Month: March 2017

We are five weeks into the season and we have five different winners so far. I have come to the conclusion that I personally don’t care for stage racing. To me it doesn’t make the races any more exciting because you can’t really tell who is in the top ten at the time anyway because they aren’t showing that on TV. They show the leader go across the line and that is all. Also, I think it makes the points standings difficult to follow and it does nothing to make the end of races more exciting. The drivers do that themselves. One thing it does do though is keep the field a little tighter and put more people on the lead lap when you have a dominant car and no cautions, but I could do without it.

STP 500

Congratulations to Kyle Larson who picked up his first win of the season this past weekend in California. Kyle has finished in the top two in four of the five races run so far this year. This week the series heads back east to the Martinsville Speedway for the running of the STP 500. Martinsville is the shortest track on the circuit with small pit stalls and no banking on the track. Qualifying will be at a premium to get the best pit selections which can win you the race here.

Kyle Busch: Kyle won this race last year and has finished in the top five here in his last four starts. He has also qualified in the top ten in nine of his last ten races here with the other start being eleventh. This bodes well at a track where pit selection is very important and those pit selections are based on where you qualify. I think this team will be the sixth different team to head to victory lane this season.

Denny Hamlin: With five wins here, twelve top five finishes and seventeen top ten finishes in twenty-two starts, Denny is no slouch at this track. He is one of the most consistent drivers here and will give Kyle all he can handle in this race. It would not be a surprise to see him qualify well and run up front all day this coming weekend. One way or another, I think we get a new winner this weekend.

Brad Keselowski: Brad is still looking for his first grandfather clock which is the trophy for winning a Martinsville race. However, he has finished in the top ten in eight of his fourteen starts including three top five finishes in his last four races here. This team overcame some more early adversity last weekend to come back and finish in the top five at California with a damaged car.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie is the most consistent driver at this track of all the active drivers. This might be the place where he and Chad Knaus can get to victory lane for the first time this season. He has nine wins here and has nineteen top five and twenty-four top ten finishes in thirty starts. If you finish in the top ten in 80% of your races at any track you know what you are doing there. Tough to leave this guy off your roster this week.

Joey Logano: Joey is another driver looking for his first win at this track. However, he has led more laps here over the last four races than any other driver. He has also qualified first or second in his last five races here and as I said a couple of times already, qualifying is very important at this track. Look for Joey to have another great car coming into the weekend and we will have to wait and see if his team can keep up with the adjustments to their car to have a shot at the win late in the race.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale runs well here on a consistent basis also. He won a race at Martinsville in the fall of 2014. Add to that eighteen top ten finishes in thirty-three career starts which means he has a top ten run in over half of his starts at this track. This team hasn’t run as well as they would like on the intermediate tracks so far this year and like teammate, Jimmie Johnson, this might be the type of track that is just what the doctor ordered to get them on track once again.

Kyle Larson: The hottest driver on the tour right now, Kyle will carry a lot of momentum into this weekend’s race. In his six starts here his best finish was a third place finish in this race last season. That is his only top ten finish in his six starts here. His average finishing position in his other five starts here is twenty-sixth. Doesn’t really give me a lot of confidence in him this week, but like Martin Truex showed us the past couple of seasons, the past doesn’t always tell us how a driver will run every week no matter what track they are on.

Clint Bowyer: Clint has gotten better and better every week. This is the type of track he really excels on and this could be the week he picks up his first win in a long time. I think this team will qualify well and run well the entire race this weekend and it won’t be a surprise to see him battling for the win late in the race this weekend at Martinsville.

Jamie McMurray: Jamie is still looking for his first win at this track and as a matter of fact, he has only finished in the top five here twice in twenty-eight starts here. Then again, he has finished in the top ten in fifteen of those races which tells me Jamie knows how to get around this track pretty well and if things fall in line for him he could surprise a lot of people by being in contention late in the race this weekend.

Matt Kenseth: Matt is another driver who has struggled with his finishing positions so far this season. His is not a matter of poor driving or poor equipment. He is struggling with bad luck, pure and simple. This might be the type of race this team needs to turn their fortunes around too. Matt is still looking for his first win at this track, but he has finished in the top six in five of his last seven starts here which tells me they have figured something out here and will probably continue to get better every time they come here.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Kyle Busch
• Denny Hamlin

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Jamie McMurray
• Clint Bowyer
• Ryan Newman
• Austin Dillon

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Ty Dillon
• Daniel Suarez

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY

1. Kyle Busch
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Brad Keselowski
5. Joey Logano

Dark Horse: Jamie McMurray

Stay Away From: Kurt Busch

Big 18: Jamie McMurray

Congratulations to Ryan Newman who picked up his first win since the 2013 season this past Sunday in Phoenix. Ryan elected to stay out on old tires during a late race caution and held off Kyle Larson for the victory. Kyle Busch finished third after leading most of the last third of the race. The stage wins went to Joey Logano and Chase Elliott this week. Logano and Matt Kenseth were notable drivers who blew tires and hit the wall hard, knocking both of them out of the race.

AUTO CLUB 400

The series will stay out west for one more week as the drivers and teams head to the Auto Club Speedway for the running of the Auto Club 400. This track is a two-mile D-shaped oval that is fairly flat. This track is similar in design to Michigan International Speedway so we can look at the driver history at both tracks to get a better understanding on who to have on our teams this week.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has won five of the last thirteen races at this track. He also has thirteen top five and sixteen top ten finishes in his twenty-two career starts here. Being from California, Jimmie really wants to win this race every time he comes here and he leads the series in wins here with six, and laps led with 980 under his belt. If they can find a little bit of speed to compete with what the Ford’s have brought so far this year they will be tough to beat.

Matt Kenseth: Matt always runs well at both California and Michigan. He has won three races at both of those tracks and he has led over 400 laps at both tracks. After a disappointing finish last week at Phoenix, this team will be looking for some redemption this weekend. They shouldn’t have to worry about tire or brake issues this week and can concentrate on making the right adjustments to their car as the race progresses so they are in a position to challenge for the win at the end of the race.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin picked up his lone win here back in 2011 and he has finished either first or second in four of his last eight starts here including second place finishes in the last two races here. This team has been fast every week once again this year and this week should be no different. He will have a great shot at moving up that one position he was short of the last two years and pick up his second win at this track.

Chase Elliott: Chase finished sixth in his only career start at this track last season and he also finished second in both of the Michigan races last year. He has been stellar each and every week this season and I think this could be the track he gets his first ever Cup win at. I really like the way he has run on all of the intermediate tracks so far in his career and he seems to qualify and then run up front all day long in these races.

Kyle Busch: After having a victory snatched away from him by a late race caution last week, Kyle will be looking for a little redemption this weekend. He has won three races at this track and has finished in the top three in four of his last five starts here. This is a wide track and their are going to be a lot of grooves to run in. I think Kyle is one of the best at finding different lines to run during the race and he seems to know when to make the move to those lines to make his car the fastest that it can be.

Joey Logano: Joey sat on the pole last weekend and dominated the first third of the race last weekend before a speeding penalty on pit road put him behind the eight ball and he had to race too hard to try to get back to the front of the pack and that could be what caused him to melt the bead on his tire late in the race and crash into the wall, knocking him out of the race. This team shouldn’t have to worry about those issues this week and will come with a fast car once again.

Brad Keselowski: Brad is another of the Penske drivers who has had a fast car every week this season. Brad picked up his only win here two years ago and that was the only lap he led on the day. He hasn’t fared very well at this track over his short career which only spans eight races here, with only two top ten finishes and thirty-nine laps led during those eight starts. The speed that these Ford drivers have this season could give him the boost he needs to come away with another top ten finish this weekend.

Martin Truex Jr.: You would think that Martin would be very good at this track the way he runs at places like Atlanta and Charlotte. However, his finishing rate is really that great here. He hasn’t won at either California or Michigan in his career. His best finish at this track is a sixth which he has done twice, but he only has four top ten finishes here in sixteen starts. I think I will hold off on using him at this track.

Kasey Kahne: Kasey has looked better so far this season than he has the past few seasons. This is also the kind of track he loves to run on. It is wide and he can run the top if he wants to and carry his speed off the corner. He has one win here and has finished in the top ten in half of the twenty races he has run here. I think he will come away with another of those top ten finished this week and might even have something to say when the checkered flag flies.

Kurt Busch: Kurt won a race here back in 2003 for the only time he has visited victory lane at California. He has finished in the top ten in seven of his last ten starts here and in the top five in three of his last four races. This team should have an even faster car this year than they have had in the past and I look for Kurt to run up front most of the race if they can figure out why they are having so many battery issues this year.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Jimmie Johnson
• Kevin Harvick

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Chase Elliott
• Kurt Busch
• Kasey Kahne
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Erik Jones
• Ty Dillon

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY

1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Kyle Busch
4. Chase Elliott
5. Matt Kenseth

Dark Horse: Kasey Kahne

Stay Away From: Martin Truex Jr.

Big 18: Matt Kenseth

Congratulations to Martin Truex Jr. who won all three stages of the race this past weekend at Las Vegas. Now, the stages don’t really seem to mean much at this point of the season other than to confuse the fans on the points. I hope NASCAR can either explain it better to us or that something starts happening to make the stages more exciting for the fans. I haven’t really seen anything yet that is supposed to make the races more exciting from the beginning to the end by adding the stages. Let me know what you all think.

CAMPING WORLD 500

The series stays out west for the second of three races on that side of the nation as they drivers head to the Phoenix International Raceway for the running of the Camping World 500. This is a one-mile, fairly flat, oval track and I want to see how these stages play out here. Is the short track going to make it more or less exciting or won’t it make any difference again?

Kevin Harvick: Kevin is my pick to win this race after a disappointing outcome at Las Vegas last week after he blew a tire and hit the wall and was done for the day. Coming away with a 38th place finish. Kevin has won six of the last ten races at this track and finished runner-up in two of the other four races. Plus he had a fourth place finish which gives him nine top four finishes in his last ten starts at Phoenix. He is a must have this week.

Kyle Busch: Kyle only win here came back in 2005. However, he has finished in the top four in his last three starts including a runner-up finish last fall. I think this is the type of track and racing that brings out the best in Kyle. He gets to use his bumper to move people out of his way if they won’t let him get by when he has a faster car and he likes that. He won’t hold it against someone for moving him on this type of track either if they can catch him.

Joey Logano: Joey won the race here last November and has finished in the top ten in six of his last seven starts at Phoenix. He ran well last week at Las Vegas and came away with another top five finish in that race. The Ford teams have looked good so far this season on the longer tracks and now we will see how they fair on the short tracks. I look for Joey to qualify well and lead some laps in this race.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale missed this race last fall, but he won the fall race here back in the fall of 2015. He has also finished in the top ten in six of his last seven starts at this track. He looked pretty good last week, but I think this is the track where he will have something to say down the final stretch of the race. This team could pick up their first win of the season on Sunday.

Kurt Busch: Kurt is another driver who has run consistently well at Phoenix lately. He has finished in the top seven in his last five starts here. Last week he got a little down on himself and his team during the race and that has to stop if he wants to improve and have a chance to win another championship. Not everything is going to go in our favor all of the time, but as a driver you need to be a leader and show the rest of your team that you are a fighter and aren’t going to give up.

Denny Hamlin: We haven’t heard much about Denny during the races yet this season until the end when he gets in position to go for a win or at least make some noise. He has finished in the top ten at Phoenix in seven of his last ten starts including a win back in the spring of 2012. I think Denny is at his best on the shorter tracks and this is one of his favorite places to race. When you like to run at a certain track you come into the weekend with a lot of confidence and that carries over to your team.

Kyle Larson: Kyle has only run six races at this track and has qualified in the top ten in five of those races. However, he has never led a lap at this track and only has two top ten finishes to show for his efforts. Does this mean we need to keep him off of our team this week? No, you shouldn’t be afraid to use him if you want to. I think this team is close to figuring this track out from the start of a race to the end and they will win here one of these days.

Brad Keselowski: Brad almost won his second race in a row last week at Las Vegas and had the lead until the last lap when something broke on his car and he faded. He is still looking for his first win at Phoenix too, even though he has finished in the top ten in seven of his last ten starts here. I think this team has a good shot at winning every week no matter where they are racing. Look for Brad to have another good run this weekend.

Chase Elliott: Chase has finished in the top ten in his only two starts at Phoenix. A very small sample size, but it shows that he can get the job done on different types of tracks. Do you use him this weekend? I think he is better and more consistent on the intermediate tracks and will save his starts for those types of tracks myself. If you are in a league that doesn’t have a maximum starts per driver rule you could probably use him more often.

Ryan Blaney: Another young driver with only two starts at this track and he came away with two top ten finishes in those races just like Chase. This team has been pretty impressive this season so far. You can see that they have fast cars and I think Ryan pushes a little too hard early in a run and wears out his tires too quickly. If he can learn to manage his tires early in the race, he will find himself in position at the end of races to make that short run and try to get his first series win.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Kevin Harvick
• Kyle Busch

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Kurt Busch
• Ryan Newman
• Ryan Blaney
• Kyle Larson

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Ty Dillon
• Daniel Suarez

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

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

Dark Horse: Kyle Larson

Stay Away From: Martin Truex Jr.

Big 18: Kevin Harvick

Congratulations to Brad Keselowski who won his first race of the season at Atlanta this past weekend after Kevin Harvick, who dominated the race, was issued a speeding penalty on a late race pit stop. Harvick did win the first two stages of the race which weren’t very exciting this week. I still have to wait and see if the stages are going to make the races more exciting.

KOBALT 400

The series heads out to the west coast for the next three races with this week’s race being held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This is another mile-and-a-half track and those who ran well last week should be the drivers who do well once again this weekend. Kurt Busch set a new qualifying speed last year here also and that record could fall once again if the weather doesn’t get to hot.

Kevin Harvick: After the dominant performance Kevin put on last week I have to pick him to win this weekend’s race. He won here two years ago and the change to Ford this year doesn’t seem to have affected this team at all. He also led 142 laps in that race which is kind of what he did this past weekend at Atlanta. I’m sure they will have a fast car once again this weekend and they will be looking for redemption after their disappointing finish at Atlanta.

Brad Keselowski: Brad was one of the only drivers who had anything to compete with Kevin last week. Look for the Ford teams to all be strong once again this weekend. It seems like they have more speed than the Chevy and Toyota teams at this stage of the season. This team fought back after having tire issues early in the race and never got too excited when things weren’t going their way.

Chase Elliott: Chase had a very fast car last weekend also and should be in the running to win his first race this week. He has really shown a lot of poise for a young driver and he will get that first win soon. He was involved in an accident here last season and finished 38th in his only start here 43 laps of the pace.

Matt Kenseth: Matt also fought back from being a couple of laps down due to being caught speeding on pit road. He has won three races at this track during his career and has led laps in all but four of his seventeen starts here. I look for Matt to stay calm and consistent this weekend and have a shot to win the race at the end. This team knows how to make the right adjustments to their car as the track changes so they are at their best late in the race.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie struggled last week, but he leads all active drivers with four career wins at Las Vegas. He has also finished in the top ten in nine of his fifteen starts here. This team always seems to rebound after having a tough week and you can’t keep them down for long. Jimmie was so good on this type of track last year and that is why he won his seventh championship.

Joey Logano: Joey finished second in this race last year and has finished in the top ten in his last three starts here while leading laps in each of those races. Even after getting a lot of damage done to his car last week early in the race, he still ran fast and fought his way back from being a lap down to finish sixth. I think Joey just needs to learn to be a bit more patient early in races so he doesn’t get himself into early trouble.

Kyle Busch: Kyle struggled at Atlanta last weekend, but I think he will rebound this weekend. He has one win here and has finished in the top ten in six of his twelve starts here. He has also led laps in each of his last three starts here. I think he is too good of a driver to keep struggling on the track. This is his hometown and he really wants to run well when he comes to this track.

Kasey Kahne: Kasey struggled at the beginning of the race last week and found himself fighting back from being a lap down to come away with a top five finish. As I said last week, this is going to be a big year for Kasey to prove that he belongs with Hendrick Motorsports and his finish last week is a good start early in the season. I think this team learned a lot last weekend and they can carry that over to this track.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale is looking for his first career win at this track but he has finished in the top ten in his last six starts here and eight of his last nine starts. After crashing at Daytona and then struggling last weekend with tire issues this team is chomping at the bit to get back on the track. I think they will figure out what went wrong with their setup last weekend and come out strong this week.

Ryan Newman: Ryan had a great car last week until he had a battery problem that knocked him out of contention. He runs well at Vegas having finished in the top ten in four of his last six starts and eight of his sixteen starts here overall. The Childress teams all looked good last week and that will give them a lot of confidence heading into this weekend.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Kevin Harvick
• Joey Logano

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Ryan Newman
• Chase Elliott
• Kyle Larson
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Erik Jones
• David Ragan

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Joey Logano
3. Brad Keselowski
4. Chase Elliott
5. Matt Kenseth

Dark Horse: Kyle Larson

Stay Away From: Kurt Busch

Big 18: Dale Earnhardt Jr.