Browse > Home /

Fantasy Pick’Em: 2010 Irwin Tools Night Race

User Avatar

by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2011 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

August 18, 2010 5:59 pm UTC No Comments

If NASCAR had to, for some strange reason, pare down the Sprint Cup season to only five races, this weekend’s Irwin Tools Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway would be almost certain to make the cut.

The rough-and-tumble racing that Bristol is famous for, under the Saturday night lights in the dog days of summer, provides fans with a powder keg that’s ready to explode at any moment – and frequently does, claiming many contenders along the way. Many fans will never forget Dale Earnhardt punting Terry Labonte out of the way to win the 1999 edition, nor the post-race fireworks between Carl Edwards and Kyle Busch a couple years ago.

So who’s got a shot at surviving the event and driving into victory lane this year?

Bristol is one of Busch’s best tracks, and its tendency to produce interesting and exciting on-track action makes it a perfect fit for him. His 10.1 average finish trumps all other active drivers. Besides this spring’s aberration, Busch hadn’t failed to lead in a Bristol race since his 2005 rookie season. He has three wins at the track, and top-two finishes in three of the past four Bristol events. He’s my pick.

My dark horse pick for this weekend is Marcos Ambrose, who had finishes of 10th and 3rd at Bristol last year but a dismal 33rd this past spring. Now that he and JTG Daugherty Racing have both announced plans for 2011 that don’t involve one another, they might just mail it in until the end of the year. On the other hand, they could both step up their game, showing their new partners (Richard Petty Motorsports for Ambrose, Bobby Labonte for JTG) a commitment to a strong year next year.

Three more, because we can:

Greg Biffle, despite having never won at Bristol in a Sprint Cup car, has the second best average finish of active drivers at the track, a solid 11.0. He’s got six top fives and nine top-10s in 15 starts. His Roush Fenway Racing team is also peaking at the right time, finding victory lane and the front of the pack these past few weeks in the wake of owner Jack Roush’s plane crash. Roush cars won this race each year from 2005 to 2008, and there’s no reason to think they can’t again.

Kevin Harvick is the only driver to have a Chase berth right now. Coming off that clinch, his Michigan victory, and a lucrative sponsorship deal with Budweiser for 2011, Happy’s gotta be living up to his nickname right now, and the momentum can certainly carry into Bristol. Harvick can be Superman at Bristol – while the box score for his 2005 victory at the track says he started 13th, he actually started dead last due to unapproved impound work and passed every car in the field for the victory.

Finally, Kurt Busch has the second-best winning percentage at Bristol of active drivers, behind only brother Kyle. And while four of his five wins came in 2004 or earlier, he showed us all a thing or two about how to race at Bristol this spring, leading a race-high 278 laps and finishing third. While Jimmie Johnson may have used that race to get the Bristol monkey off his back, Busch showed the field that he had his old Bristol magic back.

Filed under: Bristol Motor Speedway, One and Done NASCAR Fantasy Racing 

Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

Digg This | Save to del.icio.us

Fantasy Pick’Em: 2010 Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500

User Avatar

by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2011 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

July 29, 2010 4:11 pm UTC No Comments

The Sprint Cup Series returns to the tricky triangle of Pocono Raceway this week for the Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500. One of the most grueling races on the schedule, Pocono provides one of the greatest tests of endurance for any race driver two weekends every year.

Pocono provided us with plenty of drama in its first race this year, which saw Joey Logano make some disparaging remarks about the Harvick family and Kasey Kahne nearly exit the speedway completely in his car. It’ll be hard to top that kind of intensity this weekend, but the boys will sure try.

So, who looks good this weekend at Pocono?

Obviously, Denny Hamlin is the top pick, and is certainly my choice. Hamlin’s successes at Pocono are widely known, but here they are anyway: four wins, seven top-10s, and an average finish of 8.6 in nine career starts, tops of all active drivers. Sounds like a pretty obvious pick to me, based on his history.

My dark horse for the weekend is Jamie McMurray. Coming off a huge win in last weekend’s Brickyard 400, McMurray sports a new paint scheme this weekend, with Axe Twist coming on board to sponsor. McMurray’s never been a great Pocono driver, with an average finish of 21.7 and only three top-10s in 15 starts, but that’s not to say that a team that has proven its ability to win big races on big tracks can’t find a little magic this weekend.

Three more, just because:

Jimmie Johnson is the second best active Pocono driver in terms of average finish, with a astout 9.5. Johnson led laps in four of the past five Pocono races, for an average finish of 6.8 over that span. His only two Pocono wins came in a 2004 sweep of the track, but you can bet that a middling Indy finish will only add fuel to the fire for him to get back to victory lane.

Tony Stewart came up with a solid top five at Indy last week, something he’s done at Pocono in eight out of 23 attempts. Stewart’s first points-paying win as an owner-driver came at the track last year, and since that race he’s also had finishes of tenth and third. He says he’s been looking for a little more out of his team, and Pocono seems to be the place to find it: no Stewart-Haas car has ever finished outside the top 15.

Finally, Kevin Harvick has improved over the years at Pocono, going from run-of-the-mill midpack finishes earlier in his career to solid top-10s and top-15s in more recent years. His two finishes of fourth in the past four Pocono races, including one earlier this year, are his career bests; he’ll look to improve on them this weekend.

Filed under: One and Done NASCAR Fantasy Racing, Pocono Raceway 

Tagged with: , , , , , ,

Digg This | Save to del.icio.us

Fantasy Pick’Em: 2010 LifeLock.com 400

User Avatar

by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2011 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

July 8, 2010 11:24 am UTC No Comments

Chicagoland Speedway provides this weekend’s setting for the Sprint Cup Series, as the LifeLock.com 400 marks the beginning of the second half of the season. We’re inching ever closer to the Chase for the Sprint Cup, and all of the fanfare that comes with the final ten races of the season.

Chicago provides a good test of who should be there in the Chase, as it shares many characteristics with the cookie-cutter tracks that make up its foundation. Combine that with its Saturday night time slot, and the action at Chicago is perhaps some of the best that TNT shows during its brief run of NASCAR broadcasts.

As for those behind the wheel, who has the best chance at claiming victory in Chicago?

Most signs point to Kevin Harvick as the way to go this weekend. The points leader has won twice this season, although both victories came on superspeedways. But his Chicagoland record is stout – two wins (his first two attempts) and five top-five finishes in nine starts. Happy’s only failed to complete a single lap at the track, back in 2003, and has led an impressive 282 of them. It’s safe to say that he owns this track, if anybody does.

A solid dark horse pick for the weekend is A.J. Allmendinger, who has finished 13th in both of his Chicagoland starts. This isn’t so much a history pick as a current circumstances pick. After some rough words at Daytona with legendary owner Richard Petty, Allmendinger certainly feels like he has something to prove behind the wheel, and his team needs to give him some better equipment if they have any chance at retaining his services for 2011 and beyond.

Three others:

Okay, so Jimmie Johnson is a bit of a “duh” pick everywhere, especially with seven top-10s in eight starts and the track’s best average finish, an 8.1. But did you know that Four-Time has never won a Chicagoland event? True story. He’s been sixth or better in every Chicagoland race except for 2001, when he did not compete, and 2007, when he crashed out. He’s also led laps in every race at the track but 2001 (again, because he was not yet a Cup driver) and 2006. But he’s somehow never eked out a win. Food for thought.

Tony Stewart finished fifth or better in every Chicago event but those in 2001 and 2006, when he had two finishes in the 30s. He’s also led at least one lap in every Chicagoland race but those in 2001 and 2005. His 9.6 average finish is not quite Johnson’s, but he does have two wins at the track (in 2004 and 2007) under his belt, unlike his former home improvement warehouse-toting rival.

Finally, don’t forget Dale Earnhardt Jr., whose solid Daytona runs have put him on everybody’s mind as a driver once again. His Chicagoland finishes have been decidedly mediocre, with a 15.2 average finish, but he did manage to pull out the victory in 2005. And riding a wave of momentum, both from his Nationwide win in a throwback Wrangler car and from positioning himself back in the Chase after a fourth-place finish in the Cup event, he could certainly stand to duplicate.

Filed under: Chicagoland Speedway, One and Done NASCAR Fantasy Racing 

Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

Digg This | Save to del.icio.us

Dale Earnhardt Jr Drives Out from Under His Demons

User Avatar

by Steve Wronkowicz

I am co-host of the syndicated radio show: ON PIT ROW. Over ten years on the air and three on the net; see what can happen when I don't let the facts get in the way of my opinions.

July 4, 2010 8:58 am UTC No Comments

Kevin Harvick wins the big one on Saturday while all the buzz around Daytona centers around a part time sponsor and a “retired” car number.

Races at Daytona International Speedway include a couple of variables; how big is the Big One, will there be long green flag runs and this year will the patch hold up.  The hole in turn two that caused so much anguish in February was of some concern early in the weekend as track crews were seen working on it after practices on Thursday.  The race track held together without incident throughout the weekend.

There were the usual early green flag runs that saw some early strategy play out but once the big one hit with less than twenty laps to go causing a red flag to clean up the carnage, it was Kevin Harvick to the win.  A win which solidifies his points lead.

The story of the weekend however was Dale Earnhardt Jr. driving his daddy’s number and Wrangler paint scheme.  Fans were all over this car on Friday night.  Junior usually has a huge group of fans that follow his every move while at the race track but whenever he was seen in the Wrangler colors; whether it was during practice or before the Nationwide Race he was being showered with adulation.

Adulation that may have been more centered around his late father than specifically directed to him.  Even the pre-race public address announcers were treating this race and this car as more a tribute to Senior than just Junior doing something cool.  Juniors whole demeanor while in the Nationwide garage and on the grid before the race was one of a person finally getting past something that had been haunting him for a long time.

During driver introductions and while awaiting the start of the nationwide race, Junior was as happy and demonstrative as  he had been in a decade.  Driving the Wrangler sponsored number three looked to be Juniors way of finally throwing a two-ton gorilla off his back.

Winning the race, in that car was a way for him to move past whatever demons have been haunting him.  He was adamant in the post race saying this was a “One and Done” for him.  There is no reason for him to do it again and I believe this actually paves the way for the car number to be put back into circulation.

Congratulations Junior on a nice time had by all.

photo credit: On Pit Row/JAB

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Daytona International Speedway, Kevin Harvick 

Tagged with: , ,

Digg This | Save to del.icio.us

Fantasy Pick’Em: 2010 Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500

User Avatar

by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2011 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

June 3, 2010 2:07 pm UTC No Comments

This weekend marks one of change in the Sprint Cup Series; not only does the Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 begin the second half of the series’ regular season and usher in the start of TNT’s summer series, it is also the first time that Pocono, not Dover, will host the race immediately after the Coca-Cola 600.

Those of you who have read this column for a long time are surely aware that its existence has always been facilitated by the OnPitRow.com One and Done Fantasy Racing game. Well, folks, this weekend is one of renewal for that game too. Pocono starts the second of three seasons-within-a-season for One and Done, and if you pick well over the next 13 races, you could have some fantastic prizes coming your way. The game is simple – pick a different driver each week for the next 13 weeks, and see how well you do.

As usual, here are the five drivers who are your best fantasy bets for this weekend’s race:

My personal number one pick is Denny Hamlin, because there is almost no logical, feasible reason not to pick him if the rules of your game allow it. Denny’s been on fire as of late on the Sprint Cup circuit, having completed every lap since Texas and accruing two wins and four top-5s in that span. Hamlin also has three wins at Pocono in eight starts, putting him behind only Jeff Gordon for most of full-time drivers, and far and away giving him the best winning percentage.

My dark horse for the weekend is Kasey Kahne. Despite languishing in 21st in points this season, the past two years have been fairly successful for Kahne at Pocono, with a win and three top-10s. A handful of poor Pocono showings earlier in his career skew his average finish, but it’s clear that Kahne has made huge strides at the track; in the last Pocono race, the only driver to top him in driver ratings was Hamlin, widely recognized as the king of Pocono.

Three more for the long and winding road:

Hey, did you know that Mark Martin guy has six runner-up finishes and 32 top-10s in 46 Pocono starts, but has never won a race? Those six bridesmaid spots tie Bobby Allison at Martinsville for most runner-up placings at a track with zero wins. You can bet that’s a goose egg the No. 5 team will be striving to eradicate come Sunday.

Tony Stewart has a pretty solid history at Pocono, with two wins and 16 top-10s in 22 starts. Last year’s victory in this race was his first as an owner-driver. Now 16th in points, he has to be hungry to climb into the Chase, and a characteristically strong Pocono run will surely help his cause.

Finally, if you want a real shot in the dark, Kevin Harvick has managed an average finish of 15.7 at Pocono in 18 starts despite only two top-5s, four top-10s, and never leading a single lap. But Happy’s been strong all year, and it may be time for him to surprise. Want to potentially look like the smartest player in your game? Take a gamble on Harvick and see what happens.

Filed under: Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne, Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin, One and Done NASCAR Fantasy Racing, Pocono Raceway, Tony Stewart 

Tagged with: , , , , , , ,

Digg This | Save to del.icio.us

Fantasy Pick’Em: 2010 Food City 500

User Avatar

by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and driver pictures, 2011 NASCAR schedule, video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

I do weekly Fantasy Pick'Em columns here at OPR, as well as the occasional opinion and analysis piece. I also provide the IZOD IndyCar Series coverage. For more on that, head to my site, OpenWheelAmerica.com. My Twitter handle is @christopherlion.

March 17, 2010 3:20 pm UTC No Comments

With four races in the books, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will head to Bristol Motor Speedway for this weekend’s Food City 500. Kurt Busch will attempt to follow up his win at Atlanta two weeks ago by winning this race for the fifth time.

Hope everybody’s all rested up after the off weekend, but it’s high time that we get into the swing of things and kick this season into full gear. This will be the last race that 2009 owner’s points determine the cars locked into the starting field for this season, so expect some backmarkers to try and push towards the front.

My pick for the weekend stays in the Busch family – I’m picking Kyle to win. Easy, I know. But in his last three Bristol starts, he has accumulated an average finish of 1.3 while leading 861 of a possible 1503 laps. That’s over 57% of his past three Bristol starts. Also keep in mind that Rowdy has led a lap in every Bristol race dating back to the spring of 2006, and has led in double digits in five of those eight events.

My dark horse for the week has to be Marcos Ambrose. Still looking for his first top-10 of the season, mired at 28th in points due to DNFs at Daytona and California, Ambrose has finishes of 10th and 3rd at Bristol in Cup cars. Bristol is known as a track of heavy beating and banging, as are the V8 Supercars that Ambrose drove in Australia before coming stateside.

Three more, as per tradition:

Kurt Busch. I’ve discovered over the years that a solid projection of a driver’s skill at any once track is the amount of top-10s he accumulates. If, over a career of decent length, he finishes in the top 10 about half the time, he is usually judged as a star at that given track. That would be Busch at Bristol… oh, and the five career wins there help too.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been decent at Bristol since joining Hendrick Motorsports, though it was mostly his work with Dale Earnhardt Inc. that currently gives him the sixth best average finish at Bristol of all active drivers. He’s also been fast for much of the year, with an average start of 8.5. Qualifying up front at such a small track gives drivers an inherent advantage, not only because leaders can catch lapped traffic quickly, but also because of their better pit selection – though that mattered more when Bristol separated its backstretch pits from its frontstretch ones.

Finally, let’s not forget that Kevin Harvick has a strong Bristol record. While he only has one win, the current series points leader has 11 top-10s in 18 career starts. Happy’s also in the best equipment he’s had in years, and there’s no reason to expect things to drop off now.

Filed under: Bristol Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch, One and Done NASCAR Fantasy Racing 

Tagged with: , , , , , , , ,

Digg This | Save to del.icio.us

« Previous Page — « Previous Articles
More Recent Articles » — Next Page »

March Madness

Play the Rattles from the Catch Can contest

ON PIT ROW at RaceTalkRadio
Backstretch Boys: 30% Off New CD!
Jayski's: See what the buzz is about.

We've got your game.

Advertisement