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The first Dover race should give us a pretty idea what to expect in today's race, but I wouldn't say that it set it in stone. Regardless, I think we have a lot better idea on who will be good and who may be serious trouble. Of course, a driver can always get worse (or better) in the second race. Anyways, I am pretty excited about what I learned from Saturday's race. I saw a couple guys that I really like for Sunday's race and I will share some of that information with you guys. Enjoy!
Likes -
Matt DiBenedetto - Matt D was a disappointment in Saturday's race and finished 20th. Good news is? He will start from the pole in today's race and has finished in the top 10 on every double weekend. He also has finished better than he finished in the first race. So that's excellent news for us DiBenedetto's believers and I also want to note that this is one of Matt's favorite tracks. Overall, there wasn't a lot of positive things to say about Matt's performance yesterday but I also believe he can be one of those guys to be a lot better on a fresh day. Him having track position to start the race will be a good start in the right direction, too.
Austin Dillon - Dillon looked really good yesterday and it wasn't just when he had the track position game, either. He was good for the entire race, but he was even better after stealing track position before end of stage 1. He not only gamble and didn't drop through the running order, but he kept the lead and led nearly 30 laps. He really made Hamlin work to get to the lead. It wasn't like Hamlin (on fresher tires) just drove through the field and took the lead right away. Dillon had a pretty decent lead (3 seconds), when he took over 2nd place. It probably took a good 15 laps or so before Hamlin could get to the No.3 car and pass him. After that, Dillon stayed in the top 10 for majority of the race. However, he did only finish 15th, which wasn't what he deserved honestly.
Dislikes -
William Byron - I wasn't very impressed by Byron and he really struggled in Saturday's race. He got better as the race went on, but he was two laps down. And when it was pretty calm race, I think that would be pretty non-ideal to be multiple laps down. He had a chance to get back on the lead lap at end of stage two. If he stood ahead of the No.11 car, he would had likely took the wave around and got back on the lead. Then needed a caution to get new tires, if that was the gameplan. But I think the two-tires call was all or nothing. At least with the 4 tires under green, he would had been two laps down and could had easily took the wave around and stood one lap down. With the two tires call, you pretty much had to stay ahead of the leader or you are screwed. So he will now start from the 28th starting position and will need a big day to gain what he lost in yesderday's race. Byron could be a good fantasy play, but I just don't see the upside in picking him. He left me wanting a lot more yesterday and I personally don't see him able to challenge for a top 10 finish. I believe his upside is somewhere around 13th or 14th and that would be a pretty good day for him.
Aric Almirola - Aric went on complete tear there for awhile and I mentioned it on a weekly basis that we needed to take advantage of it while he was avaliable to us! I also mentioned the fact that he couldn't keep up the finishes and both of those things were true. In 3 of his last 4 races, he has finished 16th or worse now and wasn't really a factor for a top 10 in yesterday's race. But Dover isn't a great track for him, anyways. He has only 3 career top 10 finishes and none since the 2015 season. He drove for RPM for most of his career, so you can't expect the world, but he also hasn't finished in the top 10 with SHR in 5 races now. Aric will be a decent finisher in the teens, but I think he has one more good run of races left in him. The question is when that will be, but I don't believe that Aric will be a top 10 finisher in Sunday's race.
***All stats are from DriverAverages.com
Email - GarryBriggs265@gmail.com
Twitter - @Garryy12
