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NASCAR at Watkins Glen: Preview, picks

NASCAR at Watkins Glen: Preview, picks
Tyler Reddick is a driver to watch this week. Photo via: Wiki Commons.

The NASCAR Cup Series heads for Upstate New York this week for its annual trip to Watkins Glen. Watkins Glen is one of NASCAR’s most thrilling tracks on the schedule, we have seen some of the most intense battles here and with the playoffs on the line, we will see a lot of moves of desperation in the closing laps. Sunday will be the first race for this new car at The Glenn and with all of the new features of this race car, handling will be much better compared to what we saw in years past. There is a 38 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms in the area for Sunday, if the rains come, NASCAR will carry their rain tires just in case. Considering the Cup Series has raced in the rain only a handful of times over the course of its 74-year history, a lot of these drivers will have a difficult time adjusting to the elements. This will definitely be an interesting storyline to follow.

NASCAR will make history on Sunday as seven international drivers will be taking to the grid. We will see drivers like the German Mike Rockenfeller and Brit, Kyle Tilley, winners in some of the biggest races in IMSA Sports Cars. Regulars like the Mexican-born Daniel Suarez, who has made a great name for himself in the Cup Series with a win this year at Sonoma, and F1 participants such as Danii Kyvat. While there are many new faces, the name that stands out the most has to be the 2007 F1 World Champion, Kimmi Raikkonen. He will be making his NASCAR Cup Series debut for Trackhouse Racing and their newest Project91 entry. In all of my years of watching this sport, I have never seen a field as deep as this one. It will be awesome to see how these guys fare against the stars of NASCAR.

In the last two weeks, 2014 Cup Champion Kevin Harvick and his team have been on a roll. After a clutch victory two weeks ago at Michigan that assured their spot in the playoffs, Harvick and Crew Chief Rodney Childres dialed up another race-winning set-up last weekend at Richmond. All throughout the day, Harvick was consistently up front. He spent most of the middle stages of the race right behind Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, and Martin Truex Jr. He didn’t seem to have the speed to match Logano or Hamlin as they both had double the amount of fastest laps. His fortune would turn around as cloud cover would come over the track and suddenly his car would handle much better. He would reel in Logano with 68 laps to go and never look back to claim his second victory in a row.

The wave of momentum that this team is on right now was not what anyone expected. Even some of NASCAR’s most expert analysts like Steve Letarte would go on record stating that he didn’t believe this team would have the speed to make the playoffs. This sudden burst has similar vibes to Harvick’s boss Tony Stewart when he won the title back in 2011. Going into the playoffs, the other 15 drivers will have a lot of work to do in trying to keep this team from their second championship.

We have reached the Kurt Busch update portion of this article. Over the last four weeks, the veteran driver has been recovering from a concussion he sustained at Pocono in a practice crash. It appears that there is hope that he will return this week for the race at Watkins Glen. We are likely to get an update on his status on Friday. Hopefully, he will be fit to drive this week and can make up for some of the points they have missed out on.

The Kyle Busch sweepstakes continues this week as rumors keep flooding in. According to reports, an additional Chevy team has now made an offer to Busch. Many have speculated on whom that team was, could it be the newly formed Kaulig Racing? Maybe RCR would be considered? With no end in sight, I have a feeling that we won’t know where Kyle is going till the end of the season. While he's still at Joe Gibbs Racing, Busch was finally able to break through and get back into the top ten last week at Richmond.

Prediction

The driver that I have winning this weekend is Tyler Reddick. Ever since breaking the seal at Road America, Reddick has been on a roll when it comes to road courses. He backed up his win with another victory at the Indy Road Course. One key to this race will be the restarts, Tyler is easily one of the best drivers on restarts. I look for him to score his third career win come Sunday.

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Houston faces Duke on Friday night. Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images.

After narrowly defeating Texas A&M in overtime (100-95) the Cougars are heading back to the Sweet 16 and will face-off against Duke.

This will be the first time these two basketball powerhouses will play each other in program history, and Houston may have the upper hand thanks to some key players and a defense that can rival any team left in the NCAA Tournament.

Containing Duke’s stars

The Blue Devils defeated both Vermont and James Madison easily in their first two games of the tournament, thanks to some prolific scoring performances from freshman guard Jared McCain and elite play from potential NBA lottery draft pick Kyle Filipowski.

Containing these star players will be the number one priority when it comes to defeating Duke.

The Cougars have one of the highest rated defenses in the country and have multiple players who can slow down Duke’s dynamic duo.

Houston guards LJ Cryer and Jamal Shead are more than capable of handling the defensive assignment on McCain, and Filipowski can be contained by either J’Wan Roberts or Ja’Vier Francis.

Sure the Blue Devils have other players who can score when needed like Tyrese Proctor and Jeremy Roach, but if Houston were to limit the production of the Fililposki/McCain duo and force Duke’s other players to step up, it would give the Cougars a much better chance of securing a victory and advancing to the Elite Eight.

Staying out of foul trouble

Houston’s starters got into major foul trouble early on and it nearly cost them in their previous outing against the Aggies.

Ja’Vier Francis and LJ Cryer fouled out before the start of overtime, and their absence was certainly felt. Guys like Damian Dunn and Mylik Wilson were able to step up, but not having both Francis and Cryer in overtime was nearly detrimental to Houston.

Sophomore forward Emanuel Sharp fouled out in overtime and after hitting a 3-pointer, and Jamal Shead left the game with 18 seconds left.

The Cougars might have lost four starters in their previous outing, but were able to walk away victorious thanks to a clutch free throw from Ryan Elvin, and the team was able to hold the Aggies scoreless in their final few possessions.

Houston has the talent to defeat any team left in the NCAA Tournament, as long as their star players stay out of foul trouble.

Trust the guys that brought you here

Over the last four seasons, the Cougars have been one of the best teams in the country thanks to an elite defense year after year, and head coach Kelvin Sampson finding the perfect players for his system.

Senior guards LJ Cryer and Jamal Shead have developed into one of the best backcourts in the country, and either one of them has the capability to take over a game thanks to their stellar play.

Cryer is Houston’s leading scorer this season (15.5 points per game), and has the ability to get hot at a moment's notice, just as he did against Texas A&M.

Shead has been one of the best players in the country this year, and is the unquestioned leader of this team.

The 21-year-old is a prefect point guard for coach Sampson’s system, as he leads the team in both assists and steals, and is essentially a second coach when he is on the floor.

Shead is one of the best facilitator’s in the nation and does a stellar job of getting all of his teammates involved as well.

Another player who can heavily impact a game is Emanuel Sharp, who scored a career-high 30 points in his previous outing against the Aggies.

Senior J'Wan Roberts has been another key piece to Houston's success this year, and has been arguably the third-best player on the team, behind only the aforementioned duo of Cryer and Shead.

The 22-year-old came into the tournament with some injury concerns, but has looked good in his previous two games.

Roberts played 33 minutes against the Aggies, and was the only starter not to foul out of that game.

Needless to say, the senior forward looks healthy and will be a much-needed scorer/rim protector to have during the NCAA Tournament.

All four of these starters are essential to Houston’s success and provide excellent defense in addition to having the ability to take over a game with ease.

As it currently stands, the Cougars are a 4.5-point favorite to defeat Duke according to most odds. So long as Houston can play up to their standards and their starters stay out of foul trouble, there is reason to believe the Cougars can walk away victorious on Friday night and advance to the Elite Eight.

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