About Chris Wassel
Erik Jones A Good Possibility At Bristol
Erik Jones has nearly won the race at Bristol several times. The No. 20 car just has it when it comes to the short track. The 2017 race where he led 260 laps is still talked about today as he just barely missed out on a win. Last season, Jones finished fifth and third on... Read More
Daniel Suarez Could Surprise At Bristol Again
Daniel Suarez likes the short tracks but particularly Bristol. Before car issues snuffed his effort out last summer, Suarez was in the top-15 once more on the short track. He finished in the top 20 in every single race prior. Expect that trend to continue on Saturday. Suarez starts in 21st but should move up... Read More
Austin Dillon Not An Optimal Choice At Bristol
Austin Dillon just missed out on the playoff chase and now starts 18th at Bristol on Saturday night. Despite not leading a single lap, Dillon has fared well on the 0.533-mile course with seven top-15 results in his previous nine races. It is odd how consistent he has been at Bristol without leading one lap.... Read More
Ross Chastain Making Nice Push In Time For Bristol
Ross Chastain did not race at Bristol in 2020 and his limited history in a slower car makes those results almost irrelevant. He has raced great at Darlington and Richmond with third and seventh place results. If not for the crash at Daytona, Chastain would have finished in the top ten for three straight races.... Read More
Michael McDowell A Shaky Option At Bristol
Michael McDowell did finish 14th and 10th at Bristol in 2020. In three of the prior four races, he wrecked himself right out of contention. That is kind of the pattern with McDowell. The No. 34 car does well at Daytona and a few select tracks. Outside of that, though, it is often a battle... Read More
Kurt Busch Squarely On The Brink At Bristol
Kurt Busch is tied for 12th in playoff points heading into Saturday night's race at Bristol. There is no pressure at all other than Busch has been here the last two years before this. In his last five races at Bristol, the elder Busch does have a win and five top-15 results. He won the... Read More
William Byron In Real Trouble At Bristol
William Byron may be that one driver who just gets into trouble early in the playoff chase and never quite climbs out. This is the third year where he is up against it. Last year, he did not get to the Round of 12. Bristol does not help matters this year. The Hendrick Motorsports Racing... Read More
Tyler Reddick A Coin Flip At Bristol
Tyler Reddick has two races on the big stage at Bristol. In the first race he crashed out but in the second one, Reddick contended and finished fourth. That was the summer Bristol race as well. The Richard Childress Racing driver is currently 14th in the playoff chase and needs help to advance along with... Read More
Aric Almirola On The Bubble As Bristol Looms
Aric Almirola is just a few points ahead of Kurt Busch and Alex Bowman as Bristol beckons on Saturday night. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver finished fifth the last time this race was held on a non-dirt surface. Almirola must stay out of trouble. In two of the last four races, he did not. As a... Read More
Alex Bowman Has A Chance For Bristol Success
Alex Bowman is right around the Round of 12 bubble. He needs a very good result to avoid elimination. The crazy thing is Bowman has never led a lap on the Bristol track when it has been an asphalt course. Yet, there is something about this third race of the playoff chase that makes one... Read More
Brad Keselowski Not An Easy Choice At Bristol
Brad Keselowski won last year at Bristol and has led 40 or more laps in five of his last six races there. The summer race in 2020 was a mess as Keselowski sustained damage from a couple of wrecks and never was a factor. When his car is good, the Team Penske driver performs pretty... Read More
Kyle Busch Needs To Finish Well At Bristol
Kyle Busch is a bit up against it. Only a handful of points separate tenth (where he is) from 14th in the Chase. The ninth-place finish at Richmond helped but he likely needs another top-ten to seal advancing into the Round of 12. The No. 18 car is more than capable of that result. The... Read More
Kevin Harvick Excels On Bristol Track
Every drive has some mixed-bag results at Bristol, and Kevin Harvick knows that quite well. That being said, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver did take the checkered flag last summer on the track, and he led 226 laps to boot. The No. 4 car has the ability to get on a roll at the 0.533-mile course,... Read More
Ryan Blaney May Struggle At Bristol
There is a little cause for concern when it comes to Ryan Blaney at Bristol on Saturday night. For one, his last three races on the track have been shaky to say the least. The odd part is the race he crashed out, the Team Penske driver was running the best he ever had. As... Read More
Christopher Bell A Long Shot On Bristol Asphalt
Christopher Bell in a better car setup could be an intriguing storyline on Saturday, as he did finish ninth in the first race at Bristol last year. There is not a ton of history to go on, but the Joe Gibbs Racing driver did finish third at Richmond last week and could enjoy a good... Read More
Kyle Larson Can Contend At Bristol
Kyle Larson has little to race for as he has already advanced to the Round of 12 in the NASCAR playoff chase. However, the Hendricks Motorsports Racing driver is wired differently compared to most racers. He wants to win and in any way possible. That was on full display two weeks ago at Darlington and... Read More
Chase Elliott A Lap-Leader At Bristol?
The one thing Chase Elliott can definitely do well at Bristol is lead some laps. He has led 23 or more laps in each of his past five appearances on the track (asphalt version). Four of those five times, the Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver has finished in the top ten. He has ended up on... Read More
Joey Logano An Intriguing Possibility At Bristol
Joey Logano, like Denny Hamlin, could lead a lot of laps at Bristol. He could win or he could falter quickly. That is the nature of the beast with the short 0.533-mile track. Laps are typically 15 seconds or less. Things happen quickly. Logano has three top-ten finishes over his last six appearances at the... Read More
Denny Hamlin A Mixed Bag At Bristol Of Late
Denny Hamlin has quite the race sheet when it comes to Bristol. There is a chance he could win the race or finish out of the top-15 with ease. Last year, he led 131 laps in the early race but car problems knocked him down to 17th. The summer race featured even worse car trouble... Read More
Martin Truex Jr. Somewhat Risky At Bristol
Martin Truex Jr. starts from the pole on Saturday night at the Bass Pro Shops Night Race from Bristol. The expectation is that he will not lead all that many laps. Aside from the dirt race, Truex Jr. has not finished in the top ten on the track since an eighth in 2017. There have... Read More
Greyson Sigg Might Surprise Some At Fortinet Championship
Greyson Sigg graduated from the Korn Ferry Tour and won the Albertsons Boise Open several weeks back. Yes, Sigg did struggle some during the Tour Championship where he missed the cut. However, the overall body of work was very good for the golfer all season. Sigg won twice and finished in the top five in... Read More
Lanto Griffin Unlikely To Be A Major Player
Lanto Griffin has struggled to make putts and put together runs in 2021. He shot 10-under or better in just three tournaments all year, and two of those were in January. In too many weeks, Griffin missed cuts because he just could not play consistently enough. His overall putting when it comes to strokes gained... Read More
Brendan Steele Looking To Find His Game
Brendan Steele has struggled mightily, and that is being kind. His last top finish was at the Zurich Open in April, and that was five months ago. Since then, it has been a struggle just to make the cut, and Steele even missed four cuts in five tournaments at one point. He did not finish... Read More
Harry Higgs A Good DFS Option At Fortinet Championship
Harry Higgs averages 4.06 birdies a round. That was good for 33rd on tour in 2021 as the New Jersey native could make things interesting if his putter continues to work. His last three appearances have brought his putting up to 56th on tour. If Higgs can drive the ball somewhat straight, he really could... Read More
Talor Gooch Could Bounce Back At Fortinet Championship
Talor Gooch did not have a good FedEx Cup playoffs, as the final three tournaments resulted in him finishing outside the top 30. He even missed the cut at the Wyndham Championship. He can make birdies, though, averaging 3.8,which was good for 75th on tour. There are weekends where Gooch can make four to six... Read More
Chez Reavie A Dangerous Option At Fortinet Championship
Chez Reavie did not have a good spring, and his FedEx Cup playoff was cut short when he missed the top 30 after The Northern Trust. It was a trying year for Reavie, who missed the cut in seven straight tournaments. Putting is usually Reavie's biggest problem, as he ranks 177th in strokes gained at... Read More
Charley Hoffman Has A Chance At Fortinet Championship
Charley Hoffman did play a bit better over the final two tournaments of the FedEx Cup. After a four-tournament run that culminated in the American golfer missing the cut at The Open Championship, Hoffman rebounded. He finished 21st and 38th, after ties. His overall strokes gained of 1.194 ranked 17th on tour. Furthermore, he does... Read More
Harold Varner III Carries Intrigue At Fortinet Championship
Harold Varner III will garner some intrigue and some DFS ownership this week at the Fortinet Championship. He finished tied for 11th and tied for 12th during the last two tournaments of the FedEx Cup run. He closed well at the BMW Championship with a red-hot 65 on Sunday. His game has been more consistent... Read More
Cameron Tringale A Bit Dicey For Fortinet Championship
Cameron Tringale started at the BMW Championship and finished with bad results at the previous two tournaments in the FedEx Cup playoffs. Stumbling out of the blocks, Tringale never really recovered and finished way behind the leaders at just five-under. He is an average driver off the tee, so the shorter course this week should... Read More
Webb Simpson Looks Poised To Contend At Fortinet Championship
The Fortinet Championship takes place at the Silverado North Golf Course this weekend, and Webb Simpson expects to be among the contenders. A couple of weeks ago at the FedEx Cup finale, Simpson shot 66-66 over the weekend to nearly sneak into the top 10 (tied for 12th). This is a par-72 course at just... Read More