Ryanblaney.com
NASCAR heads for the tricky triangle this week for the Pocono 400. Located in Long Pond Pennsylvania, this track is NASCAR's most unique on the schedule. This track is 2.5 miles long and is the only track that features only three turns as opposed to four. Another unique aspect is how each corner is banked differently. The one part of the track to look out for though is easily turn two. Nicknamed "the tunnel turn" we have seen so many drivers run into trouble here. Look for this to come up Sunday.
Last week, Martin Truex Jr was able to fend off Joey Logano for his third win of the season and his second Coca-Cola 600 victory and overall If you ask me we saw another great race. This event had everything, lots of cautions, tire-ware, lots of passing and even some strategy as well. For the past couple of weeks, NASCAR has really done a good job at improving their product especially on the mile and a half tracks like Charlotte or Kansas. One added factor that might have helped improve things as well was the added traction they have placed around the track; we saw how much it improved racing at Texas Motor Speedway and it looks like it has worked wonders for Charlotte. This week we go to a much different race track than what we have seen but it's good to see the sport take a step in the right direction as we move forward.
The other big story this week was NASCAR's purchase of International Speedway Corp. (ISC for short.) The purchase was made last week for a cool two billion dollars. With the new deal, NASCAR becomes the owner of thirteen race tracks including Daytona and Talladega. This now clears a path for NASCAR to make schedule changes for 2021 and beyond. While it may sound exciting for NASCAR to finally change things up, I can feel for some of the tracks that may lose a race. Let's hope NASCAR is able to do the right thing and find some way to accommodate each race track.
The driver that I have winning this weekend is Ryan Blaney. As most NASCAR fans know, this track is where he was able to claim his first career win but ever since then his results have been mixed. In his last three starts here, he has finished in the top 10 once. It's also safe to say that this season hasn't been as good as he would have liked it to be. This week, I think a win will put him back in the hunt. I expect a lot from this young driver this season and has shown flashes that he can win and that will be exactly what he does this Sunday. Look for Blaney to go to victory lane.
Another driver who has really done a great job this year is Chris Buescher. If you have read some of my articles, I have been really high on this driver after how much he has improved his performance towards the closing stages of 2018. Last week he was able to wheel his damaged car to a sixth place finish, this is his second consecutive top ten. While he wasn't on a lot of peoples radar this year, the Prosper Texas native has turned a lot of heads and will definitely be a driver to keep in eye on in the not to distant future. Right now he appears to be in a good position to make a run for the playoffs and now he goes to a track where he also claimed his first career win. Look for the Bushes Baked Beans Camaro to be solid this week.
(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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After the beating C.J. Stroud took in Houston’s divisional playoff loss to Kansas City it was clear the team’s top offseason priority should be upgrading its offensive line.
Instead, the Texans traded five-time Pro Bowl left tackle Laremy Tunsil and 2022 first-round pick left guard Kenyon Green and released right guard Shaq Mason.
They added tackle Cam Robinson and guards Ed Ingram and Laken Tomlinson, but as the NFL draft approaches their porous offensive line remains the most glaring weakness of the team.
Though the Texans won’t say that they plan to use their first-round pick (No. 25) on an offensive lineman, they’ve said plenty about the need to better protect Stroud this upcoming season. Stroud led Houston to its second straight AFC South title last season despite being sacked 52 times, which was the second most in the NFL.
“Getting better protection for C.J. is definitely a main point of emphasis for us,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We know when C.J. is protected, he has a clean pocket, he’s a pretty good quarterback. ... He’s capable of making any throw on the football field. But it’s just a matter of protecting him and giving him that comfort when he’s in the pocket.”
General manager Nick Caserio said he doesn’t believe they have to draft an offensive lineman next week.
“We feel like we have to add good football players to our football team,” he said. “That’s what we’re focused on. Whatever those positions entail, that’s what’s going to work. That’s how we’re going to approach it and handle it.”
Houston’s pick in the first round is one of seven selections it has in this year’s draft. The Texans return to the first round this season after not having a pick in the opening round last season because of trades, including the one to move up to get defensive end Will Anderson with the third overall pick in the 2023 draft.
Though the offensive line has several holes, Houston’s top priority should be drafting the left tackle of the future.
Robinson could protect Stroud’s blind side this season to give whichever player they draft a season to develop and learn behind him.
A couple of players who could be available when the Texans pick are Kelvin Banks from Texas and Oregon’s Josh Conerly. Banks was a three-year starter for the Longhorns and won the Outland Trophy as the nation’s best interior lineman last season. Conerly started 28 games at left tackle in the past two seasons for the Ducks and was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award given to the nation’s best offensive lineman.
Pick ’em
The Texans have two picks in the third round and two in the seventh this year after receiving the 79th and 236th overall picks from the Commanders as part of the trade for Tunsil.
Needs
Along with the offensive line, the Texans could use some help at receiver. Nico Collins, who has had consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, has developed into an elite option. But the Texans need a solid second option after they moved on from Stefon Diggs after one disappointing season that ended in a season-ending injury in Week 8.
They traded for Christian Kirk, but he’s coming off a tough season where he had a career-low 379 yards before breaking his collarbone in October. The Texans also don’t know when they’ll get Tank Dell back, with the receiver still recovering from a serious knee injury he sustained in December.
Don’t need
The Texans are set at running back after signing Joe Mixon before last season and having a reliable backup in Dameon Pierce.
Draft success
While Caserio has added some stars to the team with first-round draft picks including Stroud, Anderson and cornerback Derek Stingley Jr., he’s also had a knack for finding starters beyond the first round since joining the Texans.
Caserio nabbed Collins in the third round in his first draft with Houston in 2021 and added safety Jalen Pitre in the second round in 2022. He also found starting linebackers Christian Harris in the third in 2022 and Henry To’oTo’o in the fifth in 2023.
Last year he drafted cornerback Kamari Lassiter in the second round and safety Calen Bullock in the third. In their rookie seasons, Lassiter started 14 games while Bullock started 13.