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Fantasy Pick’Em: 2010 Daytona 500

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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.

February 10, 2010 6:48 pm UTC 2 Comments

We’ll be two months and three weeks removed from the last points-paying NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race by the time the checkered flag drops at Daytona for the 52nd running of the Daytona 500.

Of course, everybody’s going to be extra hungry to take the checkered flag in the first and biggest race of the season – especially those drivers who are running limited schedules this season or others who failed to register a victory in 2009. But as we all know, only one will claim the victory and the Harley J. Earl Trophy.

This year’s fantasy column is going to run similarly to last year’s. I’ll pick five drivers with a shot to win, with one singled out as my pick and one left-field pick as my dark horse. It’s up to you folks playing fantasy racing games online to do the rest. Without further ado:

Tony Stewart is my pick to win the Daytona 500. Stewart-Haas Racing proved it was no pushover last year, and with a year under their belts they’ll be even stronger in 2010. Smoke is certainly hungry for a win in the 500, as his teammate (Ryan Newman) and crew chief (Darian Grubb) have both already won the biggest race. He’s got the stats to back him up too: In the 14 Daytona races since 2003, he has only failed to lead laps three times, and in both 2005 races he led over 100 laps. He’s also got three Daytona Cup wins, the most recent coming in last year’s Coke Zero 400.

My dark horse pick is another former Daytona winner, John Andretti. Running a dream schedule of major Cup events and likely the Indianapolis 500 this year, he’ll no longer have to worry about points racing and keeping a car in the top 35. He can run as hard as he wants when he races and go for victories. Keep in mind how Mark Martin elevated his game in 2007 with the pressure of points racing off his back, and nearly won the 500.

Three other drivers you can expect to do well on Sunday:

Marcos Ambrose has an average finish of 11.5, best among active drivers at Daytona. True, he’s only made two starts, but he hasn’t taken a big hit in the Cup cars, and he’s learned plenty from his Nationwide experience, including what it feels like to wreck at the superspeedway. He successfully avoided the accident at the end of last July’s race to finish sixth.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. desperately needs a strong run after a dismal 2009 that saw him sink to 25th in points, his worst ever showing in Sprint Cup. He qualified second, a sign that he’ll be fast on race day, but he needs to avoid the bad luck that plagued him at Daytona (as well as seemingly everywhere else) last year.

Finally, one cannot count out pole sitter Mark Martin. Sunday will mark the third time in four races he’ll sit on the front row of a Cup race at Daytona, and his first pole at the track since the 1989 Pepsi 400, in which he finished 16th. But shockingly, Martin has never won a points-paying Sprint Cup event at his home track (he lives in nearby Port Orange); in his 50th start at the track, can the 51-year-old win the 52nd Daytona 500?

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Daytona International Speedway, John Andretti, Marcos Ambrose, Mark Martin, One and Done NASCAR Fantasy Racing, Tony Stewart 

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Kurt Busch Out Runs the Competition with Help from a Gasman

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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.

March 10, 2009 7:04 am UTC 3 Comments

The complexion of the race in Atlanta on Sunday changed faster than a teenager with a Hershey bar.

Jimmy Watts, gasman for Marcos Ambrose, took off after an errant tire that was headed for the racing surface.  NASCAR saw Watts sprinting after the Goodyear and threw a caution flag during the round of green flag pit stops.  The caution threw a monkey wrench into many teams strategies as some very good race cars went a lap down to the leaders.

Only nine cars remained on the lead lap after the Watts inspired caution.  Thanks to the “lucky dog rule” those nine swelled back to fourteen later in the race, but Kurt Busch help off late race challenges from Jeff Gordon and Carl Edwards to gain the win.  Busch dominated the activities on Sunday leading on six different occasions for more laps than anyone.

Busch’s crew chief Pat Tryson had Kurt still on the race track when the Watts caution was thrown by NASCAR–good luck.  Luck plays a part in all of racing.  Just ask Bill Elliott who was caught up in an accident that was not of his doing–bad luck.  But, that is part of racing and how teams deal with adversity is what will separate winners from also rans.

Did luck need to play into this race however; as we look at this week’s BUZZ ON PIT ROW:

Did NASCAR over react with its yellow flag for the loose tire chased down by Marcos Ambrose’s gasman Jimmy Watts?

Let us know what you think and we could use your thoughts on this weeks ON PIT ROW.  Listen live from 5-7pm ET every Tuesday at www.onpitrow.com.

photo credit:  Icon Sports Media

Filed under: Atlanta Motor Speedway, Carl Edwards, It's Only Cheating if You Get Caught, Kurt Busch, NASCAR, NASCAR Bidness, NASCAR officials, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio, Penske Racing 

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Merger – Smerge

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by Charlie Turner

Thanks for stopping by OnPitRow.com and the Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie blog. The best NASCAR and IndyCar news and opinion, exclusive pictures and video. I'm Charlie Turner. Follow me on Twitter @onpitrow

December 12, 2008 12:48 pm UTC 2 Comments

What would you get Teresa Earnhardt for Christmas?  Our Mindy Monday says it’s not all sticks and stones for NASCAR’s 2007 Step Mother of the Year award winner. Maybe a case of  Tasmanian wine (is there such a thing?) and a case of Juicy Fruit Gum.

Find out why. Watch the Monday Morning Crew Chief. Try it. You’ll like it!

Filed under: Bench Racing TV, Bill Davis Racing, Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Gillett Evernham Motorsports, Marcos Ambrose, Michael Waltrip Racing, Monday Morning Crew Chief, NASCAR video, Reed Sorenson, Sprint Cup Series, The King, The Wood Brothers, Top 35 Rule 

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5 Drivers to Watch in Montreal

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

I'm the former blogger of The Catfish Show NASCAR Blog and a contributor to On Pit Row. Follow me on Twitter: @mattmercer

July 31, 2008 2:12 pm UTC 4 Comments

5 Drivers to Watch in MontrealWhen the Nationwide Series makes its second stop to Montreal this Saturday, the star power from last year’s race will be missing. Defending winner Robby Gordon won’t be there, and neither will the driver that got the trophy and the points, Kevin Harvick. Still, the second visit promises to have no shortages of contenders and storylines. In particular I’m focusing on three Canadians, an Australian, and a Kansas boy I profiled last week.

Patrick Carpentier – PC, my favorite Sprint Cup rookie this season, is skipping the race in Pocono this weekend in order to try and win the race in Montreal. Carpentier is from Quebec, and was thisclose last year in his first NASCAR race at any level. I think he has a great shot to win, and would love to see him do so. In his first run with the #9 team in Mexico City this year he finished 5th.

Ron Fellows – Fellows is the ageless wonder of NASCAR road racing but his game appears as good as ever. He owns multiple wins at Watkins Glen, where the series will be next week, and has a strong car under him this week as he wheels the #5 JR Motorsports Chevy. Fellows ran competitively last year driving for KHI, and will most likely do so again Saturday.

Jacques Villeneuve – Villeneuve is one of the wildcards in the field this weekend. He didn’t compete last year as he was focused on Sprint Cup. Villeneuve’s car this weekend – the #32 Braun Toyota – is no slouch, as it currently sits 15th in the owners standings and has been driven by Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin, among others. Even more personal, the Montreal track is named after his father, the late Gilles Villeneuve. Jacques didn’t win here in F1, but would no doubt love to do so this weekend.

Marcos Ambrose – “Kangaroo Meat” has received the bulk of attention with the series returning to Montreal. Ambrose dominated the race last year and most likely would have won, if he hadn’t spun Robby Gordon out under caution and received his payback on the restart. Ambrose hasn’t run as well as he did last year, but this race could very well turn that around. Yes, I’m faulting Ambrose for his own actions in regards to Gordon last year.

Clint Bowyer – A year ago, it was his RCR teammates Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton making the journey to Montreal to compete in this race while Bowyer staying in Pocono. This season the roles are reversed and it could present an interesting challenge to the Emporia, Kansas native in his quest to win the Nationwide Series championship. He will be a rookie at this track and perhaps even more risky, will turn his first laps on the track when he receives the green flag. If he escapes with a top 15, he should feel very, very lucky.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media

Filed under: Busch Series, Clint Boyer, Formula One, Jacques Villeneuve, Marcos Ambrose, NASCAR, Nationwide Series, Pocono Raceway, Robby Gordon 

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More Trouble for the Wood Brothers?

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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 17, 2008 9:58 pm UTC No Comments

Eddie Wood spent some time ON PIT ROW last Tuesday night.

Untitled PostThe president of one of NASCAR’s most iconic teams, that has fallen on hard times of late, talked about the challenges of his single car team. The decisions that were made at Daytona in regard to qualifying and the subsequent need to rebuild the race car, into race trim after the first lap, were among the topics that Eddie addressed. Because the #21 is outside the top thirty-five in points it was necessary to get into the Daytona race on time, and to do that they needed to strip the race car of power robbing necessities like the fan belt and oil with a viscosity.

Eddie took responsibility for some of the problems the team has had and admitted that the new cars the team has built may have been a bit on the flexible side. They have taken measures to correct that problem, but will take some time to completely rebuild their cars.

With all the car problems the Wood Brothers have endured, it now looks as if they may have some serious sponsorship problems. It was announced this week that part-time WBR driver Marcos Ambrose will be competing full time in the Cup series in 2009 for Doherty-JTG Racing. The impact that has on The Wood Brothers is that JTG will be taking McKee Foods as the full time sponsor. McKee foods is the parent company of Little Debbie Snacks and a tri-primary sponsor for the #21.

Add to that loss the uncertainty of the Air Force sponsorship. The Navy has left one of the most stable Nationwide Series teams with the most popular Cup driver as that teams owner; Dale Earnhardt, Jr’s JR Motorsports. The Detroit News’ Doug Guthrie writes a great article about JR Motorsports loss of The Navy and the same scenario most likely could play out for the Wood Brothers with the Air Force.

If those two kicks in the butt aren’t enough, how about their third primary; Motorcraft? Motorcraft is a full fledged subsidiary of The Ford Motor Company. There isn’t much else that needs to be said about Detroit’s Big Three. GM is starting the process of cutting back its motor sports budget among its 10 million dollar overall cutback. If GM is starting to scale back, it won’t be long before Ford follows suit, causing more economic turmoil for the Wood Brothers.

photo credit: Icon Sports Media

Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., JR Motorsports, Marcos Ambrose, NASCAR Bidness, NASCAR Rumors, On Pit Row The Fastest Two Hours on Radio, Sprint Cup Series, The Wood Brothers, Top 35 Rule 

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