Martin Truex could score a big win this week. Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
The NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series heads for Martinsville Speedway for the First Data 500. This is the opening race for NASCAR’s semifinal round of eight. A win in this race for any of the eight drivers that remain in the playoffs will assure them a spot in the championship race at Homestead. Over the last few years, Martinsville has featured some of the most memorable finishes in the sport's history and this race should be no different. Look for each driver in the playoffs to try and win at all cost, even if it means possibly wrecking someone like we saw Denny Hamlin do last season with Chase Elliott.
Last week, Chase Elliott was able to claim his third win of the season at Kansas after fending off Kyle Busch. The victory for Elliott made him the 27th driver to claim their first three wins in one season, With this milestone, Elliott is in good company as he joins the likes of Richard Petty, David Pearson and of course teammate and mentor Jimmie Johnson. While Elliott was celebrating the highs of victory, on the opposite end of the spectrum drivers Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman were all eliminated from championship contention. Out of these eliminations, the biggest surprise was Keselowski. Coming into the playoffs, he was in the midst of three race winning streak and was an early favorite to win the title and break up the dominance of Martin Truex Jr, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch. He entered the round of 12 fourth in points but after two mediocre results at Dover and Talladega, a respectable sixth place finish last week at Kansas was not enough for him to move on. This just goes to show how much things can change in this sport in such a short time.
This week Busch comes to Martinsville as the favorite. Overall what Busch has been able to accomplish here has been pretty incredible. Over the last four races he has an average finish of 2.20 including a win last season that clinched his spot in the championship race. During the course of his illustrious career, short tracks like Martinsville have been his bread and butter; in fact amongst all active drivers no one has led more laps or has a better average finish on short tracks than Busch. He should be the driver to beat this sunday as he looks to advance to his fourth consecutive championship race at Homestead.
The driver who I predict will win this week is Martin Truex Jr. This season has been an emotional roller coaster for the defending champion. He started off the season as the heavy favorite to repeat and for the most part of this season it looked like he was on the path to doing so but when it was announced in september that his current team Furniture Row Racing will be shutting down next season, the results have not been what this team would hope for. While he and his team did finish top five last week, in the three weeks prior his best finish was 14th at the Charlotte Roval, a race he was one corner away from winning. Many people have began to count this team out but this week I think he goes out and proves his doubters wrong and wins his first race on a short track. Though Truex hasn’t put up spectacular numbers here at Martinsville, if last year’s second place finish is any indication to how good Truex is here, I don’t see any reason why he can’t win Sunday and get this team back in the championship hunt and give Furniture Row Racing the proper send off with a championship.
(All stats and information used in this article is brought to you by the good folks at driveraverages.com and Racing-Reference.com the best website for all NASCAR stats).
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The Texans drafted in the first round FOUR times in the past two years. Composite image by Jack Brame.
The Houston Texans won last year’s NFL draft by taking quarterback and AP Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud with the No. 2 pick before trading up to draft defensive end and AP Defensive Rookie of the Year Will Anderson Jr. third overall.
There will be a lot less excitement in Houston in this year’s draft as the Texans don’t have a first-round pick and won’t select until the 10th pick of the second round with the 42nd overall selection.
However, coach DeMeco Ryans has said that he considers the second and third rounds the “sweet spot” of the draft and is looking forward to adding more guys who can contribute to his team.
“We continue to add guys who fit the Texans’ culture,” Ryans said. “And that’s guys who are made of the right mindset, guys who have that relentless mindset, guys who are true competitors, guys who love football, guys who love pushing their teammates to be their best, guys who want to be the best at what they do. We add those type of players to our locker room, that’s how we follow up a great draft last year.”
The 42nd pick is one of nine selections the Texans have in this draft as they try to add pieces to help them take another step this year after going from worst to first in the AFC South last season.
Houston already boosted its offense this offseason with the blockbuster trade for star receiver Stefon Diggs and the deal that brought running back Joe Mixon to Houston. But Ryans said those moves won’t change the way they approach the draft.
“Just because we’ve added guys at a lot of different positions, that doesn’t stop us from evaluating every position and looking at every avenue to continue to upgrade our team and continue to get our team better,” he said. “So, for the draft process, our process will be exactly the same. Who can we add to our team that adds value to our locker room and adds value to us on the field?”
PICK ’EMThe Texans don’t have a first-round pick this season because of two trades. They shipped their own selection in the opening round at No. 27 to Arizona last year as part of the deal to trade up to nab Anderson. They also had the 23rd pick in the first round, which they received as part of the Deshaun Watson trade. They sent that pick to Minnesota last month for No. 42, a sixth-round pick this year and the Vikings’ second-round pick next year.
NEEDSLast month the most glaring need for this team would be to add another receiver to join Nico Collins and Tank Dell. Acquiring Diggs changed that, but it still couldn’t hurt to add more talent at the position for the future.
A big need for this team is defensive tackle after both of their starters at the position from last season are no longer with the team. Sheldon Rankins signed with the Bengals this offseason and Maliek Collins was traded to San Francisco for a seventh-round draft pick.
The Texans signed former Titan Denico Autry, who had 11½ sacks last season, but could still use some depth at the position.
DON’T NEEDThe Texans should be set for years at quarterback after drafting Stroud last season. Their offensive line is also solid with left tackle Laremy Tunsil and right tackle Tytus Howard leading the group.
WHEELING AND DEALINGHouston general manager Nick Caserio has shown a propensity for trading draft picks since being hired by the Texans in 2021. Of course, his biggest trade was the one that allowed them to vault up from the 12th pick to No. 3 to get Anderson, but it’s far from his only one.
Only three of the Texans’ picks in this draft were originally theirs, with the other six coming via trades. They got a sixth-round pick this year in the deal for Diggs and a seventh-round selection in the Mixon trade.