Ryan Blaney is the pick to pull off the win this week. Ryanblaney.com
This Saturday, the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series heads for the bluegrass state at Kentucky speedway for the Quaker State 400. Kentucky Speedway is another 1.5 mile intermediate track, but what makes this track stand out is its extremely difficult turn three. In the exit of this corner the track becomes very flat and much more slippery. It is truly one of the toughest corners in NASCAR. Last year, it got the best of both seven-time Champion Jimmie Johnson and 2012 Champion Brad Keselowski as they were involved in a multi-car crash also involving Clint Bowyer. If a driver is able to master this corner, he should be a major factor in the race.
Last week, Erik Jones was able to claim his first career NASCAR Cup Series victory after he was able to outduel defending champion Martin Truex Jr. The race was marred by a MASSIVE 26-car mele that eliminated many of the favorites including pole winner Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch and favorite Brad Keselowski.
While there were many cars that went to the garage area, most of the drivers who were involved in the wreck were able to continue on and contend for the victory. The wreck started when Ricky Stenhouse Jr hooked the back of Keselowski on the exit of the back straightaway. It was not a good night for Stenhouse Jr.; he would go on to cause another multi-car accident involving Kyle Busch, William Byron and even race winner Jones.
In the closing stages, Jones was able to get a big push from Chris Buscher which propelled him to victory. Many considered this to be one of the bigger upsets of the season seeing how most don’t usually think of him for his restrictor plate ability. Aside from Jones, the biggest surprise of the race was the top finishers for this race just in general. Lots of drivers that we don’t usually see run up front got solid finishes. Some of those drivers were Matt DiBenedetto who came home seventh, Jeffrey Earnhardt, who finished 11th and Brendan Gaughan, who finished behind him in 12th.
One Driver who deserves a shout out is Ontario’s own D.J. Kennington. As NASCAR fans know, Kennington is not a full time driver. This season, Kennington has run seven races. At Daytona, he was able to claim his career-best 13th place finish. This race was special for him and his newly formed Gaunt Brothers Racing not only because it was their best finish but also because he was racing with a heavy heart.
Earlier this year, after a bus crash claimed the lives of 16 members of the Humboldt Broncos Hockey Team, Kennington and his team placed the Broncos logo on the hood of their car at Bristol earlier this year. After the race was over, he then auctioned off the hood of the car and donated the proceeds to the Broncos Charity foundation. This finish couldn’t have come to a better group of guys than Crew Chief Mike Hillman, team owners Marty and John Gaunt and of course their drivers Parker Kligerman and Kennington.
The favorite going into this weekend is one of the usual suspects, Martin Truex Jr. Last season, Truex completely dominated here. He led a race high 152 laps and was able to fend off Kyle Larson for the win. I suspect this weekend should be no different. As most fans know, Truex has cut his teeth on the intermediate half mile tracks like Kentucky Motor Speedway, and he has more wins on these styles of tracks than anyone else in the sport. Look for Truex to be a serious threat come Saturday.
The driver that I have winning this weekend is Ryan Blaney. The 2018 season overall has been somewhat of a disappointment for the third-year driver. Even though he has eight top 10s and three top fives, he still has yet to claim his first win of the season. I think if there is anywhere to do it, Kentucky is near the top of the list for him. Back in 2013, Ryan was able to claim his first Xfinity victory at Kentucky so this is certainly a track where he can succeed. Despite his 22.50 Finishing average here, I believe that this week should be different for him, as he did finish 10th last year. Look for Blaney to take the #12 to victory lane.
A good sleeper for this week is Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. This season has had its ups and downs for the rookie, and while he has struggled at times, there have been races where he legitimately had cars good enough to run around the top 10. This week he goes to a race track where he got his best finish last year in his fourth and final start of 2017. Last year’s race really kind of put Wallace's name on the map as he was able to take home an impressive 11th place finish. I look for him to expand on that run and possibly be in contention to get a top 10. Not only has he run good at this track in the Cup series but he has also excelled in the Camping World Truck series as back in 2014 he was able to take the checkered flag and solidify his name as one of NASCAR’s brightest future stars. Look for Wallace to have a solid run come Saturday.
(All stats and information used in this article is brought to you by the good folks at driveraverages.com and Racing-Refrence.com the best website for all NASCAR stats).
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How Astros advanced metrics tell puzzling story about Houston's start
Apr 17, 2025, 5:21 pm
Major League Baseball’s regular season is 162 games long. You can think of 18 games as the first inning of the season, 18 times nine equaling 162. While the Astros 8-10 record is not good, it’s far from disastrous. Think of it as them being behind 1-0 after the first inning. It is pretty remarkable that they have yet to win consecutive games. Even during last year’s 7-19 stink bomb of a start the Astros twice managed to win two in a row.
The Astros’ offensive woes are plentiful. Oddly enough as impotent as they’ve been, the Astros have yet to be shutout. But in half their games they have scored exactly one or two runs. Basically, most of them stink thus far. Exemptions go to Jose Altuve and Isaac Paredes, but it’s not like either of them has been outstanding. It’s still early enough that one big series can dramatically alter the numbers, but the Astros badly need Yordan Alvarez to pick up his production. Yordan enters the weekend batting just .224 with a .695 OPS and just four extra base hits. Yainer rhymes with minor. As in minor leagues, where Diaz belongs at his current level of performance. That is not saying Diaz should be sent down, just that any random AAA catcher called up couldn’t have done much worse to this point. Diaz isn’t hitting Altuve’s weight, a woeful .130 with seven hits in 57 at bats. Diaz simply remains too undisciplined at the plate swinging at too many balls. He’s drawn three walks. And now to Christian Walker, who thus far has delivered return on investment for his three year 60 million dollar contract about as strong as the stock market’s performance in Tariff Time. Walker’s .154 batting average and .482 OPS are very Astro Jose Abreu-like. Walker’s23 strikeouts in 65 at bats jump off the page. In the batter’s box he has often looked befuddled. Walker is definitely pressing and frustrated, wanting to perform better for his new team. Jeremy Pena goes into the weekend batting .215 and has one hit in 13 at bats with runners in scoring position. Brendan Rodgers, Jake Meyers, and Chas McCormick all have weak stat lines, with little reason to expect quality offensive output from any of them. Cam Smith is at .200 with a yucky .591 OPS but he’s obviously a young stud work in progress thrown into the deep end of the pool.
All batting orders are top-heavy, the Astros’ on paper more so than many. As I set forth on one of our Stone Cold ‘Stros podcasts this week, the first inning should be a team’s best offensive inning. It’s the only frame in which a team gets to dictate who comes up from the start with the batters lined up just as the manager slots them. Add to that, the first inning is a good time to get to a starting pitcher before he settles in. The Astros have scored a pitiful three first inning runs in 18 games, and in two of the games they pushed one across in the first, it turned out to be the only Astro run of the game. Improvement needs to come internally from the big league roster. It’s not as if the Astros have a meaningful prospect at AAA Sugar Land who looks ready to help. Entering play Thursday the Space Cowboys’ team average was .186. Second base hopeful Brice Matthews is nowhere close, batting .180 and striking out left and right. Outfielder Jacob Melton opened three for 17 following the back injury-delayed start to his season.
As exasperating and boring as the offense has been for so many, grading needs to occur on a curve. So, while the Astros’ team batting average is a joke at .216, know that at close of business Wednesday the entire American League was batting just .232. The American League West-leading Texas Rangers scored eight fewer runs over their first 18 games than did the Astros, though that is skewed by the Astros’ one 14-run outburst against the Angels.
Familiar faces return
This weekend the Astros play host to the San Diego Padres at Daikin Park. The Friars are off to a fabulous start at 15-4. The Padres being here creates a mini reunion as both Martin Maldonado and Yuli Gurriel are on their roster. In a telling fact, Maldonado would have the third-highest batting average on the Astros if on the team with his current numbers. Maldonado is hitting .250 with seven hits in 28 at bats. The last season he finished above .200 was 2020. The only season in his career Maldonado topped .234 was his rookie season with a .266 mark in 2012.
Gurriel was last good in 2021 when he won the American League batting title at .319. He fell off a cliff from there, though perked up to have a fine postseason in the Astros’ 2022 run to World Series title number two. “La Pina” is batting .115 with just three hits in 26 at bats. Gurriel may be released soon, and approaching his 41st birthday June 9, that would probably be the end of the line. Short-timer Astro Jason Heyward is also on the Padres, and batting .190.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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