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Fantasy Pick’Em: 2010 Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen

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by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and pictures,2010 NASCAR schedule,NASCAR 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 5, 2010 7:29 am CDT No Comments

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Watkins Glen, August 2007This week the Sprint Cup Series ends its 2010 road course sojourn with a trip to western New York and Watkins Glen International. Home of fine wines and fast cars, the track hosts this weekend’s Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen.

I attended the IZOD IndyCar Series race at the Glen earlier this year, and let me say that any traveling race fan that hasn’t experienced a weekend at the track doesn’t know what they’re missing. Watkins Glen is a quaint little town with all the amenities and brand names one could ask for, and the track provides fans with many prime spots from which to watch a race. And if you were impressed by the show that IndyCar put on, just imagine multiplying the crowds and fanfare by a significant number, and you have an American race fan’s dream.

So who’s going to take the checkers this weekend?

History (and a 5.3 average finish) suggest that Tony Stewart is the man to beat this weekend. Stewart has an incredible five wins in 11 Glen starts, and nine top-10s. Of his two worse finishes, one was an 11th place. He’s never failed to complete a lap there, much less accrue a DNF, making him the undisputed king of the track.

I’m not sure if you can call Marcos Ambrose a total dark horse at the Glen, seeing as his average finish is 2.5, but he’s never sealed the deal in a Cup race, and a killer mistake at Infineon robbed him of what should have been much closer to a victory, suggesting that he and his team still have a little way to go to pull it off. Ambrose has taken the checkers in Nationwide races at the Glen, though, and it will be interesting to see if his apparent mastery of the track will offset any doldrums that come with being a lame-duck driver at a midpack team with bad luck thus far.

Three more, because tradition says so:

Mark Martin’s got three Glen wins in 20 starts and hasn’t failed to complete a lap there since 1986 (excluding the 2007 and 2008 races, which he skipped). The wins came during an incredible three-year stretch from 1993 to 1995, where he won the pole and led 183 of a possible 270 laps. There are just as many knocks on him, though. First of all, this has been a tough year for the team; second, he hasn’t led a lap at the Glen in his past seven starts; finally, his last two Glen finishes have been 20th and 23rd, respectively. Pick carefully.

Robby Gordon is always a threat at the Glen, having scored seven top five finishes in 11 starts and a win in 2003. Normally the only knock against Gordon is failed alternate pit strategy that doesn’t work out in the end. Fans can always count on the independent to put on a good show, especially with the added data from a second, P.J. Jones-piloted car each time the series turns both ways.

Finally, A.J. Allmendinger is a decent pick that can be expected to exceed his previous finishes at the Glen - 11th and 13th in two career starts. The ex-Champ Car star’s future is now set at Richard Petty Motorsports, with a multi-year contract extension in place, and the confidence that comes with being the team’s new number one driver should allow him to open up a little this weekend and show off the road course talent that convinced Red Bull to bring him to stock cars in the first place a few years ago.

Filed under: One and Done NASCAR Fantasy Racing, Watkins Glen 

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Dear @dennyhamlin: From @ChurchGr8Oval in 140 or more.

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by Clance' McClannahan, Special To NASCAR commentary and pictures,2010 NASCAR schedule,NASCAR video, Bench Racing With Steve and Charlie

Clance' McClannahan, famous author behind The Church of The Great Oval and also one of the much appreciated Contributing Authors at Thunder Lounge.

July 30, 2010 10:21 pm CDT 2 Comments

Dear Denny,

Hiya! I understand you had a rough day on the wallet, as well as has Ryan Newman.

Ryan Newman handled his disappointing fine with the grace and acceptance of The Rocketman. His Boss, tongue in cheek, ( I believe) felt the penalties were correct. As usual Mr. Smoke coming out of his ears blamed the media for the role they have played in blowing things out of proportion and encouraging the fans to believe negative things about NASCAR. I received a tweet from Ramsey Poston, regarding some of the negativity that you were complaining about.

I had sent a tweet/twit/twirp to Ramsey Poston that ”Protecting NASCAR & airing grievances privately is one thing, fining drivers just brings more negative light to the sport”. My opinion regarding both Ryan and yourself.

Then you began to go off about it being the fault of Twitter and Media and secret logs, etc….PUHLEEZE! Did you think things were confidential on Twitter?  Take some responsibility, whether you agree or not with the outcome.

Mr. Poston’s reply to me was “”He’s not frustrated w/ NASCAR-he’s frustrated that drivers have been so supportive of the policy - and have been since Jan.”  Hmmmm.

I retweeted his reply, and Lo and Behold!!!! It was amazing how many NASCAR Journalist’s and so called Journalist’s took credit for being the person that Ramsey Poston was referring too!

My advise? Listen to Tony Stewart…  Or blame each and every writer who has become a Twitter Cluck and gained their hours or days or seconds of fame there, instead of through good writing skills. Skills most of them have, had, or lost somewhere since they started writing in 140 characters or less.

Remember…Twitter has become the new “News Media”. There are a lot of fans who now read the tweets and twits as gospel truth from the people they see tweet the most. He who clucks loudest wins and becomes most influential. There are a lot of fans that don’t even take the time to read articles any longer. They read Twitter.

I did think it was pretty funny how many Clucks jumped to take credit as the person upset since January, to be so mentioned personally by the Master Ramsey Poston.

Too funny. Laugh it off.  Don’t stop tweeting. Your fans love it. Continue to engage in banter just don’t let certain people suck you in for their own fame. I know you know who I am talking about, but just in case there is confusion between those who are taking the most credit for your demise, DM me. Maybe they can split your fines.

Filed under: NASCAR, Shut Up and Drive 

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Fantasy Pick’Em: 2010 Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500

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by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and pictures,2010 NASCAR schedule,NASCAR 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 CDT 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 

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Fantasy Pick’Em: 2010 Brickyard 400

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by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and pictures,2010 NASCAR schedule,NASCAR 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 21, 2010 5:30 pm CDT No Comments

The Brickyard 400 is one of the crown jewels of the Sprint Cup Series, an event secondary in prestige only to longer-established events like the Daytona 500. The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the original United States “speedway,” plays host to the event.

The cathedral of speed’s second major event every year, after the prestigious Indianapolis 500, has had its ups and downs. In 2008, bad wear patterns on Goodyear tires limited the race to a series of 10-lap sprints. And last year, Juan Montoya dominated the race, only to have a pit road speeding penalty wreck his day and hand the race to Jimmie Johnson. But regardless of any trials and tribulations with the race surface (and every major track has them now and again), the event is still one of the most important ones on the schedule, and teams will put as much effort (if not more) into winning this race as they would into almost any other event on the schedule.

So who looks good at the Brickyard? Here’s a hint – most of them grew up with Indy dreams.

Tony Stewart, my pick for the weekend, is at the forefront of this crowd. The 1997 champion of the IZOD IndyCar Series may never have won an Indianapolis 500, but twice he’s claimed the checkers at the stock car event, in 2005 and 2007. His average finish of 8.5 is best of any active driver, and he’s led laps in six of the 11 stock car races he’s run at the Brickyard.

As for a dark horse, look to A.J. Allmendinger, who will make his 100th career Sprint Cup start at Indy. The former Champ Car star had a 10th place finish in his first Brickyard 400 two years ago. The ‘Dinger and his team will look to carry on their momentum from the past eight races, where they have accumulated seven top-15 finishes.

Three more:

Jeff Gordon is the only driver to do in a stock car what A.J. Foyt, Al Unser, and Rick Mears did in open-wheel cars – win four times at Indianapolis. Gordon’s last win may have come all the way back in 2004, but that hasn’t stopped him from finishing well. In 16 career Brickyard starts, he’s finished in the top 10 an astounding 13 times. His average finish of 8.6 is second to only Stewart.

Jimmie Johnson has three Brickyard wins, each coming over the past four years, but he’s also got three DNFs at the track, a result of some pretty sour luck in the past. He blew an engine halfway through the 2004 event, and crashed in 2005 and 2007. It’s this sort of historical bad luck that can come back to bite at any time, and has also brought his average finish down to a mediocre 17.9.

Finally, while he might qualify as a dark horse at any other track, Juan Montoya is no stranger to Indianapolis. In 2000, as a CART ringer coming to show up the Indy Racing League in that year’s Indy 500, Montoya was warned to respect the track. Montoya scoffed, contended that all four corners were the same (unlike the tracks on which he honed his skills), and dominated the race. In his first stock car event at the track, in 2007, he finished a strong second; last year he should have won. If anybody has both the talent and the stones to pull off a surprise victory this weekend, it’s Montoya.

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

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Fantasy Pick’Em: 2010 LifeLock.com 400

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by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and pictures,2010 NASCAR schedule,NASCAR 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 CDT 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 

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Fantasy Pick’Em: 2010 Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500

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by Chris Leone, Special To NASCAR commentary and pictures,2010 NASCAR schedule,NASCAR 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 CDT 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 

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