Start your engines! Photo via: Wiki Commons
The time has come once again, NASCAR is back! After an unusual pandemic 2020 season, the stars of NASCAR look to get back to the grind. As we all know, the Daytona 500 is the biggest race in NASCAR and this year will be no different. There are going to be a lot of changes this season, from new teams to new tracks, 2021 will be a season unlike any other. I am looking forward to seeing how this all plays out.
The biggest change this year has to be the new schedule. Many NASCAR fans asked for wholesale changes and boy did they deliver. This year, there will be six road course races and a dirt track race as well. This is truly the most diverse schedule NASCAR has ever put out. One race that I have circled on my calendar is at Circuit of the Americas in Austin. This is a track that has hosted races of various series such as F1 and IndyCar, so it will be interesting to see how the Cup cars race here. There are a lot of tight corners that could be challenging to pass on. I look for this race to be a wild-card considering this track has never hosted a stock-car event of this stature. There will also be a dirt track race this year as well at Bristol. This move was met by skepticism by many, even the king Richard Petty had a strong opinion on the move. When interviewed on NASCAR's Sirius XM channel, Petty was quoted as saying that the sport is "Going backwards" by returning to dirt considering the Cup Series hasn't had a dirt race since 1970 (which Petty won). Another criticism has been that they should have gone to an actual dirt track like Eldoria or Knoxville instead of just dumping a bunch of dirt on a track they already go to. Regardless of the criticism, the race should be extremely entertaining.
There will be a lot of drivers who are driving for a new team this year. Maybe the most prominent example is Bubba Wallace moving to a brand-new team owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan. The fourth-year driver will be getting resources from Toyota powerhouse, Joe Gibbs Racing, as Hamlin will both drive and operate the team. We will also see another new team join the series in Trackhouse Racing. This team was started in the fall of 2020 by former driver Justin Marks. The team will field the #99 Chevy Monte Carlo with Daniel Suarez at the helm. The move also made headlines when it was announced that rapper and musician PitBull would also own a stake in the team as well. With some of the new partners coming into NASCAR this had led to rumors of more celebs including champion boxer, Floyd Mayweather. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next few months and if we will see more new teams come to fruition for next season. Some other big moves this year include Kyle Larson joining Hendrick Motorsports, Christopher Bell moving from the closing Leavine Family Racing team to go to Joe Gibbs' team. Also, Erik Jones moving from Joe Gibbs Racing to Richard Petty Motorsports and of course, Alex Bowman taking over the #48 Camaro replacing Jimmie Johnson.
One of the drivers to watch for this Sunday is Joey Logano. While he didn't show a lot of speed in qualifying, he was one of the best cars in the duels. He ran up front for most of the race and was leading coming to the checkered flag until Aric Almirola passed him for the win. While his results at the big tracks like Daytona and Talladega haven't been all that great, Joey is still one of the masters of the superspeedway. Over the last four races on superspeedways, Logano has led 120 laps, so he has been up front. He's going to have to get better at bump drafting though if he wants to claim his second Daytona 500. Last year in the closing stages he caused one of the biggest wrecks of the night by getting into his teammate Brad Keselowski after trying to push him to the front. Look for Logano to be fast on Sunday
The driver that I have winning is Brad Keselowski. Over the past decade, Brad has been one of the best drivers on the superspeedways. He has six victories at Daytona and Talladega, but there has always been one race that has eluded him since his start, and that's the Daytona 500. He has been in the hunt, but the finishes just haven't been there for him. But each year it looks like he improves more and more. I look for him to finally get it done this Sunday.
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It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday!
*ChatGPT assisted.
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