Silly Season News, They Said It, and Fantasy News
By Roy J. Akers- www.skyviewsports.net
NASCAR has just passed the halfway point of the season and there are eight races left before the playoffs start in Atlanta. Nashville is a 1.24 mile track and with the exception of Richmond coming up in August, this is the only track that comes in under two miles except for the Chicago Street Course.
Silly Season starts early
Chase Briscoe got an early silly season boost as the mostly folding Stewart-Haas outfit will have only a single car in 2025. It will not matter to Briscoe anymore as he is playing out the string and will race for Joe Gibbs racing next season in the Bass Pro Shops #19 being vacated by the recently announced retirement of Martin Truex Jr. Briscoe steps into one of the most coveted teams in racing and takes over a car that won a championship for JGR. Briscoe has hit a lull with Stewart-Haas racing and instead of hearing rumors about where he is going next year, he has a ride. Briscoe talks about the worst kept secret in racing. “Christopher (Bell) I guess just couldn’t hold it in any longer. But yeah, super exciting to come to an organization where I feel like it matches my values and just the culture over here is different than wherever I’ve been before. It starts at the top with Joe, Dave (Alpern, president, Joe Gibbs Racing), Heather Gibbs (co-owner, Joe Gibbs Racing) and everybody. It’s been fun for a couple weeks now to learn that side of them and see what makes them as successful as they are.”
Newman- Haas story- Gene Haas will go it alone in 2025
Joe Gibbs adds more on the Briscoe Announcement
Gibbs said it all comes down to character and winning and believes Briscoe has both.
Coach, what were the criteria you wanted in the next driver and how many drivers did you evaluate?
Gibbs: “When it comes to picking talent, you know and you come from a football background with the draft and everything, the most important thing we do is our people and the people you have on your team. For us really here, it always starts with character. You’re always looking at what type of person you’re getting. And the thing that is different about our sport is that these guys have to represent companies and they represent us. You kind of see the drivers, and I’ve always really respected the drivers in NASCAR because you just don’t find people getting in trouble. “
Winning is what its all about
Gibbs adds: “Furthermore, It’s a very high standard, so that’s what we always start with and you’re looking at, because it’s so important and you just think about Bass Pro Shops and the fact that Chase (Briscoe) will be representing them. But also, we have to win, and we came down to the end, we think Chase can win. That’s where we are and it’s a thrill for us to have him come onboard and he’ll take over the 19 car after this year. Now the emphasis for the rest of this year, we think we can win a championship with this car. I know James (Small) feels that way. We’re going to do everything we can to try to win a championship and let Martin go out on top.”
They Said It- Ross Chastain
RC: “Yeah, it’s wild. This town means a lot for our team, so to start there – this is where Justin (Marks) moved his family and had this idea of Trackhouse, and he put it all into motion. Ty (Norris) moved over and they created this idea of this Cup team and how it would change the sport. At that time, when they were in their first year of operation, we ran second with Ganassi. And then to come back and finish fifth and first with Trackhouse here, it’s been great. There’s been some good parties at Tootsies after these races, I can tell you (laughs).”
They Said It – Riley Herbst
RILEY HERBST, No. 98 Monster Energy Ford Mustang Dark Horse – HAVE YOU DONE ANYTHING FUN IN NASHVILLE THIS WEEK? RH “Yes, not this weekend. Usually, it’s a nice, fun getaway to get down on Broadway, but with it being super hot and running the Cup race as well I’m staying close to the racetrack and not going downtown because it might be a slight problem. We’re staying close to the racetrack this week.”
Fantasy Picks For Nashville
It comes down to being the horse for the course and how many picks you have left for a driver. You get up to ten picks for each driver for the regular season and five more for the playoffs with NO carryover from the regular season to the playoffs.
Ross Chastain best track statistically is at Nashville. As defending Champion of the Ally 400, in three races, Chastain has a win and two more top- fives. You cannot do better than that. Chastain needs a win to guarantee his spot for the playoffs. When they drop the green flag, Chastain is a good bet to go if you have at least four appearances left in the regular season.
Kyle Larson, like Ross Chastain has one Nashville win and two more top-fives in three races dating back to 2021. Larson has clinched the playoffs with his multiple regular season wins. If you have four or more regular season picks left with Larson, (Pocono, Michigan, and Indy) are must plays for him, go with the #5.
Chase Elliott is also a solid choice for a podium finish at Nashville. Elliott has been hot and outside of last weeks race at New Hampshire, he has been on a roll. He is second to his teammate Larson in points. At Nashville, Elliott has a win, and a top-five finish.
Christopher Bell won last week in New Hampshire so he is coming in hot and he has three top-tens in three Nashville races. That is good enough for me.
Stay away from….
Chris Buescher. He has one top 20 in three racing appearances but has an average finish of 28th. Sorry Chris. See you in Chicago.
The Playoff Race… Who’s in and who’s hanging on?
If a driver has 100% win probability, they have won a race. They are in. Chase Elliot has 99.9 percent and he is in. Not sure why it came out like that. Martin Truex Jr. and Ross Chastain are certainly going to ber there. The last four hanging on, Gibbs, Buescher, and even Bowman will likely be there. Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, and Bubba Wallace will fight for the last spot. Remember, if you win, you are in. Who needs to win this week? Any of the guys listed in the last four in column or first four out. Chastain and Truex Jr. would just like to end this.
Roy J. Akers is a multi-media reporter and covers several sports for www.skyviewsports.net