Month: October 2019

Congratulations to Martin Truex Jr. for winning the race at Martinsville this past weekend and becoming the first driver to be qualified for the championship race. He won in dominating fashion leading 464 of the 500 laps run in that race and now he can relax a bit over the next two weeks if he wants to. Chase Elliott on the other hand had major mechanical issues and now finds himself in almost a must win situation over the next two weeks if he wants to make the championship race himself.

AAA TEXAS 500

This week the series heads to the Texas Motor Speedway for the running of the AAA Texas 500. This is another of the intermediate tracks and will be the most similar track to Homestead where the final race of the year will be run. That means this could be a real test for the drivers who are going to be heading to Homestead with a shot to win a championship and now Martin can do some serious testing this week while the others are still in a battle to make that race in contention yet.

Kevin Harvick: I’m picking Kevin to win this race and get himself qualified for the championship race without having to worry about winning at Phoenix. He has six top three finishes in his last ten starts including two wins and three runner-up finishes. He came on strong late in the year on this type of track and won this race the past two seasons. He would like nothing more than to make it three in a row and take the pressure off of himself until the final race of the season.

Erik Jones: Erik has struggled a bit since the playoffs started, but he has finished fourth here in each of his last three starts. This team is working on getting ready for next season and this is one of those tracks where he can gain a little confidence and feel good about himself and his team heading into the off season. I look for him to have a good run this weekend.

Joey Logano: We saw how dominant Joey was at Michigan earlier this year and even though that is a 2-mile track and this is a mile and a half he usually runs well here. In face he has finished in the top three at Texas in four of his last seven starts and that should give this team a lot of confidence heading into this weekend. If another playoff driver wins this week that will mean only one or two of the eight drivers would make the championship race on points and no one wants to go to Phoenix wondering if they need to win.

Chase Elliott: As I mentioned earlier, Chase had a major mechanical failure at Martinsville and now finds himself in an almost must win situation in the next two races. The good news is that in seven career starts at Texas Chase has never finished worse than thirteenth. The bad news is that his best finish has been a fourth place finish. He will need to run well and gain as many points as he can during each of the stages to try and get himself closer if he can’t come away with the win this weekend.

William Byron: William had a great run at Martinsville last weekend coming away with a second place finish. Also on his side this weekend is the fact that he has only run three races at Texas and finished in the top ten in two of them. He finished sixth here in March and lead fifteen laps in that race. I think this teams confidence is going to be sky high this week and we know that Chad Knaus can set up the car to win here.

Ryan Blaney: Ryan also had a great run at Martinsville last weekend and he finished second in this race last season. He knows he might need to win a race to make the championship and we have seen how fast the Penske teams have been all season. I think Ryan just needs to be a little patient early in the race this week and keep relaying good information to his crew chief to get the car handling to his liking late in the race and then go for broke.

Kyle Busch: Kyle has finished in the top five here in six of his last ten starts including two wins. This team has struggled quite a bit in terms of how they are used to running over the past few months and they can’t afford to have any type of trouble in the pits or on the track. Aric Almirola said he was going to make life difficult for Kyle on the track for the rest of the season and that might come into play here.

Martin Truex Jr.: Martin is still looking for his first Texas win in his career, but he has finished in the top ten here in seven of his last nine races.That includes a second place finish in this race two years ago. This team looks like they will be the odds on favorite to win the championship right now no matter who else qualifies. They have been great on the track and in the pits throughout the playoffs and that momentum should keep carrying them.

Denny Hamlin: Denny won the race here in March and is a bit disappointed to say the least in his finishing position at Martinsville in a race he thinks he should have won. Add to that the fact that he isn’t real happy with the Penske drivers and they are not real happy with him right now might make for some more excitement on the track this week. I think tempers are going to be short all around over the next three weeks.

Kurt Busch: Kurt is on a streak of five straight top ten finishes at Texas. I’m not real confident in him on the intermediate tracks right now and will be saving my final start for his for the Phoenix race. If you have more than one start left with him you should put him on your roster this week and see how he does in practice and qualifying and then decide if you want to take a chance on him this week.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Driver Group Game Group A

• Kevin Harvick
• Joey Logano

Driver Group Game Group B

• Ryan Blaney
• Erik Jones
• William Byron
• Aric Almirola

Driver Group Game Group C

• Chris Buescher
• Daniel Hemric

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Joey Logano
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Ryan Blaney
5. Martin Truex Jr.

Dark Horse: William Byron

Stay Away From: Ryan Newman

Big 18: William Byron

We are now down to eight drivers and four races to determine this season’s champion. The third round of the playoffs will consist of two short track races and one intermediate track race. A win gets you an automatic bid to the championship race. These next four races are going to be fun to watch.

FIRST DATA 500

The first race of the third round will find the drivers heading to the Martinsville Speedway for the running of the First Data 500. At .526-miles this is the shortest track on the circuit and with on twelve degrees of banking in the corners it is hard to pass without using your bumper. Let’s get to who we think will run well here this weekend.

Denny Hamlin: Last week’s winner is my pick to win this week too. Denny Hamlin has five wins and twenty top ten finishes in his twenty-seven career starts at Martinsville. This team is hot right now and this is one of Denny’s best tracks. The win here this week would take all the pressure off this team for the final two races of this round and they could start getting ready for the championship race.

Brad Keselowski: Brad has been eliminated from the playoffs, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t going to be looking for another win on the year. He has won two of his last seven starts here and has finished in the top five in six of those races. This is going to be a race where he tries to get a little redemption and he is going to run hard and try to take a win away from the drivers who are still in the playoffs.

Kyle Busch: Kyle has finished in the top five in his last eight starts here including two wins. I think he is going to give the aforementioned two drivers a run for their money this weekend. Kyle isn’t afraid to use the chrome horn if he has to and will if it means winning this race or finishing second. He isn’t afraid to mix it up with anyone.

Martin Truex Jr.: Martin is still looking for his first win at Martinsville, but he has finished in the top ten in seven of his last nine starts here. He has been getting better and better on the short tracks as his career has progressed and it seems like all of the Joe Gibbs drivers should have good cars this weekend. If everything falls right in the pits for this team they should be in contention late in the race.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin’s lone win here came back in the 2011 season. He has finished in the top ten in his last four races at this track, but it isn’t one of his best tracks. Luckily for this team they will be heading to Phoenix in this round and that is where he really runs well. This week a top ten finish would be a victory for them.

Chase Elliott: Chase finished second in the spring race at Martinsville and has finished in the top ten in four of his last five races here. They pointed their way into the third round and know that they might need to win a race in this round to advance to the championship race. They don’t want to head to Phoenix needing to make up points to advance.

Joey Logano: Joey won this race last season in dominating fashion on his way to his first championship. He lead 309 laps in that race and finished first and second in the two stages. If they hit on their setup again this year it could be a long day for the rest of the field. He has sat on the pole here five times in his last nine races too and that means a lot in picking your pit stall.

Clint Bowyer: Clint won the spring race here last season and has finished in the top ten in four of his five starts since coming over to Stewart-Haas Racing. Clint is another driver who was eliminated from playoff contention, but like Brad he is not going to roll over and stop trying to win this year. This might be one of his best chances to get another win this year.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has won here nine times in his thirty-five starts, but hasn’t run well here lately. On the other hand this team has shown a lot of improvement as the year has progressed and they are at their best on the short tracks. He is my dark horse for this week’s race and it really wouldn’t surprise me to see him back in victory lane once again.

Ryan Blaney: Ryan has really run well here lately coming away with three top ten finishes in his last four starts. I think he has learned a lot from his teammates, Brad and Joey, about how to run on this track and the way they setup the car coming into the weekend. He made it into the third round of the playoffs by virtue of his win at Talladega and he is another driver who know he will probably have to win a race to make it to the championship.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY

Driver Group Game Group A

• Kyle Busch
• Brad Keselowski

Driver Group Game Group B

• Denny Hamlin
• Clint Bowyer
• Jimmie Johnson
• Ryan Blaney

Driver Group Game Group C

• Ryan Preece
• Chris Buescher

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY

1. Denny Hamlin
2. Kyle Busch
3. Brad Keselowski
4. Joey Logano
5. Martin Truex Jr.

Dark Horse: Jimmie Johnson

Stay Away From: Kyle Larson

Big 18: Clint Bowyer

If you got to see Monday’s finish of the Talladega race you know what I mean when I say it was a crap shoot and I really couldn’t give individual advice on individual drivers. Using lesser used drivers is always rule number one when it comes to restrictor plate races. Rule number two is don’t feel good when all of your drivers are running in the top ten with five laps to go because none of them might end up there.

HOLLYWOOD CASINO 400

This week the series heads to the Kansas Speedway for the running of the Hollywood Casino 400. This is the last race of the second round of the playoffs. This will be a short week for the drivers and the teams with the finish of the Talladega race delayed until Monday afternoon. However, the good news is the teams will all bring a whole new car to the track this week, so it shouldn’t be too big of a deal. The big deal will be the fight for the final spots in the top eight to move on to the third round.

Martin Truex Jr.: Martin is my pick to win the race this weekend. He was hot in the first round of the playoffs and now he is at a track where he can dominate. He swept both races here in the 2017 season and has finished in the top five in four of his last five starts here. When a driver is rolling you need to stick with him and that is what I am going to do.

Kyle Larson: Kyle is another driver who has been running very well lately and this is one of those tracks he loves to run on. He has four top ten finishes in his last five starts at Kansas and wants to keep his momentum strong as he gets ready for the third round. Anything short of a win doesn’t mean much to this team right now other than maybe winning stages in the race.

Kyle Busch: Kyle has struggled a bit in the later stages of the season and the first couple of rounds of the playoffs. This team was so good early in the year and now they seem like they are of kilter a little bit. I’m not going to worry about them too much because of how quickly they can turn the switch and win multiple races in a row. Kyle has six top five and eight top ten finishes at this track over his last nine starts here.

Chase Elliott: Chase won this race last season and has finished in the top five in three of his last four starts here. He really needs a great run here and maybe even a win to make it to the third round of the playoffs. If he can make it in he could win one of the next three races and propel himself into the championship round.

Brad Keselowski: Brad won the spring race here and we have seen the speed the Penske teams have shown all year. Brad runs very well on most of the mile and a half tracks and they really know how to get the job done be it with a fast car or pit strategy that seems to have them contending at the end of races. I look for him to be a contender once again late in this race.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin struggled to get a win early in the season and then came on strong late in the year and showed that this team can get the job done on the intermediate tracks. He has four top three finishes in his last seven starts at Kansas including last spring and the fall race in 2016. They aren’t going to go away quietly this year either.

Erik Jones: Although he was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs and has had some bad luck the past few weeks this is a track where Erik could pick up another win on the season. He has finished in the top seven in each of his three starts here with Joe Gibbs Racing and usually comes away with stage points in each round. He is one to keep on your radar this weekend.

Ryan Blaney: This is one of Ryan’s best tracks. He has three top five and five top ten finishes in his nine career starts at Kansas and is really impressive gaining stage points. He has finished in the top five in six of the last ten stages he has finished at this track. Anyone who can run up front in the early stages that consistently will be a contender at the end of the race too.

Alex Bowman: In his four races he has run here for Hendrick Motorsports, Alex has come away with three top ten finishes. All of the Hendrick teams have made great gains in the last half of the season with their speed on the intermediate tracks and any of them could win a race at one of these tracks now. As a matter of fact, Alex finished second in the spring race here and lead sixty-three laps in that race.

Joey Logano: Joey won two fall races here and has seven top five finishes in his last twelve starts here. Those are very impressive stats. He might need to win this race to move on to the third round in the playoffs and if he needs to he is going to go all out for it. That could be good news or bad news for him because one wrong move could take him out of the race.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR KANSAS SPEEDWAY

Driver Group Game Group A

• Martin Truex Jr.
• Kevin Harvick

Driver Group Game Group B

• Ryan Blaney
• Alex Bowman
• Aric Almirola
• William Byron

Driver Group Game Group C

• Chris Buescher
• Daniel Hemric

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT KANSAS SPEEDWAY

1. Martin Truex Jr.
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Kyle Larson
4. Kyle Busch
5. Joey Logano

Dark Horse: Alex Bowman

Stay Away From: Daniel Suarez

Big 18: Alex Bowman

Congratulations to Kyle Larson on winning his first race of the season and in so doing he cemented his spot in the third round of the playoffs. That leaves seven spots open to the other eleven qualified drivers to go after. Chase Elliott and Joey Logano both had poor results in the first race of the second round and will have to make some noise in the next two weeks if they want to advance.

100BULBS.COM 500

This week the drivers will head to the Talladega Superspeedway for the wild card race of the whole playoffs. This restrictor plate track can be redemption for some and could very well be the end of the road for some of the other drivers because of the potential for a big wreck to happen as all of the cars are going to be running in one big pack. One mistake by a single driver can take out a third of the field or more. Trying to stay out of trouble early in this race will be on the minds of most of the playoff drivers for sure.

Aric Almirola: Even though he has been eliminated from the playoffs I am picking Aric to win the race at Talladega. He has seven top ten finishes in his last ten restrictor plate races including a win in this race last year. He might just try to help one of his teammates with drafting and get them to victory lane, but if they aren’t around him he will go with whoever can get him to the finish line first. He has nothing to lose here this week.

Joey Logano: Joey won the race here last spring and is another driver with seven top ten finishes in his last eleven restrictor plate races. The difference with him and Aric is that Joey needs to be a little more cautious in this race because he can still point his way into the third round. What he can’t afford is another poor finish in this race which could mean that he would have to win at Kansas to advance in the last race of the second round.

Ryan Newman: Ryan is another driver that was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs and now has nothing to lose. He has also finished in the top ten in seven of his last eleven restrictor plate points races. He doesn’t have a teammate that is in the playoffs, but he could try to help out the Penske or Stewart-Haas drivers seeing they are running for the same manufacturer. I just see him finding someone he drafts well with and working with them no matter who they are.

Chase Elliott: Chase won the race here in April and really needs a great finish or maybe even a win this week to continue his quest for his first championship in this series. He has better finishes in the spring than he does in the fall here, but that all goes out the window and he will focus on nothing less than going to victory lane this week and sweep the season races at Talladega.

Paul Menard: Paul is someone who usually runs well at this type of track and you don’t really want to use your starts on the top drivers at a restrictor plate track because of that big wreck potential we talked about earlier. Paul is a good driver to have on your roster and save those other drivers starts. Remember, Trevor Bayne won the Daytona 500 with the Wood Brothers not too long ago and Paul could get them another win this week.

Kurt Busch: Another driver with nothing to lose by going for the win this week. Kurt has finished in the top ten in seven of his last ten starts at this track. He has run better at Talladega than he has at Daytona throughout his career but is still looking for his first win here. I probably don’t want to take the chance on him here though because of that big wreck potential again.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: I think Ricky is the wild card in the wild card race. He takes a lot of chances in these races and is out of a job next season. A win here might help him get signed somewhere, but he won’t have a lot of friends on the track if he starts jeopardizing drivers early on. I know there is no love lost between him and Kyle Busch on these types of tracks and other drivers aren’t far behind those feelings either.

Brad Keselowski: With five wins at this track Brad will be considered one of the top contenders heading into the weekend. All of the Penske drivers really work well with each other on this type of track and I don’t see that changing. All three of these drivers are still in contention for the championship yet, but his other two teammates need a little more help right now. The question is, how willing will Brad be to get into the mix early on in this race?

Ryan Blaney: Another of the Penske drivers who needs to have a really good race this weekend if he wants to move to the third round of the playoffs. Ryan always seems to have a fast, good handling car in these races, but always finds some type of trouble late in the races that ruins his finishing position. I think he needs to be patient at the beginning of this race and then start taking his chances later depending on is he can gain any stage points.

David Ragan: David is the dark horse this week. He won here with Front Row Motorsports back in the 2013 season and has finished in the top ten in three of his last five starts at this track. This is one of those races where anyone who starts can win and starting position has no bearing on how you are going to run. Stay out of trouble early and only later in the race make your moves to the front of the field. David has proven he knows how to do this in the past.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY

Driver Group Game Group A

• Joey Logano
• Brad Keselowski

Driver Group Game Group B

• Aric Almirola
• Ryan Newman
• Paul Menard
• Austin Dillon

Driver Group Game Group C

• David Ragan
• Michael McDowell

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY

1. Joey Logano
2. Brad Keselowski
3. Aric Almirola
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Chase Elliott

Dark Horse: David Ragan

Stay Away From: William Byron

Big 18: Austin Dillon