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NASCAR Fantasy Racing Preview: DirecTV Head2Head Knockout

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by Eric McClung, Special To NASCAR news, fantasy racing advice and statistics On Pit Row

Follow @ericmcclung on Twitter for NASCAR, IndyCar, golf and various other fantasy sports picks.

April 12, 2010 1:46 am CDT No Comments

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.

Filed Under Darlington Raceway, DirecTV Head2Head Knockout, Fantasy NASCAR, Fantasy Racing, Richmond International Raceway, Talladega Superspeedway, Texas Motor Speedway 

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