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NASCAR: Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 preview
NASCAR heads to the Magic Mile at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Opened in 1993 by Bob Bahare and his family, this track is a 1.058 mile oval, with little to no banking. While there isn't a lot of banking, there is still a good amount of side-by-side racing and beating and banging as well. Last season, we saw Denny Hamlin put the bumper to Kevin Harvick but still was unable to make the pass for the lead as Harvick went on to win. This should be a fun race as they will again be adding more traction compound around the track to make it more grippy. This race will be held with fans as well.
Last Thursday, Denny Hamlin went on to capture his 5th win of 2020 during a crash fest at Kansas. Overall, while William Byron tried to strategize his way to a victory after a few late race cautions, the race came down to the usual suspects in Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski. In the closing laps Keselowski seemed to make up some ground on Hamlin but couldn't quite make the pass. This race showed just how good Denny Hamlin and his team have been this year and continue to be the perennial favorites to win the championship.
One of the big headlines this week was the possibility of Bob Leavine selling his team at the end of 2020. The story was reported by Adam Stern last Thursday. He stated that Bob and his wife Sharon are looking for "somewhere along seven figures" for the team. This move could cause a HUGE ripple effect in the field as Chirstopher Bell would have to look for a new home in 2021. While more than likely he would land on his feet and move over to the #20 car for Joe Gibbs Racing, this would leave Erik Jones in a position that he may be out of a ride next season. I am hoping that they are able to stay in the sport because Bob is one of the most upfront and honest owners in the garage. He was nice enough to talk to me last season about their plans for 2020. I wish him the best in whichever decision he makes because it would be heartbreaking to see them leave the sport as they were improving.
In other silly-season news, the other big rumor around the garage area that came to light this week was that next season Alex Bowman would move over to the #48 car replacing the retiring Jimmie Johnson and the #88 car would cease operations at the end of the season. This rumor was first reported by PRN reporter Lee Spencer, she dropped this story on the Pit Reporters podcast. This would almost be unprecedented for Rick Hendrick as he has had at least four cars since 2002 when they brought on Jimmie Johnson. In the end, I have a feeling that Mr. H will make this work as he has since he started back in 1984. I look for him to make the sponsorships work to keep Bowman in the #88 and bring in a new driver to take over the #48 car. Besides as reputable as Lee Spencer is, she has been wrong before. Back in 2017, she reported that Kurt Busch was out at Stewart-Haas racing which turned out to be incorrect.
This week one of the drivers to watch out for is Erik Jones. Over the past two weeks he has been really showing a lot of speed. This season has been a massive disappointment for the fourth year driver as he currently has an average finish of 16.6 and has led only 34 laps as he currently sits ten points outside of the playoff cutoff. He has also had a hard time getting stage points as well as he has only scored 45 stage points. On the bright side though he is coming to a track where he has had success in that department. Last season here, he won the second stage and finished third in the first as he was able to gain eighteen points. This can be huge coming down the stretch as we get closer and closer to the playoffs. Look for Erik to continue to improve and make a playoff push going into the final weeks of the regular season.
The driver I predict will win this week is Kyle Busch. This has been a frustrating season for the defending champion. While the finishes and the results have been there, and he has shown flashes of speed, he still has yet to win a race this year and currently sits 12th in the playoff standings. Even though he hasn't won a race this year, some of the results he has been getting have been extremely impressive considering the circumstances. At Texas, he plowed through the grass but then recovered to finish fourth and the week before that, he was able to overcome a broken shock mount and still finish tenth. He has shown that he is easily the most talented driver on the racetrack and maybe one of the most talented drivers in the sports' history, and he knows. So not winning a race this year has to really be getting to him but this week, I think he will change that. He currently has a 5.75 average finish with three victoires here at New Hampshire so he knows how to get around this track. Look for Rowdy to win this week as he rolls off fifth on the starting grid.
It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday!
*ChatGPT assisted.
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