J.J. Yeley Too Slow to Be a Solid Underdog Play

Despite never being a very successful driver in NASCAR, J.J. Yeley has had a surprisingly long career in the NASCAR Cup Series and it has continued this year with the underfunded and wildly off the pace New York Racing Team. How far off the pace? He qualified 40th and last for today's Talladega race and […]

Daniel Suarez Unlikely to Repeat Atlanta Triumph at Talladega

Daniel Suarez was pretty lucky to advance to the playoffs while his teammate Ross Chastain didn't even though Chastain has arguably outrun Suarez even worse this year than in 2022 and 2023, so it shouldn't be surprising that Suarez now sits 14 points below the cutline and is unlikely to advance to the Round of […]

Spire Motorsports Too Far Off the Pace for Zane Smith to Contend

Zane Smith has definitely had a significant uptick in performance in the second half of 2024, particularly as he sees tracks a second time, although this is overstated to some extent as he is usually finishing better than he is running of late and that is not necessarily sustainable. However, all three Spire cars were […]

Ryan Preece Will Probably Be an Afterthought at Talladega

Ryan Preece qualified 18th for what might be his last NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega. Although he is in a Ford and the Fords have had a significant speed advantage, the Stewart-Haas Fords have been nowhere near as fast as the Penske-affiliated Fords and it seems likely the team will be focused on trying […]

Michael McDowell Consistently Fails to Get Finishes After Drafting Track Poles

Michael McDowell's qualifying dominance on drafting tracks continued as he won the pole for this afternoon's YellaWood 500 at Talladega, his fifth straight pole on this track type and sixth this season, the most of any driver. However, he has struggled to maintain his position in those races as his average finish after winning the […]

Despite Inconsistent Record, Joey Logano a Likely Favorite at Talladega

Joey Logano qualified 6th for this afternoon's Talladega race and sits four points above the playoff cutline in a tie with Chase Elliott. Although he has not run very well at most tracks this season relative to his usual standard, he has been very strong on drafting tracks as he led the most laps at […]

Erik Jones's Season Struggles Will Probably Override Talladega Record

Erik Jones's season has been one to forget after suffering a fractured vertebra in the spring race at Talladega when his teammate John Hunter Nemechek triggered a multi-car crash. Despite looking like a playoff contender as recently as 2022, Jones has not led a lap this season nor has he finished in the top ten […]

Ty Gibbs Might Overcome Joe Gibbs Racing's Questionable Drafting Track Speed

Although Ty Gibbs was eliminated from the playoffs, he can still salvage his season with a win at Talladega, but the Joe Gibbs Racing cars have been slower than you'd expect on drafting tracks lately. Although his teammates Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin have been two of this season's most dominant drivers, three out of […]

Chase Elliott Should Finish Well at Talladega Without Seriously Contending

Chase Elliott starts 11th at Talladega and enters the race in a tie with Joey Logano four points above the playoff cutline to reach the Round of 8. Elliott has consistently had speed at Talladega from the beginning as he won the pole for his first race there and won there twice in 2019 and […]

Ross Chastain Looks to Become First Back-to-Back Winner in Over a Year

After winning at Kansas, Ross Chastain looks to become the first back-to-back NASCAR Cup Series winner since Chris Buescher over a year ago at Talladega today. Although he only starts 27th, Chastain has been strong at drafting tracks in the past as he won the spring 2022 Talladega race, but that was mostly because Erik […]

Harrison Burton Looks to Repeat Improbable Daytona Victory

After improbably winning the summer Daytona race in August, Harrison Burton looks to duplicate that performance at Talladega. Since his Wood Brothers car is prepared by Team Penske and Penske and its satellites have been dominating on drafting tracks all season, there is a slight possibility that Burton could win again and his 9th place […]

Stewart-Haas Racing Likely Not Fast Enough for Chase Briscoe to Advance

After his dismal run at Kansas last week, Chase Briscoe is probably doomed in terms of making into the Round of 8 on speed as he sits 25 points below the cutline and qualified 36th, worst of all the Ford drivers on a track type where Fords tend to dominate both in qualifying and in […]

Kaulig Racing Has Some Speed, but Probably Not Enough for A.J. Allmendinger to Contend

Although Kaulig Racing has not had much speed on most tracks other than road courses this year with any driver in either the NASCAR Cup Series or the Xfinity Series, they have been decent on the drafting tracks in both series as A.J. Allmendinger did finish 6th in the Daytona 500 where he made a […]

Daniel Suarez Comes Back From Lap Down To Finish 13th At Kansas

Although Daniel Suarez was not very fast at Kansas, he salvaged a 13th place finish. Despite starting 10th, he plummeted through the field in Stage 1 and actually got lapped before receiving the free pass on the first stage caution. Although he only ranked 19th in speed and 17th in average running position and as […]

Loose Wheel Spoils Joey Logano's Potential Top-Five Run At Kansas

Although Joey Logano hasn't had the best season this year and has been well off his teammate Ryan Blaney's pace, he had a better run than usual on a non-drafting superspeedway on Sunday at Kansas, as he ran no worse than sixth before having to pit again due to a loose wheel. Although he still […]

Denny Hamlin Recovers From Three Botched Pit Stops To Finish Eighth At Kansas

Although Denny Hamlin finished eighth at Kansas, the same position where he started, that box score does not properly convey the topsy-turvy ride he took to attain that result. Hamlin seemed to have the fastest car at times and ranked fourth overall in speed, but was repeatedly let down by his pit crew with three […]

Austin Cindric Likely Out Of Playoff Contention After Kansas Crash

Austin Cindric probably took himself out of playoff contention on Sunday at Kansas when he spun out after making side-by-side contact with Kyle Busch's car, which resulted in Cindric finishing 34th and scoring a mere seven points, fewer than any other playoff contender. The situation could have been even worse if he hadn't scored points […]

Chase Briscoe Unlikely To Advance To Round Of 8 After Mediocre Kansas Run

Intermediate tracks have recently been Chase Briscoe's Achilles heel, and Sunday's Kansas race was no exception. Although Briscoe unexpectedly qualified ninth, he did not have the speed of a playoff contender per usual on intermediates, as he finished 24th, had an average running position of 23rd, and only ranked 26th in speed. His race was […]

Daniel Suarez Has Lacked Consistent Speed, but Qualified 10th at Kansas

Despite a nearly comatose summer stretch, Daniel Suarez had a significant uptick in performance in the past couple months until his dismal Bristol Night Race run cratered his momentum. Nonetheless, it was not enough for him to fall out of the Round of 12 and now he seems to be back on track again as […]

John Hunter Nemechek's Kansas Record Not as Good as It Looks

Although John Hunter Nemechek only qualified 31st for today's Kansas race, he does have a better finishing record there than at most other tracks. His average finish of 16.3 at Kansas is better than his average finish at any other non-drafting oval and he has also won two NASCAR Xfinity Series races and one NASCAR […]

Switch to Rick Ware Racing May Better Suit Corey LaJoie's Style

Corey LaJoie makes his debut with Rick Ware Racing starting 27th in this afternoon's Kansas race after Spire Motorsports traded him for Justin Haley. While the mainstream NASCAR fanbase is completely done with LaJoie and seems unhappy that he hasn't been reduced to stacking burgers, don't be surprised if he actually improves. The Ware cars […]

Erik Jones Scores Best Qualifying Run Since Talladega Injury

Erik Jones has had an extremely forgettable season as he sits a miserable 29th in points with 0 laps led, but Kansas may provide Jones with one of his best opportunities to turn that around. His 16th-place qualifying run is actually his best since his injury at Talladega. It seems like a combination of his […]

Jimmie Johnson Still Unable to Capture His Old Speed

Jimmie Johnson qualified 35th for today's Kansas race. Although he thrice won there in days of yore, he has not been remotely competitive since his return to the NASCAR Cup Series in the Next Gen era as his best finish is 28th and his best average running position is 19th. He did run the Kansas […]

Daniel Hemric Replaced by Ty Dillon for 2025, but Outqualified Him at Kansas

Daniel Hemric was replaced by Ty Dillon at Kaulig Racing for 2025 yesterday with Hemric's No. 31 team turning into Dillon's No. 10 team for next year. Hemric's firing is understandable since he has been the second-slowest full-time driver this year. While Dillon won't likely do any better, his hiring may attract greater support from […]

Engine Issue in Qualifying Forces Chase Elliott to Start Last at Kansas

Chase Elliott qualified 38th and last for today's Kansas race after believing that he lost a cylinder during his qualifying run. This necessitated an engine change, but he loses nothing from that since he was going to have to start last anyway. Despite the weak qualifying run, Elliott likely won't have many issues getting a […]

Ty Dillon Replacing Daniel Hemric Next Year, but Shouldn't Contend at Kansas

Although Ty Dillon has been disappointing throughout his entire NASCAR Cup Series career to date, his connections to Chevrolet and Richard Childress have given him considerable longevity. This will continue in 2025 now that Dillon has been announced to replace Daniel Hemric at Kaulig Racing in 2025, with Hemric's No. 31 team becoming Dillon's No. […]

Austin Cindric's Playoff Run May End at Kansas After Ten Playoff Drivers Outqualified Him

Austin Cindric's improbable Cinderella story will likely grind to a halt in the Round of 12 even though his two best track types (drafting tracks and road courses) are both represented in this round. Cindric qualified a mere 17th for today's race at Kansas behind all the remaining playoff-eligible drivers except for Chase Elliott who […]

Kansas May Be Kyle Busch's Last Great Shot to Extend Winning Seasons Streak

Although Kyle Busch missed the playoffs for the first time since 2012, a win may partially salvage his season like it did for Chris Buescher at Watkins Glen. Today's Kansas race may provide Busch with his best opportunity for a win in a while as his 3rd-place qualifying run is one of his best this […]

Harrison Burton Qualified Amidst a Bevy of Fords, but Likely Won't Contend

Harrison Burton qualified 28th for what may be his last NASCAR Cup Series start as a full-time driver at Kansas. Although he qualified on par with most of the other non-Penske Fords with Chris Buescher and Brad Keselowski starting on the row in front of him, he has not been particularly good there as he […]

Chase Briscoe's Momentum Continues as Stewart-Haas Racing Places All Focus on Him

Chase Briscoe qualified 9th for this afternoon's Kansas race, marking his best qualifying position ever at the track. Flat intermediates have tended to be Briscoe's weakest track type and he tends to run mid-pack in most Kansas races as his finishes range from 13th to 32nd and he has never led a lap at the […]