Keep an eye on Kyle Larson this weekend. Photo by Wiki Commons.
The playoffs continue this week as they head to Kansas Motor Speedway for round two of the round of 16. This will be the second race here this season as the last time they were here Kurt Busch out dueled Kyle Larson for his lone win of 2022. Overall, the racing here has been fantastic. This new car has proven that races on mile-and-a-half tracks like this provide for much better racing than its Gen-6 counterparts. There will be a lot of eyes on these race cars after there were several failures including engine failures from Martin Truex, Kyle Busch, and Kevin Harvick. I don’t know if this will be too much of an issue this week because the surface is much newer, but it will still be an exciting storyline.
Last week, in one of the biggest upsets of the season, Erik Jones went on to capture his third career victory and his second career win at Darlington. This was the first win for the legendary #43 car since Aric Almirola won back in 2014 at Daytona. This season has been sort of a breakthrough for Petty-GMS. Erik has scored ten top-10 finishes and was knocking on the door of the playoffs. Both him and runner-up Denny Hamlin both raced clean as Hamlin cut him a break as the two were former teammates at Joe Gibbs Racing. In the future, Erik Jones will certainly be the team's franchise driver.
As I mentioned earlier, it was a huge attrition race. Both Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports had mechanical issues that would take them out of the race. What made this more difficult was that both teams had cars that were capable of winning, especially JGR as Martin Truex Jr and Kyle Busch led for the lion's share of the race. As we would expect, the drivers were very critical of the new car and its parts. After Kevin Harvick blew an engine, his Ford Mustang caught fire. When he was asked how the sport can fix the car, he responded, "Find someone who is better at running the show.”
It’s clear that NASCAR is doing all it can to fix these cars. They recently added a steel panel above the exhaust that will have a much harder time catching fire. Hopefully, this makes these cars much safer going forward.
On Thursday, a bombshell announcement was dropped on the NASCAR world as the All-Star Race will be held at the famed North Wilksboro Speedway. When it was announced that Texas Motor Speedway would be getting a race back in 1996, North Wilksboro was the track that would have to give up it’s date and the track would sit dormant for over 25 years. It wasn’t until 2020 when Dale Earnhardt Jr was able to convince IRacing to go and scan the track’s racing surface so it could be added to the game. Many thought it would end right there and that racing would never happen, but sure enough, NASCAR has found a way back to its roots. I will be attending this race first-hand. It will truly be a special moment when the green flag drops in May of 2023.
The Kyle Busch speculation is coming closer and closer to its conclusion as he is now closer to a decision on where he will race in 2023. It’s looking like his most likely landing spot will be either Richard Childress Racing or 23XI or both? On Twitter, Adam Stern reported that Richard Childress Racing is his most likely landing spot and with Tyler Reddick more than likely on his way out, Busch would fill the seat. This would mean Ty Gibbs would be promoted to drive the #18 car, similarly to what we saw with Joey Logano when Tony Stewart left back in 2009. The other option is Busch would leave for Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan’s team 23XI as his brother Kurt ponders his future in driving. The question would shift as to where he would go after that, as Reddick is slated to move to the team in 2024. We should know a whole lot more in the next 24-48 hours.
Focusing on this weekend’s race, the driver that I have winning is Kyle Larson. Last week's race at Darlington was a disaster for him. He would spin out, have all kinds of mechanical issues, and somehow he was still able to salvage a respectable 12th place finish. This proves that Larson is one of the most talented drivers in the world. His day was all but done and he still drove back through the field and almost scored a top ten. This week, he is going to a track where he has been almost perfect. Over the last three races, Larson has finished no worse than second and has led 291 laps. We can expect him to continue to rip the top line like in the spring, as his car is much faster up there close to the wall. If he can conserve his equipment and can stay out of trouble, the defending champ should have no issue going to victory lane come Sunday.
The NFL playoffs are finally here, and the Texans will kick off the postseason by hosting the LA Chargers this Saturday at NRG.
And while the Texans are only 3 point underdogs, the national media is making it seem like Houston has no chance against Justin Herbert and company.
ESPN's Rex Ryan has gone as far as calling the Texans a "bye" week for the Chargers, giving the team no chance to win despite playing at home.
However, the Texans are no stranger to this situation, as they were given little chance to win against the Browns in last year's Wild Card game. And we know how that ended, with the Texans thrashing the Browns 45-14.
It's certainly fair to predict the Chargers will come away with a win this Saturday, they have been playing much better football than Houston in recent weeks.
But it's important to remember that home underdogs have performed well in the Wild Card round. In fact, home underdogs are 16-14 all-time in the Wild Card playoffs, and both home underdogs won last year (Texans, Buccaneers).
Speaking of last year, many credit the Texans defense for securing the win over Cleveland, with two pick sixes in the second half helping to seal the deal.
But the real reason Houston won the game was because of CJ Stroud and the offense. Stroud threw 3 touchdowns before halftime and the team was leading 24-14 with six minutes left in the third quarter. That's when the defense tacked on two interceptions for touchdowns and put the game out of reach. Stroud and the offense also went on to score another TD on a Devin Singletary run.
If Stroud and the offense didn't put so much pressure on Joe Flacco and the Cleveland offense to score, he may not have forced those passes that were picked off.
Now, many will point to the Chargers having the best defense (points allowed) this season, but it's worth noting the Browns had the number one defense (yards allowed) last year as well.
Bulls on Parade
Houston's defense will have its hands full against a strong rushing attack led by JK Dobbins. And Justin Herbert has been terrific this season, spreading the ball around to his top two targets, Ladd McConkey and Quentin Johnston.
Fortunately for the Texans, they are extremely healthy on defense this week. While Jimmy Ward and Jalen Pitre are out for the year, we'll finally get to see linebackers Azeez Al-Shaair and Christian Harris play together for the first time this season.
The defensive line is expected to be at full strength as well, keep in mind Jonathan Greenard was injured and unable to play against the Browns last year.
Outlook on offense
We should see the best possible version of the offensive line this Saturday. We're all aware how many hits Stroud has taken due to poor o-line play. But with Tytus Howard and left guard and Juice Scruggs at right guard, Stroud should have more time to get the passing game going, featuring Nico Collins.
Speaking of the receivers, it's pretty amazing that this receiver group is almost identical to last year's in the Wild Card round. Stroud didn't have Stefon Diggs (on the Bills) or Tank Dell (injured) to throw to last year, either. But he does have one big addition in Joe Mixon this year. Hopefully, they can get Mixon involved in the passing game, and the shuffling of the o-line provides Mixon with some holes to run through.
X-factor
At least there's a possibility newly acquired receiver Diontae Johnson could provide a spark to the offense. Last year John Metchie and Robert Woods were the main targets besides Collins and Dalton Schultz.
What does Vegas think?
The Chargers are favored by 3 and the total is set at 42.5 points
Don't miss the video above as the crew from Texans on Tap previews this week's big game!