2015 Dover International Speedway, FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks

A 600-mile race won on gas mileage. Great work by the crew-chiefs and a gutsy call, but I’m not a fan of watching races like this. Not much anyone can do about it other than throwing a late race caution for debris or something which wouldn’t be right either. Anyway, congratulations to Carl Edwards on picking up his first win of the season and first with Joe Gibbs Racing. Carl is now qualified for the Chase and he can relax a little bit although this team still needs to become more consistent before the Chase starts.

FEDEX 400 BENEFITING AUTISM SPEAKS

This week the series heads to Dover International Speedway which is one of my favorite tracks on the circuit. Known as ‘The Monster Mile’ DIS is a one-mile high banked oval track that often allows for some exciting racing. Drivers have more than one groove to work at this track and can pass on either the inside or outside with a lot of room to spare.

Jimmie Johnson: Once again I will pick Jimmie to win the race this week at Dover. With nine career wins in twenty-six starts at this track, it is hard to pick anyone else. How can you lose with a guy who wins one out of every three times he comes to the track? He has also finished in the top ten in nineteen of those twenty-six starts. Even if they have more wins than any other driver at this point of the season, this team would like to just keep adding to that total.

Jeff Gordon: Jeff is no slouch at this track either. With five wins and eighteen top five finishes in forty-four starts, Jeff is another driver that gets the job done here consistently. One of his five wins came here last September and he has finished in the top five in four of his last five starts. If you want to take anyone other than Jimmie, take Jeff.

Matt Kenseth: Matt has won two races at this track in his career and has finished in the top five in fifteen of his thirty-two starts at Dover. Those are more impressive numbers and with Matt sitting on the pole last week at Charlotte and all of the Gibbs teams showing a lot of speed and power, this might be the week Matt picks up his second win of the season.

Brad Keselowski: Brad has one win at this track and finished second in both races here last year. That tells me that he has a great handle on the track and none of the Penske teams had any mechanical issues last week at Charlotte in a long race, which is something they can’t say every week this year. Brad should have a fast car and has finished in the top five here in four of his last five starts.

Kyle Busch: Kyle came back for his first points race since breaking a leg and ankle at Daytona the very first week of the season and completed the 600-mile race and had a car that was in contention at the end of the race. He also said he felt very good so, I think it is safe to say he can finish a 400-mile race without any problems. Kyle has two wins at Dover and has finished in the top five in nine of his twenty starts at this track.

Joey Logano: Joey is looking for his first career win at this track but, he has finished in the top ten in eight of his twelve starts and always has a fast car. Once again last week they had a car that was fast in practice and qualifying, but they couldn’t keep up with the changing track conditions and faded as the race progressed last week. I think they need to take a few chances as they anticipate the track changing and not wait until their cars handling goes away.

Ryan Newman: Ryan has won three races at this track and has finished in the top ten in thirteen of his twenty-six starts here. Ryan needs to pick up a win to get qualified for the Chase, so he doesn’t have to worry about getting in based on points. I think we are going to have a few more winners who get qualified and no one wants to hope they can make it based on points.

Carl Edwards: Carl has one win at Dover and ran very well here on a consistent basis early in his career. Lately he hasn’t had the results he wants, as he has only one top ten finish in his last six starts here, but he is on a new team this season and has momentum from the win he picked up last week at Charlotte. I think this team will continue to improve as the year progresses.

Clint Bowyer: Clint is still looking for his first win at Dover, but he has finished in the top ten here in his last eight starts. This is the track that Clint could get his first win of the year at and it would propel him into the Chase. They haven’t been good on a consistent basis this season and unless they improve dramatically in the next month, they will need a win to qualify for the Chase.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale picked up his lone win here back in the 2001 season. However, he has run much better here recently and has finished in the top ten in four of his last six starts at Dover. Actually, this team has performed consistently for most of the season and have a contending car every week they haven’t had mechanical issues. Look for Dale to come away with another top ten finish this weekend.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Jimmie Johnson
• Jeff Gordon

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Clint Bowyer
• Greg Biffle
• Carl Edwards
• Tony Stewart

Yahoo Driver Group C

• David Gilliland
• Brett Moffitt

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT INSERT TRACK NAME

1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Jeff Gordon
3. Matt Kenseth
4. Brad Keselowski
5. Kyle Busch

Dark Horse: Paul Menard

Stay Away From: Kasey Kahne