Kevin Harvick is on a roll. Matt Sullivan/Getty Images
This weekend the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series heads for Charlotte Motor Speedway for this year’s All-Star race. This is a race unlike any other; there are no points involved and only the elite are invited. Charlotte is a mile and a half track much like Atlanta or Texas. The track has a curve in the middle of the front straightaway which is called the “dogleg” and trying to pass in this area is nearly impossible and has been the cause of many accidents over the years, so look for this to possibly play a big factor in both races this weekend.
Last week at Kansas, Kevin Harvick continued his path of destruction upon the field as he went on to take his fifth victory of the season. The race was truly a nail-bitter as Harvick overtook Martin Truex Jr on the final lap.
The Big story coming out of Kansas (aside from Harvick) were more illegal rear windows. Two weeks ago at Dover, both Clint Bowyer and Daniel Suarez were penalized for having an illegal rear window brace, and this week NASCAR dropped the hammer once again. This time Kyle Larson was culprit as it was found in post race inspection that he had -- you guessed it -- an illegal rear window.
Larson is the fifth driver to be penalized for this infraction this year, and he joins the company of Kevin Harvick (who lost a victory because of it) and Chase Elliott. Overall, like his competition, Larson loses 20 driver points, all of the points he earned for his “stage victory” at Kansas and he loses his car chief David Bryant.
Over the course of last Saturday’s race, Larson and his team were easily the car to beat. He led a race high 101 laps until an altercation with Ryan Blaney caused him to hit the wall. Somehow, he was able to overcome his troubles and finish fourth. While he and his team were frustrated by not winning the race, it might have been a blessing in disguise, seeing how if he was to win the victory probably would have been taken away anyway. Look for Kyle and the Chip Ganassi Racing team to try and bounce back this week in the all-star race.
This weekend is fairly unorthodox in comparison to each of the other 35 races. This race is a non-points paying event which means that overall it has no bearing on the season. According to NASCAR.com The cars will be equipped with a six inch spoiler with twelve inch “ear” extensions, the splitter borrowed from the 2014 aero package, and a “restrictor plate” that will keep the cars close together.
This was a move that was met with mixed reaction amongst fans, but I personally believe that the change could very well make for much better racing than we have seen in the last few years past in fact NASCAR made similar adjustments to the NASCAR Xfinity series for last years race at Indy. The product was phenomenal. In the closing laps both Willam Byron and Paul Menard had one of the best battles of last season as Byron was able to take the victory. The race was met with positive acclaim amongst fans and drivers. This should be very interesting to see what happens on both Friday and Saturday.
Another facet of this weekend that makes this event stand out is the format and the criteria involved to get into the race. If you are a fan of NASCAR, you know pretty well that the format of this race changes almost every year. This year is no different. Unlike last year, the race will have one 30 lap segment, two 30 lap segments and one final 10 lap dash to decide the winner he is then awarded $1 million. Unlike last year, there will not be a mandatory pit stop so the strategy will be in the drivers' and crew chiefs' hands once the green flag drops.
I personally think NASCAR got this format right, I am glad that they did away with the redundant mandatory pit stop they had last year and think that the longer length of the race will provide a better finish than we have seen over the past few years. Look for it to be one of the best races of the season.
The field for this race will be significantly smaller this week. As usual the 19 winners from both 2017 and 2018 are automatically locked into the race. After that, one driver will also have an automatic bid in the race due to a victory in this race over the last ten years. That driver is Jamie McMurray (who won in 2014).
All of the remaining full-time drivers will compete in the “All-Star Open.” This race will include all of the drivers who have not won a race in the past two seasons. “The Open” will feature three segments, two of those being 20 laps and like the big race, the final segment will feature a 10 lap dash to the finish.
The winners of all three segments and a driver who will be voted in by the fans will all receive a birth into the main feature in the All-Star Race. Some of the notable names in this race are Chase Elliott, Kasey Kahne, Darrell Wallace Jr, Erik Jones, Daniel Suarez and William Byron. Look for this to possibly be a much better race than the feature itself. Here each driver has much more to race for which creates more urgency to race every lap like it’s the last. Look for William Byron to be the car to beat in this race. As I said earlier, last season Byron won last year in the Xfinity series with a similar aero package we are seeing this week. He should be a big threat to at least win one of the three stages.
The driver that I have winning the All-Star race is Martin Truex Jr. As most NASCAR fans know, mile and a half tracks like Charlotte have been where he has cut his teeth. He has gone to victory lane here twice, including the 2016 Coca Cola 600 where he nearly led all but eight of the 400 laps run. Even though Truex has yet to win the All-Star race over the course of his 12-year career, this track is one of his best. Look for Truex and his Furniture Row team to take the checkered flag and be $1 million dollars richer at the end of the weekend.
(All stats and information used in this article is brought to you by the good folks at driveraverages.com and Racing-Refrence.com the best website for all NASCAR stats).
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With the Astros now officially ten games under .500 for the season, manager Joe Espada is taking a lot of heat from the fanbase for the team's struggles.
While we don't agree with the sentiment, we even hear fans clamoring for the return of Dusty Baker and Martin Maldonado, thinking the Astros wouldn't be in this mess if they were still here.
Which is ridiculous. First of all, Maldonado has been awful for the White Sox, hitting .048 (even worse than Jose Abreu's .065). And for those of you that think his work with the pitching staff justifies his pathetic offense. Let me say this: Where was Maldy's game calling genius for Hunter Brown, Cristian Javier, and Framber Valdez last year? All of them regressed significantly.
And as far as Baker is concerned, we have no idea how much a difference he would make, we can only speculate. Baker would also be dealing with a pitching staff ravaged with injuries. And let's not forget, Baker was the guy that refused to move Jose Abreu down in the batting order, even though he would finish the regular season with the ninth-worst OPS in baseball.
The reality of the situation is managers can only do so much in baseball. Which leads us to something else that needs to be considered. Is Espada being handcuffed by the front office? Espada and GM Dana Brown both said recently that Jon Singleton was going to get more at-bats while they give Abreu time off to try to figure things out. Yet, there Abreu was in the lineup again in the opening game of the Cubs series.
It makes us wonder how much power does Espada truly have? The Astros have some other options at first base. Yainer Diaz may only have eight games played at the position, but how much worse could he be than Abreu defensively? Abreu already has four errors, and Diaz is obviously a way better hitter. Victor Caratini isn't considered a plus offensive player, but his .276 batting average makes him look like Babe Ruth compared to Abreu. Let him catch more often and play Diaz at first. Starting Diaz at first more often could also lengthen his career long-term.
Maybe that's too wild of a move. Okay, fine. How about playing Mauricio Dubon at first base? I understand he doesn't have much experience at that position, but what's the downside of trying him there? If he can play shortstop, he can play first base. He's driving in runs at a higher rate (11 RBIs) than everyone on the team outside of Kyle Tucker and Yordan Alvarez. And he's producing like that as part-time player right now.
The other criticism we see of Espada is his use of Jon Singleton to pinch hit late in games. Let's be real, though, who else does Espada have on the roster to go to? Batting Abreu late in games in which you're trailing should be considered malpractice. Espada can only use who he has to work with. This all really stems from the Astros poor farm system.
They don't have anyone else to turn to. The draft picks the club lost from the sign-stealing scandal are really hurting them right now. First and second rounders from 2020 and 2021 should be helping you in 2024 at the big league level.
Maybe they go to Astros prospect Joey Loperfido soon, but after a hot start he has only two hits in his last six games.
Finally, we have to talk about what seems like a committee making baseball decisions. Lost in a committee is accountability. Who gets the blame for making poor decisions?
As time continues to pass it looks like moving on from former GM James Click was a massive mistake. He's the guy that didn't sign Abreu, but did trade Myles Straw (recently DFA'd) for Yainer Diaz and Phil Maton. He also built an elite bullpen without breaking the bank, and helped the club win a World Series in 2022.
The reality of the situation is Dusty Baker and James Click are not walking back through that door. And all good runs come to an end at some point. Is this what we're witnessing?
Don't miss the video above as we hit on all the points discussed and much more!
Catch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) with Charlie Pallilo, Brandon Strange, and Josh Jordan. We drop two episodes every week on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel. You can also listen on Apple Podcast, Spotifyor wherever you get your podcasts.