Bowman has previously enjoyed a bit of road success on courses with left and right turns. He does have seven top-tens in his last 16 races with an average finish of 13.0. Considering the other Hendrick Motorsports Racing drivers are 1st, 2nd, and fourth, that makes Bowman's 11th mildly surprising. Then again, he may be the one driver to watch coming from further back on Sunday. It will be intriguing to see how his late-run speed plays into the race. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoThe Lakers will reportedly use the start of training camp as a "soft deadline" on a decision surrounding a Russell Westbrook move. While Westbrook's name continues to be involved in potential trade scenarios, Los Angeles may continue to be unwilling to package some of its coveted first-round future draft picks. As a result, there's a chance the multi-time All-Star will stay in L.A. for the 2022-23 campaign. However, the team could look to move him, especially with Westbrook ready to enter the final year of his current contract. A buyout is also still on the table. Despite getting older, he remains one of the most potent fantasy contributors, regardless of his decline in production last season. Westbrook's shooting percentages from deep aren't the best, something for category managers to consider, but he has rarely missed time throughout his career. That shouldn't change, no matter where he's playing come October, although his statistical contributions could improve on a new team away from LeBron James and Anthony Davis.--Dennis Clausen - RotoBallerSource: Jovan Buha

2 years agoKyle Busch has not been having the best season for Joe Gibbs Racing. Starting 29th on Sunday at Richmond is far from optimal. The younger Busch in the No. 18 car ran a long time on the track and even had 20,25, and 30 lap intervals. What that showed was his car did get faster as the laps ticked off. He was third quickest overall in practice but again that qualifying lap felt quite a bit slower. Busch was more than a half second off the pole lap of Kyle Larson. Could Busch make something like that up later in a race? Yes, he could. However, he will have built-in place differential from near the back of the pack Sunday.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoUnlike teammate Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott was far from pleased with his qualifying effort at Richmond on Saturday. Elliott and his No. 9 car will begin 23rd on Sunday from Richmond Raceway. The Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver does have two top-five results in his last six efforts at the short track. Those came in the 2020 and 2021 Fall races where Elliott showed improvement in the latter half of each race. Again, starting outside the top 20 is far from ideal but he is not the only surprise on the track for Sunday's race. Place differential could help his props at the very least for DFS purposes. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoChristopher Bell surprised many for the wrong reasons on Saturday when it came to qualifying at Richmond. Bell has thrived on the short track in his time at the top level. His average finish of 7.0 features three top-ten and two top-five results in just four races. So, when he wound up 21st in qualifying, that did turn a lot of heads. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver lost a ton of speed during his lap but funny enough was more consistent in intervals (24.0-24.4 seconds). It is possible his car will get faster later in runs which should allow him to move up position-wise on Sunday.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoChris Buescher begins 18th at Richmond on Sunday for the Federated Auto Parts 400. The RFK Racing driver did not fare as well. Brad Keselowski seemed to have similar speed in practice. Keselowski qualified sixth for what it is worth. The No. 17 Ford did end up in 15th during the Spring race. Add in a little bit more heat on the track and the thought process is that Buescher may be right around 15th again. His car seems to dictate that as the intervals get longer. If there are way more cautions than usual, Buescher could hang around.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoIf Joey Logano is going to end some of his struggles, Richmond might just be the track to do it at. The Team Penske driver has four top-five results in his last six races at Richmond Raceway. Logano has even led 6.1% of his laps with an average finish of 6.8. Considering he starts 17th on Sunday, the No. 22 car becomes an attractive choice for those looking at props such as top-ten finishes even top-five's perhaps. After a sixth at Indy and fourth at Michigan, Logano looks to be back in form after a month-long struggle. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 years agoChase Briscoe qualified 15th for the Federated Auto Parts 400 on Sunday at Richmond Raceway. Briscoe's Ford was quick in sectors on the 0.75-mile track but lost time in the final turn in qualifying. That seemed to impact his five and ten lap intervals as well. No one was sure what the problem was but it is something to watch. Briscoe, from Stewart-Haas Racing, does not have much historical success at Richmond but all year has proven naysayers wrong. He could contend anywhere as Briscoe has shown at Nashville, etc. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com