Congratulations to Kyle Busch who won his first race of the season in Fontana, California last weekend. I’m not taking anyway from Kyle and his team’s win, but I have to say NASCAR or Goodyear really messed up once again. It is absolutely unforgivable to have that many drivers only be able to drive about 20-laps or 40-miles and then have their tires blow. I am sure that there will be an investigation and they will find out if it was the tires or the camber that NASCAR allowed the teams to put in their cars. I only hope that something changes because today was shades of the Brickyard a few years ago and if I had paid to see that race in person I would not be a very happy camper.
STP 500
This week the series heads back East as the drivers and crews head to Martinsville, Virginia and Martinsville Speedway for the running of the STP 500. Martinsville is another short, flat track, and when I say short I mean really short. There is hardly enough room for 43 pit stalls. In fact, the 43rd pit stall was installed in 1998. At .526-miles in length, it is the shortest track in the Sprint Cup Series.
Jimmie Johnson: Once again I have to pick Jimmie to win this week’s race at Martinsville. Jimmie has eight career wins at this track and has won two of the last three races run here. He has seventeen top five and twenty-one top ten finishes in twenty-four starts here. There really aren’t a lot of consistent drivers at this track, but Jimmie is the most consistent.
Jeff Gordon: Jeff also has eight career wins at this track and won the race here last fall during the Chase. His stats are equally impressive as Jimmie’s are with twenty-seven top five and thirty-four top ten finishes in forty-two starts. He will give Jimmie the most competition this weekend and we will see our sixth different driver win a race this year.
Denny Hamlin: Denny missed last week’s race in California with a sinus infection that gave him double vision. Hopefully he will be sufficiently recovered by this weekend so he can get back on the track. He is the only other real consistent driver at Martinsville with four career victories, nine top fives, and thirteen top ten finished in only sixteen starts. After Denny the consistency drops way off.
Tony Stewart: Tony came away with a top five finish last week and will look to build on this momentum this week at Martinsville. He has three career wins at this track and has finished in the top ten in just over half of his twenty-nine starts here. Those are still very good stats, but quite a bit behind the stats of the first three drivers mentioned.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Although he has never won a race at this track, Dale has finished second here twice. He has ten top five finishes and fifteen top ten finishes in twenty-eight starts here. He needs to get back on track after a couple of disappointing races in a row.
Kevin Harvick: Speaking of getting back on track, Kevin really needs to get his momentum turned around. Mechanical and tire failures have cost him in the last three weeks. He has won a race here in the past, but only has three top five finishes in twenty-five starts. That isn’t good enough for me to put him on my team this week.
Ryan Newman: Ryan won this race two years ago, when Jeff and Jimmie kind of got run over on a late race restart when they both stayed out and everyone else pitted for fresh tires. Ryan made his way through the carnage and claimed the win that weekend. He has been running very well for most of this season, but he was one of those drivers that had a few tire issues last weekend.
Clint Bowyer: Clint could very well get a win this week at Martinsville. He has finished in the top 5 in his last three starts here, including a second place finish in this race last year. He had a very good car at Fontana last week and it looks like the Michael Waltrip Racing teams are starting to come around.
Brad Keselowski: Brad has four straight top ten finishes here and has only started eight races here in his career. He has the attitude to get the job done at this track and could be a factor this weekend once again. Both of the Penske teams have been very good on a weekly basis this season and have qualified well too.
Kyle Busch: Last week’s winner has finished in the top ten in half of his starts at Martinsville. Maybe the win last weekend will launch this team on a streak of wins over the coming weeks. Kyle is another driver that isn’t afraid to move someone out of his way if that’s what it takes to get to the front and win a race and that is one of the best ways to pass someone at Martinsville.
YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
Yahoo Driver Group A
- Jimmie Johnson
- Jeff Gordon
Yahoo Driver Group B
- Denny Hamlin
- Tony Stewart
- Brad Keselowski
- Jamie McMurray
Yahoo Driver Group C
- Danica Patrick
- Kyle Larson
MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY
- Jimmie Johnson
- Jeff Gordon
- Denny Hamlin
- Brad Keselowski
- Tony Stewart
Dark Horse: Jamie McMurray
Stay Away From: Greg Biffle