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After three months of waiting, the time has finally come for the great american race, the Daytona 500. This will be the 61st running of NASCAR's crown jewel and while there were many changes to the landscape of the sport in the off-season, the slate is now cleaned for each driver.
This will be the final Daytona 500 for the current car they are running as next season they will switch to the "next gen" model which will be VASTLY different than the car we will be seeing on Sunday. This is important because now teams will be able to maximize the current cars they have now before they become obsolete in 2021. Many team owners have done a good job of taking advantage of this including team JTG Daugherty Racing as they were able to reach a deal with Hendrick Motorsports allowing them more resources that they didn't have last year. These include pit crew support and engines as well. The team has really reaped the benefits of this as their new driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr went on to claim the pole on Sunday.
We will see if this will improve parity and if we will see any new winners in 2020.
Another major storyline coming into this new season is the rookie class. Over the last couple of years, NASCAR's rookie class has not been as strong as fans would like it to be, but this year is a completely different story. Drivers Christopher Bell, Cole Custer and Tyler Reddick have all been promoted to the cup series in 2020. This has been long overdue as they have all shown excellent promise by outrunning multiple Cup racing stars who frequently race in the Xfinity series. While Reddick is the only one of the three to win a championship, they have all won a combined 34 races over the last three years.
Tyler Reddick will move to the #8 Caterpillar Chevy for Richard Childress racing 2020 replacing Daniel Hemric. Many fans believe that adding the young driver will revitalize the slumping team as he finished ninth last year in his second Cup Series start at Kansas. Reddick is easily the most accomplished as he has won back to back NASCAR Xfinity Championships. Overall, if he can translate his success to the Cup series he will for sure be one to watch this year.
California native Cole Custer will be driving the #41 Haas Automation Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas racing as he will be replacing Daniel Suarez. This comes as no surprise considering his connections to the race team as his Dad, Joe Custer is the team president. While many people have been quick to bring this up, it doesn't take away from the immense talent this young man has. Last season, Cole won seven races and was very close to claiming the championship after a fierce battle with Reddick at Homestead. Overall, I also believe that Cole will be going into one of the better situations as he will be driving in championship winning equipment as well. I look for Custer to really make a splash this year.
While both of these drivers are extremely talented, I believe that Christopher Bell is the best of the three and will win rookie of the year. The Norman, Oklahoma phenom will be driving the #95 Toyota Camry for Bob Leavine and the Leavine Family Racing team. Unlike the other two, Bell has yet to make a Cup Series start but don't let that fool you, no one could be more prepared for the big time than this young man. Overall, I believe that he is the most polished prospect that the sport has seen since Tony Stewart considering both their backgrounds in Dirt Racing. This could explain why Joe Gibbs and his team has been so instrumental in moving Christopher's career forward considering Stewart also drove for him from 1999 to the end of 2008 when he would form his own team the next season. I think Coach Gibbs sees a lot in this young man and that's why he is spending a lot of money and resources on a partnership with Leavine Family Racing. Look for Bell to be contending for wins and championships for decades to come.
While one of those three drivers are easily the favorites to take Rookie Of The Year, another driver who is finally getting his shot at the highest level is John-Hunter Nemechek. Son of NASCAR vetran Joe Nemechek, racing has been in this young man's blood since even before he was even born, you had to figure that this young man was destined to be where he is today. While he isn't driving for a big money team in front row racing, he has been rather impressive. Last year at Texas he was in the top twenty to top fifteen throughout the day. If the young man can keep this up his name could come up for a promotion to another team. Look for Nemechek to surprise some folks this year.
Aside from this year's stacked rookie class, there will also be plenty of new faces in new places. One of the biggest announcements this year was Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Chris Buescher switching rides at Roush Racing and JTG Daugherty Racing. This came as a big surprise last season as Stenhouse had re-signed with Roush to remain in the #17 Fastenal Ford but after he struggled for most of the season, the hall of fame car owner decided to go in a different direction so they brought in their former developmental driver Chris Buescher. To counter this move, car owners Tad and Jodi Geschickter decided to bring in Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Another big move this year was Matt DiBenedetto moving to the Wood brothers to replace the retiring Paul Menard in the legendary #21 Ford Mustang. This was a popular move among NASCAR fans as he will continue to try and move his budding career forward. It will be interesting to see how these drivers will do at their new teams.
While there were many changes easily the biggest storyline this year is Jimmie Johnson and his announcement that 2020 will be his final season in NASCAR before retiring. Over the course of his 18-year career, it's hard to find anyone with a better resume. He has 83 wins and most importantly seven championships. He has experienced his fair share of success here at Daytona as well as he has won the 500 twice back in 2006 and 2013. While during his prime, Jimmie wasn't always the most popular one thing remains, Jimmie was the best to ever do it. In his final Daytona 500, Jimmie is who I am picking to win. Over the course of speedweeks Jimmie has been pretty quick as he posted speeds in the top four in both rounds one and two. Of all the drivers in the field, Johnson easily is the most experienced and that should definitely help him in the long run. Look for Jimmie Johnson to go out on top in his final daytona 500.
One darkhorse driver to watch out for is Ricky Stenhouse Jr. As I mentioned earlier, Ricky is having a week to remember as he went on to claim his third career pole on Sunday and was a lap away from winning one of winning one of the Duel qualifying races as well. I look for him to have a good race and if he can keep up his momentum a good season as well. It will be fun to watch as he tries to capture his first Daytona 500 victory from the front row on sunday.
(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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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.