
Kyle Larson is the driver to watch this week. Photo via: Wiki Commons.
Kyle_larson_(51383019233)
This Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Kansas Speedway for the Advent Health 400. This track is a 1.5-mile Tri-oval similar to what we see in Las Vegas. There is rain in the forecast this week for the race but, it should clear up in time before the race starts. Despite the unlikeliness of the race being delayed, it is important to note that the racetrack will be vastly different with the rubber being washed off, this could create a problem with grip. This race is usually rather clean as there has been an average of about three to four cautions for incidents (not counting the stage breaks), so it would suffice to say that there will be plenty of strategies to come into play this weekend.
Last weekend, Joey Logano went on to win at Darlington in quite a controversial fashion. With two laps to go, entering turn three, Logano booted William Byron from the lead. After the contact, Byron would hit the wall breaking the “Toelength” on the back of the racecar causing him to lose control and drop to a disappointing 13th place. Logano’s move was extremely unpopular and Byron was incensed after the race. During his post-race interview, Byron said “He’s just an idiot, he does this all the time. He doesn’t even try to pass you, he just runs over you.” Team Chairman Jeff Gordon weighed in as well “You have come to expect it from him, but he’s got a payback coming from Byron.” In response, Joey mentioned how Byron squeezed him into the wall on the last restart, so the move was in retaliation. Personally, the Bump and Run have been prevalent in the sport for many years. We have seen the greats like Dale Earnhardt and Kyle Busch make moves like this all the time. What made this so malicious was the way Logano didn’t even attempt to make a clean pass on Byron. For instance, take Ross Chastain and his move on AJ Allmendinger and Alex Bowman at COTA. While on merit, it was the same move that Logano made. Chastain had raced both drivers relatively clean until Allmendinger moved him out of the way earlier in the lap. It will be interesting to see if Byron ever repays the favor and where he will do it. This weekend at Kansas may not be the right place, but further down the line, I wouldn’t expect Logano will forget about Darlington.
It was another great result for Ricky Stenhouse Jr as he finished 8th, this is his second consecutive top ten finish. This team is continuing to prove themselves as possible playoff contenders despite their rough start to the season. It’s going to be an uphill battle for these guys, but I am liking what I have seen from this race team.
The driver that I have winning this weekend is Kyle Larson. Larson has been flying under the radar since his win at Auto Club Speedway, but despite all that, he is still consistently in the top five each week. Last week was a bit of an outlier for Larson. To start the race, he was in the top three and battling with Kyle Busch until a spin in turn four would set the tone for the rest of the race. The spin would damage his motor and cause him to fall out of the race. If there is any track where he could turn it around though, it’s at Kansas. In the past four races here, he has led 29.8 percent of the laps ran and won here last fall. I look for Larson to capture his second win of 2022 come Sunday.
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How Astros just put league on notice with dominant pitching, clutch hitting
Jun 26, 2025, 7:08 pm
Cam Smith hit an RBI single in the eighth inning to give the Houston Astros a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.
CAM SMITH COMES THROUGH! #BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/Y6dtPpXF9J
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 26, 2025
The rookie's second hit of the game came off Orion Kerkering (5-3) and gave the Astros their fourth straight win.
Brandon Marsh tied the game on a sacrifice fly in the top of the inning to end the Phillies' 26-inning scoreless streak.
The Astros took a 1-0 lead on Yainer Diaz’s RBI single in the second inning. They only managed three more hits off Phillies starter Christopher Sanchez, who struck out 11 with zero walks over six innings. Sanchez has not issued a walk in three straight starts.
Hunter Brown lowered his league best ERA to 1.74 by scattering three singles over seven shutout innings, with nine strikeouts. He did not allow a runner to reach second base.
FULL THROTTLE.
Hunter Brown now leads the MLB in lowest ERA (1.74). #BuiltForFuel pic.twitter.com/nkwT2MpgJQ
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 26, 2025
Bryan Abreu (3-3) struck out Trea Turner to end the eighth, and then struck out Kyle Schwarber, Alec Bohm, and Nick Castellanos in the ninth.
Abreu joined Julia Morales after the game and talked about his impressive performance!
🧹🧹🧹
After the @Astros completed their sweep of the Phillies, @JuliaMorales visited with Bryan Abreu!#BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/UeOOSNDKwW
— Space City Home Network (@SpaceCityHN) June 26, 2025
Rafael Marchán had two of the Phillies' four hits. Bryson Stott reached base twice and scored the Phillies' lone run.
Key moment
Smith’s RBI.
Key stat
Brown’s 1.74 ERA is the fourth best in Astros history through 16 starts and the best since Justin Verlander posted a 1.60 ERA through 16 starts in 2018.
Up next
The Astros open a three-game series against the Cubs on Friday with LHP Brandon Walter (0-1 3.80 ERA) on the mound.
The Phillies open a three-game series at the Braves on Friday with RHP Mick Abel (2-1 3.47 ERA) against Atlanta RHP Bryce Elder (2-4 4.77).