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Fantasy Racing Darkhorse Picks: Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington

Expert	Website	Pick to Win	Finish	Experts Avg
Josh Lobdel		Brad Keselowski	3	8.70
Jerry Lagger	One and Done Game Winner	Mark Martin	19	12.10
Dennis Michelsen	RaceTalkRadio.com	Denny Hamlin	6	13.70
Steve Wronkowicz	On Pit Row	Jeff Gordon	12	15.30
Eric McClung	KFFL	Jeff Gordon	12	11.40
Eric McGuire	free agent	Denny Hamlin	6	10.00
Dan Beaver	Fantasy Racing Games	Jeff Gordon	12	13.50
Matt Mercer	On Pit Row	Kasey Kahne	4	11.00
Adam Ansell	Roto Experts	Greg Biffle	8	12.70
Chris Leone	On Pit Row	Brad Keselowski	3	20.60
Bob Ellis	NASCAR Ranting and Raving	Mark Martin	19	17.30
CharlieTurner	On Pit Row	Jeff Gordon	12	10.40
Jordan McAbee	On Pit Row	Denny Hamlin	6	9.40
Jon Rodgers	Gillette Young Guns Challenge Winner	Denny Hamlin	6	14.00
James Jones	On Pit Row	Jeff Gordon	12	11.80
Mike Wells	Racing4Glory.com	Jeff Gordon	12	8.60
Darren Fauth	FantasyRacingCheatSheet	Jeff Gordon	12	15.40
P J Walsh	FantasyNASCARPreview.com	Greg Biffle	8	17.20
Charles Rantz	ifantasyrace.com	Denny Hamlin	6	11.90

NASCAR Fantasy Racing Experts Picks: Showtime Southern 500 at Darlington

Expert	Website	Pick to Win	Finish	Experts Avg
Josh Lobdell		Kyle Busch	11	12.50
Jerry Lagger	One and Done Game Winner	Jeff Gordon	12	12.70
Dennis Michelsen	RaceTalkRadio.com	Jimmie Johnson	15	14.10
Steve Wronkowicz	On Pit Row	Tony Stewart	7	12.20
Eric McClung	KFFL	Jeff Gordon	12	12.00
Eric McGuire	free agent	Jeff Gordon	12	15.70
Dan Beaver	Fantasy Racing Games	Jeff Gordon	12	11.80
Matt Mercer	On Pit Row	Denny Hamlin	6	15.00
Adam Ansell	Roto Experts	Kyle Busch	11	8.80
Chris Leone	On Pit Row	Kyle Busch	11	12.30
Bob Ellis	NASCAR Ranting and Raving	Jeff Gordon	12	11.60
CharlieTurner	On Pit Row	Jeff Gordon	12	9.00
Jordan McAbee	On Pit Row	Denny Hamlin	6	13.00
Jon Rodgers	Gillette Young Guns Challenge Winner	Kyle Busch	11	13.00
James Jones	On Pit Row	Kyle Busch	11	8.10
Mike Wells	Racing4Glory.com	Kyle Busch	11	9.40
Darren Fauth	FantasyRacingCheatSheet	Jimmie Johnson	15	8.30
P J Walsh	FantasyNASCARPreview.com	Kyle Busch	11	10.20
Charles Rantz	ifantasyrace.com	Kyle Busch	11	11.20

Scouting Report: Darlington

How to make a good fantasy pick for Darlington:

The first thing you should do at Darlington is look at past races at “The Lady In Black”. NASCAR only races once a year at this old speedway but when you look at past results you’ll notice one thing. This is a track where the best of the best win. Fluke wins don’t happen here, drivers earn their win.

Practice is extremely important at Darlington. This middle segments of this race will be long green runs. The man behind the wheel in this race is the difference maker and if their good in practice most likely they’ll be good in the race.

Starting up front is a must at Darlington. Since 2003 the average starting position of the race winner is 7.3. It’s pretty hard to deny starting position isn’t important at Darlington. Darlington also has a tough pit road and if a driver qualifies good then you expect them to have a good pit stall.

The only similar track to Darlington is Dover. Darlington is far from your typical intermediate track.

Ten drivers to watch:

1. Carl Edwards - No wins yet at “The Lady In Black” but he’s finished second before. Loves this place and will be the man to beat Saturday night.
2. Jeff Gordon - Hasn’t finished lower than fifth since 2004. Don’t forget he also has seven wins here.
3. Jimmie Johnson - Two time winner who’s only finished lower than 13th twice. 9.33 average finish.
4. Kyle Busch - 2008 winner who was also very strong last year. Look for him to be strong coming off his Richmond win.
5. Denny Hamlin - The defending champion who’s never finished lower than 13th. Last year Hamlin led 104 laps and had a 134.5 driver rating.
6. Matt Kenseth - He knows how to make his car last all 500 miles. His five year average finish is 7.8.
7. Greg Biffle - He’s a two-time winner and in four out of the last six years he’s led +95 laps a race. The downside is that in three out of the last four years he’s finished 15th or worse.
8. Ryan Newman - Newman is a “skills driver” and this is a skills track. In twelve races at Darlington Newman has eight top ten finishes. Newman had this race won in August 2003 but undetected kill switch problems kept him out of victory lane.
9. Kevin Harvick - Darlington hasn’t traditionally been a Kevin Harvick track but he’s proven he can get the job done here. Unfortunately many of his best runs were early in his career. Last year he finished sixth but to find his next top ten you need to go all the way back to 2004.
10. Tony Stewart - Stewart’s finished in the top ten every other year at Darlington since 2004 so he’s due this year. Throughout his career he’s been a hit or miss driver here. The most surprising stat about Tony Stewart is that he’s only led 14 laps

TheSpread.com odds to win:

Jimmie Johnson 6/1, Kyle Busch 6/1, Denny Hamlin 7/1, Jeff Gordon 8/1, Carl Edwards 8/1, Kevin Harvick 10/1, Tony Stewart 12/1, Kurt Busch 15/1, Dale Earnhardt Jr 15/1, Clint Bowyer 18/1

Fantasy NASCAR Preview: Darlington - Showtime Southern 500

The Sprint Cup and Nationwide series visit Darlington Raceway this week for the first and only time this season. Nicknamed “The Lady In Black,” this track should provide an exciting Saturday night race and possibly even a surprise winner: there is only two regular drivers that have won more than twice here. Like last weekend, there are two practice sessions set to be held on Friday afternoon with qualifying ending the day. The Showtime Southern 500 will start around 8:00 p.m. eastern time on Saturday.

During The Last Race At Darlington…Denny Hamlin got his third win of the 2010 season after leading 104 of the 367 laps. Jamie McMurray followed Hamlin to the line after starting from the pole, with Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon, and Juan Montoya rounding out the top five. Gordon led a race-high 110 laps that night.

My Recommendation To Fantasy Racers…Qualifying was pretty important the last time the series visited Darlington with ten of the top twelve finishers starting in the top fifteen. This racetrack is definitely not one of my favorites, and I will be busy this weekend so this is going to be the only post you will see from me this week. Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing has the best average finish of any team at this track over the last two years.

Top Fifteen Ranking Entering The Showtime Southern 500:

1. Denny Hamlin - Hamlin got the good run he needed last week in Richmond and posted his first top five finish of the season. I think he will ride that momentum into Darlington, which is statistically his second-best track on the circuit. He’s made only five starts here but has an average finish of 6.6 and has never ended a race lower than 13th in the running. He has also completed 100.0% of the laps ran in those five races. Expect the #11 Toyota to finish near the front on Saturday–especially if he starts near the front.

2. Ryan Newman - As long as him and Juan Montoya don’t get into it, expect a good run out of “The Rocketman” this week. He has five top 10s in his last six starts at Darlington and while he has never won here, he has finished in the top five half of the time in his career. Newman could provide you qualifying bonus points, too, as he has six top 3 starts in his twelve races here.

3. Kyle Busch - I never like going against “Rowdy” after he wins, and this week is no exception. Busch has the ninth-best average driver rating over the past two races here, but his average finish doesn’t really match it. He won here in 2008, though, and seems to be developing a little streak at this track. Every odd year (’05, ‘07, and ‘09) he finishes outside of the top 20, but the even years (’06, ‘08, and ‘10) his average finish is 5th. If this continues, he will be a bad pick, but there’s not many weeks I like to go against Kyle Busch.

4. Jimmie Johnson - “Five Time” really worried me last week with his sub-par race, but he still found a way to get a top ten (of course he did, it’s Jimmie Johnson). I don’t think he will have two ‘bad’ weeks in a row, though, so expect a good run on Saturday night for the #48 Chevrolet. His average career finish at Darlington is 9.3 and he’s finished inside the top ten in nine of his twelve starts here–including two wins here in 2004.

5. Jeff Gordon - Last week’s wreck (and subsequent terrible finish) by Jeff Gordon disappointed many fantasy racers–myself included–but he should have a good race this week. He has made 30 starts at Darlington and has amassed seven wins and 21 top tens. He’s finished in the top five in every race ran here since 2004 and I don’t expect that to change this weekend.

6. Carl Edwards - Cousin Carl is having a great season, and even though his last two trips to Darlington have been disappointing (32nd and 15th), he does have four top 10s here in his seven career starts. The #99 Ford is running great this season and hasn’t finished lower than 6th since Martinsville in early April.

7. Kevin Harvick - “Happy” is either good at Darlington, or really bad. He has made 14 starts here in his career and has five top 10s. On the flipside, he also has give finishes of 30th or worse. He’s only led 16 laps at this track, so don’t expect a dominating performance, but I think Harvick will get a solid top ten on Saturday.

8. Matt Kenseth - I think Kenseth’s little two-race bad run skid will stop this weekend. He’s not stellar at Darlington–with an average career finish of 17.7–but he has four top 10s in his last five starts at this track and hasn’t finished worse than 13th here since 2005. In 17 starts, Kenseth has 11 finishes in the top 20.

9. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. - Junior disappointed me last weekend with his 19th-place finish (his car wasn’t good enough for the top ten he was going to get if he didn’t run out of fuel, by the way), but I think he will rebound in Darlington. His new crew chief Steve Letarte has obviously found success here with Jeff Gordon, and while Dale has finishes of 27th and 18th in his past two starts here, he finished in the top 11 in every race here from 2004 to 2008.

10. Mark Martin - For as sub-par as Mark Martin has been running this season during races, he has just one finish outside of the top 20 in the first nine races–which is no easy task. I think he could challenge for a top ten this weekend, but you probably won’t find him on my roster. He has made 44 starts at this track and owns an average finish of 12.1 and 26 top tens. Three have his past four starts here have given him finishes between 14th and 16th, and the other one was his win in 2009.

11. Martin Truex, Jr. - Luck just seems to never be on Martin Truex, Jr.’s side, does it? This was the main reason I didn’t really understand the hype he had before the season. He’s actually pretty good at Darlington, though, with top 20s in all five of his starts here. His best finish has been 6th, which came in 2009. If the bad luck bug doesn’t strike again for Truex, expect a solid run on Saturday night.

12. David Ragan - He’s been pretty under the radar, but David Ragan is running very well this season for some reason. He’s 19th in points but he has three top 10s–which have all come in the last four races. He has made four starts at this track and his best finish is 5th, but while I don’t think he will score another top five, a solid 12th-place finish could happen.

13. Jamie McMurray - There is no reason to think that Jamie Mac will finish this high based on how he is running this year, but I just have a hunch about him this week. He has made ten starts here and owns an average finish of 15th. McMurray’s best finish at Darlington came last season when he finished runner-up to Denny Hamlin, but he does have three other top 10s here. This could be the week that McMurray has a good run…or it could be another disappointing race for fantasy owners.

14. Jeff Burton - I ask it every week: will the be the race that Jeff Burton gets his first top ten? Darlington has been a good track to him, and while I don’t think it will happen, it certainly is possible. Jeff has four top 10s in his last five starts at this track and the only finish outside of that in that span was a 12th in 2009. Over his 26 career races at “The Lady In Black,” Burton has amassed 25 top 20s and an average finish of 11.4.

15. Brad Keselowski - This kid just needs a good run. He has made two starts at Darlington and has 7th-place and 12th-place finishes to his name. It will be a risky pick, but you have to believe that we will see the “Blue Deuce” crack the top 15 again one of these weeks. His best finish this season is 15th (at Phoenix).

Underdogs Entering The Showtime Southern 500:

Regan Smith - Finally a week that Regan Smith could back up his starting spot. Over the last two years at Darlington, Smith has a better average finish than the likes of Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Carl Edwards, and others. He finished 17th here last season and the last two races (Richmond and Talladega) have given Smith his two best finishes since the season-opening Daytona 500 (17th and 15th, respectively).

Joey Logano - Is this season finally turning around for “Sliced Bread”? He has finished in the top 13 in three of the last four races. At Darlington, Logano finished 9th in his rookie start but 27th last year.

Bobby Labonte - Since leaving Joe Gibbs Racing after the 2005 season, Labonte has three top 20s in five starts at Darlington, and that includes an 18th-place finish with sub-par Hall of Fame Racing. He’s ran decent this year in the #47 Toyota, and could get another top 20 with a little luck on Saturday night.

A.J. Allmendinger - First off: did you realize that A.J. is 11th in points? He has recorded top 15s in four of the past five races this season and finished 17th at Darlington in 2009. I like how he is running this year and I think will definitely improve his average finish (29.3) at this track.

Those To Avoid Entering The Showtime Southern 500:

Kasey Kahne - He really proved me wrong last week with his 3rd-place finish in Richmond, but once again I don’t like him this week in Darlington. Not just because of his knee surgery, but also because he is not very good here (he hasn’t finished better than 20th since 2005).

Brian Vickers - I would avoid Red Bull Racing as a whole this week. Vickers finished 10th here last season but that is his only top ten in eight starts at Darlington. His average finish is 26.3 here.

Clint Bowyer - Look for Clint’s five-race streak of top tens to come to an end this weekend. He finished 9th after starting from the pole at Darlington in 2007, but other than that his best finish is 15th, and in the past two years he has finishes of 32nd and 37th to his name.

Juan Montoya - I think Montoya’s two-race streak of bad finishes will go to three after this season. If he doesn’t get into it with Newman, I still don’t think he will even run well. He finished 5th here last season but his three other starts have ended with him being around 20th place.

Remember, I won’t be posting any practice breakdown or predictions this week, but I will be back in full force for Dover after this race. Be sure to follow me on Twitter and check out NASCAR Nation as well.

NASCAR Fantasy Racing Experts Picks: Showtime Southern 500 from Darlington

Expert	Website	Pick to Win	Finish	Experts Avg
Josh Lobdell	FFToolbox	Kyle Busch	7	10.18
Jerry Lagger	One and Done Game Winner	Jeff Gordon	4	7.82
Dennis Michelsen	RaceTalkRadio.com	Jeff Gordon	4	12.00
Tall Glass of Milk	Answerthis.com	Jeff Burton	4	12.09
Eric McClung	On Pit Row	Jeff Gordon	4	15.64
Eric McGuire	free agent	Greg Biffle	22	12.09
Dan Beaver	Fantasy Racing Games	Jeff Gordon	4	9.00
Matt Mercer	On Pit Row	Kurt Busch	3	15.27
Adam Ansell	Roto Experts	Greg Biffle	22	14.36
Chris Leone	On Pit Row	Jimmie Johnson	36	15.91
Bob Ellis	NASCAR Ranting and Raving	Mark Martin	16	12.00
CharlieTurner	On Pit Row	Matt Kenseth	13	17.36
Lou Lauer	USAR Fans	Jeff Gordon	4	13.73
Jon Rodgers	Gillette Young Guns Challenge Winner	Kyle Busch	7	15.80
James Jones	On Pit Row	Jeff Gordon	4	11.50
Ryan Rantz	On Pit Row	Jimmie Johnson	36	10.60
Darren Fauth	Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet	Jeff Gordon	4	14.40
P J Walsh	FantasyNASCARPreview.com	Jeff Gordon	4	12.60
Charles Rantz	ifantasyrace.com	Jeff Gordon	4	16.60

NASCAR Fantasy Racing Expert Darkhorse Picks: Southern 500 at Darlington

The On Pit Row fantasy racing experts opinions of the best Sprint Cup driver currently outside the top 12 in Sprint Cup Series points, for this weekends race.

Expert	Website	Pick to Win	Finish	Experts Avg
Matt Mercer	On Pit Row	Marcos Ambrose	25	17.55
James Jones	On Pit Row	Ryan Newman	9	10.18
Josh Lobdell	FFToolbox	Paul Menard	30	19.36
Dennis Mickelson	RaceTalkRadio.com	Ryan Newman	9	10.82
Jon Rodgers	Gillette Young Guns Challenge Winner	Tony Stewart	23	12.00
Jerry Lagger Eric McGuire	One and Done Game Winner Free agent	Dale Earnhardt Jr Dale Earnhardt Jr	18 18	13.64 11.36
Charlie Turner	On Pit Row	Tony Stewart	23	9.73
Tall Glass of Milk	Answerthis.com	Ryan Newman	9	8.18
Adam Ansell	Roto Experts	Ryan Newman	9	8.82
Charles Rantz	ifantasyrace.com	Ryan Newman	9	10.36
Darren Fauth	Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet	Martin Truex jr	19	12.45
Lou Lauer	USAR Fans	Martin Truex Jr	19	11.91
Ryan Rantz	On Pit Row	Ryan Newman	9	16.36
Eric McClung	On Pit Row	Martin Truex Jr	19	19.55
P J Walsh	FantasyNASCARPreview.com	Ryan Newman	9	11.27
Bob Ellis	NASCAR Ranting and Raving	Jamie McMurray	2	14.00
Chris Leone	On Pit Row	Brad Keselowski	12	22.45
Dan Beaver	Fantasy Racing Games	Ryan Newman	9	10.00

NASCAR Fantasy Racing Preview: Showtime Southern 500 from Darlington

The “Lady in Black”, Darlington Raceway is an egg-shaped oval track known for leaving its mark, literally, on race cars. The different sets of turns make it difficult to find a setup that works well on all parts of the track, thus Darlington’s other nickname “The Track Too Tough to Tame”. Join us Thursday at 7PM ET for the Fantasy NASCAR Live Chat.

Chasing the pole at Darlington

1. Jeff Gordon… Started second last year, has started in the Top 10 in three straight starts at Darlington.
2. Greg Biffle… Won the pole in ‘08, started second in ‘07.
3. Ryan Newman… Started third last year, started fifth at Richmond.

Here’s an explanation of the highlighted text in the rankings.

• Y! A/B/C - The top options in the Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing game by driver list.
• Value play - Sneaky plays at this week’s track. Drivers to consider as low-rent salary cap options or alternatives in allocation formats.

1. Jeff Gordon… Seven-time winner (5/07, 9/02, 9/98, 8/97, ‘96 sweep, 9/95) at Darlington. Six straight Top Fives since 11/04, led at least five laps in all of them. Y!-A1
2. Jimmie Johnson… Two-time winner (’04 sweep) at Darlington. Nine Top 10s in 11 starts at Darlington, led at least two laps eight races. Y!-A2
3. Kyle Busch… Won ‘08 race at Darlington. Has never held an average running position worse than 17th in five career starts. Y!-A3
4. Denny Hamlin… Finished a career-worst 13th last year at Darlington, average finish of 8.0 in four career starts. Y!-A4
5. Jeff Burton… Two-time winner (’99 sweep) at Darlington. Average finish of 11.5 in 27 career starts at Darlington. Y!-B1
6. Matt Kenseth… Four straight Top 10 finishes at Darlington, led at least three laps in all of them. Y!-B2
7. Greg Biffle… Two-time winner (’05, ‘06) at Darlington. Led the most laps last year, finished eighth.
8. Mark Martin… Two-time winner (’99, 9/93) at Darlington. Won last year’s race at Darlington, average finish of 12.0 in 43 career starts.
9. Clint Bowyer… Two Top 15s in four career starts at Darlington. Y!-B3
10. Kevin Harvick… Finished 11th last year at Darlington, no Top 10s since 3/04. Y!-B4
11. Ryan Newman… Five Top 10s with at least two laps led in the last seven races at Darlington. Y!-B5
12. Carl Edwards… Four Top 10s in the last six races at Darlington.
13. Tony Stewart… Has finished 12th in better in four of the last five races at Darlington.
14. Martin Truex Jr…. Average finish of 11.2 in four career starts at Darlington. Finished a career-best sixth last year, led 61 laps. Y!-B6
15. Dale Earnhardt Jr…. Finished 27th last year at Darlington, six straight finishes of 11th or better from ‘04-’08. Y!-B7
16. Kurt Busch… Average finish of 17.5 in 13 career starts at Darlington, no Top 10s since ‘04.
17. Joey Logano… Started fifth, finished ninth at Darlington last year, first career Cup start. Finished 12th in last year’s Nationwide race. Y!-B8
18. Brad Keselowski… Finished seventh last year at Darlington, first career Cup start. Average finish of 13.0 in last two Nationwide races at Darlington.
19. Jamie McMurray… Average running position of 16th or better in four the last five races at Darlington.
20. David Reutimann… Average running position of 18th and 19th in his last two starts at Darlington.
21. Juan Pablo Montoya… Average finish of 22.0 in three career starts at Darlington.
22. Kasey Kahne… Has finishes from 20th or 23rd in four straight races at Darlington. Held an average running position of 14th last year.
23. Paul Menard… Weak value play. Finished a career-best 15th last year at Darlington, held an average running position of 25th. Y!-C1
24. A.J. Allmendinger… Weak value play. Finished a career-best 17th last year at Darlington, average running position of 29th. Y!-C2
25. Bobby Labonte… Strong value play. Won 9/00 race at Darlington. Has finished 18th or 19th in three straight races at Darlington. Y!-C3
26. Brian Vickers… DNFs due to crash in two of the last three races at Darlington, career average finish of 28.6.
27. Scott Speed… Finished 26th last year at Darlington, first career start. Y!-C4
28. Elliott Sadler… Finished 14th last year at Darlington, best finish since 3/04.
29. David Ragan… Finished a career-best fifth in ‘08 at Darlington, DNF (crash) last year.
30. Marcos Ambrose… Finished 33rd last year at Darlington, first career Cup start. Finished 10th in ‘08 Nationwide series race.
31. Regan Smith… Average finish of 25.0 in two career starts at Darlington.
32. Sam Hornish Jr…. Average finish of 34.0 in two career starts at Darlington.
33. Travis Kvapil… Finished a career-best eighth in ‘08 at Darlington, no starts last year.
34. David Stremme… Finished 24th last year at Darlington.
35. Casey Mears… Average finish of 30.2 in nine career starts at Darlington.
36. Robby Gordon… Average running position of 33rd and 34th in the last two races at Darlington.
37. Max Papis… Finished 35th last year at Darlington, first career Cup start. DNQ last week at Richmond.
38. Kevin Conway… No career Cup starts at Darlington. Average finish of 28.5 in two career Nationwide starts (’05-’06).
39. Reed Sorenson… Two DNFs this season.
40. David Gilliland… Likely start and park.
41. Joe Nemechek… Likely start and park.
42. Mike Bliss… Likely start and park. No Cup starts at Darlington since ‘05.
43. Todd Bodine… Likely start and park. No Cup starts since ‘04 at Darlington.
44. Michael McDowell… Likely start and park. DNQ last week at Richmond.
45. Dave Blaney… Likely start and park. DNQ last week at Richmond.
46. J.J. Yeley… No Cup starts anywhere since ‘08. Whitney Motorsports has seven DNQs this season.

Contender Or Pretender : Darlington

Jeff Gordon (Contender) - Jeff Gordon’s getting closer and closer to victory lane and this might be the week where he finds it. Darlington has always been a good track for Gordon. He’s visited victory lane at Darlington nearly a quarter of the races he’s been in. His most recent victory was back in 2007 in the first COT race. In 29 Darlington races Gordon has 7 wins, 17 top fives, and 20 top tens. In the COT era Gordon is three for three in finishing in the top five at Darlington.

Brian Vickers (Pretender) - Last years Chase participant is starting to really slip out of Chase contention for 2010. Vickers is now 24th in points and Darlington won’t do him any favors. In Vickers Sprint Cup career he’s raced at Darlington seven times and not once has he even finished in the top fifteen. In only one of those races has Vickers even cracked the top twenty.

Jimmie Johnson (Contender) - The Champ is always good at Darlington. In eight of his eleven career races he’s finished in the top seven. Last year he started in the back of the pack and still finished second. No team is better in the series at overcoming problems, and at Darlington you can probably expect it for your fantasy team. Johnson has the best average finish in the series at Darlington (6.9).

Kasey Kahne (Pretender) - In the last four years all of Kahne’s finishes have been in the low twenties. At the start of his career he was excellent at Darlington but after four consecutive finishes in the twenties I would pass this week.

Ryan Newman (Contender) - Darlington is easily one of Ryan Newman’s best tracks. He’s been close to winning this race on numerous occasions. In one of the races Greg Biffle won Ryan Newman had the car to beat that race but a late caution while leading on old tires was Ryan Newman’s despise. On another occasion Ryan Newman had the dominant car but his day was ruined on pit row when he hit the kill switch and didn’t realize it. In eleven Darlington races Newman has finished in the top 5 seven times.

Kurt Busch (Pretender) - The Kurt Busch / Ricky Craven Darlington image is probably engraved into your mind when you think about this track. It should be, it was a great finish. At Darlington Kurt Busch’s career started off badly, then he found his groove for five races, and since then he’s been trapped in mediocrity and hasn’t had a top ten since 2004.

Printable NASCAR TV Schedule for May 2010

NASCAR Fantasy Racing Preview: DirecTV Head2Head Knockout

FOX Sports.com is hosting the DirecTV Head2Head Knockout, a bracket that pits 28 of the best NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers against each other. Registration ends April 18th, 3:00PM ET. I’ve put together a preview of all the first round matchups, my Fastest Four selections, my championship pick and a peak at my entire bracket.

• Round 1 - Texas Motor Speedway
• Round 2 - Talladega Superspeedway
• Round 3 - Richmond International Raceway
• Fastest Four - Darlington Raceway

Turn 1

• Kurt Busch (1) vs. Elliot Sadler (8) – Busch finished eighth, first last year at Texas.
• Kyle Busch (4) vs. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (5) – Neither one had a Top 10 last year at Texas, but Busch was much better on intermediate tracks.
• Carl Edwards (3) vs. Paul Menard (6) - *Possible upset* Menard finished fifth at Atlanta (a similar 1.5 mile, 24 degree-banked track) earlier this year. 4/09 race at Texas: Edwards 10th, Menard 13th.
• Denny Hamlin (2) vs. Brad Keselowski (7) - *Possible upset* Hamlin’s knee is still an uncertain. Keselowski was running in the Top Six before getting wrecked by Edwards at Atlanta.

Turn 2

• Mark Martin (1) vs. David Ragan (8) – Martin finished sixth, fourth last year at Texas.
• Joey Logano (4) vs. Jamie McMurray (5) – 2009 finishes at Texas… Logano: 30th, 19th. McMurray: 38th, 20th.
• Jeff Burton (3) vs. Martin Truex, Jr. (6) – Burton finished ninth in both races last year at Texas.
• Tony Stewart (2) vs. A.J. Allmendinger (7) – *Possible upset* Stewart finished fourth, sixth last year at Texas. Allmendinger finished sixth at Atlanta earlier this season.

Turn 3

• Jimmie Johnson (1) vs. Regan Smith (8)
• Brian Vickers (4) vs. Juan Pablo Montoya (5) – Montoya finished third at Atlanta, Vickers finished seventh.
• Kevin Harvick (3) vs. Marcos Ambrose (6) - Harvick finished ninth at Atlanta, Ambrose finished 11th.
• Greg Biffle (2) vs. Sam Hornish, Jr. (7) – Biffle finished third, eighth last year at Texas.

Turn 4

• Jeff Gordon (1) vs. Bobby Labonte (8)
• Kasey Kahne (4) vs. Ryan Newman (5) - 2009 finishes at Texas… Kahne: 19th, 33rd. Newman: 15th, 12th.
• Clint Bowyer (3) vs. David Reutimann (6) - *Possible upset* 2009 finishes at Texas… Bowyer: 23rd, 22nd. Reutimann: 11th, 16th.
• Matt Kenseth (2) vs. Scott Speed (7) – Kenseth finished second at Atlanta, two Top Fives last year at Texas. Speed finished 10th at Atlanta.

Fastest Four picks

• Turn 1 – Kyle Busch: It has been a rough season for Rowdy, but if he advances past Talladega I don’t see anyone in this bracket outdoing him at Richmond.
• Turn 2 – Tony Stewart: Smoke is great at Talladega and Richmond. I have Mark Martin, the number one seed, going down in round two since he crashed in both races at Talladega last year.
• Turn 3 – Jimmie Johnson: If Montoya was a better plate racer I would be tempted to have Johnson fall in round two. Don’t count me among the surprised if it does indeed happen.
• Turn 4 – Jeff Gordon: Consistency at Richmond is what makes Gordon the favorite in this bracket. All of the other top seeds have shaky recent history at Talladega, which could blow up this entire part of the bracket.

Champion – Jeff Gordon: The final matchup at Darlington pits all of the Fastest Four against each other. Gordon and Johnson have ridiculously good numbers there. After reviewing loop data numbers, I’m going with Gordon for a couple of reasons. Since loop data was introduced in 2005, Gordon has met or exceeded Johnson in percentage of laps in the Top 15 at Darlington in all five races. In that span, Gordon’s average driver rating (114.4) is better than Johnson (112.1). Finally, Gordon has topped 111.0 driver rating in all five races at Darlington; Johnson has been below 100.0 in each of the last two races there.

• View my entire bracket here.

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