Month: April 2016

We are now a quarter of the way through the season and we have three drivers with multiple wins and three other drivers with one win which qualifies them for the Chase. Carl Edwards picked up his second win of the season this past weekend and now sits at the top of the point standings. I’m not sure how long it will take for the animosity to dissipate between Carl and teammate Kyle Busch because of the bump and run pass for the win, but I think we might see some on track incidents between them in the near future.

GEICO 500

This week the series heads to the Talladega Superspeedway for our second restrictor plate race of the season. Talladega is a tri-oval shaped track and is the longest oval track on the NASCAR circuit at 2.66-miles. The restrictor plates are used to slow the top speeds of the cars down so the drivers aren’t going over 225 miles per hour. The result is pack racing which can be exciting once the drivers start making moves. The result is often a wreck that will involve a large number of cars.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale leads all active drivers with six wins at Talladega. He has also finished in the top ten in half of his thirty-two starts at this track and won this race last season. Dale really knows how to use the draft to his advantage and because of this he has many drivers who trust him and want to draft with him. You will see him make his way through the field in a hurry and once he gets to the front he usually stays close to the front the rest of the race.

Brad Keselowski: Brad has three wins here in only fourteen starts. He has also finished in the top ten in eight of those fourteen starts which tells me this team should have a great car in the draft. He has already won a race this year and is qualified for the Chase, so I think he will take some chances here late in the race to try and pick up another win or help his teammate, Joey Logano, get his first win of the season.

Joey Logano: Joey won the fall race here last year and the Penske teams have been good at these tracks the past few seasons. I don’t see that changing this weekend. I think both of the Penske drivers will be in position to possibly pick up the win especially if they can hook up with each other in the draft. It’s always good to draft with a teammate because you can be pretty sure he is going to go with you when you make a move.

Denny Hamlin: Denny won the Daytona 500 this year and had a fast car all week long during speed week. That car is now sitting at Daytona U.S.A. but I don’t think that is going to matter. I think all of the Joe Gibbs drivers will have great cars once again this weekend and they will try to win their fifth straight race. Much easier to find a teammate to draft with when you have three of them to look for on the track.

Kurt Busch: Kurt always seems to run well here and has finished in the top ten in fifteen of his thirty starts at this track. Although he is still looking for his first win here, this team will be right there at the end of the race and could very easily pick up their first win here and of the season to qualify themselves for the Chase.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin has one win here and has a fast car every week. He is the driver you might not hear much about at the beginning of the race, but he will come from nowhere at the end of the race and get himself into a position where he can win right at the end. All of the drivers know they can trust Kevin and will be willing to go with him when he makes his move at the end of the race.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has won two races at Talladega and the Hendrick teams always seem to run very well here. This team already has two wins on the season, so they are going to take some chances to win races that they might not take if they were racing for points. The only thing that gets you bonus points when the Chase starts is wins. Jimmie will make a move late in the race no matter who is behind him and hope that whoever it is goes along with him.

Matt Kenseth: Matt is looking for his first win of the season and should have a great car this weekend. Matt will have a lot of friends on the track because the drivers know they can trust Matt to stay out of trouble and work their way to the front of the field. The only active driver who has led more laps than Matt here is Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Ricky has only run five races at Talladega in his young career, but he has come away with three top ten finishes. That tells me he knows how to pick someone who drafts well with him on the track and that there are drivers that will trust him to stay with them as they make their way to the front of the pack. I look for this team to have a chance at the end of this race also.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Dale Earnhardt Jr.
• Matt Kenseth

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
• Paul Menard
• Aric Almirola
• Danica Patrick

Yahoo Driver Group C

• David Ragan
• Michael Waltrip

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2. Matt Kenseth
3. Kurt Busch
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Brad Keselowski

Dark Horse: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Stay Away From: Tony Stewart

Big 18: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Congratulation to Carl Edwards, who picked up his first win of the season and is now qualified for the Chase and is now only one point behind Kevin Harvick in the standings. However, if the Chase were to start right now, Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch would be the top two drivers due to the fact that they have each won two races so far this year.

TOYOTA OWNERS 400

This week the series heads to Richmond International Raceway for the running of the Toyota Owners 400. Once again this is a short track. RIR is a 3/4-mile, D-shaped, low-banked, asphalt race track that holds two races each season. The spring race and the final race before the start of the Chase. Teams that might not win a race before the Chase really need to learn what it takes to get around this track. It might come down to having to win the next race at Richmond to make the Chase.

Kyle Busch: Kyle is the class of the field at Richmond. With four wins and fourteen top five finishes in twenty-one starts he is a must have for your roster this weekend. After a disappointing finish at Bristol last weekend, this team is going to be looking to get back on track and I think they have a great shot at picking up their third win of the season.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin has three wins here himself and has finished in the top ten in eighteen of his thirty starts here. He always seems to qualify well here too and we know how quickly a driver can find themselves a lap down on these short tracks. I think Kevin will be a contender once again this week as he has been almost every week the last three years.

Denny Hamlin: Denny has two wins, ten top ten finishes, and has lead more laps than any other active driver at Richmond in his nineteen starts here. After winning the Daytona 500 to start off the season this team has struggled to come away with the finishes they think they should be getting. That could change this weekend as Denny runs very well on the flat tracks.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale also has two wins at this track and just seems to find a way to fight back from adversity this year. Last week he had a battery problem on the first lap of the race and found himself two laps down, but he fought his way back onto the lead lap and then worked his way into a runner-up finish. This team will win a race before the Chase starts.

Joey Logano: Joey has one win at this track and has finished in the top six here in his last four starts. This is a team that has started out well most every week and then had some type of penalty in the pits which virtually takes them out of contention in races. They need to find a way to finish races and that means no mistakes in the pits and keeping up on their adjustments as the track changes during a race.

Matt Kenseth: Matt has two wins here which includes the race last fall just before the start of the Chase. This team has struggled with their finishes this season also. They are cutting tires or getting caught up in wrecks. I think they will figure out the tire issue which is probably camber and once that is settled they can get back to concentrating on winning races again. Matt has finished in the top ten in six of his last seven starts here.

Brad Keselowski: Brad won the race here back in the fall of 2014 and has finished in the top ten in three of his last four starts at Richmond. They are already qualified for the Chase and have shown that they are willing to take big chances to win more races once they are qualified. This team figures second place or fortieth place is no different once you have the first win of the season under your belt.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has won three times at this track and has also finished in the top ten in his last three starts here. With two wins on the season, this team can take chances at the end like Brad will do. You get bonus points for wins when the Chase starts, not for runner-up finishes. I think this team needs to work a little bit on their short track runs. They seem to have the intermediate tracks figured out pretty well.

Carl Edwards: Last week’s winner, Edwards will look to put a string of his own together this weekend at Richmond. Carl has one win at this track and last week’s win should give this team a lot of confidence heading into the race this weekend. With the pressure to make the Chase off, I think this team will continue to run well all year and have a good shot at winning a title once the Chase starts.

Ryan Newman: Ryan won his only race here way back in the 2003 season. However, he always seems to run pretty well here and could be a sleeper this weekend. This team would love to make the Chase by winning a race and not have to worry about getting in on points. This is one of the tracks where he can get back to victory lane after a long dry spell.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Kyle Busch
• Denny Hamlin

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Carl Edwards
• Ryan Newman
• Jamie McMurray
• Kyle Larson

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Ryan Blaney
• Chase Elliott

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

1. Kyle Busch
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Joey Logano
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
5. Kevin Harvick

Dark Horse: Ryan Newman

Stay Away From: Austin Dillon

Big 18: Kyle Busch

After a delay due to weather this past weekend, Kyle Busch picked up his second consecutive Sprint Cup win and is now solidly qualified for the Chase. Can he make it three in a row this weekend or will someone else pick up their first win of the season?

Just a word of caution to all of the Yahoo league players who are using Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney at this point of the season. You will only be able to use them for eighteen starts, which is half of the season. These two will run well all year. Right now you have drivers subbing for Tony Stewart. Even thought their finishes might not always be the best, they are in great equipment. Once Tony comes back there won’t be much to choose from in the C group other than Elliott and Blaney. You should consider starting whoever is in the #14 for now.

FOOD CITY 500

This week the series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for the running of the Food City 500. This is another short track like Martinsville, but with a huge difference in the banking. The banking here is between 24 and 30 degrees compared to the 11 degrees at Martinsville. This equates to lap times of around 15 or 16 seconds. Makes it a little hard to know who is on the lead lap and who is a lap down on this .533-mile track.

Kyle Busch: Kyle is on a roll now and with five wins at this track he is tied with his brother Kurt for the most wins by an active driver at Bristol. He also has finished in the top ten in thirteen of his twenty-one starts, qualified second last fall after missing the spring race due to injury, and finished in the top ten in the fall race. With momentum on his side he is going to be hard to beat this weekend.

Kurt Busch: As mentioned above, Kurt also has five wins at this track and always seems to qualify well here. Qualifying is huge at this track because you don’t want to start towards the rear of the field where you will be a half of a lap behind or more at the start of the race. With fifteen second lap times the leaders will catch the back of the pack quickly.

Joey Logano: Joey has won the last two fall races here and has qualified in the top ten in twelve of his fourteen starts here. If it was the fall race I would pick him to win again and will have him as my alternate driver in the A group for Yahoo this week. I can always start him depending on how he qualifies and looks in practice. He very well can get me qualifying points whether I start him or not.

Matt Kenseth: Matt has won two of the last five races here including this race last season to break a long winless streak for him. Matt has led almost seven-hundred laps here in his last nine starts, has finished in the top ten in twenty of his thirty-two starts, and has won four times here overall.

Carl Edwards: Carl has three wins at this track and has been running very well this season even though he is still looking for his first win of the year. One of his wins came here two seasons ago and he has led laps in five of his last seven starts at Bristol. Carl isn’t afraid to mix it up on the track a little bit if he has to and this is the type of track where you might need to use the chrome horn to make a few passes.

Brad Keselowski: Brad has two wins here in his twelve starts and like his teammate, Joey Logano, he seems to run better here in the fall night race. If Carl doesn’t mind mixing it up on the track, Brad loves to mix it up. He is of the attitude that trading a little paint is the way to race at tracks like Bristol and holds no grudges against someone who will bump him a little bit here.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Although he only has one win at this track and seven top five finishes in thirty-two starts, Dale hardly ever finishes outside the top fifteen. He is one of the most consistent drivers here with an average finishing position of 12.84. Dale has gotten better with each season at Hendrick Motorsports and will pick up a win before the start of the Chase.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Ricky is my sleeper this week. He has only run six races at Bristol in his short career, but he has finished in the top six in three of those races including a second place finish in this race two years ago. He has looked very good up to this point of the season and could be a surprise winner this weekend.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has finished in the top five here in his last four starts including a runner-up finish in this race last season. With two wins under their belt already, this team is qualified for the Chase and is just looking to add some bonus points now by picking up as many wins as they can. They are in a position to take a few chances late in the race to try and win races, so you can never count them out.

Greg Biffle: Greg has never won a race at this track, but he has finished in the top ten in half of his twenty-six starts. This team has struggled the past two seasons, but with his teammate, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., running well lately, this team shouldn’t be far behind. I think this is one of those tracks where Greg might surprise a few people and come away with a top ten finish and could possibly challenge for the win.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Kyle Busch
• Joey Logano

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Carl Edwards
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
• Greg Biffle
• Kasey Kahne

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Ty Dillon
• Chase Elliott

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY

1. Kyle Busch
2. Joey Logano
3. Kurt Busch
4. Matt Kenseth
5. Carl Edwards

Dark Horse: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Stay Away From: Martin Truex Jr.

Big 18: Joey Logano

Congratulations to Kyle Busch who dominated the race at Martinsville last weekend and is now qualified for the Chase. A number of teams who have had a rough start to the season ran very well this past weekend and came away with top ten finishes and a lot of confidence heading into this week’s race at Texas.

DUCK COMMANDER 500

Texas Motor Speedway is another of the mile-and-a-half tracks on the circuit and is very similar to Atlanta where the series has already run once this season. This is one of the fastest tracks in the series and you will see speeds in excess of 200-mph this weekend. This is also the first night race of the season and is going to be run on Saturday, so make sure you get your rosters set before you can’t change them for whatever league you are in.

Jimmie Johnson: Once again I am picking Jimmie to win the race this weekend at Texas. Jimmie has six wins at Texas including winning three of the past four races here. He also won the race at Atlanta earlier this season and like I said, this track is very similar to that track. I am going to stick with Jimmie on this type of track until someone can prove that they can beat him on one of them.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin is still looking for his first win at this track and always seems to have a fast car every week. He led a third of the race at Atlanta earlier this year before finishing sixth in that race. He has also finished in the top ten here in fourteen of his twenty-six starts and will be one of the drivers who should give Jimmie a run for his money this weekend.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale finished second to Jimmie at Atlanta this year, has one win at Texas, and has finished in the top ten in nine of his last ten starts at this track. Those are some of the most consistent stats in those past ten races of anyone on the circuit. This team has come so close to winning already this season and this might be the weekend that they break into the win column and get themselves qualified for the Chase.

Matt Kenseth: Matt has picked up two wins at Texas during his career and has some pretty great stats here himself. Besides those two wins, Matt has finished in the top five thirteen times in twenty-six starts. Anytime a driver can finish in the top five in half of his starts at any track, he is someone to consider having on your roster every time he visits that particular track.

Kurt Busch: Kurt has stats very similar to his teammate, Kevin Harvick, at Texas Motor Speedway. He has the same number of starts at twenty-six and the same number of top ten finishes here. He has one win and has led more than twice as many laps as Kevin has at this track during his career. I think this team will have a car just as good as Kevin does once again this weekend and they are another team that could pick up their first win of the season if all of the cards fall right for them.

Carl Edwards: Carl has won three races at Texas which is second only to Jimmie Johnson’s six wins among all active drivers. It seems that all of the Joe Gibbs teams are fast and have cars capable of winning races each and every week if they can make the right adjustments as the track changes throughout the race. Night races seem to be a little easier on the crew-chiefs decision making once the sun is gone and the track temperature doesn’t change a lot anymore during the race.

Kyle Busch: Kyle has one win here and has finished in the top five in five of his last six starts at this track. Now that this team has picked up a win they can relax a little bit and I think that will just make them even better. Kyle is another driver who has finished in the top five here in almost half of the races he has run here with nine top fives in twenty starts.

Joey Logano: Joey didn’t run real well here at the start of his career, but he has been very good here over the past few seasons. In his last six starts over the past three seasons, Joey has one win and four top five finishes. I think this team is at their best on this type of track and I think they will have something to say before the end of Saturday nights race.

Martin Truex Jr.: Martin has been very good at this type of track while racing for Furniture Row. He has ten top ten finishes in his twenty-one career starts and is looking for his first win at this track and his first win of the season. This team is always fun to watch on the intermediate tracks and will be towards the front of the pack at some point during the race and it might be all of the race.

Brad Keselowski: Brad is still looking for his first win at Texas and has run almost as well as his teammate, Joey Logano has lately. Brad has finished in the top five in his last three starts here and he has finished in the top ten in six of his last seven starts here. That tells me that both of the Penske teammates will be a factor in this weekend’s race.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Jimmie Johnson
• Matt Kenseth

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Carl Edwards
• Martin Truex Jr.
• Austin Dillon
• Greg Biffle

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Brian Vickers
• Chase Elliott

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Matt Kenseth
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
4. Joey Logano
5. Kyle Busch

Dark Horse: Austin Dillon

Stay Away From: Ryan Newman

Big 18: Dale Earnhardt Jr.