It’s All-Star week in the 2022 NASCAR season! There will be a race for the drivers who have yet to qualify for the main race on Sunday and another for the said main attraction on the same day. In his piece, we will be taking a look at some of the favorites, sleepers, and a long shot to win the 2022 NASCAR All-Star Race.
Larson rebounded from a forgettable experience at the 2022 Goodyear 400 by finishing runner-up last week behind Kurt Busch at the 2022 AdventeHealth 400 at Kansas Speedway. The Hendricks Motorsports driver now has cracked the top 5 in four of his last five starts. He’s also won the last two times he revved his engine at Texas Motor Speedway, taking the checkered flags at the 2021 NASCAR All-Star Race and at the 2021 Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 500.
Like Larson, Busch restored his confidence at Kansas Speedway last Sunday by taking a podium finish a week after getting involved in an accident at Darlington Raceway. That’s a nice momentum-builder for Busch heading to this week’s race on a track that he seems to love. So far in his career, Busch has won four times with 14 top 5s and 19 top 10s in 31 starts at Texas Motor Speedway. He has also finished no worst than 10th in each of his past six appearances there, dating back to 2019.
Elliott is someone looking to get rid of the taste of a bad showing last Sunday at Darlington Raceway, having finished just 29th at the 2022 AdventHealth 400. He’s not always going to be that bad. After all, he is leading the field this season with 475 points, thanks to a win at the 2022 DuraMAX Drydene 400 presented by RelaDyne, three top 5s and nine top 10s this season. He also has a career average finish of 11.5 at Texas Motor Speedway.
Here’s what we said about Bell in our 2022 NASCAR All-Star Race sleepers preview:
Bell is a sleeper based on his odds only. He is looking to continue his good stretch, having finished inside the top 5 in each of his last three races. He has not won a race yet this season, but he’s clearly a driver to watch often, with three top 5s and seven top 10s, so far. Bell has also shown a great feel of the Texas Motor Speedway, as he’s already got a pair of podium finishes in four career starts there. Since a 21st-place finish in his debut there in 2020, Elliott has not placed outside of the top 11 in any of his succeeding three appearances at the said track.
Here’s what we said about Logano in our 2022 NASCAR All-Star Race sleepers preview:
The Team Penske driver is also a sleeper because of his odds. He hasn’t been consistent lately, with a couple of sub-25 performances in his last five starts and three sub-17s over the same stretch. However, it was not that long ago when he scored his first win of the season, topping the field at the 2022 Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway earlier this month. Logano also brings a career average finish of 14.0 at Texas Motor Speedway, with 11 top 5s and 14 top 10s across 26 starts. He’s won there before when he took the checkered flag at the 2014 Duck Commander 500.
