NASCAR comes to Texas this weekend. Photo via: Wiki Commons.
For the first time in NASCAR history, Texas Motor Speedway plays host to NASCAR's annual All-Star Race. This race will feature each winner from 2020 and 2021 plus past champions and past All-Star Race winners. As we all know, this is where the sport pulls out all the stops and really tries a lot of new things. Some of them work, a lot of them don't. This week will be no different as there will be a myriad of changes. The biggest change of note is NASCAR's reduction on horsepower. Now I know there is a lot of gloom and doom in that sentence but to play devil's advocate here, I really think that this can bunch the cars up a whole lot more than what we see on an average Sunday. It should be a wild weekend when the green flag drops.
The format for the All-Star Race is vastly different from what we see on a typical race-day. First and foremost, before the main event as usual there will be a qualifying race for the drivers who have yet to win from 2019-2021. This race is known as the All-Star Open, some of the notable names that will be in this race are Ross Chastain, Bubba Wallace, Daniel Suarez and Tyler Reddick. The race will consist of three segments, with the first two being twenty laps and then a ten lap dash at the end. The winners of each segment move on to the main event. This race is usually pretty crazy considering how much is on the line.
Another interesting aspect of this race is the fan vote. This grants the final starting spot to the driver who has the most votes on NASCAR's website. This will be a very competitive race with many drivers who can win. The three that really stand out are Tyler Reddick, Matt DiBenedetto and Ross Chastain. All three drivers have been in the top five this year in contention to win a race, so those are the drivers to look out for to race their way in. The favorite to win the fan vote has to be Bubba Wallace. Although unpopular among some of the more unsavory characters in this sport, he has a lot of people that are behind him. And while he will also be a threat to win one of the segments, I think he can fall back on the fan vote. It will be interesting to see how it all works out.
After the open comes the main event, the NASCAR All-Star Race. The format for the race this year is one of the most confusing yet as there will be SIX SEGMENTS! Including an invert at the end of each segment and a thirty-thousand dollar reward for the fastest pit crew at the end of the final segment. The first four will consist of fifteen laps. Segment five will be different as they will run thirty laps with a mandatory pit-stop at the conclusion. When it's all said and done, the sixth and final segment will be ten laps for $1,000,000. It seems every year this race gets more and more confusing to the viewer and the drivers themselves. Let's hope next season is easier to understand.
The driver I have winning this week is Kyle Larson. This has been a dream season for him as he's now won three races after taking the field to school last week at Sonoma. And with all the success this year, why stop now? Besides, he will be starting on the pole after the field was set by a random draw this week, so he already has the track position on everyone else. That will be a big momentum boost and while the inversion of the top eight to twelve cars won't let him run away, we have seen it time and time again how good he is at driving through the field. Look for Larson to continue his hot streak and score the big bucks this week at Texas Motor Speedway.
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It should come as no surprise that after a slow start to the season, fans and media are starting to voice concerns about the organization's leadership and direction. The latest evidence of this involved Astros adviser Reggie Jackson and the comments he made on Jon Heyman's podcast, The Show.
Jackson discussed the Astros reported interest in starting pitcher Blake Snell. He said that ultimately, Snell was looking for a deal the Astros weren't comfortable with in terms of money and structure of the contract.
Which is interesting considering the Astros were okay with paying 5-years, $95 million for closer Josh Hader, but not willing to pay Snell 2-years, $62 million. We believe the opt-outs in Snell's contract were a dealbreaker for Houston. And of course the money played a role.
However, the Astros passing on Snell is not the intriguing part of the story. It was Jackson talking about the club's power structure in the front office and how they go about making decisions.
“Being fiscally responsible is what kicked us out of the Snell deal… That's too much for him… Between the 4 or 5 people who make decisions with the Astros, we don't play that game,” said Jackson.
Based on Jackson's comments in the interview, the decision makers are Jim Crane, Dana Brown, Jeff Bagwell, Craig Biggio, and Reggie. But not necessarily in that order. He also mentioned that they had conversations with manager Joe Espada and his staff, plus some input from the analytics department.
These comments add to the concerns we've had about the front office since Crane moved on from GM James Click and operated without a general manager for several months. Which led to the disastrous signing of Jose Abreu and to a lesser extent Rafael Montero.
Which begs the question, are the Astros in a better spot now with their front office? Many blame Dana Brown for the state of the starting rotation. While there were some red flags this spring, anticipating injuries to Jose Urquidy, Justin Verlander, and Framber Valdez is asking a lot.
But only bringing in Hader to replace all the innings left behind by Hector Neris, Phil Maton, Kendall Graveman, and Ryne Stanek always felt risky.
Finally, what can the Astros due in the short-term to weather the storm while Framber and JV rehab from injury?
And is Hunter Brown the biggest liability in the rotation?
Be sure to watch the video above for the full in-depth discussion.