1 week agoHendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson received a starting position of 12th for this week's All-Star race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Larson, however, will have to drop to the rear for a driver change as substitute driver Kevin Harvick drove the No. 5 Chevrolet during practice and qualifying. In practice, Harvick was one of the slower drivers as he ranked as high as 14th in 30 consecutive lap averages, showcasing that the No. 5 car was fastest on the longer run. In last year's All-Star race at North Wilkesboro, Larson was the dominant driver leading 145 laps and winning. After 13 races completed in 2024, Larson has two wins, and six top-5 finishes, which is the most of all drivers so far and also includes Bristol, Richmond, and Martinsville. Although Larson will not have any track time with the car until the All-Star race himself and drop to the rear, he is still one to watch at NWB due to his short track success this year and dominant performance at the site last year.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
1 week agoMartin Truex Jr. will start eighth in this week's All-Star race at North Wilkesboro Speedway after qualifying. This is a better starting position for the driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota compared to last year at the site, when he started 12th. In last year's race at NWB, Truex placed 14th and finished one lap down. In 13 races completed this season so far, Truex has seven top-10 finishes, the second-best average finish of all drivers (10.2), and has led in eight different Cup events. In practice, Truex was one of the fastest drivers in the longer run, ranking as high as fourth in 20, 25, and 30 consecutive lap averages. Truex placed in the top 10 at all races using the short track and road-course rules package this year so far. This makes Truex one of the top drivers in the field to consider rostering for DFS or betting as a potential favorite to place in the top five and compete for the win.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
1 week agoChase Elliott will start 15th in Sunday's All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. After a disappointing 2023, a season in which Elliott was forced to miss significant time due to an injury he sustained snowboarding, the second-generation Cup driver has had quite the bounce back in 2024. Entering
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1 week agoKyle Busch will start 14th in Sunday's All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway. Entering All-Star weekend, Busch has three top-10 finishes over the last five races, which shows that there is some momentum trending his way. However, despite some recent success, don't look for that trend to continue this weekend, as the 39-year-old has struggled on short tracks since making the switch to Richard Childress Racing last season. In the nine races on tracks that are less than a mile in length (exhibition races excluded), KFB has just one top-10 finish, with an average overall finish of just 19.8. Even more alarming is how badly the former 2x Cup champion struggled in this race, on this track, last season. After starting 14th in the 2023 All-Star Race, Busch finished 22nd, which was third to last. Given his recent struggles on short tracks and the struggles he had on this track in particular, it is recommended that you limit your exposure to the No. 8 this weekend in DFS.
--Adam Erhardt - RotoBallerSource: Racing-Reference.info
1 week agoRicky Stenhouse Jr. will begin the Sunday night NASCAR All-Star Race from the 16th position. The JTG Daugherty Racing driver has had a disastrous time on short tracks this season (33rd at Bristol and Richmond, 29th at Martinsville). Worse, the No. 47 Chevy has two Top 10 results but both are on superspeedway style tracks. Lap averages were especially less than stellar as Stenhouse Jr. was only faster than Timmy Hill. That 19.202 second overall was slower than Kevin Harvick (now retired) who piloted the Kyle Larson car on Saturday. Simply, Stenhouse Jr. figures to enjoy the race with limited place differential.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
1 week agoMichael McDowell will begin ninth on Sunday night at the NASCAR All-Star Race. The Front Row Motorsports driver was 25th in the practice session and saw something subtle speed changes. The No. 34 Ford turned in an overall lap that was slower than his 30-lap interval (18.93 seconds). McDowell on short tracks has not been the best posting a 21st at Martinsville and 26th at Richmond. The chances this Ford begins to slide as the laps mount. Even with wheel changes, McDowell figures to lose track positioning to faster cars on Sunday night.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
1 week agoAJ Allmendinger will start tenth for the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro on Sunday night. That is the good news. The bad news for the Kaulig Racing driver is those practice laps. Allmendinger was part of the 19-second club. With the No. 16 Chevy turning in an overall 19.055 seconds, that is a major concern. His five-lap interval came in at 18.589 seconds which was good. However, it was the long-run speed that should trouble any DFS players or sports bettors. The 0.625-mile track is asymmetrical with 13-degree banked turns that favor short-track drivers. Allmendinger's Chevy may not be suited for this track.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
1 week agoAlthough Daniel Suárez delivered one of the season's greatest highlights in his Atlanta win, he has not had the performance of a winner in most other events, and don't expect that to change in the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro. Suárez enters the event as the second-slowest eligible driver on all tracks as well as on short tracks this year (only Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. was slower) and Trackhouse Racing has not seemed to figure out short tracks well for the most part as Suárez's teammate Ross Chastain has not been particularly fast on them either. Although Suárez did qualify fourth this year and won the pole and actually led 55 laps in last year's race, both his speed and performance have not been there on short tracks this year (his best short track finish this year is 18th) and it's hard to envision that changing.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
1 week agoPerhaps surprisingly, Brad Keselowski has never won the NASCAR All-Star Race, but he has a very real chance to change that in this evening's event. Keselowski qualified second at North Wilkesboro and enters on something of a hot streak after winning at Darlington shortly after back-to-back second-place finishes at Talladega and Texas. Although the polesitter, Joey Logano, has been faster on short tracks this year than Keselowski, Logano tends to fade after winning the pole while most of the other top-10 starters have not had great short track speed this year. Meanwhile, Kyle Larson's Indy 500 qualifying will probably prove too much of a distraction for him to win and most of the other favorites are starting in the back at a track where passing is nary impossible in the dry. Although the Toyotas are probably most likely to win, don't be surprised if Keselowski erases his goose-egg tonight.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
1 week agoRoss Chastain qualified seventh for the All-Star Race, but don't expect him to be a contender, as short tracks are generally Chastain's Achilles' heel. Chastain only ranks 17th in short track speed this year and he was even worse last year when he ranked 23rd even though the Trackhouse Racing cars seemed to be a little faster last year than they are this year. Chastain only finished 11th in last year's All-Star Race and he finished either 14th or 15th in all three points short track races as well as the Clash at the Coliseum. Together, all of this seems to suggest that even a top 10 will likely be a longshot for him, but he'd probably be a significant contender to win the race if the All-Star Race ever returns to an intermediate track, where it was usually held before.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
1 week agoChris Buescher qualified fifth for tonight's All-Star Race, but he probably isn't one of the favorites to win. Last year, Buescher qualified second but never led and fell to 16th a lap down by race's end. Although he did get two top ten finishes at Bristol and Richmond, he didn't seriously contend in either of those races, not to mention that he failed to qualify for the Clash at the Coliseum, the other short track exhibition race, all three years it was held. Historically, Buescher has been a very consistent and risk-averse driver, which doesn't bode well for race formats that incentivize aggressive driving. However, Buescher seemed to move up a notch in aggression in just the last two weeks and has built up an intensity that didn't seem to be there before. Perhaps he now finally has the sort of mindset conducive to success in an all-star event.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
1 week agoDefending NASCAR Cup Series champion Ryan Blaney qualified last for this evening's NASCAR All-Star Race, twenty seconds slower than his teammate Joey Logano, who won the pole. Although he has won the race once before, the race was held at Texas Motor Speedway that year. Blaney finished sixth in last year's event but was not really a contender in a race that Kyle Larson single-handedly dominated. Although the Penske cars have not had great speed in 2024, Blaney has performed solidly on short tracks this year, ranking eighth on that track type in speed, winning a pole at Bristol, and scoring a top five at Martinsville. Blaney will likely drive up through the pack to some extent, but his odds of winning seem impenetrably remote.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 weeks agoFor the first time since the 2021 season, Brad Keselowski can call himself a winner. A wild ending to the Goodyear 400 on Sunday helped Keselowski get to victory lane, as issues between race-winning contenders, Chris Buescher and Tyler Reddick, opened the door for Brad to capitalize late and get the win. This victory locks Keselowski into the 2024 Cup Series Playoffs, and marks his second-ever win at Darlington (and first victory since becoming part owner of Roush-Fenway Keselowski Racing). This also ends Ford's winless streak in the Cup Series, and marks the first victory for the new Mustang Dark Horse car.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Speedway Digest
2 weeks agoHeading into the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway this past weekend, Bubba Wallace was in need of a good run. The previous three races of the season all ended with the No. 23 Toyota outside of the top 15, and the 23XI Racing driver had just two top-10 results in the previous ten races. A seventh-place run at Darlington is exactly what the doctor ordered for Bubba Wallace. He ranked 11th-fastest in Green Flag Speed during the race but was able to maintain track position all day, as Wallace was eighth-best in average running position. Still, Bubba now sits six points below the cutline for this year's Playoffs. When asked about that following the Darlington race, he replied, "This is where we lit the wick last year, at this point in the season, so it's time to do it again."
--Jordan McAbeeSource: FOX Sports
2 weeks agoMost NASCAR Cup Series drivers would consider a fourth-place finish at Darlington Raceway a great run. Not Denny Hamlin. Despite notching his fifth top-five finish of the season, Hamlin remarked after the race, "Below average day for the Yahoo! Camry, but to finish fourth on a below average day--that's alright." Hamlin had the sixth-best average running position during the race and ranked eighth-fastest in Green Flag Speed. For him to call that a below average day, it shows just how fast that No. 11 Toyota has been this season. With his good run at Darlington, Denny now sits third in the points standings, just 39 points behind leader, Kyle Larson.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Speedway Digest
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