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.
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Rich Eisen lays out how Stefon Diggs trade will impact Texans next season
Apr 19, 2024, 3:03 pm
Impersonal as it might seem to have their dynamic on-field relationship end with an exchange of phone texts, Bills quarterback Josh Allen made it clear on Thursday how much receiver Stefon Diggs meant to him during their four seasons together in Buffalo.
Allen made no mention of Diggs’ mercurial temperament or the occasional sideline flare-ups by expressing only praise in his first opportunity to discuss his now-former teammate being traded to the Houston Texans earlier this month.
“Just thanking him for everything that he did for me, and (I’ll) always have a spot in my heart for him. I’ll always love that guy like a brother. And I wish him nothing but the best,” Allen said, in disclosing what he texted to Diggs. “My lasting memory of Stef will be the receiver that helped me become the quarterback that I am today.”
Brought together in March 2020, when Buffalo gave up a first-round draft pick to acquire Diggs in a trade with Minnesota, the duo went on to re-write many of Buffalo's single-season passing and scoring records, and lead the team to four straight AFC East titles.
Diggs, now 30, also brought an inescapable sense of drama with him in raising questions about his commitment to the Bills and whether his tight relationship with Allen had soured.
A day before being traded, Diggs posted a message, “You sure?” on the social media platform X in response to someone suggesting he wasn’t essential to Allen’s success.
Whatever hard feelings, if any, lingered as Buffalo opened its voluntary workout sessions this week were not apparent from Allen or coach Sean McDermott, who also addressed reporters for the first time since Diggs was traded.
“Stef’s a great player, really enjoyed our time together. Won a lot of games and he was a huge factor in winning those games. We’ll miss him,” McDermott said. “You never replace a player like Stef Diggs, and we wish him well.”
Allen turned his focus to the future and a Bills team that spent much of the offseason retooling an aging and expensive roster.
Aside from trading Diggs, salary cap restrictions led to Buffalo cutting respected center Mitch Morse, the breakup of a veteran secondary that had been together since 2017, and the team unable to afford re-signing No. 2 receiver Gabe Davis.
“I don’t think it’s a wrong thing or a bad thing to get younger,” said Allen, entering his seventh NFL season. “I think it’s an opportunity for myself to grow as a leader. And to bring along some of these young guys and new guys that we’ve brought in to our team. And that’s an opportunity, frankly, that I’m very excited about."
Despite the departures, the Bills offense is not exactly lacking even though general manager Brandon Beane is expected to target selecting a receiver with his first pick — currently 28th overall — in the draft next week.
Receiver Khalil Shakir enters his third year and tight end Dalton Kincaid enter his second following promising seasons. Buffalo also added veteran experience in signing free agent receiver Curtis Samuel and Mack Hollins.
While Beane acknowledged the Bills lack a true No. 1 receiver, he noted there’s less urgency to fill that spot now than in 2020 because of how much the offense has developed under Allen.
“Now that Josh has ascended to the player he is, is that a requirement? I don’t think so,” Beane said.
Diggs’ role also began diminishing in the second half of last season, which coincided with Joe Brady replacing Ken Dorsey as offensive coordinator. Brady placed an emphasis on adding balance to a pass-heavy attack and getting more receivers involved, which led to an uptick in production for Shakir and Kincaid.
While Diggs’ numbers dropped, Buffalo’s win total increased.
With the Bills at 6-6, Diggs ranked third in the NFL with 83 catches, seventh with 969 yards and tied for third with eight TDs receiving. Buffalo then closed the season with five straight wins in which Diggs combined for 24 catches for 214 yards and no scores.
”(Diggs) meant a lot. You look at the statistics, they don’t lie,” Allen said, in referring to Diggs topping 100 catches and 1,000 yards in each of his four seasons in Buffalo. “I don’t get paid to make changes on the team. I get paid to be the best quarterback that I can be and try to lead the guys on this team.”