Author: Jeff Gutowski

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

I am writing this article before the Pennsylvania was run due to the fact it was postponed by rain once again. Seeing that this week the series is heading to the second of two road course races on the year I don’t think the results of the Pocono race will change my opinions on this weeks’ race.

CHEEZ-IT 355 AT THE GLEN

Watkins Glen International is an eleven turn road course located in Watkins Glen, NY. The track was repaved after last years race so we will see a new surface but with the same configuration. This is a race that will be run rain or shine with rain tires and windshield wipers if need be. No worrying about missing a race due to work concerns on a Monday.

Tony Stewart: Tony won the race at Sonoma earlier this season and he has been running very well since that time. He leads the series with wins at this track with five. He has also finished in the top ten in ten of his fifteen career starts here and will have a lot of confidence coming into the weekend after his win at Sonoma.

Jeff Gordon: We will have to watch the entry list this week to see if Jeff will be subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr. once again. At this time the #88 car has TBD on the entry list until Dale can be examined by doctors once again. If Jeff does run he is another must have on your roster here. He has four wins at this track and has led more laps than any other active driver with 262 laps led.

A.J. Allmendinger: A.J. won the race here back in 2014 and sat on the pole here last year. This is probably this teams only chance to make the Chase and they will need to win this race to do that. This is the type of track that A.J. thrives on and he could upset the Chase order by picking up a win this weekend.

Kyle Busch: Kyle has won two races at Watkins Glen in his career and he finished second here last year. He has been very good all year and is tied for the series lead with four wins on the season. Besides his two wins he has nine top ten finishes in eleven starts here which is very impressive for road course driving.

Carl Edwards: Carl is looking for his first win at this track but, he has run consistently well here with five top five and eight top ten finishes in eleven starts. You won’t find a lot of drivers on the circuit who run more consistently. All of the Joe Gibbs drivers have shown that they have superior equipment to the other teams this season as they have accumulated ten wins between the four drivers.

Joey Logano: Joey picked up his first win at this track last season and has finished in the top ten in four of his seven career starts here. It is always interesting to see how Joey races other drivers and if he is going to do something that makes other drivers thinks they need to pay him back for some bumping and banging to make a pass. There is always a lot of that that goes on during these races and tempers can flare.

Brad Keselowski: Brad is still looking for his first win at this track also but, he has finished second three times in only six starts here. Brad has a great attitude when it comes to these races and I still remember the last lap battle between him and Marcus Ambrose back in 2012 when they were both racing each other off the paved surface where Marcus came away with the win and Brad was like a little kid talking about how awesome the last lap was even though he didn’t win the race.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin has one win at this track and has finished in the top ten in eight of his fifteen career starts. Kevin runs well at both Sonoma and Watkins Glen which means he knows how to shift and get around road courses with the best of them. I look for him to come away with another top ten finish.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie is still looking for his first win at this track but has run well here on most occasions. He has finished third here twice and has sat on the pole two times also. This team had struggled quite a bit lately failing to finish in the top ten in six straight races until they came away with a third place finish at Indy a couple of weeks ago.

Martin Truex Jr.: Martin is another driver looking for his first win here but, he has been very impressive for most of the season. He ran well at Indy and sat on the pole at Pocono. Both of these are flat tracks that have some similarities to a road course and even though we don’t think of Martin as a road course guru he could very well surprise a lot of people this weekend.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Brad Keselowski
• Kyle Busch

Yahoo Driver Group B

• A.J. Allmendinger
• Tony Stewart
• Carl Edwards
• Martin Truex Jr.

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Jeff Gordon
• Michael McDowell

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL

1. Tony Stewart
2. A.J. Allmendinger
3. Brad Keselowski
4. Kyle Busch
5. Carl Edwards

Dark Horse: A.J. Allmendinger

Stay Away From: Kasey Kahne

Big 18: A.J. Allmendinger

Congratulations to Kyle Busch who won his fourth race of the season in dominating fashion at the Brickyard on Sunday afternoon. There are only six races left until the start of the Chase and there are still five spots left to fill. The coming races are going to be fun to watch as drivers try to move into the last of the openings on points or by getting their first win of the season. It will be quite nerve wracking for a lot of those drivers.

PENNSYLVANIA 400

This week the series heads back to the Pocono Raceway for the second time this season. Kurt Busch won the race here the first week of June in a race that was delayed by rain and moved to a Monday. Pocono is notorious for rain shortened and delayed races because of its location in the Pocono Mountains. That also means that qualifying gets rained out quite often and practice sessions get postponed or shortened. This could mean a lot when setting your fantasy rosters because of how the grid might be set and where your drivers will start.

One more note this week: Dale Earnhardt Jr. will miss his third consecutive race due to concussion-like symptoms and will once again be replaced by Jeff Gordon who is a must start in the C group for the Yahoo fantasy league.

Kurt Busch: Seeing he won the race here earlier this year he is a good pick to have on your team this week. Usually when you have your car handling well in the June race the same set up will work for the race at the end of July or early August. You see drivers doing the yearly sweep here quite often so I like to stick with the winner if he didn’t just win on fuel-mileage of pit strategy.

Denny Hamlin: Denny ran very well at Indy last week after recovering from another pit-road speeding penalty, his eleventh of the year. Denny always runs well at Pocono and leads all active drivers with four wins here. He is going to have to figure out why he is always going to fast on pit-road because once the Chase starts mistakes like those will knock you right out of contention. You aren’t racing thirty-nine other cars, you are only racing those who are still in the Chase each round.

Carl Edwards: Carl has won two races here and he also looked good at Indy last week until he was caught up in a late race wreck. Those who run well at Indy have a great chance to run well at Pocono this weekend because both tracks are pretty flat with long straightaways. The only difference is Pocono has three different unique corners to get through compared to a track with all of the corners configured the same. I think this team will be a contender this weekend.

Jeff Gordon: Jeff has won six races at this track and has finished in the top ten in nine of his last ten starts here. I think he will run better this week than he did last week because he will feel a little more comfortable in the car and more comfortable with his spotter. He has great equipment under him and a great pit crew behind him that will give him a legitimate shot at winning this race.

Tony Stewart: Tony has also won two races at this track and has looked pretty good this year on a consistent basis. He has won a race and is now securely in the top thirty in points and can concentrate on trying to pick up another win before he competed in the final Chase of his career. I think Smoke is still very hungry on the track and he will be a force to be reckoned with once again this weekend.

Kyle Busch: Kyle dominated the race at Indy last week and picked up his fourth win of the season tying him with Brad Keselowski for the series lead. Kyle is looking for his first win at this track and hasn’t run consistently well here. He only has eight top ten finishes in twenty-three starts here and I believe there are better drivers to use in you line up this week.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has three wins throughout his career at this track. However, this team has struggled quite a bit lately when you compare the way they are running to when he was winning championships. They need to get things turned around in the next six races so they are ready to challenge for another championship. I think they will get things ironed out in time and be a contender for the championship this year.

Kyle Larson: Just like Indy, Kyle has only run a handful of races at Pocono in his young career but, he has made the most of his opportunities. In his five start here he has never finished outside of the top twelve. He has one top five and one top ten to his credit. This team is going to win a race pretty soon and it will probably come on one of the flat tracks like Pocono.

Brad Keselowski: Brad has one win and six top ten finishes in his thirteen starts at this track. With four wins under his belt already this season this team is preparing for the Chase and if they have a chance to steal a race they are going to try and do that too. I think this is one of the most consistent teams week in and week out this year and that is what is going to win you a championship.

Chase Elliott: Chase finished fourth in his only start here earlier this year and really had a good car all day. I think that he will come into this weekend with a lot of confidence on how he is going to attack this track and he might get his first ever Sprint Cup win here. However, he also has to be a little careful he doesn’t get caught up in any careless wrecks as he is in a good position to make the Chase on points.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR POCONO RACEWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Kurt Busch
• Brad Keselowski

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Tony Stewart
• Carl Edwards
• Kyle Larson
• Kasey Kahne

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Jeff Gordon
• Chase Elliott

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT POCONO RACEWAY

1. Kurt Busch
2. Brad Keselowski
3. Tony Stewart
4. Jeff Gordon
5. Carl Edwards

Dark Horse: Kyle Larson

Stay Away From: Kyle Busch

Big 18: Kyle Larson

Congratulations to Matt Kenseth, who picked up his second win of the season at New Hampshire last weekend. However, the big news of the week was Dale Earnhardt Jr. being out with concussion like symptoms with no time table for his return. Alex Bowman filled in for him at New Hampshire and Jeff Gordon will return to the car next week at Indianapolis if Dale isn’t cleared to get back in the car. Watch your leagues this week to see where Jeff gets placed, his price etc. that you have in your particular league. He will be a steal in some leagues.

CROWN ROYAL PRESENTS THE COMBAT WOUNDED COALITION

This week the series heads to the fabled Brickyard known as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This is a two-and-a-half-mile very flat track in the heart of Indiana. Once again this will be a race determined by who can keep their tires from cutting down or melting the bead and the drivers who were off road racers in their early career will have an advantage once again.

Kyle Busch: I am going with Kyle to win his second consecutive race at this track. He has finished in the top two spots in three of his last four starts here, has finished in the top ten in nine of his career starts here and had a really good car on a flat track once again last weekend but just couldn’t close the deal after leading the most laps in that race. He gets back to his winning ways this weekend.

Tony Stewart: Tony is making the most of his final season in NASCAR since coming back from a back injury. His second place finish last weekend at Loudon bodes well for this team heading into Indy. Tony has always been good at this track with two wins and eleven top ten finishes in his seventeen starts. What better way to end a career than winning at the Brickyard, in your home state?

Matt Kenseth: With his second win of the season last weekend in New Hampshire, Matt has served notice that he will once again be a driver to be reckoned with once the Chase starts. He has also been very good at the Brickyard over his career with ten top ten finishes in his sixteen starts. He would like nothing better than to pick up his first ever win at this great track and add this trophy to his already impressive collection.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin has a win at this track and has nine top ten finishes in his fifteen career starts here. This is the race everyone wants to win second only to the Daytona 500 and this team will do everything they can to pick up another win as we get closer to the Chase. You never know when those bonus points will come in handy once the Chase starts.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie leads all active drivers with four wins at this track over his career. This team has been off a little bit lately and I’m sure there is some concern in their camp as we get closer to the Chase. Nobody can afford to be off of their game once the Chase starts because one bad race can eliminate you from contention and Jimmie is looking for another championship.

Jeff Gordon: I am not considering Jeff and active driver but, he will most likely be in the #88 car this weekend at Indy subbing for the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jeff leads all drivers with five wins at this track with his last win coming back in 2014. What type of a story would that be if Jeff jumped back into a car and won one of the most coveted races on the NASCAR circuit? It could happen! Watch your leagues to see if he gets added and watch the news to see if he will run.

Denny Hamlin: Denny usually runs well on this type of track and he is looking to win his first race here. I think this team will have something for the field if they don’t put too much camber in their setup that causes them to cut tires on the track. You need a great balance at this track with a lot of power on the straightaways if you want to win here and we have seen the power from all of the Joe Gibbs teams this year.

Joey Logano: Joey has run very well here throughout his young career with four top ten finishes in his seven starts. He really had a rough go of it last week at Loudon on another flat track so, I’m not sure what to think of him this weekend. My gut tells me this team will figure out why they couldn’t get a handle on the track last weekend and use it to their advantage as they prepare for this week’s race.

Kyle Larson: Kyle struggled last week a bit himself and has only run two races at Indy. He did finish in the top ten in both of those races and he is an old dirt track racer which really seems to help at this track. The biggest concerns for me with this team this weekend is if they have the power it takes on the straightaways and the small sample size of finishes he has had here.

Kasey Kahne: Kasey hasn’t really run consistently well since joining Hendrick Motorsports for the 2012 season, but he really runs well at this track for some reason. He is a great driver to take a chance on this weekend where he has finished in the top ten in six of his twelve starts. This is probably this teams best chance to win a race and secure their spot in the Chase before it starts.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Kyle Busch
• Matt Kenseth

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Tony Stewart
• Kasey Kahne
• Kyle Larson
• Ryan Newman

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Jeff Gordon
• Chase Elliott

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

1. Kyle Busch
2. Tony Stewart
3. Matt Kenseth
4. Jeff Gordon
5. Jimmie Johnson

Dark Horse: Kasey Kahne

Stay Away From: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Big 18: Tony Stewart / Jeff Gordon if entered

Congratulations to Brad Keselowski who picked up his series leading fourth win on Saturday at Kentucky. This was Brad’s third win in six tries at this track. We have reached the halfway point of the season now. eighteen races in and eighteen races to go with eight more before the start of the Chase. We have eleven different winners who are all inside the top thirty in points which leaves five more positions to fill over the next eight races.

NEW HAMPSHIRE 301

This week the series heads to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway which will be the same venue for the second race of the Chase. This track is just slightly longer than one-mile and is an oval shape without much banking in the corners or on the straightaways. I think the drivers who already have a win or more on the season are going to use this race as a test for the Chase when they return here. That means be prepared for teams taking chances on pit strategy, fuel mileage, and number of tires changed. They want to know what they can do to win this race in September.

Brad Keselowski: Brad is on a roll right now and he is very good at New Hampshire. He has one win and has finished in the top seven in seven of his last nine starts there. This team seems to have everything going their way right now and they shouldn’t have to do a lot of “testing” this week because they always seem to run well here. However, they are known to take chances to try and win a race no matter where they might finish because of the chances they are taking.

Kyle Busch: Kyle won this race last season and has finished in the top two spots in four of his last six starts here. This team had a stretch where they were struggling a bit but, I think they are past that now and they will give Brad everything they have and will be in contention at the end of this race. This is another team that has nothing to lose by taking chances to win the race because right now second place really means nothing to them.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has three career wins at this track and has finished in the top seven here in six of his last eight starts. This team has struggled a bit lately with the handling of their car and are doing everything they can to win races by taking chances. I think they need to get back to the basics and Jimmie needs to be a little more patient in the early stages of the race. As we know, Chad Knaus usually has this car handling its best late in a race.

Joey Logano: After a disappointing finish last weekend at Kentucky where Joey wrecked early, this team will be looking to get back on the track and try to win another race. They won the fall race here two years ago and have finished in the top five in their last three starts here. This team needs to become more consistent as the Chase nears if they want to have a chance at winning a championship.

Denny Hamlin: Denny has won twice at this track and finished runner-up four other times in the twenty races he has run here. This is another team that needs to become more consistent and stop making mistakes on pit road if they want to be a serious contender for the championship. I think Denny will run well here this week and the team will learn a few things for when they come back during the Chase.

Kurt Busch: Kurt has won three times at this track which ties him for the wins lead at this track among active drivers. Once again, this team hasn’t run consistently well this season and this is something they have to get corrected over the next eight races so they have more confidence entering the Chase. I think they will run well this weekend and come away with another top ten finish.

Ryan Newman: Ryan is another one of those drivers who has three wins at this track during his career. His last win came in 2011 and he hasn’t run well here on a consistent basis since then. However, after coming away with a third place finish at Kentucky last weekend, this team seems to be getting better and better every week and this is the type of track that Ryan really excels on. I look for this team to come away with another great finish this week.

Kyle Larson: Kyle has only run four races at this track and already has two top five finishes. I think this team has a chance to win the race this weekend if they can eliminate mistakes in the pits that move Kyle to the middle of the pack. Every spot you lose in the pits is hard to make up at this track. Qualifying is also important here so you get to pick a good pit which could win you this race.

Matt Kenseth: Matt won this race last fall during the Chase and has won two of his last five races at Loudon. This team is one of the calmest in the series where Matt doesn’t get too upset early in races unless they really do something awful on pit road. He knows how to be patient and what to communicate to his crew-chief so his crew can make the adjustments he needs to get the job done.

Tony Stewart: Tony has three wins here also and has really been running well since his return from a back injury. He is in the top thirty in points which qualifies him for the Chase and baring any unforeseen circumstances he will remain in the top thirty and have a shot at winning another championship in his final season on the circuit. He has finished in the top five in fourteen of his thirty-two starts at this track during his career which tells me he has a shot at winning here again.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Brad Keselowski
• Kyle Busch

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Ryan Newman
• Kyle Larson
• Tony Stewart
• Greg Biffle

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Chase Elliott
• Ryan Blaney

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

1. Brad Keselowski
2. Kyle Busch
3. Matt Kenseth
4. Ryan Newman
5. Tony Stewart

Dark Horse: Kyle Larson

Stay Away From: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Big 18: Brad Keselowski