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It has been quite awhile since I have had entire weekend off, in fact first time since the first weekend of September. So why not whip up an early morning post? Sounds like heck of an idea to me! Also, I cannot sleep worth shit with my early morning mindset.
Anyways, there's only three races left for the 2017 season and I am very excited to see how it play out. Last weekend triggered a chain of events that could have a major impact over the next two weeks. As far as sleepers and dark horses, it should be pretty cut and dry. At least it SHOULD be, because we saw how things played out at Kansas. For the most part, we know the dark horse who can challenge for the win. And we do know the potential sleepers who can be nice value plays. But it doesn't mean that things will go according to plan. At end of the day, you just have to take a leap and hope there's no rocks at the bottom.
Let's get rolling!
Sleepers -
Ricky Stenhouse Jr - The biggest strength (aside from the plate tracks) has been the intermediate tracks for Ricky and the 17 team in 2017. He was more consistent on this type of track in the regular season, but it doesn't change anything. He's finished 6 of 9 races on the 1.5 mile tracks in 15th or better. And every time that he has finished outside of that top 15, it was because he had issues during the race with something. He is showing decent speed on the charts this weekend, too. Top 20 in both sessions. Not really surprising since this has been a very good track for Ricky. In 4 of his last 5 starts here, he has finishes between 14th-16th. Very consistent. There's a pretty good chance, he will likely finish in that range once again.
AJ Dinger - AJ Dinger was a bitter disappointment last week at one of his best tracks, but he has a chance to rebound and cotend for a top 20 finish, in my opinion. Texas has been a very consistent track for him. In his last 6 races at this track, Dinger has 6 straight finishes of 22nd or better. But no finishes better than 18th. But, you get the point that I am driving. He is consistent in the low 20s-high teens. These are the type of tracks we are looking to employ Dinger on. This weekend, he have looked better than average for intermediate track. He was 17th and 20th in terms of single fastest lap on Saturday afternoon. He will start from inside the top 20 as well. He didn't post any 10-lap averages, however that is a little concerning. Still, I would take a shot with him, if you are looking for a under the radar option with ''potentially'' swipe a top 20.
Also, I like Aric Almirola as a possible decent sleeper. I feel better about him at a place like last week (at Martinsville) and next week at Phoenix though. Still, he could deliver a solid finish in the low-20s. But I think top 20 would be pushing it for that 43 car though.
Dark Horses -
Erik Jones - Erik Jones has great potential for today's race. He has been very fast this weekend and just may have one of the cars to beat. He was 2nd in best-ten lap averages on Saturday and looked very good on the long runs. He won the NXS race on Saturday night and now look poised to go back-to-back on Sunday afternoon. We saw him display top 5 speed throughout the season, but it went away the past couple weeks. It is back now and he could take advantage of that in today's race.
Daniel Suarez - Another rookie who is having a unbelievable season is Daniel Suarez! The rookie is coming in his own as the season has progressed and is showing everyone why he belongs here. Early in the season, he was struggling and then lucking into good finishes. Now, he is running well and finishing even better. In 7 of his last 8 races, he has finished 15th or better. Including 4 top 8 finishes in that span. From Richmond to Charottle, he had 4 in 5 races. None since though. However, we have raced at Talladega, Kansas (crazy race) and Martinsville during that span. It's tough to have a lot of positive results for a young driver with those races. Still, he had a pair of 15th place finishes in 2 of those 3 races. Daniel is showing a bunch of speed of this weekend, too. He's right there with fellow rookie Erik Jones. This kid may have something for them when we go green!
Ryan Blaney - Blaney has been a very challenging driver to figure out, but he has been very consistent on the 1.5 mile tracks throughout the 2017 season. In 9 races this season, he's posted 6 top 12 finishes. Including 3 top 11 finishes during the chase. Earlier this season, he finished 12th place at Texas back in April. He was very strong and led 148 laps. He faded late, after winning the first two stages of the race. That was the race, where a lot of were like, ''This kid can win a race this season.'' I don't think he will be nearly as strong, but his consistency on this type of track alone will make him a solid bet. I think he has top 10 kind of speed with some obvious upside. He was 3rd in terms of single-fastest lap speed and 12th in terms of best-ten lap average during final practice. At a place like Texas, I think looking at who near top of the board is little more important. The lap times don't fall off at a significant rate, so posting a fast-single lap is a bit more relevant than at a place such as Charlotte or Atlanta. It doesn't mean you have a super fast car or lock to be strong on the long runs, but it is something you can look at for convincing yourself purposes. Blaney has been near the top since unloading.
Have a question or want to chat?
Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com
Twitter - @Garryy12
It has been quite awhile since I have had entire weekend off, in fact first time since the first weekend of September. So why not whip up an early morning post? Sounds like heck of an idea to me! Also, I cannot sleep worth shit with my early morning mindset.
Anyways, there's only three races left for the 2017 season and I am very excited to see how it play out. Last weekend triggered a chain of events that could have a major impact over the next two weeks. As far as sleepers and dark horses, it should be pretty cut and dry. At least it SHOULD be, because we saw how things played out at Kansas. For the most part, we know the dark horse who can challenge for the win. And we do know the potential sleepers who can be nice value plays. But it doesn't mean that things will go according to plan. At end of the day, you just have to take a leap and hope there's no rocks at the bottom.
Let's get rolling!
Sleepers -
Ricky Stenhouse Jr - The biggest strength (aside from the plate tracks) has been the intermediate tracks for Ricky and the 17 team in 2017. He was more consistent on this type of track in the regular season, but it doesn't change anything. He's finished 6 of 9 races on the 1.5 mile tracks in 15th or better. And every time that he has finished outside of that top 15, it was because he had issues during the race with something. He is showing decent speed on the charts this weekend, too. Top 20 in both sessions. Not really surprising since this has been a very good track for Ricky. In 4 of his last 5 starts here, he has finishes between 14th-16th. Very consistent. There's a pretty good chance, he will likely finish in that range once again.
AJ Dinger - AJ Dinger was a bitter disappointment last week at one of his best tracks, but he has a chance to rebound and cotend for a top 20 finish, in my opinion. Texas has been a very consistent track for him. In his last 6 races at this track, Dinger has 6 straight finishes of 22nd or better. But no finishes better than 18th. But, you get the point that I am driving. He is consistent in the low 20s-high teens. These are the type of tracks we are looking to employ Dinger on. This weekend, he have looked better than average for intermediate track. He was 17th and 20th in terms of single fastest lap on Saturday afternoon. He will start from inside the top 20 as well. He didn't post any 10-lap averages, however that is a little concerning. Still, I would take a shot with him, if you are looking for a under the radar option with ''potentially'' swipe a top 20.
Also, I like Aric Almirola as a possible decent sleeper. I feel better about him at a place like last week (at Martinsville) and next week at Phoenix though. Still, he could deliver a solid finish in the low-20s. But I think top 20 would be pushing it for that 43 car though.
Dark Horses -
Erik Jones - Erik Jones has great potential for today's race. He has been very fast this weekend and just may have one of the cars to beat. He was 2nd in best-ten lap averages on Saturday and looked very good on the long runs. He won the NXS race on Saturday night and now look poised to go back-to-back on Sunday afternoon. We saw him display top 5 speed throughout the season, but it went away the past couple weeks. It is back now and he could take advantage of that in today's race.
Daniel Suarez - Another rookie who is having a unbelievable season is Daniel Suarez! The rookie is coming in his own as the season has progressed and is showing everyone why he belongs here. Early in the season, he was struggling and then lucking into good finishes. Now, he is running well and finishing even better. In 7 of his last 8 races, he has finished 15th or better. Including 4 top 8 finishes in that span. From Richmond to Charottle, he had 4 in 5 races. None since though. However, we have raced at Talladega, Kansas (crazy race) and Martinsville during that span. It's tough to have a lot of positive results for a young driver with those races. Still, he had a pair of 15th place finishes in 2 of those 3 races. Daniel is showing a bunch of speed of this weekend, too. He's right there with fellow rookie Erik Jones. This kid may have something for them when we go green!
Ryan Blaney - Blaney has been a very challenging driver to figure out, but he has been very consistent on the 1.5 mile tracks throughout the 2017 season. In 9 races this season, he's posted 6 top 12 finishes. Including 3 top 11 finishes during the chase. Earlier this season, he finished 12th place at Texas back in April. He was very strong and led 148 laps. He faded late, after winning the first two stages of the race. That was the race, where a lot of were like, ''This kid can win a race this season.'' I don't think he will be nearly as strong, but his consistency on this type of track alone will make him a solid bet. I think he has top 10 kind of speed with some obvious upside. He was 3rd in terms of single-fastest lap speed and 12th in terms of best-ten lap average during final practice. At a place like Texas, I think looking at who near top of the board is little more important. The lap times don't fall off at a significant rate, so posting a fast-single lap is a bit more relevant than at a place such as Charlotte or Atlanta. It doesn't mean you have a super fast car or lock to be strong on the long runs, but it is something you can look at for convincing yourself purposes. Blaney has been near the top since unloading.
Have a question or want to chat?
Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com
Twitter - @Garryy12
