Month: August 2016

Congratulations to Kyle Larson who won his first ever Sprint Cup race at Michigan this past weekend. The win also propels him into the Chase and sets up what will be an interesting final two weeks before the start of the Chase. We now have thirteen different winners who are all in the top thirty in points going into the final stretch. Not all of them are guaranteed to remain in the top thirty in points, but as of right now there are only three spots open for drivers to get in on points and there are four drivers who are really fighting for those three positions in my opinion. A lot of pressure on these teams coming up over the next two races.

BOJANGLES’ SOUTHERN 500

This week the series heads to Darlington Raceway for the running of the famed Bojangles’ Southern 500. Darlington Raceway, also known as ‘The Lady in Black’ or ‘The Track Too Tough To Tame’ is a 1.366-mile egg shaped track in Darlington, South Carolina. This is the sight of one of the closest finishes in NASCAR history when back in March of 2003 Ricky Craven beat Kurt Busch be .002 seconds in a race where both drivers were banging off each other as they crossed the finish line.

Kevin Harvick: I am picking Kevin to get back in the win column this week at Darlington. I thought he was going to win last week at Michigan and he came away with a fifth place finish which is good in anyone’s book. Kevin has finished in the top five in his last three starts at this track and picked up the win here two years ago. He has also lead more laps here in the last two races than any other driver.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has three wins at this track and would like nothing better than to make it four and pick up some momentum as we close in on the Chase. With the three wins, nine top five, and twelve top ten finishes in seventeen starts here, this team is one of the most consistent when it comes to racing at Darlington. I think they give Kevin a run for his money.

Jeff Gordon: Jeff will be subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr. once again this weekend. Jeff leads all active drivers with seven wins at this track. He also has nineteen top five and twenty-three top ten finishes here and could surprise a lot of people this weekend. He could also play spoiler for someone who needs to pick up a win to make the Chase even though Jeff isn’t running for the championship this year.

Kyle Larson: Kyle got his first win of his career last weekend and looks to continue that momentum this weekend. Kyle has only run two races at this track and has finished in the top ten in both of those starts. This team would like to build on what they accomplished in Michigan and build more confidence as they race for a championship this season.

Ryan Newman: Ryan is still looking for his first win of the season and his first win at this track. He also finds himself sitting on the outside looking in to the Chase at the present time. He can still get in on points, as he is only seven points behind Jamie McMurray right now or he can win one of the next two races and get in that way. He has been very consistent here finishing in the top ten eleven times in his seventeen starts. He needs to come away with another top ten finish this weekend to keep his hopes alive.

Denny Hamlin: Denny has one win, three runner-up finishes and a third place finish in only ten starts at this track. I look for this team to have another good race here and build some momentum of their own as we near the Chase. This team is looking to improve their communication between driver and crew-chief to make the correct adjustments as races progress so they can stay in the hunt late in races. They also need to cut down on pit road speeding penalties.

Kyle Busch: Kyle has had a long stretch of bad luck since winning three of his four races early this season. He had some more bad luck at Michigan last weekend and will be looking to get back to his winning ways this weekend. Kyle has finished in the top ten here in his last four starts and seven of his eleven starts overall at this track. He should be in the mix once again this weekend.

Carl Edwards: Carl won this race last season for the first time and has finished in the top ten in four of his last five starts here. It seems that all of the Joe Gibbs drivers run consistently well here and we have seen how strong their cars are on a weekly basis this year. This is one of those tracks where you need to be consistent on both ends and those ends are configured a bit differently. This is another track that caters to the old dirt track racers.

Tony Stewart: Tony is another driver looking for his first win at this track in his final season of racing in the Sprint Cup Series. Tony has always run well here finishing in the top ten in twelve of his twenty-three starts. He would like nothing better than to pick up that first win here in his last start and build a little momentum before the Chase begins.

Brad Keselowski: Brad finished second in this race last season after leading 196 laps and sitting on the pole for that race. This team always seems to get their car handling well enough to win races every week and with their four wins on the season already they have shown that they know how to finish those races. I look for Brad to be very competitive once again this weekend at Darlington.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR DARLINGTON RACEWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Kevin Harvick
• Jimmie Johnson

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Carl Edwards
• Ryan Newman
• Kyle Larson
• Tony Stewart

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Jeff Gordon
• Chase Elliott

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT DARLINGTON RACEWAY

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Carl Edwards
5. Kyle Busch

Dark Horse: Greg Biffle

Stay Away From: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Big 18: Carl Edwards

Congratulations to Kevin Harvick who picked up his second win of the season this past weekend at Bristol in another weather delayed race. Chris Buescher came away with a top five finish which moved him into thirtieth place in the points standings which would put him into the Chase if he can stay there for the next three races. The next big fight will be for who can still get in on points and who needs to win a race to make the Chase in the next three weeks.

Ryan Newman currently holds the last points position to make the Chase, but a new winner will knock him out too. There are still a handful of drivers who need to run very well over the next three races to give themselves a shot at getting their team into the Chase while Buescher and Tony Stewart must maintain their position in the standings to make their wins propel them at a chance to win a championship.

PURE MICHIGAN 400

Kevin Harvick: I am going to pick Kevin to win back to back races this week at Michigan. He has finished in the top five here in six of his last seven starts including five second place finishes. When you finish runner-up that many times in a short stretch you know you are doing something right and you just need that small piece of something going right to take the checkered flag.

Joey Logano: Joey won the race here in June and has won two of the past six races at this track. He has also finished in the top ten in his last seven starts here. This team has run really well at this type of track this season and that should continue this weekend. Look for Joey to compete against Kevin for the win.

Martin Truex Jr.: Speaking of drivers who have run well on this type of track this season let’s not forget about Martin. This team has been good on every type of track this year and really dominated at Charlotte in May. Look for this team to qualify well and run up front all day. If they hit their set up correctly at the start of the race, they could make this another runaway race.

Brad Keselowski: Brad is still looking for his first win at what he considers his home track and he always seems to run well here. He has finished in the top ten at Michigan in his last five starts and is tied for the series lead with four wins on the season. This team is solidly in the Chase and I think they will take any chance they can to try and win this race in Brad’s home state.
Matt Kenseth: Matt won this race last year and has always ran well on this track. With three wins, fourteen top five, and twenty top ten finishes in thirty-four starts here, Matt is one of the most consistent drivers on the circuit at this track. He had some more bad luck at Bristol last weekend that knocked him out of contention late in the race. Look for him to move to the front once again this weekend.

Carl Edwards: Carl is another driver who has run very well here throughout his entire career. With two wins, nine top five, and seventeen top ten finishes in only twenty-four starts, he is the only driver more consistent here than Matt is. With both of them driving for Joe Gibbs and those cars being the class of the field for most of the year, expect to see both of them vying for the win this weekend.

Chase Elliott: Chase has only run one race here which was back in June, but he finished second in that race and had a fast car all day. This team is going to win a race real soon and this might be the weekend that he does it. He has run well each and every week and just seems to be getting closer and closer to breaking through for his first Sprint Cup Series win. It won’t be a big surprise when it happens.

Kyle Larson: Kyle needs to pick up or win or run really well the next three races if he wants to make the Chase. This team seems to be good in most of the races they run, but always seems to run into some kind of trouble on the track late in the race. They are either getting caught up in somebody’s wreck or hitting the wall on their own because Kyle likes to run the real high line. That is the way to get around Michigan so this might be his week.

Dale Earnhardt Jr./Alex Bowman: I am not sure if Dale will be back this week or not. We will have to watch the entry list and the news to see what his status is. This is one of the tracks where he really excels and if he comes back this week he knows he will need a win to make the Chase. If he is out once again this weekend, Alex Bowman will be back in the car subbing for him and the car will be set up the same in either case.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has only won once at this track, but he usually has a great handling car here. This team really needs to step up their game on this type of track and the intermediate tracks if they want to seriously threaten for another championship. This is the time of the year where you need to start running consistently and winning races. I think they will be fast once again this weekend.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Kevin Harvick
• Joey Logano

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Carl Edwards
• Martin Truex Jr.
• Kyle Larson
• Kasey Kahne

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Chase Elliott
• Alex Bowman

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Joey Logano
3. Matt Kenseth
4. Carl Edwards
5. Martin Truex Jr.

Dark Horse: Chase Elliott

Stay Away From: Trevor Bayne

Big 18: Chase Elliott

After a week off we are closing in on the start of the Chase. There are now only four races left to determine the final four or five drivers who will make the Chase grid. As of right now, Chris Buescher is sitting in 31st place three points behind David Ragan. To fill one of the remaining spots in the Chase he needs to finish in the top thirty in points. Then his win at Pocono a few weeks ago will propel him into the Chase.

Tony Stewart seems to be safe, as he sits in 26th place in the standings and has a 97 point cushion over the 31st place driver right now. The closest battle is for the final spot which could be taken by any driver who happens to pick up their first win of the season. Otherwise if it goes on points, Trevor Bayne holds a three point lead on Kasey Kahne, but this all depends on where Buescher ends up in the standings after the next four races. There is a lot to be settled in the next four weeks.

BASS PRO SHOPS NRA NIGHT RACE

This week the series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for the second time this season for the running of the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race. This is one of my favorite races of the year because I love Bristol and I love to see the paint schemes for this race held under the lights. Carl Edwards came away with the win earlier this year and we will see if he can sweep the races here this coming Saturday night.

Kyle Busch: Kyle is my pick to win this week’s race. He has won five races here in his career and while the last of those wins came five years ago he has qualified in the top ten in six of his last seven starts here with the only non-top ten qualifying spot when his time was disallowed. I look for him to qualify well once again this week and then stay out of trouble early in the race and compete for the win at the end.

Carl Edwards: As I mentioned before, Carl won the race here this spring and has four wins here in his career with two of those coming in the last five races. This team needs to become more consistent as we near the Chase and this is one of the tracks where they can build confidence as they usually run well here. Look for Carl to compete for the win this weekend.

Joey Logano: Joey has always qualified very well here, but he had trouble coming away with the finishes he was capable of and probably should have had here early in his career. That all changed over the past couple of seasons when Joey won two of the last four races at Bristol. Both of those races were the fall night races so, that means Joey will be a force to be reckoned with once again this weekend.

Kurt Busch: Kurt is another driver with five wins here in his career. Although his last win came here ten years ago this is the track where someone with Kurt’s mentality and ability help him get to the front. This is another team that needs to start stepping up their game as we near the Chase if they want to continue moving on to the next round. If they don’t become more consistent they will get eliminated early on.

Jeff Gordon: Jeff will be subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr. once again this weekend. Jeff is another five-time winner at this track over his forty-six starts and he has also finished in the top ten twenty-five times in those races. He has also lead 2,720 laps at this track which is tops among all active drivers. They aren’t competing for a spot in the Chase, but I’m sure Jeff will do everything he can to win this race. They have nothing else to race for.

Matt Kenseth: Matt has won four races at this track and has finished in the top ten in twenty of his thirty-three starts here. This team seems to have a good car every week and had a lot of bad luck early in the year. Now they have two wins under their belts and are only looking to win more races this year so they can get more bonus points before the Chase starts and they can keep moving to the next round and look for their first championship with Joe Gibbs Racing.

Brad Keselowski: Brad has won two races in only thirteen starts at this track. Brad doesn’t mind bumping and banging a little bit while he is racing and that fits into the style you need to adapt when racing at Bristol. Face it, when you put forty cars on a half-mile oval that only takes about fifteen seconds to get around you’re going to be in traffic a lot and you have to get by that traffic somehow so you don’t get passed yourself. No more mister nice guy here.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has one win at this track, and he has finished in the top ten ten times in his twenty-nine starts here. This team has looked good on the intermediate tracks this season which most of the Chase consists of, but I’m sure they would like to come away with another win before the Chase starts and would also like to win on a short track once again.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin is another driver with only one win at Bristol and I know he would love to make that two this weekend. He does have ten top five finishes in his thirty-one starts here and when you can finish in the top five in one-third of the races you run at any track at this level you are definitely doing something right. Look for Kevin to have a car good enough to come away with another top five finish this weekend. The rest is going to be up to luck and driver skill.

Ryan Newman: Ryan is still looking for his first win at this track, but he has been one of the most consistent drivers here during his career. He has sixteen top ten finishes in twenty-nine starts at Bristol and is probably going to make the Chase on points once again even if he doesn’t pick up a win over the next four races. Remember he came within one position of winning the championship two years ago without winning a race.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Kyle Busch
• Joey Logano

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Carl Edwards
• Ryan Newman
• Jamie McMurray
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Jeff Gordon
• Chase Elliott

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT BRISTOL MOTOR SPEEDWAY

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

Dark Horse: Chase Elliott

Stay Away From: Kasey Kahne

Big 18: Carl Edwards