Author: Jeff Gutowski

One-third of the way through the season and the All-Star race in the books. The longest race of the year comes up this Memorial Day weekend. Seven drivers qualified for the Chase. Nine spots still open. Fourteen races left until the start. There are some drivers who are going to start getting nervous if they don’t pick up their first win of the season soon.

COCA-COLA 600

Charlotte Motor Speedway is another of the mile-and-a-half tracks on the circuit and this is a tough race to call for the crew-chiefs. The race starts in the afternoon and ends up at night under the lights. Cars that are fast early might not be there at the end of the race if they don’t keep up with the changes to the cars as the track changes. A 600-mile race is a long race, so if your drivers aren’t running well early, don’t worry about it. Their is a lot of chances to adjust the cars to get them to be at their fastest when the race comes down to the end.

Brad Keselowski: I am going to pick Brad to win the race this weekend. He finished second in the All-Star race last weekend and was fast in all of the practice sessions. I also like the way he and Paul Wolfe work together and make the right changes as races progress and I think he will be the driver to finish the race with the checkered flag waving. He has won one race here before in the fall and now he will win his first spring race at this track.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin is a driver who can dominate every week and never gets down if his car isn’t fast at the beginning of a race. He knows that there will be plenty of time to get his car handling the way he wants it to late in the race so he can make a push for the win. He has two wins and two runner-up finishes in his last six starts here and he will be competitive at the end of this week’s race too.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie leads all active drivers with seven wins at Charlotte. He has also finished in the top five in thirteen of his twenty-nine starts here and those are very impressive numbers. He really had a tough time last year at this track where he finished 39th and 40th in the two races run here. I think this team has a good handle on the mile-and-a-half tracks right now and they could come away with another victory here.

Joey Logano: Joey won his first All-Star race last weekend and that will give this team a lot of confidence this weekend heading into the race. The only thing I am a little skeptical about is if this team can keep up with the correct adjustments to the car as the track changes throughout the race. They seem to lose the handling of their car more often than not and with a race of this length it is imperative that this not happen if you want to win.

Carl Edwards: Carl won this race last season and always seems to run well at this track. He has finished in the top ten in fifteen of his twenty-two starts and with two wins under their belt already this year they will be able to take a few chances late in the race to try and steal another victory if they have to. Remember, once a driver wins a race they are virtually qualified for the Chase and every additional win give them bonus points once the Chase starts.

Matt Kenseth: Matt has won two races at this track and has finished in the top ten in seventeen of his thirty-three starts. He always seems to run well at the intermediate tracks and with a win under his belt he is another driver that can take a chance at the end of the race to try to pick up another win if he isn’t running so well. By taking a chance I mean they might try to stretch fuel mileage of go with no tires or two tires or stay out all together late in the race to get the track position they need.

Kasey Kahne: Kasey has four wins and three runner-up finishes at this track in his twenty-four starts. This is a team that is still looking to pick up their first win of the season and get qualified for the Chase. Watch for Kasey to run the high line for a large part of the race along with a few other driver I will talk about next. Anyway, seven top two finishes in twenty-four starts is very good.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale finished third in the All-Star race last weekend and he is another driver who likes to run the high line once that groove gets wore in. He also said that his team needs to step up for the rest of the season including himself to get where they need to be if they want to have a shot at winning a championship. I think that what he did is going to help his whole team out and they are going to start running better.

Kyle Larson: Kyle was running the high line in the All-Star race last weekend and almost used it to win that race. He won one of the segments to get into the final race and he will be one of the first drivers to go high this coming week. He just needs to be careful early in this long race, because if you get into the wall really early, it is going to be a long night. I think he is going to come away with a top ten finish this week.

Chase Elliott: Chase has run very well on every track he has been on in his rookie season. This team has the equipment to run 600-miles without having to worry about anything breaking and the crew are all seasoned veterans. They just need to keep reminding Chase that it is a long race and not to take too many chances early on. Just stay out of trouble, keep adjusting the car and really go for the win over the last 100-150-miles of this race. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him get his first Sprint Cup win this weekend.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Brad Keselowski
• Kevin Harvick

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Carl Edwards
• Kasey Kahne
• Kyle Larson
• Jamie McMurray

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Chase Elliott
• Ryan Blaney

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT CHARLOTTE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

1. Brad Keselowski
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Carl Edwards
4. Kasey Kahne
5. Chase Elliott

Dark Horse: Jamie McMurray

Stay Away From: Trevor Bayne

Big 18: Kasey Kahne

There seems to be a little misunderstanding about my Stay Away From driver I list every week at the end of my article. When I started writing most of the readers wanted to get advice about the Yahoo fantasy racing league and that is pretty much what my article is geared towards. I think there is still something to be taken from my articles for most other leagues. That being said, my Stay Away From driver is a driver that I feel doesn’t give you the potential for the reward compared to the risk of using him. I have said stay away from a driver who has won races before. What I am saying is I think there are better options to choose from that week as for risk to reward. Otherwise I would just say stay away from a driver who always winds up a bunch of laps down and I think all of you already know who those drivers are. Sorry about the confusion.

AAA 400 DRIVE FOR AUTISM

This week the series heads to Dover International Speedway for the running of the AAA 400 Drive for Autism. This race marks the one-third point of the season. It seems like just yesterday they were running the Daytona 500. Dover International Speedway, otherwise known as the ‘Monster Mile’, is a one-mile high-banked oval track that usually has some very exciting racing. I like to think of it as a bigger Bristol where there are more opportunities to pass without having to move someone out of your way. This is one of my favorite tracks on the whole circuit.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie is a must have on every roster this week. He has ten wins, fifteen top fives, and twenty top tens in twenty-eight starts at Dover. He has also led 2,999 laps here which is almost three times more than any other driver. When you win better than once every three times you go to a track you are a no brainer to be on everyone’s roster. Even with the way the Gibbs teams have been running, it is going to be tough to beat Jimmie this weekend.

Kyle Busch: Kyle has won two races at Dover and finished second three times here. Kyle is also the hottest driver in the series having just picked up his third win of the season last weekend at Kansas. I think Kyle is going to give Jimmie all he can handle this weekend, but I think he comes up a little short. He also seems to lead laps every time he comes to this track. He is third among active drivers with 1,037 laps led at this track.

Tony Stewart: Tony looked pretty good last weekend at Kansas. Better than he has looked the past two seasons I would say. This could be one of those tracks where he can pick up a win which will put him into position to move into the top thirty in points and qualify for the Chase. Tony has three wins and eleven top five finishes in his thirty-three starts at this track and he is a great driver to take a chance on this weekend.

Matt Kenseth: Matt is looking for his first win of the season and hoping to get away from the bad luck that has been following him all season. Matt came away with his first top five finish of the season last weekend at Kansas where he was in contention until fading after the final restart of the race. With two wins at Dover and fifteen top five finishes in thirty-four starts, Matt is another driver who is so consistent here it is hard to leave him off your roster.

Carl Edwards: Another of the Joe Gibbs drivers who runs well here on a consistent basis. Carl has one win, eight top five, and twelve top ten finishes in only twenty-three starts here. Carl fought back from two laps down last weekend to salvage an eleventh place finish at Kansas which is impressive seeing they are already qualified for the Chase and their finish didn’t really mean that much to them, but it shows me they are committed to improving their position no matter what during a race.

Kevin Harvick: Once again Kevin came away with a second place finish last weekend at Kansas. He has one win and fourteen top ten finishes in his thirty career starts at Dover. This team could win just about every week, so the question is which races do we use him for. I think there are much better options as we look at risk versus reward this weekend.

Ryan Newman: Ryan had another good run at Kansas where he came away with a seventh place finish last weekend and he has run consistently well at Dover during his career. He has three wins and thirteen top ten finishes in his twenty-eight starts here although he only has two top ten finishes in his last ten starts here. I think this team could surprise this week once again and get back to running well at Dover.

Joey Logano: Joey is looking for his first win of the season and his first win at Dover. He has really run well here over the past four seasons coming away with seven top ten finishes in the eight races he has run here. The race where he didn’t finish in the top ten in the past four seasons he finished eleventh, so he has probably been the most consistent driver in terms of top ten finishes in that time frame.

Martin Truex Jr.: Martin has one win and nine top ten finishes in his twenty career starts here. I think Martin is better suited to the intermediate tracks even with him finishing in the top ten in almost half of his starts here. Once again, the risk to reward ratio tells me that there are better options to use this weekend. I think this team is going to win a race on an intermediate track and qualify for the Chase that way.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale also has one win at this track and has finished in the top ten in twelve of his thirty-two starts at Dover. Once again, the risk to reward ratio isn’t there in my opinion and there are better races to use Dale at. For example, Pocono is coming up soon and this is a track where Dale has excelled at in recent races run there. Doing well in your individual leagues has a lot to do with strategy, so follow the statistics not your heart.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Jimmie Johnson
• Kyle Busch

Yahoo Driver Group B

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

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Chase Elliott
• Matt DiBenedetto

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

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

Dark Horse: Tony Stewart

Stay Away From: Austin Dillon

Big 18: Jimmie Johnson

The reason I caution people about how to select drivers at restrictor plate races showed up in a big way this weekend at Talladega. Of the nine drivers in group A of the Yahoo league, only four finished on the lead lap. There were five B group drivers that finished in the top ten, but they weren’t Carl Edwards, Kasey Kahne, or Martin Truex Jr. You might argue that Chase Elliott sat on the pole and finished fourth, but was the risk worth the reward? Landon Cassill and Michael Waltrip were better picks as you won’t use up these drivers starts during the year and they finished eleventh and twelfth respectively. All I have to say is that it isn’t just about picking the driver that finishes best every week, but picking drivers who give you a legitimate shot at a top fifteen finish. You will see how this works out as the season continues.

GO BOWLING 400

This week the series heads to Kansas Speedway for the Saturday night running of the Go Bowling 400. Kansas Speedway is another of the mile-and-a-half tri-oval tracks on the circuit with quite a bit of banking in the corners as well as on the straightaways. The track was reconfigured and resurfaced in 2012, so I think tire wear shouldn’t be a big issue this week as long as the teams don’t put too much camber into their cars.

Joey Logano: Joey is my pick to win the race this weekend at Kansas. He has won the last two fall races here and has finished in the top five in his last five starts here. This team is looking for their first win of the season and they will have a great chance at picking it up here. The only thing that makes me a little leery of using him is that he just doesn’t seem to have many drivers who don’t have some on track issues with him.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie leads all drivers with three wins at this track and he has been stellar on the intermediate tracks this year. The bulk of the Chase is made up by this type of track and this is where you can make hay during the Chase. This team learned last year not to try to change to much once you have something that is working, so I think they will be there at the end of the race to challenge Joey for the win.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin finished second in the last two spring races here and won his only race here in the fall of 2013. This team is a force to be reckoned with each and every week. With the win at Phoenix under their belt, they aren’t worried about having to qualify for the Chase anymore. What they really want to do is improve on this type of track so they can turn those runner-up finishes into victories.

Kyle Busch: Kyle is another driver who is just looking to get back to his winning ways. He is also looking for his first career win at Kansas and the way he has driven this year, he could pick up that first win this weekend. I think this team is capable of winning every week no matter what type of track they are racing on. Kyle has also been able to keep a bit of a cooler head than he had when he first entered the series and that is what got him his first championship last season.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale has had some races where he has come close to winning this season and then he has had some races where nothing has gone right for him. He is looking for his first win of both this season and at Kansas. I think this is going to be one of those weekends where this team will be at the top of their game and will compete for the checkered flag and might get to visit victory lane for the first time this year.

Carl Edwards: Carl is also looking for his first win at Kansas and will be looking for his third win of the season on Saturday night. All of the Joe Gibbs teams have been fast each and every week and that shows by the five wins they have on the season. Like all other drivers looking to win a championship, you need to be very good on these intermediate tracks if you want to have a legitimate shot at winning that championship.

Matt Kenseth: Matt has had the worst luck of all of the top tier drivers in the series. It seems that every week he is in the hunt to pick up his first win of the season and then something goes drastically wrong for him either on the track or mechanically. I think this team is poised to win multiple races before the Chase starts and Matt has always been good on the mile-and-a-half and two-mile tracks.

Kasey Kahne: Kasey has eight top ten finishes in seventeen starts at this track. This team has been getting better and better every week if you don’t count the hiccup known as Talladega last weekend. I think this team has some pressure to perform better on a weekly basis and they are coming together and doing that. I look for Kasey to finish in the top fifteen once again this weekend and a top ten is not out of range for him either.

Brad Keselowski: After another win at Talladega last weekend, this team looks poised to compete for their second championship. They head to Kansas with momentum on their side and knowing that Brad has won here in the past and finished in the top ten in half of his starts here. This team could reel off multiple victories in a row because Brad and his crew-chief, Paul Wolfe, get along so well when it comes to making race decisions.

Chase Elliott: Chase has been very impressive each and every week this year and I think this is the type of track where he could pick up his first Sprint Cup win. He has never run a Sprint Cup race here, although he finished in the top ten in his last two Xfinity series starts. This team has looked very good on this type of track all season and will pick up a win before the end of this season. That win could come this weekend.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR KANSAS SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Joey Logano
• Jimmie Johnson

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Carl Edwards
• Martin Truex Jr.
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
• Kasey Kahne

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Chase Elliott
• Landon Cassill

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT KANSAS SPEEDWAY

1. Joey Logano
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Brad Keselowski
5. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Dark Horse: Chase Elliott

Stay Away From: Austin Dillon

Big 18: Brad Keselowski

We are now a quarter of the way through the season and we have three drivers with multiple wins and three other drivers with one win which qualifies them for the Chase. Carl Edwards picked up his second win of the season this past weekend and now sits at the top of the point standings. I’m not sure how long it will take for the animosity to dissipate between Carl and teammate Kyle Busch because of the bump and run pass for the win, but I think we might see some on track incidents between them in the near future.

GEICO 500

This week the series heads to the Talladega Superspeedway for our second restrictor plate race of the season. Talladega is a tri-oval shaped track and is the longest oval track on the NASCAR circuit at 2.66-miles. The restrictor plates are used to slow the top speeds of the cars down so the drivers aren’t going over 225 miles per hour. The result is pack racing which can be exciting once the drivers start making moves. The result is often a wreck that will involve a large number of cars.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale leads all active drivers with six wins at Talladega. He has also finished in the top ten in half of his thirty-two starts at this track and won this race last season. Dale really knows how to use the draft to his advantage and because of this he has many drivers who trust him and want to draft with him. You will see him make his way through the field in a hurry and once he gets to the front he usually stays close to the front the rest of the race.

Brad Keselowski: Brad has three wins here in only fourteen starts. He has also finished in the top ten in eight of those fourteen starts which tells me this team should have a great car in the draft. He has already won a race this year and is qualified for the Chase, so I think he will take some chances here late in the race to try and pick up another win or help his teammate, Joey Logano, get his first win of the season.

Joey Logano: Joey won the fall race here last year and the Penske teams have been good at these tracks the past few seasons. I don’t see that changing this weekend. I think both of the Penske drivers will be in position to possibly pick up the win especially if they can hook up with each other in the draft. It’s always good to draft with a teammate because you can be pretty sure he is going to go with you when you make a move.

Denny Hamlin: Denny won the Daytona 500 this year and had a fast car all week long during speed week. That car is now sitting at Daytona U.S.A. but I don’t think that is going to matter. I think all of the Joe Gibbs drivers will have great cars once again this weekend and they will try to win their fifth straight race. Much easier to find a teammate to draft with when you have three of them to look for on the track.

Kurt Busch: Kurt always seems to run well here and has finished in the top ten in fifteen of his thirty starts at this track. Although he is still looking for his first win here, this team will be right there at the end of the race and could very easily pick up their first win here and of the season to qualify themselves for the Chase.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin has one win here and has a fast car every week. He is the driver you might not hear much about at the beginning of the race, but he will come from nowhere at the end of the race and get himself into a position where he can win right at the end. All of the drivers know they can trust Kevin and will be willing to go with him when he makes his move at the end of the race.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has won two races at Talladega and the Hendrick teams always seem to run very well here. This team already has two wins on the season, so they are going to take some chances to win races that they might not take if they were racing for points. The only thing that gets you bonus points when the Chase starts is wins. Jimmie will make a move late in the race no matter who is behind him and hope that whoever it is goes along with him.

Matt Kenseth: Matt is looking for his first win of the season and should have a great car this weekend. Matt will have a lot of friends on the track because the drivers know they can trust Matt to stay out of trouble and work their way to the front of the field. The only active driver who has led more laps than Matt here is Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Ricky has only run five races at Talladega in his young career, but he has come away with three top ten finishes. That tells me he knows how to pick someone who drafts well with him on the track and that there are drivers that will trust him to stay with them as they make their way to the front of the pack. I look for this team to have a chance at the end of this race also.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Dale Earnhardt Jr.
• Matt Kenseth

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
• Paul Menard
• Aric Almirola
• Danica Patrick

Yahoo Driver Group C

• David Ragan
• Michael Waltrip

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT TALLADEGA SUPERSPEEDWAY

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2. Matt Kenseth
3. Kurt Busch
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Brad Keselowski

Dark Horse: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Stay Away From: Tony Stewart

Big 18: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Congratulation to Carl Edwards, who picked up his first win of the season and is now qualified for the Chase and is now only one point behind Kevin Harvick in the standings. However, if the Chase were to start right now, Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch would be the top two drivers due to the fact that they have each won two races so far this year.

TOYOTA OWNERS 400

This week the series heads to Richmond International Raceway for the running of the Toyota Owners 400. Once again this is a short track. RIR is a 3/4-mile, D-shaped, low-banked, asphalt race track that holds two races each season. The spring race and the final race before the start of the Chase. Teams that might not win a race before the Chase really need to learn what it takes to get around this track. It might come down to having to win the next race at Richmond to make the Chase.

Kyle Busch: Kyle is the class of the field at Richmond. With four wins and fourteen top five finishes in twenty-one starts he is a must have for your roster this weekend. After a disappointing finish at Bristol last weekend, this team is going to be looking to get back on track and I think they have a great shot at picking up their third win of the season.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin has three wins here himself and has finished in the top ten in eighteen of his thirty starts here. He always seems to qualify well here too and we know how quickly a driver can find themselves a lap down on these short tracks. I think Kevin will be a contender once again this week as he has been almost every week the last three years.

Denny Hamlin: Denny has two wins, ten top ten finishes, and has lead more laps than any other active driver at Richmond in his nineteen starts here. After winning the Daytona 500 to start off the season this team has struggled to come away with the finishes they think they should be getting. That could change this weekend as Denny runs very well on the flat tracks.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale also has two wins at this track and just seems to find a way to fight back from adversity this year. Last week he had a battery problem on the first lap of the race and found himself two laps down, but he fought his way back onto the lead lap and then worked his way into a runner-up finish. This team will win a race before the Chase starts.

Joey Logano: Joey has one win at this track and has finished in the top six here in his last four starts. This is a team that has started out well most every week and then had some type of penalty in the pits which virtually takes them out of contention in races. They need to find a way to finish races and that means no mistakes in the pits and keeping up on their adjustments as the track changes during a race.

Matt Kenseth: Matt has two wins here which includes the race last fall just before the start of the Chase. This team has struggled with their finishes this season also. They are cutting tires or getting caught up in wrecks. I think they will figure out the tire issue which is probably camber and once that is settled they can get back to concentrating on winning races again. Matt has finished in the top ten in six of his last seven starts here.

Brad Keselowski: Brad won the race here back in the fall of 2014 and has finished in the top ten in three of his last four starts at Richmond. They are already qualified for the Chase and have shown that they are willing to take big chances to win more races once they are qualified. This team figures second place or fortieth place is no different once you have the first win of the season under your belt.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has won three times at this track and has also finished in the top ten in his last three starts here. With two wins on the season, this team can take chances at the end like Brad will do. You get bonus points for wins when the Chase starts, not for runner-up finishes. I think this team needs to work a little bit on their short track runs. They seem to have the intermediate tracks figured out pretty well.

Carl Edwards: Last week’s winner, Edwards will look to put a string of his own together this weekend at Richmond. Carl has one win at this track and last week’s win should give this team a lot of confidence heading into the race this weekend. With the pressure to make the Chase off, I think this team will continue to run well all year and have a good shot at winning a title once the Chase starts.

Ryan Newman: Ryan won his only race here way back in the 2003 season. However, he always seems to run pretty well here and could be a sleeper this weekend. This team would love to make the Chase by winning a race and not have to worry about getting in on points. This is one of the tracks where he can get back to victory lane after a long dry spell.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Kyle Busch
• Denny Hamlin

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Carl Edwards
• Ryan Newman
• Jamie McMurray
• Kyle Larson

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Ryan Blaney
• Chase Elliott

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

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

Dark Horse: Ryan Newman

Stay Away From: Austin Dillon

Big 18: Kyle Busch