The NASCAR Cup Series has invaded the Charlotte Motor Speedway for this weekend’s battle on the Roval. Qualifying for Sunday’s event took place earlier this morning/afternoon and 23XI has been labeled the weekend favorites, but I am here to tell you why that should not be the case.
Tyler Reddick (Pole) and Bubba Wallace (4th) both qualified in the top 5 for Sunday’s race and that caused experts to instantly label 23XI Racing the weekend favorites. Having both of your cars qualify in the top 5 is certainly a great achievement and does show that 23XI racing has talent and should be a team to reckon with for a long time in this sport. However, we all know that it’s not where you start, but where you finish that matters and that we live in a “what have you done for me lately” world. That statement especially rings true in the sports world.
Speaking of what have you done for me lately…….. 23XI has not exactly blown everyone away when it comes to finishing position on road courses. As a team, 23XI has an average finish of 14.3 at the Roval with no wins and one Top 10 finish. The numbers are not much better at other road courses either:
Indy RC Avg. finish: 15
Watkins Glen Avg. finish: 20.8
Sonoma Avg. finish: 23.6
Daytona RC Avg. finish: 26 (only 1 race)
Road America Avg. finish: 27.3
COTA Avg. finish: 29.4
Chicago Street Course Avg. finish: 29.5
When it comes to 23XI’s drivers individually, Tyler Reddick certainly fills the role of possible favorite more than Bubba Wallace does. In 19 road course races, Reddick has an average finish of 12.6 with 131 laps led and 3 wins. Whereas, Bubba Wallace in 25 road course races has an average finish of 24.3 with no wins and 7 DNFs. Bubba’s numbers certainly do not knock anyone’s socks off, that is for sure.
The caution here is that a strong qualifying effort does not always equate to being the favorite to land a victory on Sunday. We all know that road courses can be wars of attrition on equipment, drivers, and crews alike. Strategy, strategy, strategy and perhaps a couple of strokes of luck on Sunday could be the key to victory.
