WEEKEND HOT LAPS - Hamlin on Playoff Hot Seat?
HAMLIN HOT SEAT?
The biggest surprise of the four drivers entering Saturday night’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol has to be Denny Hamlin. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver joins teammate Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, and Harrison Burton in the quartet that needs to find a way to rise above the cutline or be eliminated from the Playoffs when the checkered flag flies Saturday night.
After misjudging an analytical approach to gain points at Atlanta and then getting caught up in more than one incident last Sunday at Watkins Glen, Hamlin finds himself in his Playoff predicament.
But Hamlin and crew chief Chris Gabehart show no signs of stress coming into Saturday night’s race. Hamlin’s Bristol record of 34 starts, four wins (2012, 2019, 2023, 2024), 11 top fives and 18 top 10s no doubt is a major reason for the calm demeanor.
“I love the fact that we get to go there on the offense,” Hamlin said earlier this week on his podcast. “I’m going to be on offense the entire time.”
Hamlin has won the last two Bristol races. He looks to become the fifth driver all time to win three or more consecutive Cup Series races at the track; joining Fred Lorenzen, Darrell Waltrip, Cale Yarborough, and Kurt Busch.
QUIET SUCCESS
There is a pair of drivers who are currently safely inside the Playoff grid that have surprised many. Alex Bowman and Austin Cindric have accumulated the most points (79) of any of the 16 drivers in the championship race.
Consistency has been the key for both. Bowman, who made the Playoffs after his Chicago Street Circuit win in July, has been a steady presence at the front of the field. Cindric has put together back-to-back top-10 finishes at Atlanta and The Glen to put himself on solid ground.
Cindric’s crew chief Brian Wilson knows the Team Penske No. 2 team has more to potentially lose than gain by being overly aggressive at Bristol so a more conservative approach is the gameplan.
“I might have to give up a little speed,” Wilson said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio when asked about his set-up. “But that’s part of it to make sure we have a good handling car and get out with another good finish.”
MUSICAL CHAIRS
Rick Ware Racing and Spire Motorsports basically announced a swap of drivers for next year with Justin Haley moving from RWR to take the Spire No. 7 seat and Corey Lajoie jumping into the No. 51. Haley has been a commodity discussed throughout the season as a possible addition to a number of teams while Lajoie and Spire announced they would part ways at the end of the season months ago.
Haley now gets an opportunity to be paired up with championship-winning crew chief Rodney Childers, who migrates over from the defunct Stewart-Haas operation at season’s end. It might be just what Haley needs to get over the hump and move into the next echelon of drivers. Spire equipment has shown signs of improvement including last week when three of the team’s drivers finished inside the Top-10 at Watkins Glen.
Lajoie, who came into this year with so much anticipation after showing promise in 2023, needs to demonstrate he can be more competitive. The RWR fleet has demonstrated prowess on superspeedways this year, but a more well-rounded performance is necessary for the overall good of the team. Strengthening the alignment further with Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing would be a benefit in accomplishing that goal.
TUNING IN
Friday night’s Xfinity Series race will air on the CW, as the network gets a jump on the new NASCAR media rights deal that begins in 2025. The entire slate of NXS races will air on the over-the-air broadcast network, which is available in 99 percent of the United States. While the remainder of this year’s schedule will be NBC/USA-produced broadcasts, CW will have its own talent and production in place for next season beginning at Daytona. The network continues to build its sports portfolio with LIV Golf and college football and basketball now joined by NASCAR
PICKS TO CLICK
Not surprisingly the oddsmakers have made Denny Hamlin the favorite to win Saturday night, which would be his third consecutive Bristol win. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is listed at +400 to take the checkered flag. Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell are next at +600 with Brad Keselowski listed as the fourth best favorite at +900.
There is some additional value deeper in the field including last week’s Watkins Glen and former Bristol winner Chris Buescher (+1600), Tyler Reddick (+1800), Joey Logano (+1800) and Ross Chastain (+3500), someone who could steal the show based on the Trackhouse Racing driver’s recent speed.
SHORT TRACK ATTACK
The weekend’s short track schedule is jam-packed with more end-of-season specials being held around the country.
Racing America will television several events this weekend including the PASS/ACT Late Models at Hew Hampshire’s White Mountain Speedway, Pro Late Models in action at Cordele (GA) Speedway and the JEGS/CRA All-Stars Tour at Michigan’s Owosso Speedway, which has been one of the most active tracks in the country.
The weekend’s Race of Champions event at Pennsylvania’s Lake Erie Speedway is also available to watch on PPV both Saturday and Sunday.
The ASA Midwest Tour travels to Minnesota’s Elko Speedway for Saturday night’s Thunderstruck 93. There are just two races left on the tour’s schedule with the annual Oktoberfest 200 at Wisconsin’s LaCrosse Fairgrounds Speedway set for Sunday, October 6th.
Grundy County Speedway in Morris, Illinois hosts its biggest race of the year Saturday night with the Bettenhausen 100. More than 30 super late models are on the entry list for the race at the 1/3-mile paved oval about an house south of downtown Chicago.
Pete Pistone is a veteran motorsports and general sports reporter/journalist with nearly 30 years experience. During his career he has worked for media outlets such as WGN Radio, The Chicago Sun-Times, Chicagoland Television (CLTV), CBS Sports, Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM. Pistone has been with SiriusXM since 2008 and co-hosts “The Morning Drive” on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Ch. 90) with Mike Bagley, which airs Monday through Friday at 7 am ET. He is also the host of “Fantasy Racing Preview,” a weekend show focusing on NASCAR gambling and fantasy racing, which is part of the channel’s NASCAR Cup Series pre-race programming. Additionally, Pistone is a member of the SiriusXM College Sports team as an on-air personality and contributor on Big Ten Radio (Ch. 372). He is one of the hosts of “Big Ten Today” and can also be heard on “Big Ten Whip Around,” a weekly hour-long program spotlighting a variety of sports around the conference. Pistone is also the host of several specials as well as providing a range of digital content for both the NASCAR and Big Ten channels. A Chicago native, Pistone resides in the northern suburbs of the city with his wife and daughter.