Kyle Busch continues to struggle this season without practice sessions before the races.  He is a very talented driver, and he makes better adjustments during the normal three practice sessions than any other racer on the circuit.  Without these weekend pre-race practice sessions, Kyle Busch has been struggling.  This was evident once again last weekend at Kentucky when he had only the 19th fastest green flag speed, and he was only 11th fastest at Homestead Miami a few weeks ago which is another 1.5-mile speedway track.

Meanwhile, Chase Elliott has been fantastic this season.  He has been consistently one of the fastest cars every week.  He just won the All-Star race at Bristol this past Wednesday night, and should continue his momentum today.  Elliott was 10th fastest at Kentucky last week, and 6th and 5th fastest at Homestead Miami and Atlanta last month.

Play CHASE ELLIOTT (-).

Team Penske has been extremely strong this season with Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano all showing great speed.  However, Blaney has actually been the fastest driver overall among those three.  Some of his finishes have not been as strong due to bad luck, including a random pit row accident last week.  However, his overall green flag average speed ranks 4th this year in all of NASCAR and he has been faster than Joey Logano on 70% of the intermediate tracks this season.

10* Play RYAN BLANEY.

These have been two of the fastest drivers all season, but Ryan Blaney has a much better track record at Indianapolis. Blaney has the third best overall driver rating the past three years on this track with a strong 102.9 average, while Chase Elliott has struggled with a weak 70.8 driver rating. Overall, Elliott has never led a lap at Indianapolis and has finished 15th or worse in 4 of his 5 Cup starts on this track.

Indianapolis is a 2.5-mile flat track which is similar to Pocono last weekend. Ryan Blaney ran much better than his overall results indicated last week as he finished 3rd and 4th in the first two stages on Saturday, and was 2nd after the first stage on Sunday, before a random crash with Kyle Busch later in the race. Meanwhile, Chase Elliott was only 5th and 10th in the first two stages on Saturday before an eventual 25th place finish. Elliott had a misleading 4th place finish on Sunday as he did not finish Top-10 in either stage. Overall, Elliott averaged just the 19th and 9th fastest average green flag speeds on Saturday and Sunday, while Blaney was the 6th fastest in both races.

10* Play RYAN BLANEY (-).

Joe Gibbs racing has been the strongest team at Pocono the past two years as all four team members rank in the Top 5 overall driver ratings.  This includes Erik Jones who has an excellent 102.2 driver rating with 3 Top-5 finishes in the past four races on this track.  Overall, Jones has finished Top-8 in 5 of his 6 career starts at Pocono with fantastic 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 29th, 8th and 3rd place finishes.

Jimmie Johnson has decent overall career numbers at Pocono, but his results have been much weaker in recent years.  Johnson has finished 15th or worse in 7 of his past 8 starts on this track with awful 15th, 19th, 17th, 8th, 35th, 36th, 16th and 35th finishes the past four years at Pocono.

10* Play ERIK JONES (-).

9* Play CHRIS BUESCHER.

9* Play CLINT BOWYER (+).

Chase Elliott has been the most consistent driver on all types of tracks this season, especially the past two months since the season resumed.  Elliott continues to improve as his career and experience progress, including on restictor plate tracks where he finished 1st and 8th at Talladega last year.  In fact, when Elliott avoids trouble and finishes on the lead lap, he has been extremely strong with 8th, 1st, 3rd, 12th and 5th place finishes on this track during his career.

Kyle Busch has struggled at Talladega during his career.  Busch has only 1 win, 6 Top-5 finishes and just 8 Top-10 finishes in 29 starts.  He ranks only 24th in average finish among all active drivers on this track.  Busch has a tendency of getting caught up in accidents at Daytona and Talladega as he has not finished 14 of his 59 starts on restictor plate tracks.

9* Play CHASE ELLIOTT (-).

These two drivers might be Gibbs teammantes, but they have tremendously different past results on restrictor plate tracks.  Hamlin has been fantastic, while Truex has struggled.

Hamlin has finished Top-6 in four of his past seven starts at Talladega with finishes of 3rd, 36th, 4th, 14th, 6th, 11th and 3rd.  Meanwhile, Truex has been 20th or worse in all seven of those same races at Talladega with awful finishes of 26th, 20th, 23rd, 26th, 23rd, 35th and 40th.

9* Play DENNY HAMLIN (-).

Kevin Harvick has run well at restrictor plate tracks during his career.  He has the third best average finish among all active drivers (4 or more starts), including 30 Top-10 finishes, 17 Top-5 finishes, and 3 wins at Talladega and Daytona combined.  Harvick has also avoided trouble at Talladega during his career, finishing 34 of his 38 races to this track.

Kyle Busch has struggled at Talladega during his career.  Busch has only 1 win, 6 Top-5 finishes and just 8 Top-10 finishes in 29 starts.  He ranks only 24th in average finish among all active drivers on this track.  Busch has a tendency of getting caught up in accidents at Daytona and Talladega as he has not finished 14 of his 59 starts on restictor plate tracks.

9* Play KEVIN HARVICK (-).

Joey Logano is the best restrictor plate racer among all active drivers.  Logano has the highest driver rating (100.4) since 2018 in the past nine Cup races at Daytona and Talladega.  The next closest driver has a rating of only 92.0.  When avoiding trouble and finishing on the lead lap at a restrictor plate track, Logano has finished 11th, 4th, 4th, 5th, 1st, 4th, 4th, 6th, 1st, 4th, 6th, 1st the past twelve times.

Brad Keselowski has five career wins on this track, but he has not been as strong during the past four years.  Overall, Keselowski has finished 36th, 25th, 39th, 13th, 12th, 27, 36th, 33rd, 32nd, 1st, 31st, 7th, 27th and 38th in his past 14 starts at Talladega and Daytona combined.

9* Play JOEY LOGANO (-).

Ryan Newman is a veteran driver and he has a history of running well at this unique 1/2-mile short track at Martinsville.  Newman has finished Top 16 in 7 of his past 9 races at this track.  Newman has also been strong at the two other shorts tracks on the circuit.  He has a Top 15 finish in each of the past 7 races at the other 1/2-mile track (Bristol) and he has been Top 16 in 21 of his past 24 starts there.  Newman was even stronger at Richmond last year (3/4-mile) with a 5th and 9th place finish in his current #6 car.  Overall, Newman has finished Top 9 in four of his past six Richmond starts.

Matt DiBenedetto has been strong this season on the intermediate speedways and he is on a better team with the #21 car than in past years.  However, he has struggled at short tracks during his Cup career.  Overall, DiBenedetto has only 2 Top 10 finishes in 31 starts at Martinsville, Bristol and Richmond.  He has been particularly bad on this track with 9 of his 10 starts finishing 20th or worse at Martinsville.

10* Play RYAN NEWMAN (-).

Kurt Busch had a fast car on Sunday in Atlanta, but had to start in the back of the field.  He still managed a strong finish and passed more cars than any other driver in the race.  Look for Busch to carry that momentum into the race tonight.  Busch has been strong on short tracks during his career and he has finished 6, 12, 6, 11 in his past four short track races.

Alex Bowman has been fast on the intermediate speedways this season due to the fast cars provided by Team Hendrick.  However, that speed will not help tonight on a short 1/2-mile track like Martinsville.  Bowman has struggled on short tracks during his Cup career, and has finished 37, 30, 23, 15, 17, 23, 14, 17 and 12 in his past nine races on the three short tracks (Bristol, Martinsville, Richmond).  He has been particularly bad at Martinsville, finishing 14th or worse in 7 of his 8 career starts in the Cup Series, including finishing 22nd or worse in 5 of those 8 races.

9* Play KURT BUSCH (-).

9* Play CLINT BOWYER (-).

9* Play RYAN NEWMAN (-).

Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell have been the two best rookies this season.  Bell has been particularly strong in recent races and appears to be improving each week.  He has a strong history on this track from the Xfinity Series as he finished 1st and 3rd in his two starts at Atlanta the pats two years with the most laps led (154) and the second best driver rating (136.7) behind Kevin Harvick.

Cole Custer is also a rookie, but he has not been as strong in recent races this season.  Overall, Custer has finished 21st or worse in three of his six races on intermediate speedways this year with no finishes in the Top 10 and a weak 56.1 driver rating overall.

9* Play CHRISTOPHER BELL (-).

Martin Truex Jr has run much better than his overall season results have indicated.  Truex is working with a new crew chief and his results should continue to improve each week going forward.  He has shown speed in recent races on intermediate speedways, including finishing 2nd in both Stages 1 & 2 at Charlotte in the Coca-Cola 600 two weeks ago.  Truex also finished Top 3 in three of the four stages in the two Darlington races last month.

Overall, Truex has been dominant on 1.5-mile intermediate speedways the past three years with 22 Top 10 finishes in 29 starts and an average finish of 8.1 which is second best overall among all active drivers.  Truex has a 105.8 driver rating which is also second best overall in those races.

Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin has averaged just a 13.7 place finish the past three seasons on intermediate tracks with only 13 Top 10's in his 29 starts and he ranks just 12th overall among active drivers with an 88.8 driver rating in those races.

10* Play MARTIN TRUEX JR (-).

The two Busch brothers, Kyle and Kurt, have been dominating at this track during their careers.  Kyle has won 3 of the past 5 races here, but his brother Kurt has been consistently strong as well.  Kurt Busch has an average finish of 8.5 in his past four races at Bristol with 3 Top 10 finishes and a 94.0 driver rating. Overall, Kurt Busch has 6 wins and 20 Top 10 finishes in his 38 career Cup races at Bristol.

Alex Bowman has been one of the fastest cars all season on the super speedways, but Bristol is a 1/2-mile short track which requires a completely different setup.  Bowman has struggled at Bristol during his career with an average finish of just 20.9 and only 2 Top 10 finishes in his 8 career Cup starts on this track.

9* Play KURT BUSCH (-) (vs. Alex Bowman)

Clint Bowyer has been the most consistent driver at Bristol the past two years as he is the only driver to finish Top 8 in all four races.  Bowyer has the second best average finish in the past four races at 7.0 which is behind only Kyle Busch who has won 3 of the past 5 races at Bristol.  Bowyer has led 144 laps in the past four races on this track with an excellent 101.7 driver rating.

William Byron has been fast on Team Hendrick this season on the super speedways, but Bristol is a 1/2-mile short track which requires a completely different setup.  Byron has struggled during his career at Bristol and has finished a weak 21st, 16th, 23rd and 18th in his four career Cup starts on this track with a terrible 64.8 driver rating.

10* Play CLINT BOWYER (-) (vs. William Byron)

Team Penske has been fantastic at Bristol in recent seasons with Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney all running extremely well.  Blaney has been Top 10 in each of the past three races here with 10th, 4th and 7th place finishes.  He also led 100 laps in the Spring 2018 race before having an accident on Lap 117. Overall, Blaney has led 379 laps in the past four races at Bristol which is 100 laps led more than any other driver (Kyle Larson 279, Joey Logano 242, Kyle Busch 218 laps lead during that same span).

Alex Bowman has been one of the fastest cars all season on the super speedways, but Bristol is a 1/2-mile short track which requires a completely different setup.  Bowman has struggled at Bristol during his career with an average finish of just 20.9 and only 2 Top 10 finishes in his 8 career Cup starts on this track.

9* Play RYAN BLANEY (-) (vs. Alex Bowman) 

Kyle Busch, along with his teammate Martin Truex Jr, has been the most dominant and consistent driver at Charlotte the past three seasons.  Kyle Busch has the highest driver rating (127.4) and has led the most laps (456) and Busch is the only driver to finish Top 5 in all three of the Charlotte oval races the past three seasons, including a 4th place finish this past Sunday in the Coca-Cola 600.  Busch also finished 1st in the Xfinity race on Monday and 2nd in the Truck race on Tuesday at Charlotte this week.

Kevin Harvick is normally very strong on super speedway and immediate tracks, but for some reason Harvick does not run well at Charlotte.  He had a very misleading 5th place finish this past Sunday in the Coca-Cola 600.  Harvick finished 11th or worse in all three Stages and his Stewart-Haas teammates did not run well either (Kurt Busch 9th, Aric Almirola 15th, Clint Bowyer 39th).

9* Play KYLE BUSCH (-) (vs. Kevin Harvick).

Alex Bowman finished 1st in both Stages 1 & 2.  This is important because tonight's race is only 312 miles (208 laps) which is only 52% of the total distance Sunday.  Stage 2 ended at the 200 lap mark and Bowman won that stage.  Bowman and his entire Hendrick Motorsports team has been extremely fast this season, and all 4 Hendrick drivers were running Top 10 at the end of Stage 2 on Sunday (Bowman, Byron, Elliott, Johnson)... and all 4 drivers were running Top 7 at the end of the race with only three laps remaining, before William Byron cut his tire.  Bowman was in 5th place with three laps remaining before that caution and an eventual misleading 19th place finish.

Kevin Harvick is normally very strong on super speedway and immediate tracks, but for some reason Harvick does not run well at Charlotte.  He had a very misleading 5th place finish this past Sunday in the Coca-Cola 600.  Harvick finished 11th or worse in all three Stages and his Stewart-Haas teammates did not run well either (Kurt Busch 9th, Aric Almirola 15th, Clint Bowyer 39th).

With the inverted starting positions tonight, Bowman will benefit from a 2nd place starting position which will allow him to stay upfront during this shorter race.  Meanwhile, Kevin Harvick will start 16th overall this evening.

10* Play ALEX BOWMAN (-) (vs. Kevin Harvick).

Tyler Reddick is having an excellent rookies season in the Cup Series after back-to-back championship seasons the past two years in the Xfinity Series.  Reddick had a strong 7th place finish at Darlington two Sundays ago, and then another solid showing at Charlotte this past Sunday with an 8th place finish in the Coca-Cola 600.  Reddick finished 4th in Stage 1 and tonight's race is only half the distance as Sunday, so Reddick's car should be in contention all night.

Reddick will start 13th tonight and be well ahead of Matt Kenseth who must start 26th overall after a poor showing Sunday.  Kenseth was already -2 laps down at the end of Stage 2 which is the equivalent of a full race tonight (208 laps).  Kenseth was forced suddenly into the #42 car this month because Kyle Larson was dismissed during the shutdown.  Kenseth is a veteran driver, but had not competed for nearly 18 months.  He is 0-3 in head-to-head matchups versus Reddick this season, finishing behind the rookie in all three races this month (10th vs. 7th, 30th vs. 13th, 26th vs. 8th).

9* Play TYLER REDDICK (-) (vs. Matt Kenseth).

William Byron has run much better than recent results have indicated.  He was in 1st place at the end of Stage 1 in Darlington last Sunday, but ended up finished a misleading 35th.  Byron finished 6th at the end of Stage 2 last Wednesday at Darlington and finished 12th in another misleading result due to a late caution and rain-shortened race.  This past Sunday at Charlotte, Byron was a Top 10 car the entire race and was running 7th overall with just three laps remaining before he cut his tire.

William Byron and his entire Hendrick Motorsports team has been extremely fast this season, and all 4 Hendrick drivers were running Top 10 at the end of Stage 2 on Sunday (Bowman, Byron, Elliott, Johnson)... and all 4 drivers were running Top 7 at the end of the race with only three laps remaining, before the late caution flag came out.

Kurt Busch was strong early in the race on Sunday, but that is because he qualified well with the pole position.  Busch began to fade during the race and was only 9th at the end of Stage 1 and was 14th at the end of Stage 2 which is equivalent to the distance for the full race tonight.  Kurt Busch had a very misleading 7th place finish overall on Sunday as he was running a mediocre 16th with just three laps remaining before Byron's late caution reshuffled the finishing order.

9* Play WILLIAM BYRON (-) (vs. Kurt Busch).

Martin Truex Jr, along with teammate Kyle Busch, has been the most dominant and consistent driver at Charlotte the past three seasons.  Truex has led the second most laps with the second best average finish, behind Kyle Busch.

Kevin Harvick is normally very strong on super speedway and immediate tracks, but for some reason Harvick does not run well at Charlotte.  He had a very misleading 5th place finish this past Sunday in the Coca-Cola 600.  Harvick finished 11th or worse in all three Stages and his Stewart-Haas teammates did not run well either (Kurt Busch 9th, Aric Almirola 15th, Clint Bowyer 39th).

9* Play MARTIN TRUEX JR (-) (vs. Kevin Harvick).

Kevin Harvick is normally very strong on super speedway and immediate tracks, but for some reason Harvick does not run well at Charlotte.  He had a very misleading 5th place finish this past Sunday in the Coca-Cola 600.  Harvick finished 11th or worse in all three Stages and his Stewart-Haas teammates did not run well either (Kurt Busch 9th, Aric Almirola 15th, Clint Bowyer 39th).

Chase Elliott should have won the race on Sunday, but a late caution with only three laps remaining cost him a victory.  Elliott (1st place) was 17 seconds ahead of Harvick (14th place) with just three laps remaining in the Coca-Cola 600 before that random caution and restart.

9* CHASE ELLIOTT (-) (vs. Kevin Harvick).

Tyler Reddick is having an excellent rookies season in the Cup Series after back-to-back championship seasons the past two years in the Xfinity Series.  Reddick had a strong 7th place finish at Darlington two Sundays ago, and then another solid showing at Charlotte this past Sunday with an 8th place finish in the Coca-Cola 600.  Reddick finished 4th in Stage 1 and tonight's race is only half the distance as Sunday, so Reddick's car should be in contention all night.

Reddick will start 13th tonight and will be well ahead of Clint Bowyer who must start 39th overall after a poor showing Sunday.  All of Bowyer's Stewart-Haas teammates struggled at Charlotte on Sunday and were all running 12th or worse with just four laps remaining before the late, random caution came out which led to some misleading finishing results.

9* Play TYLER REDDICK (-) (vs. Clint Bowyer).