Author Archives: Zachery Roethlisberger

Fixing the Problem at Joe Gibbs Racing

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Joe Gibbs at Daytona in February 2015 Photo - Maddie Mejer/Getty Imagaes

Joe Gibbs at Daytona in February 2015 Photo – Maddie Mejer/Getty Imagaes

 “We sucked.”

Those were the words Denny Hamlin used to explain his day at Phoenix International Raceway this past weekend where he and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates struggled immensely. Hamlin went on to say,,,

“All of our cars suck right now, there’s Kevin Harvick there’s the Hendrick cars, and the Penske cars and everybody else, we’re (Joe Gibbs Racing) everybody else right now.”

I’m not going to bore you with the details of numbers, comparing the Hendrick and Gibbs cars over the last two years, but I do want to give my insight into what is the problem. Continue reading →

CampingWorld.com 500 at Phoenix Preview & Fantasy Picks

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Zachs-SCS-Preview-Fantasy-Picks

Here are my Preview and Fantasy Picks for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series CampingWorld.com 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on March 15, 2015. Watch the action at 3:30 pm ET on FOX.

Contenders

Dale Earnhardt Jr – This team has looked great so far in 2015 and I don’t think that goes away at Phoenix. Jr has shown consistent speed and I feel he will be a big player Sunday.

Carl Edwards – The last man to beat Kevin Harvick at Phoenix? This guy. He hasn’t shown great speed so far in 2015 but he has run well here and can get the job done.

Brad Keselowski –  Has not shown speed similar to Logano, but I like how Paul Wolfe has adjusted to the track throughout the race. I see this team getting better and better every week.  Continue reading →

The Martin Truex Jr. Comeback

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Martin Truex Jr is smiling a lot these days as he looks ahead in 2015. Photo - Drew Hallowell/Getty Images

Martin Truex Jr is smiling a lot these days as he looks ahead in 2015. Photo – Drew Hallowell/Getty Images

Let’s go back to 2013, the fall Richmond race that is usually the last race before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. A race that saw Clint Bowyer spin late to cause a caution benefiting his Michael Waltrip Racing teammate Martin Truex Jr. A race that saw Truex race his way in; and a race that saw Jeff Gordon miss the Chase largely because of that incident. Ultimately, it was a race that started the downward spiral of Martin Truex Jr’s career. Continue reading →

What’s Up with Smoke?

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Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Bass Pro Shops / Mobil 1 Chevrolet, prepares to drive during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 27, 2015 Photo - Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

Tony Stewart, driver of the #14 Bass Pro Shops / Mobil 1 Chevrolet, prepares to drive during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on February 27, 2015 Photo – Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

With multiple drivers in winning race cars and a couple of late restarts, the Folds of Honor 500 was a success in terms of what you would like out of any Sprint Cup Series race, but as I sat there watching Sunday afternoon, I couldn’t help but think, what is up with Tony Stewart?

Stewart ended up 30th Sunday after being involved in a late race crash, but what caught my attention was how he was running before the end of the race. Throughout the race I saw Tony running from 25th to 30th and struggling to move forward. But as I sat there Sunday afternoon I began to think of the big ‘Tony Stewart’ picture and came to some conclusive thoughts. Continue reading →

Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 Preview and Fantasy Picks

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Here are my Preview and Fantasy Picks for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 1, 2015. Watch the action at 1 pm ET on FOX.

Favorites

Kevin Harvick – He looked great through practice and qualifying until the engine failure. Although he will start in the back he will find guys like Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Matt Kenseth back there with him. I think he has the car in terms of race trim but what will the engine failure cost him anything? Should be Interesting.  Continue reading →