TOP 10:FLAT TRACKS
Top Ten drivers on Flat tracks, Thursday look for our Top 30 rankings for Sunday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 from Worldwide Technology Raceway.
WORLD WIDE TECHNOLOGY RACEWAY
Enjoy Illinois 300
June 5th, 3:30 PM FS1 TV
1.25 Miles, 11 Degrees of banking in turns 1&2, 9 Degrees in turns 3&4
Stages end after laps 45/140/240
This track opened in 1997 as Gateway International Speedway. It has hosted 15 Xfinity races and 21 Camping World Truck series races. This will be the first NASCAR Cup series race at this flat track. Kevin Harvick comes in as the only current Cup driver to notch wins in both of the series here. Martin Truex Jr, Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski have all seen Victory circle in the Xfinity series. Bubba Wallace, Cole Custer, Christopher Bell, Justin Haley and Ross Chastain have all won in the Camping World truck series here. Will the first Cup race be won by one these nine previous track winners or a new name? We’ll know on Sunday.
Tuesday look for our Top ten Flat track drivers in advance of the Enjoy Illinois 300.
COCA-COLA 600:Charlotte Top 5 Drivers to Watch
My #5 pick is a former winner here, #22 Joey Logano. Joey has that win in 23 career starts, that win in autumn of 2015 and six Top 5’s, 26%. He is ranked #3 for me on tracks like this. Team Penske has great notes going into this race they have three wins here in the last 10 years on the oval.
My #4 pick is the defending champion of this race, #5 Kyle Larson. He has 12 starts, that win and two Top 5 finishes, 17%. Kyle is #5 hottest over the last six weeks.
My #3 driver is a three time winner here, #19 Martin Truex Jr. Martin has 30 starts, three wins, and seven Top 5’s, 23%. All seven of his top 5’s including his three wins have come in his last 11 races. He is rated #2 on tracks like this and this helps to make Martin one of the men to watch on Sunday night in the Queen city. He sits #6 in points and is #9 hottest over the last six weeks.
My #2 driver won here in this race four years ago, #18 Kyle Busch. Kyle has 33 starts here, one win and 15 Top 5’s, 45%. He not only won here four years ago, but he has finished Top 5 in three of three of the following 600’s. He is #4 ranked on tracks and is #2 hottest over the last six races.
The #1 pick is another former winner here, #9 Chase Elliott. Chase won here in the 500 miler in 2020. Chase has 10 starts, 1 win and five top 5’s, 50%. Chase is #1 hottest over the last six weeks. He is on a four race streak of Top 5’s at Charlotte.
Monday look for our preview of the Enjoy Illinois 300 from St Louis.
COCA COLA 600 from Charlotte
Friday we break down the Top 5 drivers to watch in the Coca Cola 600.
TOP TEN TEAMS
This week we see four of the ten teams change places. The top six teams are in a log jam. Hendrick Motorsports driver #5 Kyle Larson gets a 2nd place finish and two other drivers finish in the Top 20 that helps HMS stay at #1. Joe Gibbs Racing had four drivers in the Top 6 but they narrowly remain at #2. Team Penske had all three drivers finish in the Top 20 and they stay in place at #3. Trackhouse Racing Team closely stay at #4. Two Top 25 finishers help keep Stewart Haas Racing in the Top 5 at #5. A Top 15 finish from #3 Austin Dillon wasn’t enough to move into the Top 5 and Richard Childress Racing stay at #6. 23XI Racing get a win from #45 Kurt Busch and a Top 10 from #23 Bubba Wallace, they move up three places to #7. RCR allied team Petty GMS Motorsports had a rough day and drop a place to #8. JTG Daugherty Racing have had three really good weeks in a row and they re join the Top 10 at #9. Front Row Motorsports have both drivers finish in the Top 25 and they move back a place to #10. Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing had a rough day and they just miss out and drop out of the Top 10.
Thursday look for our Top 30 drivers from Charlotte.
TOP 10 DRIVERS: INTERMEDIATE TRACKS
Top 10 drivers on Intermediate tracks, later on Thursday look for our Top 30 driver rankings for Sunday’s Coca Cola (World) 600 from Charlotte Motor Speedway.
COCA COLA (WORLD) 600
CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
MAY 29th, 6PM ET on FOX TV
1.5 Miles, 24 Degrees of Banking
Segment 1/100 Laps, Seg 2/100, Seg 3/100, Seg 4/200
It’s Memorial day weekend and the longest race of the year. At 400 laps and 600 miles NASCAR drivers, crew chiefs and pit crews alike will have their endurance tested this coming Sunday. This race is always unpredictable, not only because of its long 600 mile length – the longest of all the races – but also because it starts in the late afternoon and ends in the cooler nighttime. This is a definite challenge for crew chiefs because the track conditions are constantly changing. Drivers and crew chiefs used to have a chance to experience how this track feels during the All Star Race. We know one thing, no one team has dominated here of late. In the last ten years (17 races) Hendrick Motorsports has five wins. Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske have three wins each. But Toyota cars have won four of the last nine races and all of those motors came out of the Joe Gibbs Racing shop. Will one of the three teams with 11 of the last 17 races step up and get another win or will another team challenge these big three teams? We’ll find out on Sunday.
Thursday look for our Top 10 drivers on tracks similar to Charlotte Motor Speedway.
TOP TEN TEAMS
This week we see four of the ten teams change places. The top six teams are in a log jam. Hendrick Motorsports driver #5 Kyle Larson gets a 2nd place finish and two other drivers finish in the Top 20 that helps HMS stay at #1. Joe Gibbs Racing had four drivers in the Top 6 but they narrowly remain at #2. Team Penske had all three drivers finish in the Top 20 and they stay in place at #3. Trackhouse Racing Team closely stay at #4. Two Top 25 finishers help keep Stewart Haas Racing in the Top 5 at #5. A Top 15 finish from #3 Austin Dillon wasn’t enough to move into the Top 5 and Richard Childress Racing stay at #6. 23XI Racing get a win from #45 Kurt Busch and a Top 10 from #23 Bubba Wallace, they move up three places to #7. RCR allied team Petty GMS Motorsports had a rough day and drop a place to #8. JTG Daugherty Racing have had three really good weeks in a row and they re join the Top 10 at #9. Front Row Motorsports have both drivers finish in the Top 25 and they move back a place to #10. Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing had a rough day and they just miss out and drop out of the Top 10.
Friday look for our quick picks in the All Star Open and All Star Race.
TOP 10: INTERMEDIATE TRACKS
Top 10 on Intermediate tracks, Wednesday look for our Top 10 teams for Sunday’s All Star Open and All Star Race from Texas.
ALL STAR OPEN
MAY 22nd, 5:30 PM ET on FOX SPORTS 1 TV
ALL STAR RACE
MAY 22nd, 8PM ET on FOX SPORTS 1 TV
TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
1.5 Miles, 24 Degrees of Banking
Sunday night is NASCAR’s All Star evening. For the second time we’ll see it happen at Texas Motor Speedway, the fourth different track to host an All Star Race. Since we see the best drivers every week why have an All Star evening? Because it is a throwback to old school: Saturday Night heat racing, where most of these drivers came from, done on an incredibly massive scale. First up on Sunday night we’ll see the ALL STAR OPEN, a race for all drivers who do not qualify for the following race, the ALL STAR RACE. (In other words the All Star Open is for drivers who are in the top 50 in points that are not eligible for the All Star Race). The All Star Open will be run in three segments. The first two segments both 20 laps and a third segment of 10 laps. Each segment winner will advance to the All Star Race along with a driver voted on by the fans. In total we’ll see four drivers come back later Sunday night.
At 8:00 PM Charlotte time Sunday night we’ll see the All Star Race. We’ll see it with a change this year. Along with the four drivers from the All Star Open the All Star Race is made up of drivers who won a race in 2020, drivers who have won so far in 2021, and past winners of this race. The race will consist of four stages, with the first three 25 laps in length and the fourth and final being a 50-lap shootout for a $1 million prize. The new format has provided a major incentive to win any of the opening three stages or the pit stop competition during the break between Stages 2 and 3. Special Stage Break (Pit Stop Competition): Each team must pit and perform a four-tire stop. The team with the shortest time on pit road (pit in/pit out) wins the pit crew award and the driver will start fourth in the final stage as long as he finishes 15th or better in Stage 3. Stage 1 winner starts first, Stage 2 winner second, Stage 3 winner third and pit stop competition winner fourth. So why race at all? For the prestige of winning, for a piece of the over $2 plus million purse-$1 million to the winner, also because that’s what NASCAR drivers do: race to win and race just for the sake of racin’.
Tuesday look for our Top 10 drivers on tracks like Texas Motor Speedway.
The Race Dr. 