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NASCAR Fantasy Experts Picks: Price Chopper 400 from Kansas

Expert	Website	Pick to Win	Finish	Experts Avg
James Jones	On Pit Row	Jimmie Johnson	9	7.82
Ryan Rantz	On Pit Row	Jimmie Johnson	9	7.89
Roger Rotter	FOX Sports	Greg Biffle	3	10.04
Dennis Michelsen	RaceTalkRadio.com	Mark Martin	7	10.36
Gerritt Ritt	FOX Sports	Jimmie Johnson	9	10.54
Mike Harmon	FOX Sports	Kurt Busch	11	10.64
Yahoo Users	Yahoo! Sports	Jimmie Johnson	9	11.18
Cheryl Lauer	Speed Couch	Jeff Gordon	2	11.46
Lou Lauer	USAR Fans	Jimmie Johnson	9	12.32
Eric Brewer		Jimmie Johnson	9	12.32
Darren Fauth	Fantasy NASCAR Names	Greg Biffle	3	12.46
Charlie Turner	On Pit Row	Jimmie Johnson	9	12.54
Eric McClung	On Pit Row	Mark Martin	7	12.75
P J Walsh	FantasyNASCARPreview.com	Mark Martin	7	13.46
Eric McGuire	FFToolbox	Mark Martin	7	14.25
Bob Ellis	NASCAR Ranting and Raving	Jimmie Johnson	9	17.32
Jon Rodgers	Gillette Young Guns Challenge Winner	Carl Edwards	10	18.82

NASCAR Fantasy Racing Preview: Price Chopper 400 from Kansas Speedway

Kansas Speedway may only host one race per season but its sister track, Chicagoland Speedway, held its race in mid-July and offers useful information for deciding a fantasy lineup for the Price Chopper 400.

Kansas features slightly less banking but the action reaches the same speeds. Both are 1.5 mile, D-shaped ovals and fall into the cookie-cutter mold. The most recent cookie-cutter race was held at Michigan International Speedway in August but MIS is a two-mile track with much faster racing. Qualifying is important but not definitive, like most other cookie-cutters the top cars tend to get to the front of the pack in a hurry- even those that start in the middle. The results of this race should be telling for what to expect in next week’s Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway in California. Fontana is the same D-shape with similar banking in the corners but is a longer race track with higher speeds.

Be sure to check out my 2009 Average Finish at Chase Tracks Table which lists the results and average finish at eight of the 10 Chase tracks that held events earlier this season.

Here’s an explanation of the highlighted text in the rankings. Download a printer-friendly version here.

• Y! A/B/C – The top options in the Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing game by driver list.
• Strong qualifier – History of winning poles or qualifying inside the top-five.
• Good qualifier – History of qualifying inside the top-10.
• Value play – Good recent history at this week’s track. Drivers to consider as low-rent salary cap options or alternative options in allocation formats.
• Risky play - Good overall history at this week’s track but poor recent finishes.

1. Mark Martin… Won in ’05, third in ’06 at Kansas- average finish of 15.0 in ‘07-‘08. Dominated at Chicagoland in July victory, leading 195 of 271 laps. Y!-A1
2. Jimmie Johnson… Strong qualifier. Has won three poles at Kansas, including the last two- average start of 4.9, best among all drivers. Won last year’s race from the pole. Chicagoland in July: started third, finished eighth, average running position of second. Y!-A2
3. Jeff Gordon… Won the first two Kansas races in ’01 and ’02, finished fourth last year and fifth in ’07. Runner-up at Chicagoland in July. Y!-A3
4. Denny Hamlin… No top-10 finishes in four career Cup starts at Kansas but finished a career-best 11th last year, plus won the Nationwide race. Started fourth, finished fifth At Chicagoland in July. Y!-B1
5. Tony Stewart… Won in ’06 but finished 39th (accident) in ’07, 40th last year. Average finish of 6.5 from ’01-’06. Finished fourth at Chicagoland in July. Y!-B2
6. Kurt Busch… Has started where he’s finished in the last two Kansas races: ’08- 31st/30th, ’07- 12th/11th. Started 22nd, finished 17th at Chicagoland in July. Y!-B3
7. Juan Pablo Montoya… Average finish of 24.0 in two career Kansas races. Started 42nd, finished 20th last year. Finished 10th at Chicagoland in July. Y!-B4
8. Brian Vickers… Finishes where he starts at Kansas: average start 13.8, average finish 13.3 in four career starts. At Chicagoland in July: won the pole, finished seventh, average running position of fourth. Y!-B5
9. Ryan Newman… Runner-up in ’01 and ’02 races at Kansas, won in ’03 but has not finished better than 16th since- average finish of 27.0 in those five races. Finished sixth at Chicagoland in July. Y!-B6
10. Clint Bowyer… Average finish of 7.7 in three career starts at Kansas, his hometown track- three straight top-fives in Nationwide races. Started fifth, finished ninth at Chicagoland in July. Y!-A4
11. Kasey Kahne… Erratic performance at Kansas. Started eighth, finished 21st last year. Started 29th, finished ninth in ’07. Finished third at Chicagoland in July. Y!-B7
12. Kyle Busch… Started 27th, finished 28th in last year’s race at Kansas, average finish of 26.8 in five career starts. Started sixth, finished 33rd (engine) at Chicagoland in July.
13. Greg Biffle… Won in ’07 at Kansas, finished third last year. Laps led in four of the last five Kansas races. Started 35th, finished 31st at Chicagoland in July.
14. Carl Edwards… Runner-up in last year’s race at Kansas, DNF (accident) in ’07. Average finish of 4.5 in ’05 and ’06 races. Started 25th, finished 14th at Chicagoland in July.
15. Matt Kenseth… Started third, finished fifth in last year’s race at Kansas. Average finish of 29.0 in ’06 and ’07 races. Finished 23rd at Chicagoland in July.
16. Kevin Harvick… Strong value play. Has finished sixth in two consecutive races at Kansas. Finished 19th at Chicagoland in July.
17. Marcos Ambrose… Strong value play. Started 20th, finished 36th in last year’s race, first career start at Kansas- finished 11th in the Nationwide race. Finished 11th at Chicagoland in July. Y!-C1
18. David Reutimann… Strong value play. Started 40th, finished 19th in last year’s race at Kansas- average finish of 15.3 in three Nationwide races. Finished 12th at Chicagoland in July. Y!-B8
19. Casey Mears… Strong value play. Started 10th, finished 14th in last year’s race at Kansas. Average finish of 4.7 from ’05-’07. Finished 28th at Chicagoland in July.
20. AJ Allmendinger… Strong value play. Started 14th, finished ninth in last year’s race, first career start at Kansas. Finished 13th at Chicagoland in July. Y!-C2
21. Dale Earnhardt Jr…. Average finish of 11.0 over the last three races at Kansas. Finished 15th at Chicagoland in July.
22. Joey Logano… Started 28th, finished 39th in last year’s race, first career start at Kansas- finished ninth in the Nationwide race. Finished 18th at Chicagoland in July.
23. Jeff Burton… Average finish of 18.0 in eight career starts at Kansas. Started 23rd, finished 37th at Chicagoland in July.
24. Bobby Labonte… Weak value play. Average finish at Kansas jumps to 19.2 when excusing three DNFs due to accident. Finished 21st at Chicagoland in July. Y!-C3
25. David Ragan… Weak value play. Average start 15.0, average finish 12.0 in two career starts at Kansas- finished third in last year’s Nationwide race. Finished 25th at Chicagoland in July.
26. Elliott Sadler… Weak value play. Last two Kansas races: average start 9.5, average finish 9.0. Finished 27th at Chicagoland in July.
27. Sam Hornish Jr…. Started 23rd, finished 33rd in last year’s race, first career start at Kansas- average finish of 6.9 in seven IndyCar Series starts. Started 16th, finished 38th at Chicagoland in July. Y!-C4
28. Jamie McMurray… Finishes where he starts at Kansas: ’08- 16th/17th, ’07- 20th/24th, ’06- 41st/42nd (accident). Finished 22nd at Chicagoland in July.
29. Martin Truex Jr…. Three career starts at Kansas, starting position improving but not finishes, ’08- fifth/43rd (transmission), ’07- ninth/38th, ’06- 23rd, 11th. Finished 16th at Chicagoland in July.
30. Brad Keselowski… Long shot value play. No career Cup starts at Kansas, finished sixth in last year’s Nationwide race.
31. Bill Elliott… Long shot value play. Started seventh, finished 25 at Kansas last year. Started eighth, finished 29th at Chicagoland in July.
32. Paul Menard… Finished 27th in ’07 and ’08 races at Kansas.
33. Michael Waltrip… Finished 35th at Kansas last year, 20th at Chicagoland in July.
34. Reed Sorenson… Finished 26th at Kansas last year, 24th at Chicagoland in July.
35. David Stremme… Finished 17th in ’07, most recent Cup start at Kansas. Finished 26th at Chicagoland in July.
36. Robby Gordon… Finished 37th at Kansas last year, 35th at Chicagoland in July.
37. Scott Speed… No career Cup starts at Kansas. Started second, won the ARCA Re/Max Series race last year. Started second, finished 36th at Chicagoland in July.
38. Erik Darnell… No career Cup starts at Kansas. Started last, led 20 laps, finished runner-up in ’07 ARCA Re/Max Series race.
39. John Andretti… Finished 33rd in ’07, most recent Cup start at Kansas. Finished 30th at Chicagoland in July.
40. Max Papis… No career Cup starts at Kansas.
41. Joe Nemechek… Finished 38th at Kansas last year, start and park at Chicagoland in July. Won from the pole in ’04.
42. Michael McDowell… No career Cup starts at Kansas. Finished 11th in ’07 ARCA Re/Max Series race.
43. Dave Blaney… Finished 31st at Kansas last year, start and park at Chicagoland in July.
44. Mike Bliss… Has not started at Kansas since ’05, start and park at Chicagoland in July.

NASCAR Power Rankings Chase Edition: Week 3

Who's Up	Who's Down
Biggest Gain This Week: Juan Pablo Montoya: 7th to 4th	Biggest Drop This Week: Brian Vickers: 8th to 11th
No new drivers this week.	No drivers dropped out this week.

Rank: 1st Mark Martin #5 Last Week: 1 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Mark Martin- 5 Wins, 16 Top Tens Will Martin be the man who finally dethrones Jimmie Johnson? He's known for finishing second and being unlucky but Martin and the 5 team are capable of going toe to toe with Johnson.

Rank: 2nd Jimmie Johnson #48 Last Week: 2 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Jimmie Johnson- 4 Wins, 17 Top Tens Johnson had a statement victory at Dover but in order to win the 2009 championship the 48 will need to have the same type of day at Kansas where they are the defending champions.

Rank: 3rd Kurt Busch #22 Last Week: 4 Change: +1 Driver Page | Articles

Kurt Busch- 1 Win, 16 Top Tens The 2 car team is a real sleeper for the championship but they are definitely an elite team this year. They don't get much attention but they are lurking and are in position to strike if the opportunity arises.

Rank: 4th Juan Pablo Montoya #42 Last Week: 7 Change: +3 Driver Page | Articles

Juan Pablo Montoya- 4 Top Fives, 14 Top Tens Ever since Montoya was let off the leash for the Chase this team has been incredible. Before the Chase they were very consistent but in the Chase they are now competitive and consistent. Those two things are what win drivers championships.

Rank: 5th Jeff Gordon #24 Last Week: 3 Change: -2 Driver Page | Articles

Jeff Gordon- 1 Win, 19 Top Tens Jeff Gordon was my pre-Chase championship pick and they still have plenty of time to make their move however they're already 122 points behind Martin. That's almost a full race behind and they haven't even had real problems yet

Rank: 6th Tony Stewart #14 Last Week: 6 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Tony Stewart- 3 Wins, 19 Top Tens At Dover this team finally was able to avoid problems and get their first solid finish since Watkins Glen. My opinion about this team is that their still in trouble. The 14 isn't on par with some of the other elite teams at the intermediate tracks.

Rank: 7th Denny Hamlin #11 Last Week: 5 Change: -2 Driver Page | Articles

Denny Hamlin- 2 Wins, 15 Top Tens Denny finally snapped his horrible finish streak at Dover and instead replaced it with a new uncompetitive streak that now stands at 1. Teams in the Chase simply can't have this type of uncompetitive day in the Chase.

Rank: 8th Greg Biffle #16 Last Week: 9 Change: +1 Driver Page | Articles

Greg Biffle- 8 Top Fives, 13 Top Tens With how uncompetitive the Fords have been lately if they ever get into the lead at Kansas I think NASCAR should just call it race and say its to dark outside. In 2007 Biffle didn't even need to cross the line first and he still won.

Rank: 9th Ryan Newman #39 Last Week: 11 Change: +2 Driver Page | Articles

Ryan Newman- 5 Top Fives, 14 Top Tens Ryan Newman now has 5 top tens in row. Don't get to excited because I don't think Kansas, California, and Lowes will be kind to the 39 in the upcoming weeks.

Rank: 10th Kasey Kahne #4 Last Week: 10 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Kasey Kahne- 2 Wins, 11 Top Tens I'm amazed that Kahne first used the R6 motor at Dover in June and now in September they are back to the old R5 motor. What's next, will they bring back the Intrepid too?

Rank: 11th Brian Vickers #83 Last Week: 8 Change: -3 Driver Page | Articles

Brian Vickers- 1 Win, 13 Top Tens The 83 can't use their excuse that Dover and New Hampshire are bad tracks for them anymore. If they're going to make some noise in the Chase the time is now.

Rank: 12th Carl Edwards #99 Last Week: 12 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Carl Edwards- 7 Top Fives, 11 Top Tens I'm shocked at how uncompetitive this team was at Dover. Their average finish over the last 5 races is now a very uncompetitive 19.2. This team needs to start experimenting for next year because their finished.

NASCAR Fantasy Experts Picks: AAA 400 from Dover International Speedway

Expert	Website	Pick to Win	Finish	Experts Avg
James Jones	On Pit Row	Mark Martin	2	7.78
Ryan Rantz	On Pit Row	Mark Martin	2	7.85
Roger Rotter	FOX Sports	Ryan Newman	10	10.3
Dennis Michelsen	RaceTalkRadio.com	Jimmie Johnson	1	10.48
Gerritt Ritt	FOX Sports	Ryan Newman	10	10.63
Mike Harmon	FOX Sports	Ryan Newman	10	10.63
Yahoo Users	Yahoo! Sports	Jimmie Johnson	1	11.26
Cheryl Lauer	Speed Couch	Greg Biffle	13	11.81
Lou Lauer	USAR Fans	Carl Edwards	11	12.44
Eric Brewer		Juan Montoya	4	12.44
Charlie Turner	On Pit Row	Ryan Newman	10	12.67
Darren Fauth	Fantasy NASCAR Names	Carl Edwards	11	12.81
Eric McClung	On Pit Row	Jimmie Johnson	1	12.96
P J Walsh	FantasyNASCARPreview.com	Jimmie Johnson	1	13.7
Eric McGuire	FFToolbox	Jimmie Johnson	1	14.52
Bob Ellis	NASCAR Ranting and Raving	No Pick	44	17.63
Jon Rodgers	Gillette Young Guns Challenge Winner	Kyle Busch	31	19.15

NASCAR Fantasy Racing Preview: AAA 400 at Dover International Speedway

Dover International Speedway plays host to the second race in the Chase. The Monster Mile is a unique one-mile, concrete track with high banking. The track lends itself to aggressive driving. A lot drivers have an uneven history at Dover due accidents this is a great week throw a change up into your fantasy lineup.

You’ll notice that the list below has just 37 drivers. I’ll be on my honeymoon the week of the race so I have written this preview ahead of time. The results of the New Hampshire race were unknown at the time these picks were made.

Here’s an explanation of the highlighted text in the rankings. Download a printer-friendly version here.

• Y! A/B/C - The top options in the Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing game by driver list.
• Strong qualifier - History of winning poles or qualifying inside the top-five.
• Good qualifier – History of qualifying inside the top-10.
• Value play – Good recent history at this week’s track. Drivers to consider as low-rent salary cap options or alternative options in allocation formats.
• Risky play - Good overall history at this week’s track but poor recent finishes.

1. Jimmie Johnson… Won the race in May race at Dover, led 298 of 400 laps. Average finish of 6.0 in ’08 races, led laps in both. Four-time winner at Dover (6/09, ’05, sweep in ’02).Y!-A1
2. Mark Martin… Top-five finishes in 21 of 46 career starts at Dover, nine top-10s in the last 11. Four-time winner at Dover (’04, ’99, ’98, ’97).Y!-A2
3. Tony Stewart… Risky play. Runner-up in May race at Dover, first top-five since ’04. DNFs due to accident in half of his last six at Dover. Two-time winner at Dover (’00 sweep).Y!-B1
4. Greg Biffle… Won this race last year at Dover, third-place in May. Streak of 10 Dover races finishing 13th or better, laps led in eight. Two-time winner at Dover (last year, ’05).Y!-A3
5. Jeff Gordon… Good qualifier. Started 42nd, finished 26th in May race at Dover. Average finish of 6.0 in ’08 Dover races, won a pole. Four-time winner at Dover (’01, ’96 sweep, ’95).Y!-A4
6. Kyle Busch… Won spring Dover race last year, DNF in last year’s September race and 23rd-place finish this June but ran in 11th, on the average. Five top-10 finishes at Dover in 10 career starts.
7. Denny Hamlin… Risky play. Accident in May race at Dover, also had poor finishes in ’08. Has finished 36th or worse in four straight Dover races.Y!-B2
8. Kurt Busch… Risky play. Finished fifth in May race at Dover, first top-10 since ’04. Average finish of 20.5 in 18 career starts.Y!-B3
9. Kasey Kahne… Risky play. Finished sixth in May race at Dover, first top-10 since ’06. Average finish of 28.5 in ’08 Dover races.Y!-B4
10. Ryan Newman… Great qualifier. Three-time winner at Dover, all between ’03 and ’04. Average finish of 6.5 in ’05 races but 14.7 in the seven races since. Finished eighth in May race. Has won four poles, none since ’07 and an average finish of 16.3 in his last four attempts.Y!-B5
11. Brian Vickers… Average finish of 21.5 in 11 career Dover starts. Finished 25th in May, 22.0 average in ’08 Dover races.Y!-B6
12. Carl Edwards… Has led at least 12 laps in seven straight Dover races. Finished seventh in May race; finished first, second or third in five races prior (’06-’08). Won at Dover in ’07.
13. Matt Kenseth… Finished fourth in May race at Dover, average finish of 3.0 both last year’s races. Laps led in six of the last seven Dover races. Won at Dover in ’06.
14. Clint Bowyer… Finished 11th in May race at Dover, eighth in last year’s race. Also finished eighth in two other times in five other Dover starts.
15. Juan Pablo Montoya… Started third, finished 30th in May race at Dover. Two top-12 finishes in five career starts.Y!-B7
16. David Reutimann… Won the pole in May race at Dover, finished 18th. Average finish of 16.0 in five career starts.Y!-B8
17. Jeff Burton… Last 15 Dover races: finished 16th or better 14 times, eight top-10s, won in ’06.
18. Sam Hornish Jr…. Strong value play. Average finish of 24.3 in three career starts at Dover, jumps to 15.5 excluding last year’s DNF (accident).Y!-C1
19. Casey Mears… Strong value play. Five straight races at Dover finishing 17th or better, average finish of 12.0 in that span.
20. Dale Earnhardt Jr…. Finished 15th in May race at Dover, 29.5 average finish last year. Won at Dover in ’01, only four top-10 finishes since.
21. Kevin Harvick… Finished 17th in May race at Dover, sixth last year; first top-10 finish since ’06.
22. Jamie McMurray… Weak value play. Finished 14th in May race at Dover. Average start of 7.0, finished 10th and 36th last year.
23. David Ragan… Weak value play. Finished 24th in May race at Dover, average finish of 16.5 in ’08 races.
24. Joey Logano… Started 21st, finished 15th in May race, first career start at Dover.
25. Marcos Ambrose… Started and finished 20th in May race at Dover.Y!-C2
26. Martin Truex Jr…. Finished 21st in May race at Dover, sixth in the previous spring race. Finished 20th in this race last year. Won at Dover in ’07.
27. Elliott Sadler… Has finished 27th in two straight Dover races, average finish of 21.4 in 21 career starts.
28. Reed Sorenson… Started fourth, finished 19th in May race at Dover. Last time he started in top-10 at Dover: a career-best 11th finish as a rookie in ’06, no finishes better than 26th in between.Y!-C3
29. Michael Waltrip… Long shot value play. Average finish of 24.3 over the last three Dover races, 12.5 average finish in the last two September races.
30. Robby Gordon… Long shot value play. DNF in May race at Dover, average finish of 17.5 in ’07 and ’08 races.Y!-C4
31. Paul Menard… Long shot value play. Average finish of 19.2 in five career Dover starts.
32. AJ Allmendinger… Has never finished better than 16th at Dover, 31.6 average finish in five career starts.
33. Bobby Labonte… Average finish of 24.6 over the last three Dover races. Won from the pole at Dover in ’99.
34. Scott Speed… DNF (engine) in May race, finished 37th in first career start at Dover.
35. David Stremme… DNFs in three of five career Dover starts, 33.0 average finish.
36. John Andretti… DNF (accident) in May race at Dover, finished 34th. First start at Dover since ’07.
37. Joe Nemechek… Average finish of 35.6 over the last three Dover races.

NASCAR Power Rankings Chase Edition: Week 2

Who's Up	Who's Down
Biggest Gain This Week: Mark Martin: 3rd to 1st	Biggest Drop This Week: Kasey Kahne: 7th to 10th
No new drivers this week.	No drivers dropped out this week.

Rank: 1st Mark Martin #5 Last Week: 3 Change: +2 Driver Page | Articles

Mark Martin- 5 Wins, 15 Top Tens Not only did Mark Martin get his first career win at Loudon but he also extended his contract last week. Will this be his year? Someone will win it. Did you know that Martin first announced his "Salute to you tour" in 2004.

Rank: 2nd Jimmie Johnson #48 Last Week: 2 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Jimmie Johnson- 3 Wins, 16 Top Tens Johnson dominated the Dover race earlier this year but there are no guarantee's in NASCAR. It will be difficult for the 48 team to duplicate their previous dominate performance.

Rank: 3rd Jeff Gordon #24 Last Week: 1 Change: -2 Driver Page | Articles

Jeff Gordon- 1 Win, 18 Top Tens I don't really know what happened to this team Sunday. They were the fastest team on the track at the start of the race then all of a sudden they were junk. As a result of his bad day Gordon now sits 10th in the point standings.

Rank: 4th Kurt Busch #22 Last Week: 4 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Kurt Busch- 1 Win, 15 Top Tens This team will try their hardest having their crew chief Pat Tryson there part time but I don't really think this is a sustainable strategy. I expect this problem to grow over the course of the remaining 9 races.

Rank: 5th Denny Hamlin #11 Last Week: 6 Change: +1 Driver Page | Articles

Denny Hamlin- 2 Wins, 15 Top Tens Hamlin was definitely the most aggressive driver on the track at New Hampshire. He was running into other cars frequently and he even ran over a guy on pit road. If his high aggression level continues trouble will certainly find him on the track.

Rank: 6th Tony Stewart #14 Last Week: 5 Change: -1 Driver Page | Articles

Tony Stewart- 3 Wins, 18 Top Tens There have been a lot of people saying this team is testing but I'm going to hold my ground on this one and say they're simply making mistakes. In order for Stewart to win the championship he really needed to score more points here.

Rank: 7th Juan Pablo Montoya #42 Last Week: 9 Change: +2 Driver Page | Articles

Juan Pablo Montoya- 3 Top Fives, 13 Top Tens The 42 is truly a top team in the series. The main thing people hold against him is his lackluster history. This year is vastly different from years in the past. If you haven't thrown out the history book on him yet, do it now.

Rank: 8th Brian Vickers #83 Last Week: 8 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Brian Vickers- 1 Win, 13 Top Tens Not too many teams made a mistake at Loudon but this team did. I honestly don't trust this pit crew at all. Fun Fact: Did you know that Brian Vickers best finish in the last 10 races in 2008 was 11th and his team was caught cheating after that race.

Rank: 9th Greg Biffle #16 Last Week: 11 Change: +2 Driver Page | Articles

Greg Biffle- 8 Top Fives, 13 Top Tens Biffle is the only Roush car that is showing a heart beat now but in order to win the championship teams need to do a lot more then that. Anything less then a top 5 for Biffle at Dover will be considered a failure.

Rank: 10th Kasey Kahne #4 Last Week: 7 Change: -3 Driver Page | Articles

Kasey Kahne- 2 Wins, 10 Top Tens Can you stick a fork in this team yet? I say hold off for now but their championship chances are greatly reduced. At least he won't have to worry about the R6 motor next year.

Rank: 11th Ryan Newman #39 Last Week: 12 Change: +1 Driver Page | Articles

Ryan Newman- 5 Top Fives, 13 Top Tens I bet you didn't know this but Newman now has 4 consecutive top tens in a row. Ryan Newman once owned Dover and even won here without power steering. A good day for this team is crucial for their championship aspirations.

Rank: 12th Carl Edwards #99 Last Week: 10 Change: -2 Driver Page | Articles

Carl Edwards- 7 Top Fives, 11 Top Tens One race into the Chase and this team is already 113 points behind Mark Martin. If there performance is flat at Dover then it will be time to stick a fork in them for the year.

NASCAR Fantasy Experts Picks: Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire

Expert	Website	Pick to Win	Finish	Experts Avg
James Jones	On Pit Row	Jeff Gordon	15	8.0
Ryan Rantz	On Pit Row	Jeff Gordon	15	8.08
Roger Rotter	FOX Sports	Mark Martin	1	10.31
Gerritt Ritt	FOX Sports	Denny Hamlin	2	10.62
Mike Harmon	FOX Sports	Jimmie Johnson	4	10.65
Dennis Michelson	RaceTalkRadio.com	Mark Martin	1	10.85
Yahoo Users	Yahoo! Sports	Jimmie Johnson	4	11.65
Cheryl Lauer	Speed Couch	Kurt Busch	6	11.77
Lou Lauer	USAR Fans	Tony Stewart	14	12.5
Eric Brewer		Jimmie Johnson	4	12.77
Charlie Turner	On Pit Row	Denny Hamlin	2	12.77
Darren Fauth	Fantasy NASCAR Names	Jimmie Johnson	4	12.88
Eric McClung	On Pit Row	Denny Hamlin	2	13.42
P J Walsh	FantasyNASCARPreview.com	Denny Hamlin	2	14.19
Eric McGuire	FFToolbox	Jimmie Johnson	4	15.04
Bob Ellis	NASCAR Ranting and Raving	Jimmie Johnson	4	16.62
Jon Rodgers	Gillette Young Guns Challenge Winner	Carl Edwards	17	18.69

NASCAR Fantasy Racing Preview: Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire

Welcome to the start of the Chase for the Sprint Cup. It is now crunch time for the 12 drivers who made the cut as well as fantasy owners looking to capture their own victory.

Of the 10 tracks that make up the Chase schedule, eight of them have hosted races earlier in the season. I have compiled a table with the results of those eight events and ranked the top-26 drivers by their average finish. Check out my 2009 Average Finish at Chase Tracks Table here.

One thing you will notice right away is how many of the top drivers fared poorly at Talladega Superspeedway. We know anything can happen there. Things also got a little messy at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. For owners in allocation formats, like Yahoo!, these are two races where you can converse your remaining starts for the top drivers.

Starting position is huge at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. There have been a total of 29 Sprint Cup races runs held here, the winner has started 15th or better 21 times. Over the last three years (seven races), five winners have started 11th or better. The other two winners, Kurt Busch in June of last year and Joey Logano in this year’s June race, came from the middle of the pack but picked up their wins when the race was called early due to rain.

New Hampshire is essentially a bigger version of Martinsville Speedway, but the most recent race held there was back in March. Richmond International Raceway is also a flat race track so last week’s results are far more relevant. Fantasy owners should set their lineups simply based on who’s hot entering the Chase.

Here’s an explanation of the highlighted text in the rankings. Download a printer-friendly version here.

• Y! A/B/C – The top options in the Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing game by driver list.
• Strong qualifier – History of winning poles or qualifying inside the top-five.
• Good qualifier – History of qualifying inside the top-10.
• Value play - Good recent history at this week’s track. Drivers to consider as low-rent salary cap options or alternative options in allocation formats.
• Risky play – Good overall history at this week’s track but poor recent finishes.

1. Jimmie Johnson… Good qualifier. Average finish of 6.3 over the last five Loudon races, all top-10 finishes. Started third or fourth in three of his last four attempts at NH, led over 90 laps in the last two. Average running position of 5.0 in June. Two-time winner (’03 sweep). Y!-A1
2. Tony Stewart… Last nine races at Loudon: only one finish worse than 13th, laps led in seven. Finished fifth in June. Average finish of 3.8 over the last four September races at NH. Two-time winner (’00, ’05). Y!-B1
3. Denny Hamlin… Good qualifier. Seven career starts at Loudon: average finish of 8.3, has never finished worse than 15th, which he did in June. Average finish of 8.5 in ’08 NH races. Has never started worse than 14th. Won in ’07. Y!-B2
4. Mark Martin… Started 11th, finished 14th in June race at Loudon, average running position: 9.0- first start at NH since ’06. Y!-A2
5. Kurt Busch… Started fourth, finished third in June. Average finish of 3.5 last year at Loudon, including a win. Three-time winner (’04 sweep, 06/08) Y!-B3
6. Jeff Gordon… Started and finished second in June, led 62 laps. Average finish of 12.5 in ’08 Loudon races. Runner-up in both ’07 races. Owns 11 finishes of first, second or third in 29 career starts. Three-time winner (’97, ’98). Y!-A3
7. Kyle Busch… Finished seventh in June race at Loudon. Average finish of 29.5 in ’08 NH races, 7.5 in ’07- led laps in both. Won in ’06. Y!-A4
8. Kasey Kahne… Started 13th, finished 10th in June. Started 13th, finished 11th in last year’s Sylvania 300. Y!-B4
9. Greg Biffle… Finished 18th in June race at Loudon. Won last year’s Sylvania 300. Average finish of 4.5 in the last four September NH races.
10. Brian Vickers… Risky play. Finished 35th in June (accident) and in last year’s Sylvania 300. 11 career starts: 21.0 average finish. Y!-B5
11. Juan Pablo Montoya… Finished a career-best 12th in June race at Loudon. Y!-B6
12. Ryan Newman… Average running position of 17th in June race at Loudon, finished 29th and led 17 laps. DNF and 15th-place finish last year. Average finish of 9.5 in ’07 races, led laps in both. Two-time winner (’02, ’05). Y!-B7
13. Kevin Harvick… Finished a career-worst 34th in June race at Loudon. Average finish of 12.0 in ’08 NH races. Won from the pole in ’06.
14. Dale Earnhardt Jr…. Good qualifier. Finished 13th in June race at Loudon, fifth in last year’s Sylvania 300- led 79 laps. Led laps in both ’07 and ’08 NH races- average finish of 12.3 in those four races. Started fourth and fifth last year. Y!-B8
15. David Reutimann… Strong value play. Has improved career-best finish at Loudon in each of his five starts. Finished a career-best fourth in June.
16. Carl Edwards… Risky play. Finished 19th in June race at Loudon, third in last year’s Sylvania 300. Average finish of 12.5 in ’07 NH races.
17. Jeff Burton… Finished 31st in June race at Loudon, worst finish since a blown engine in ’03. Average finish of 10.5 in the 10 races in between. Four-time winner (’97-’00).
18. Matt Kenseth… Finished 22nd in June race at Loudon. DNF (accident) and 18th-place finish last year. Ten top-10 finishes in the prior 11 races (’02-’07).
19. Joey Logano… Won in rain-shortened June race at Loudon but an average running position of 21st. Started 40th, finished 32nd in last year’s Sylvania 300. Won the pole, finished second in June Nationwide race. Won both ‘07 Camping World East Series races.
20. Sam Hornish Jr…. Strong value play. Started 26th, finished a career-best eighth in June race at Loudon- average running position of 13th. Average finish of 34.5 in ’08 NH races. Y!-C1
21. Martin Truex Jr…. Strong value play. DNF in June race at Loudon, snapping a streak of four straight top-10 finishes- average finish of 4.75 in that span.
22. Marcos Ambrose… Finished 23rd in June race, first career start at Loudon. Finished 14th in last year’s Nationwide race. Y!-C2
23. Clint Bowyer… Seven career starts at Loudon: one top-10 finish, a win from the pole in ’07. Average finish of 23.6 in the six other NH races.
24. Casey Mears… Weak value play. Finished 11th in June race at Loudon, average running position of 20th.
25. Bobby Labonte… Weak value play. Finished 21st in June race at Loudon. Average finish of 11.5 in ’08 NH races, 20.0 in ’07. Y!-C3
26. Reed Sorenson… Weak value play. Seven career starts at Loudon: 18.0 average finish. Finished 17th in June race, 22nd in last year’s Sylvania 300. Y!-C4
27. Elliott Sadler… Average finish of 25.2 over the last five starts at Loudon.
28. AJ Allmendinger… Finished 32nd in June race at Loudon, two DNFs in ’08. Finished 33rd in lone ’07 NH start.
29. Jamie McMurray… Three straight finishes of 33rd or worse at Loudon, average finish of 13.5 in ’07 NH races.
30. David Ragan… DNFs (accidents) in two of his last three starts at Loudon. Average finish of 17.0 in ’07 NH races. Finished sixth in last year’s Nationwide race.
31. Michael Waltrip… Finished 24th in June race at Loudon, 25th in last year’s Sylvania 300.
32. Robby Gordon… Won in ’01. Finished 25th in June race at Loudon, 26th in both ’07 NH races.
33. John Andretti… Finished 16th in June race at Loudon, average running position of 30th.
34. Erik Darnell… Finished sixth in June Nationwide race at Loudon, average finish of 5.0 in three Truck series races (’06-’08).
35. Aric Almirola… Average finish of 20.5 in ‘08 races at Loudon.
36. Paul Menard… Finished 30th in June race at Loudon. Average finish of 28.6 in five career NH starts.
37. David Stremme… Finished 28th in June race at Loudon. Average finish of 34.5 in ’07 NH races.
38. Scott Speed… Finished 36th (DNF, accident) in June race, first career start at Loudon. Started fourth, finished eighth in June Nationwide race.
39. Joe Nemechek… DNFs in four of his last seven starts at Loudon. Won in ’99.
40. Patrick Carpentier… DNF (accident) in June race at Loudon.
41. Dave Blaney… Start and parked in June race at Loudon.
42. David Gilliland… Start and parked in June race at Loudon.
43. Tony Raines… Start and parked in June race at Loudon.
44. Dexter Bean… No career starts at Loudon.
45. Mike Wallace… No Cup starts at Loudon since ’05, average finish of 17.6 in eight Nationwide starts.
46. Derrike Cope… No Cup starts at Loudon since ’03. DNF in June Nationwide race at Loudon.

NASCAR Power Rankings Chase Edition: Week 1

Who's Up	Who's Down
Biggest Gain This Week: Jeff Gordon: 3rd to 1st	Biggest Drop This Week: Juan Pablo Montoya: 5th to 9th
New This Week: Ryan Newman	Dropped Out This Week:

Rank: 1st Jeff Gordon #24 Last Week: 3 Change: +2 Driver Page | Articles

Jeff Gordon- 1 Win, 18 Top Tens Why will Jeff Gordon finally complete his drive for 5? Gordon has one of the best Intermediate track programs in the series and there's not one single race in the Chase that this team isn't capable of winning.

Rank: 2nd Jimmie Johnson #48 Last Week: 1 Change: -1 Driver Page | Articles

Jimmie Johnson- 3 Wins, 15 Top Tens Jimmie Johnson has won the past three championships but you know what, this isn't last year. The bullet proof Jimmie Johnson of old has repeatedly been making mistakes. Under a 10 race format teams must be mistake free.

Rank: 3rd Mark Martin #5 Last Week: 2 Change: -1 Driver Page | Articles

Mark Martin- 4 Wins, 14 Top Tens Mark Martin leads the series in wins and he is also one of the most consistent drivers. The thing that scares me about Mark Martin is that he's just so unlucky. When you make a championship pick don't overlook this fact.

Rank: 4th Kurt Busch #22 Last Week: 6 Change: +2 Driver Page | Articles

Kurt Busch- 1 Win, 14 Top Tens Kurt Busch won the very first Chase and this team is capable of rallying and perhaps winning the 2009 championship. Unfortunately they will have distractions because Pat Tryson the crew chief already announced he's leaving.

Rank: 5th Tony Stewart #14 Last Week: 4 Change: -1 Driver Page | Articles

Tony Stewart- 3 Wins, 18 Top Tens Tony Stewart has been the point’s leader for the majority of the season. Stewart was the point’s leader because of consistency not because they were the fastest team on the track. The consistency of this team is gone is now so what do they have left?

Rank: 6th Denny Hamlin #11 Last Week: 7 Change: +1 Driver Page | Articles

Denny Hamlin- 2 Wins, 14 Top Tens Hamlin has scored the most points in the series over the last 6 races but in my opinion the 11 team never performs well under pressure. I've lost count of all their long untimely pit stops. Their Chase history isn't stellar either.

Rank: 7th Kasey Kahne #4 Last Week: 9 Change: +2 Driver Page | Articles

Kasey Kahne- 2 Wins, 10 Top Tens Kasey Kahne is entering the Chase with a very recent win at Atlanta. The majority of the tracks in the Chase are good tracks for Kahne and with a little bit of luck Kahne might be in the championship mix at Homestead.

Rank: 8th Brian Vickers #83 Last Week: 8 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Brian Vickers- 1 Win, 13 Top Tens How many times in NASCAR have we seen drivers who just manage to squeak into the Chase crumble like a cookie once their in? Vickers should be able to dodge this problem because the Chase is Intermediate track heavy so it fits his strength perfectly.

Rank: 9th Juan Pablo Montoya #42 Last Week: 5 Change: -4 Driver Page | Articles

Juan Pablo Montoya- 2 Top Fives, 12 Top Tens Montoya has been driving smart and safe all season long but now is the time for this team to step it up and take more risks. Montoya certainly has consistency figured out, but he needs top fives in order to get the big points week in and week out.

Rank: 10th Carl Edwards #99 Last Week: 10 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Carl Edwards- 7 Top Fives, 11 Top Tens Carl Edwards is one of the top NASCAR drivers around but the equipment underneath him just isn't good enough. No driver has ever won the championship if they haven't already won a race earlier in the year.

Rank: 11th Greg Biffle #16 Last Week: 11 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Greg Biffle- 8 Top Fives, 12 Top Tens I find it impossible to be optimistic about Roush-Fenway cars when there performances at Intermediate tracks are sub par. The 16 got off to a fast start last year in the Chase and if they contend they will need to do so again.

Rank: 12th Ryan Newman #39 Last Week: NR Change: N/A Driver Page | Articles

Ryan Newman- 5 Top Fives, 12 Top Tens I expect Newman to get off to a good start in the Chase. New Hampshire and Dover are good tracks for Newman but reality will set in at Kansas.

NASCAR Fantasy Tool: 2009 Average Finish at Chase Tracks Table

This table designed primarily to help fantasy NASCAR owners with deciding on how to spend their remaining driver starts as we progress through the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The table ranks the 26 most relevant drivers by their average finish at the eight Chase tracks that held their first Cup event earlier in the season.

	Loudon	Dover	Fontana	Lowe’s	Martinsville	Talladega	Texas	Phoenix	AVG
Tony Stewart	5	2	8	19	3	23	4	2	8.25
Jimmie Johnson	9	1	9	13	1	30	2	4	8.63
Kurt Busch	3	5	5	34	18	6	8	3	10.25
Greg Biffle	18	3	4	20	28	7	3	5	11.00
David Reutimann	4	18	14	1	20	26	11	8	12.75
Ryan Newman	29	8	28	2	6	3	15	16	13.38
Carl Edwards	19	7	7	4	26	24	10	10	13.38
Matt Kenseth	22	4	1	10	23	17	5	27	13.63
Denny Hamlin	15	36	6	11	2	22	12	6	13.75
Jeff Gordon	2	26	2	14	4	37	1	25	13.88
Kasey Kahne	10	6	12	7	19	36	19	13	15.25
Kyle Busch	7	23	3	6	24	25	18	17	15.38
Juan Montoya	12	30	11	8	12	20	7	24	15.50
Mark Martin	14	10	40	17	7	43	6	1	17.25
Joey Logano	1	15	26	9	32	9	30	21	17.88
Brian Vickers	35	25	10	5	33	8	16	19	18.88
Jeff Burton	31	16	32	25	15	10	9	15	19.13
Sam Hornish Jr.	8	13	23	16	34	34	17	9	19.25
Casey Mears	11	9	24	33	21	16	21	20	19.38
Marcos Ambrose	23	20	22	26	14	4	41	14	20.50
Dale Earnhardt Jr.	13	12	39	40	8	2	20	31	20.63
Clint Bowyer	20	11	19	36	5	39	22	26	22.25
Jamie McMurray	33	14	16	21	10	42	38	11	23.13
Martin Truex Jr.	37	21	27	23	29	33	25	7	25.25
AJ Allmendinger	32	29	29	32	9	35	34	35	29.38
Kevin Harvick	34	17	38	41	11	38	27	30	29.50

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