THE LEFT TURN

NASCAR: The action heats up at Bristol this weekend

NASCAR: The action heats up at Bristol this weekend
Photo via: Wiki Commons

The NASCAR Cup Series heads for Thunder Valley for the final race of the round of 16. This track is one of the baddest tracks on the schedule and now for the first time, it gets a race in the playoffs. The race will also host fans as it did back in June for the All-Star race so it would be good to see things continue to return to normal as they do in the world. This race will decide who gets to move on to the round of 12 as well, making it all the more urgent. This is going to be a race you won't want to miss.

Last week, Brad Keselowski dominated at Richmond Raceway for his third victory of the year and a trip to the round of 12. This was a clean race, there were no on-track incidents and the only cautions we saw were for the stage breaks. When it was over, Clint Bowyer was quoted as saying "We have to find a way to put on a much better show than that." Personally, while there wasn't a lot of action so to speak for a track called the action track, overall I thought the race had some interesting moments. Plus, it will be a nice contrast for what we see this week at Bristol. Regardless, kudos to Brad Kesewloski for winning. With his new contract signed, it seems like he and his Penske Racing team are all-in for the rest of this season looking for him to be a threat in the next round.

The Silly season remains in full effect as the rumors are swirling around who will be where in 2021. It is looking more and more likely that Denny Hamlin is trying to become a team owner here as there are many rumors pointing to him purchasing the Gaunt Brothers Racing or Germain racing and bringing in Bubba Wallace to drive for him. Of the two teams I mentioned the one that makes the most sense is Gaunt Brothers Racing considering their ties to Toyota racing. I look forward to seeing how this plays out. Besides, it would be awesome to see another owner driver in NASCAR.

The other major rumor surrounds the #48 car. The wild speculation continues as Kyle Larson now becomes the leader in the clubhouse as to who will take over the coveted #48 car in 2021. Many fans rejoiced when these reports came out and it seemed like there was smoke to this rumor. But all of this seemed to be quashed when MRN Reporter Mike Bagley tweeted out that Larson has not applied for reinstatement from NASCAR after his suspension in March. Now this doesn't mean he won't and there is still a chance that he will and when he does, I am sure he will become highly sought after. Personally, I am beginning to come around on him racing in NASCAR again but it seems kind of strange to me that he considered NASCAR a "stepping stone" to racing in the World of Outlaws dirt racing series full time. And now, all of a sudden he wants to go NASCAR racing again. Needless to say, you can't deny the disgraced driver's talent and whoever gets him will definitely be getting a championship contender.

As we know, after this race the playoff field of 16 will be cut down to 12 and the battle for the final spot is heating up. As of now, Clint Bowyer is on the hot seat as he sits three points ahead of William Byron and eight pints ahead of Cole Custer in fourteenth. The drivers in fifteenth and sixteenth are Matt DiBenedetto and Ryan Blaney. At this point while Bowyer, Byron and Custer can fall back on points, both Matt and Ryan almost need a win to get into the next round. This is sure to be a major focal point of the race come Saturday night and as the urgency ramps up on a short track, these drivers are going to be hungry to advance. We could very well see some fireworks on and off the track.

With all that said, the driver I am picking to win this weekend is Ryan Blaney. At the beginning of the year after finishing second to Denny Hamlin in a photo finish at Daytona, many pencilled in Blaney as a championship contender. He has backed it up as well. He has eight top fives, eleven top tens and a victory at Talladega. With all of this though, Blaney has not had a very good stretch here. Over the last two weeks, Blaney has finished twenty-fourth and nineteenth at Darlington and Richmond. This has really put him in a tough spot as he is twenty-seven points back. I think this will light a fire under him though, and he is coming to a track where he has been really fast but circumstances have cost him a chance at victory. For instance, the last time the cup series was at Bristol, he seemed to have a car that could contend but after overdriving turn one and crashing out, he was relegated to a last place finish. If he can just put it all together and run a clean race, I see no reason as to why he can't win. It will also be interesting to see how he approaches slower cars. He said earlier this week that he "cautions anyone in front of them cause they won't be in front of them long." This type of mentality is why I think he will win. He is driving with a purpose. I look forward to watching him come Saturday.

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The Coogs are back in action Friday night. Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images.

Sixteen may be sweet, but it isn’t the only relevant number as the NCAA Tournament heads into the regional semifinals.

Here are some other numbers worth knowing for each team. These statistics will help you learn more about each of the remaining teams and could explain how some of them got this far.

EAST REGION

UCONN: In UConn’s second-round victory over Northwestern, Donovan Clingan became just the third player in tournament history to get 14 points, 14 rebounds and eight blocks in a game. The others to do it were Hakeem Olajuwon for Houston in 1983 and David Robinson for Navy in 1986. The blocks also were the most ever by a UConn player in a tournament game.

SAN DIEGO STATE: The Aztecs’ Sweet 16 matchup with defending national champion UConn will mark the fourth time that two teams have faced each other in the tournament a year after meeting in the final. The losing team from the championship won the rematch in one of the three previous instances, when Duke beat UNLV in a 1991 semifinal. Cincinnati won two straight championship games over Ohio State in 1961-62. Florida beat UCLA in the 2006 championship game and in a 2007 semifinal.

ILLINOIS: Illinois has won six in a row, and Terrence Shannon Jr. has scored at least 25 points in each of those games. The 6-foot-6 guard has averaged 30.5 points and has shot 52.8% (56 of 106) from the floor during that stretch. He also shown an uncanny knack for drawing fouls during the streak. Over his last five games, Shannon has gone 51 of 58 on free-throw attempts.

IOWA STATE: Iowa State is allowing just 61.2 points per game to rank fourth among all Division I teams in scoring defense. Since falling 73-65 to Houston on Feb. 19, the Cyclones haven’t allowed any of their last 10 opponents to exceed 65 points. The Cyclones next face Illinois, which ranks ninth in points per game (84.6) and has averaged 91.3 points over its last four contests.

WEST REGION

ALABAMA: Mark Sears and Aaron Estrada were the first set of Division I teammates since 1996-97 to both have at least 410 points, 125 assists, 120 rebounds, 50 3-point baskets and 40 steals during the regular season. Sears is averaging 21.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.7 steals. Estrada has 13.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

NORTH CAROLINA: Armando Bacot had seven straight tournament double-doubles and six consecutive tourney games with at least 15 rebounds before he ended up with 18 points and seven boards in a second-round victory over Michigan State. His seven straight NCAA double-doubles matched Tim Duncan and Olajuwon for the NCAA record.

ARIZONA: Arizona’s first-round triumph over Long Beach State marked the 19th time this season the Wildcats had five different players score in double figures. No other Division I team had that many games this season in which five different players had at least 10 points.

CLEMSON: Each of Clemson’s first two tournament opponents has shot below 40% against the Tigers. Clemson won its first-round game by limiting New Mexico to 29.7% shooting, the lowest percentage the Tigers had ever allowed in an NCAA tourney game. Clemson now faces Arizona, which shot 52.8% in its second-round victory over Dayton.

MIDWEST REGION

CREIGHTON: Baylor Scheierman is the first Division I men’s player in history to have at least 2,000 career points, 1,000 rebounds, 500 assists and 300 3-point baskets. Scheierman, who is in his second season at Creighton after playing three seasons at South Dakota State, has 2,208 points, 1,250 rebounds, 578 assists and 352 3-pointers.

TENNESSEE: Tennessee is making its 10th Sweet 16 appearance – including its seventh in the last 18 years – but the Volunteers have never reached the Final Four and earned their lone regional final berth in 2010.

GONZAGA: Gonzaga is in the Sweet 16 for the ninth straight time, the longest active streak of any Division I team. Going back to 1975 – the first year that all teams had to win at least one game to reach the Sweet 16 – the record for consecutive Sweet 16 appearances is owned by North Carolina with 13 straight from 1981-93.

PURDUE: Zach Edey is the first player since Kareen Abdul-Jabbar (then known as Lew Alcindor) in 1968 to have at least 50 points and 35 rebounds while shooting 65% from the field in his first two games of an NCAA Tournament. Edey has shot 67.9% (19 of 28) and has totaled 53 points and 35 rebounds in victories over Grambling State and Utah State.

SOUTH REGION

DUKE: Jared McCain has gone 10 of 17 from 3-point range through the first two rounds. In the Blue Devils’ second-round blowout of James Madison, McCain became the first freshman to score at least 30 points without committing a turnover in an NCAA Tournament game since the event expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

HOUSTON: The Cougars showcased their depth by surviving a second-round matchup with Texas A&M in overtime even after four of their five starters fouled out. They became the first team to win an NCAA game while having at least four players foul out since 1987, when UTEP overcame foul trouble to beat Arizona.

MARQUETTE: Marquette owns a 75-29 record under coach Shaka Smart despite posting a negative rebound margin in each of his three seasons. The Golden Eagles have been outrebounded in each of their last eight games but have gone 5-3. They’re getting outrebounded by 3 boards per game this season. The only other Sweet 16 team with a negative rebound margin is North Carolina State (minus-0.8), which faces Marquette on Friday.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE: Mohamed Diarra has 6.4 points and 7.7 rebounds per game this season, but he’s averaged 11.7 points and 13.5 rebounds over his last six. Michael O’Connell scored in double digits three times and totaled 14 3-point baskets in 31 regular-season games. He’s reached double figures in six of seven postseason games and has gone 12 of 22 from 3-point range during that stretch.

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