The driver that I have winning this week is Chase Elliott. Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images.
NASCAR heads for the Monster Mile at Dover
For the first time in two years, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Wine Country at Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, California. This is truly a step in the right direction as NASCAR and the world continues to try to get back to normal after this pandemic. For many in California, this will be their first experience at a sporting event in quite some time as it was announced earlier this year that they will allow fans to attend. They will also be running on a much different track layout and will bring back the carousel section around turn five. This section of the track will be interesting considering the massive elevation change we see from turns four and five. This will be a brand-new obstacle to the drivers considering no one has competed on this layout of racetrack.
Last week, Kyle Larson annihilated the field en route to his second victory of 2021. He led over three hundred laps and was never really challenged at any point of the race. This was a promising sign for Larson considering the hard time he has had at finishing races. If he can continue this, he is going to easily be the favorite to win the championship going to Phoenix. Whether it's been at road courses, intermediates or short tracks he has run exceptionally fast everywhere he has raced at. Look out for the #5 to continue to set the tone for the season.
The rumor mill is getting wilder and wilder as we get into the summer. The latest rumor involves Michael Jordan and Denny Hamlin's new team 23XI and their expansion to two teams next season. While there have been many candidates that have been linked to this ride, it was reported that NASCAR veteran Kurt Busch has been listed as the favorite. This really surprised a lot of people considering Kurt is the eldest driver in the field, but overall I think this would be a genius move. Kurt is an accomplished veteran who can offer a lot of great insight for Bubba Wallace and can give a lot of great feedback to the team. It will be interesting to see how this all works and what kind of team they put behind Busch and who his crew chief may be. The other question will be who Chip Ganassi puts in the #1 car next season. Will he go with a veteran like Ryan Newman who can help Ross Chastain, or will he go younger and get a prospect driver like Josh Berry or Noah Gragson? Only time will tell. I look forward to seeing how this story develops.
A driver who has really flown under the radar over the last couple of weeks has been Tyler Reddick. He has finished in the top ten in back to back weeks, including a surprising eight place finish at Circuit of the Americas where he won the pole. There were a lot of eyes on the second year driver after an impressive rookie season, but now he is really building off of that and can be a contender to not only make the playoffs but win a race as well. Look for him to be a threat to go to victory lane this season.
The driver that I have winning this week is Chase Elliott. When your nickname is the King of the Road, it's hard to bet against someone who has six road course victories. Now Sonoma hasn't been a track that Elliott has accumulated a lot of success at but with a front row starting spot come Sunday, he will have plenty of track position to help him out. Plus, he drives for the hottest race team in NASCAR as well, so that definitely helps out. I look for Elliott to capture his second win of the season and his seventh road course victory.
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C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans are looking for answers after their passing game couldn’t get going in a loss to the Green Bay Packers.
Houston’s passing attack had been a strength all season, and the Texans ranked fifth in yards passing per game through their first six games. But on Sunday at Lambeau Field, Stroud was limited to a career-low 86 yards in the 24-22 loss, which snapped a three-game winning streak.
Stroud was 10 of 21 and didn’t have a touchdown pass for the first time this season. The second-year player was under duress for much of the day and was sacked four times and hit seven other times.
“We have to go back to the drawing board and see what those issues were,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “As we watch the film, we’ll see what happened, starting for me the communication and just guys being on the details of the job.”
'Everything is on the table. We have to get it fixed' #Texans coach DeMeco Ryans on offensive line and if personnel changes are being contemplated @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/AwK0rqeU2z
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) October 21, 2024
The Texans scored a season-high 41 points in a win over New England a week earlier in which Stroud threw a season-best three touchdown passes despite being without star receiver Nico Collins.
They were unable to replicate that success Sunday with Collins out for the second of at least four games after a hamstring injury landed him on injured reserve.
Stefon Diggs led the team with five receptions against the Packers, but they only amounted to 23 yards. Tank Dell, who the Texans expected to step up with Collins out, was targeted four times but didn’t have a catch.
Stroud discussed the importance of getting Dell more involved in the offense.
“We have to find a way to try and get him the rock early and often and then go from there,” he said. “It has to be a focus for us, not only just him, but the whole offense clicking early. That is really my job to get the ball out on time and to where it is supposed to go. So yeah, that definitely has to be fixed.”
Ryans spoke about his confidence is getting Dell going.
'I have all the faith in Tank' #Texans coach DeMeco Ryans expressed confidence in Tank Dell ability to get back to making explosive plays again as he did as a rookie @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/bojBEx3lYo
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) October 21, 2024
What's working
The Texans have forced seven turnovers combined in their last two games after they hadn’t caused any in their previous three games.
Houston scored 16 points off three turnovers Sunday. The Texans had two interceptions and recovered a fumble on a punt. In their win over the Patriots, they scored 17 points off a season-high four turnovers.
What needs help
The Texans won’t get to where they want to be this season if Stroud doesn’t get back on track. Before Sunday, last year’s AP Offensive Rookie of the Year was averaging more than 262 yards passing a game, giving the team confidence that the problems in the passing game are fixable.
Ryans knows the line must give Stroud more time to throw and said the coaching staff will focus on improving in that area this week.
Stock up
RB Joe Mixon continued to shine Sunday in his second game back after missing three games with an ankle injury. Mixon, who is in his first season in Houston after a trade from Cincinnati, had 25 carries for 115 yards and two touchdowns against Green Bay.
Mixon is confident the Texans will rebound this week if they quit making mistakes.
“Does it look I’m worried? I’m not worried at all,” he said. “Like I said, we got a ... good football team. At the end of the day, we are our own worst enemy.”
Stock down
Dell was unable to help Stroud get the passing game going. The second-year player had a solid rookie season with 709 yards receiving and seven touchdowns in 11 games before breaking his leg. But he hasn’t been able to build on that success this year and has just 194 yards receiving with one score in six games.
Injuries
LB Azeez Al-Shaair (knee), LB Henry To’oTo’o (concussion), CB Kamari Lassiter (shoulder) and S Jimmie Ward (groin) all missed Sunday’s game and it’s unclear if any of these starters can return this week.
Key number
3 — Safety Calen Bullock had his third interception Sunday to tie Dunta Robinson and Jumal Rolle for most interceptions by a rookie in franchise history through the first seven games. He leads NFL rookies in interceptions this season and is tied for third-most among all players.
Next steps
The AFC South-leading Texans (5-2) return to division play Sunday when they host the second-place Colts (4-3), who have won two in a row and four of five.