Month: October 2015

The first race of the Contender round is in the books and Joey Logano secured his spot in the Eliminator round by picking up his first win at Charlotte last Sunday in a race that was postponed by rain on Saturday night. Matt Kenseth, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Kyle Busch were the three biggest losers on the weekend of all the Chase contenders as they were all involved with contact on the track and suffered damage to their cars.

Matt will have the biggest hole to try and climb out of and he along with the rest of the drivers who want to move on to the third round of the Chase will really want to get it done this week at Kansas before heading to Talladega for the final race in the second leg of the Chase.

HOLLYWOOD CASINO 400

Kansas Speedway is another of the mile-and-a-half tracks that make up half of the entire Chase series of races. This track is banked a little less than Charlotte but the big differences will be in the track surface and the weather difference between this week and last week. I still look for those drivers who were fast last week to have an advantage over those who struggled as we enter this weekend.

Matt Kenseth: I am going to pick Matt to win this race and move on to the next round. He has won two races here and those wins came in back to back races in 2012 and 2013. Matt has also finished in the top ten here in eleven of his nineteen starts and will do everything he can to win this race and not have to go to Talladega and win that race. This team has been really good on this type of track lately and should have a car capable of getting the job done this weekend.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin will be Matt’s biggest competition once again this weekend. Kevin started out the second round with a second place finish which is much better than he started the first round. However, a second place finish doesn’t guarantee him a spot in the second round and all of these drivers know what can happen at Talladega so that means Kevin will do everything he can to win this race and try to eliminate some of his tougher competition as the Chase winds down.

Carl Edwards: Carl is looking for his first career win at Kansas but he has always run very well here. He has eleven top ten finishes in only sixteen races and this is another of the Joe Gibbs drivers that have been dominating the second half of the season. All of these cars will be capable of being at the front of the field all day on Sunday if the teams can make the correct adjustments and the drivers avoid making mistakes.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale is also looking for his first win at this track and now is the time for him to get it and wipe out the deficit he is in after a disappointing finish at Charlotte last weekend. Dale needs two strong finishes in his next two races if he wants to move on the the next round. Even though he is very good at Talladega, he doesn’t want to go there knowing he has to win that race to survive.

Jimmie Johnson: Despite being out of the Chase and struggling for most of the second half of the season you never know when this team will break out and win a couple of races in a row. Jimmie has three wins at Kansas and has finished in the top ten in fifteen of his eighteen starts here. They might be trying some things to get ready for next year but you can never count them out from week to week.

Jeff Gordon: Jeff has won three races at Kansas during his career and has finished in the top five here an astounding eleven times in his nineteen starts. If Jeff wins this weekend it would be one of his biggest victories in his entire career as it would propel him into the third round of the Chase and keep his dreams alive for another championship in his final season.

Kyle Busch: Kyle finished third in this race last season but that is about where his success here ends. In fifteen career starts, Kyle only has three top ten finishes at this track. After last weekend’s disappointing race, Kyle needs a really good finish to climb back into a spot where he can make it into the third round of the Chase and try to win his first Sprint Cup Championship.

Brad Keselowski: Brad is sitting on the bubble right now in the standings and would like to improve his position this weekend at Kansas where he has one win in eleven starts. Of those eleven starts he has finished in the top ten in five of those races. His teammate, Joey Logano has looked better than Brad on this type of track this season, but Brad knows that he also has a car that is good enough to win at this track.

Martin Truex Jr.: Martin is looking for his first career win here to go along with two runner-up finishes he already has here. He had a good start to the second round and has been very good at Kansas during his career. He led ninety-five laps here in the spring race before falling back late and finishing ninth in that race. This is the type of track where Martin can come away with another good finish and just try to stay out of trouble at Talladega and advance again.

Joey Logano: Even though Joey is already qualified for the next round he still wants to win every race he starts. He won this race last season and has finished in the top five here in his last four starts. With nothing to lose this team might take a chance on fuel mileage late in the race to try and steal a win and learn a little about how much fuel they can save for future reference.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR KANSAS SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Matt Kenseth
• Kevin Harvick

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Carl Edwards
• Martin Truex Jr.
• Aric Almirola
• Kyle Larson

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Ryan Blaney
• Danica Patrick

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT KANSAS SPEEDWAY

1. Matt Kenseth
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Carl Edwards
5. Joey Logano

Dark Horse: Aric Almirola

Stay Away From: Kyle Busch

Kevin Harvick did what he needed to do to qualify for the second round of the Chase by winning the race at Dover this past weekend. Dale Earnhardt Jr. did what he had to do and beat Jamie McMurray by one position and moved on the the next round while Jimmie Johnson had mechanical problems that knocked him out of the playoffs. The second round starts next week and it should only get more exciting as the season comes to a close and we crown the 2015 Sprint Cup Champion.

BANK OF AMERICA 500

The first race of the second round will be held at Charlotte Motor Speedway with the running of the Bank of America 500. Charlotte is another of the mile-and-a-half tracks that represent the majority of the races in the Chase. The points will also be reset this weekend for twelve drivers who have qualified for the second round the next three races will determine who will be in the final eight.

Kevin Harvick: I am going to pick Kevin to win his second race in a row and qualify for the third round of the Chase right away. Kevin has won two of the last five points races here including this race last year. He has also finished in the top ten in his last five points races at Charlotte and this team has been fast every week for the past two seasons. I’m sure none of the Chase drivers would have been disappointed if Kevin wouldn’t have made it to the second round because he is going to be hard to stop as he looks for back-to-back Sprint Cup championships.

Jimmie Johnson: Although I’m sure Jimmie is very disappointed by not making the second round, but he always runs well at Charlotte and has seven wins here to prove that point. His latest win here came last season during the Coca-Cola 600 and he has run well at the mile-and-a-half tracks this year once again.

Matt Kenseth: Matt always runs well at this track also. He has won two races here with the last of those coming in the fall of 2011. All of the Joe Gibbs teams are still running well and all four of them have made it to the second round of the Chase. The speed these guys have shown for the past few months shows that they are all capable of winning the championship this year and Matt’s poise makes him one of the drivers to keep your eye on.

Kyle Busch: Kyle is still looking for his first win at Charlotte, but he has finished in the top five in ten of his twenty-three starts here. Kyle has been using his head so far during the Chase and that is what it takes to win a championship under this format. Don’t take unnecessary chances and just make sure you get a good finish and you can move on to the next round in each of the first two rounds. After that the strategy will change a little bit.

Jeff Gordon: Jeff’s has kept his hopes of winning another championship in his final year alive. He has been very good at Charlotte during his career with five wins and twenty-four top ten finishes in only forty five starts. Even though he doesn’t have a win yet this year he is still running consistent enough to be a threat to win a race most any weekend and keep advancing.

Carl Edwards: Carl won the Coca-Cola 600 this year and has finished in the top ten here in fourteen of his twenty-one career starts. His car might not always be good throughout the race, but they never give up on their adjustments and it always seems that Carl is in the top ten towards the end of the race and has a chance to pickup another win if everything falls just right.

Denny Hamlin: Denny is another driver looking for his first win at this track during a points race. However, he did win the Sprint All-Star race this year and has finished in the top ten in twelve of his twenty starts at this track. Denny has been quietly going about his business and won the first race of the Chase at Chicagoland Speedway which gave him a free pass the last two weeks. This week they will be back on the top of their game.

Jamie McMurray: Even though Jamie didn’t qualify for the second round he is still very good at Charlotte. He has two wins here during his career and has ten top ten finishes in his twenty-six starts here. I think this team should be proud that they made the Chase for the first time and now they have something to look forward to improving on next season.

Joey Logano: Joey is another of the Chase drivers who is still seeking his first win at this track, but he has run very well here during his short career. He has finished in the top ten in seven of his thirteen starts and just needs to make one more correct call late in a race to come away with his first win here. I think this team will do well for the rest of the Chase because Joey is very good at this style of track.

Kasey Kahne: Kasey has four wins at this track and has finished in the top ten in thirteen of his twenty-three starts here with nine of those finishes being in the top five. Even though they didn’t qualify for the Chase, this team will do everything they can to pick up a win before the end of the season so they have something to build on for next season.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Kevin Harvick
• Matt Kenseth

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Kasey Kahne
• Carl Edwards
• Martin Truex Jr.
• Jamie McMurray

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Ryan Blaney
• Danica Patrick

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Matt Kenseth
3. Joey Logano
4. Jimmie Johnson
5. Kyle Busch

Dark Horse: Jamie McMurray

Stay Away From: Ryan Newman