1 month agoDenny Hamlin is just five points from the fourth spot and has a chance to win the NASCAR Championship. He starts Sunday's Xfinity 500 from the 11th position. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has led 13.3% of the laps over the past seven races. However, he has just three results of fifth or better. The spring in the Next-Gen car was a disaster, as Hamlin started 25th and finished 28th. Hamlin's big concern is that "the speed is not there." It needs to be this week. There is little margin for error for the No. 11 car as he tries to fend off the likes of Ryan Blaney and William Byron.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

1 month agoRoss Chastain qualified ninth on Saturday for Sunday's Xfinity 500 at Martinsville. The TrackHouse Racing driver is two spots behind his teammate Daniel Suarez. That could prove to be useful on Sunday afternoon. Chastain can get help from Suarez as the No. 1 driver tries to protect his 19-point lead on the bubble err fourth position. Chastain guided his Chevy to a fifth-place result in the Spring. Conditions will not quite be similar but it could get dreary. That may be a help in his hopes to race for the Cup next week at Phoenix. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

1 month agoRyan Blaney and his Team Penske racing car starts the Xfinity 500 from outside of Row 2. Blaney has not won a race this season and that is well documented. However, his consistency has befallen him in this third segment. The No. 12 Ford is currently 18 points from the fourth spot. Blaney will need a little help and another top-five result. He has five of those in his last seven Martinsville races. The only driver with more top-tens at the short track is his teammate, Joey Logano. Blaney finished fourth in the Spring with a seventh and fourth in the stages. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

1 month agoChase Briscoe qualified third on Saturday as he got around the Martinsville track in 19.721 seconds (same time as Chase Elliott). Briscoe is one of only three drivers who broke 96 mph during the qualifying laps. Unlike a driver like Elliott who has led 474 laps in his last two attempts at Martinsville, Briscoe has not led one. He did improve with late speed in April turning a 19th place start into a 9th place finish. Briscoe is in the same position at Christopher Bell. The only way he makes it to the "Final Four" is by winning at Martinsville on Sunday.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

1 month agoChase Elliott has to be happy being up front for the Martinsville race on Sunday. The Xfinity 500 has been a good event for the No. 9 Chevy driver. Elliott won two years ago on the way to winning his only NASCAR Cup Championship. Late issues and a spin may have derailed his hopes to win the past two times on the short 0.526-mile track but Elliott racked up maximum stage points by sweeping the stages. Gaining those points along with a good chance at finishing around the top-10 should be enough for the Hendrick Motorsports driver to chase for a second title at Phoenix. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

1 month agoKyle Larson is probably wondering what might have been. The Hendrick Motorsports Racing driver won the pole for the Xfinity 500 on Sunday afternoon. Larson has never won at Martinsville as he tends to not finish what he starts. Last year, several different issues dropped him from the pole down to 14th. He led 77 laps early and finished second after Stage 1. Sadly Larson faded after that. This seems to be a pattern that continued with the Next-Gen car in the Spring. Larson dropped quickly out of the top 10 then and had to settle for a 19th. It will be intriguing to see if Larson can have an incident-free race.--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 months agoTy Gibbs and the Joe Gibbs Racing team did well this weekend as the order for the first six spots went like this. Chevy, Toyota, Chevy, Toyota, Chevy, and Toyota was the pattern. Can Gibbs turn a nice qualifying lap into a contending finish? Could Gibbs even manage to finish say fourth or fifth? Anything is possible this week at Homestead. Most forget that this race was last held in February of 2021. Track conditions should be a bit different on Sunday. That could suit the young Gibbs. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 months agoRoss Chastain will have some work to do on Sunday. The TrackHouse Racing driver begins the Dixie Vodka 400 from the 20th position. The No. 1 Chevy does have the luxury of an 18-point cushion in the playoff standings. However, the other contenders are ahead of him qualifying-wise this week. His Chevy does seem to respond on longer runs when it comes to intermediate tracks. Chastain must negotiate through the field without crashing into anybody. With the Bubba Wallace suspension, Chastain will be safe from any previous potential for retaliation. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 months agoChase Briscoe may begin just 19th on Sunday at Homestead but could easily move up the track. Briscoe likes the 1.5-mile track and did win in an Xfinity car. The No. 14 Ford was faster in practice runs and that may be a harbinger of things to come. Briscoe stands nine points from the cutoff, err Denny Hamlin, in the chase to get to Phoenix. Do not be surprised if Briscoe exceeds expectations on Sunday. Briscoe races well on high-wear tires especially at intermediate courses. This week is no exception. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 months agoJoey Logano took it a bit easy around Homestead on Saturday and will start Sunday's Dixie Vodka 400 from the 17th position. The No. 22 Ford driver has already sealed his spot at Phoenix with a win last week at Las Vegas. Logano has five wins on intermediate tracks in his last 43 races. However, Homestead has been more of a challenge. Little of that matters as Logano is basically trying not to wreck his Team Penske car at this point. Sure, he would like to win at Homestead this week or even Martinsville next week. However, Logano has to drive in a rhythm. That is it. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 months agoDenny Hamlin felt something during the week like his car just was not that fast. He was right. Hamlin did not advance to the last round of qualifying. As a result, the No. 11 driver will begin 14th. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver stands squarely on the bubble through one race of the third segment. Hamlin has won the race before in 2020. He led both stages as well. That is the kind of dominating performance needed but the Next-Gen car may not be willing. It will be something to see how Hamlin rides later in runs. Maybe, he can find the speed then. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 months agoRyan Blaney and most of the Ford cars were just a little bit slower in the earlier rounds of qualifying on Saturday. It cost Blaney a bit as he will start 13th for the Dixie Vodka 400 on Sunday. Blaney did not have the greatest race last week and stands 11 points out of fourth place. With Team Penske teammate Joey Logano advancing to Phoenix already, does Logano try to "help" Blaney a bit on Sunday? The No. 12 Ford has led 8.7% of the laps since 2019. Blaney may not need much help at all. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 months agoTyler Reddick did not enjoy the benefit of qualifying at Homestead because of COVID. Despite that, Reddick wound up finishing third not once, but twice. Now that he starts seventh on Sunday, can he win the race? It is a valid question. The No. 8 Chevy has enjoyed Homestead and his tires have tended to last better than his competitors. Reddick may even lead some more laps starting closer to the front. His late speed in practice intervals could bode well for Sunday. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 months agoKyle Larson starts fifth for the race at Homestead on Sunday. The 1.5-mile course with some high tire wear has been kind to Larson. For the most part, the No. 5 car has done quite well. He has four top five results in his previous six appearances. He even led more than 100 laps twice in that span. Last year, Larson finished fourth but only led five laps. It will be intriguing to see how he does in the Next-Gen car. Chevy's tended to run better in these scenarios as the laps ticked off. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com

2 months agoThe Toyota cars were quick around the corners again on Saturday as John H. Nemechek turned in the fourth fastest qualifying lap in the final group. Nemechek is racing in place of Bubba Wallace. Wallace was suspended for this week's Dixie Vodka 400 after his incident with Kyle Larson last week. Nemechek is an interesting driver. He will be driving the 45 and is a true wildcard for the race. Xfinity experience is one thing but the top level is the top level. It will be interesting to see how he performs on Sunday. --Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com