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NASCAR Toyota/Save Mart 350 Entry List

NASCAR Infineon Speedway Toyota/Save Mart 350 Entry List

Fantasy Racing Darkhorse Picks: 2011 Toyota/Save Mart 350

Expert	Website	Pick to Win	Finish	Experts Avg
Josh Lobdel		Marcos Ambrose	5	11.06
Jerry Lagger	One and Done Game Winner	Juan Pablo Montoya	22	12.25
Dennis Michelsen	RaceTalkRadio.com	Marcos Ambrose	5	14.38
Steve Wronkowicz	On Pit Row	Robby Gordon	18	15.56
Eric McClung	KFFL	Juan Pablo Montoya	22	12.81
Eric McGuire	free agent	Juan Pablo Montoya	22	11.56
Dan Beaver	Fantasy Racing Games	Marcos Ambrose	5	14.50
Matt Mercer	On Pit Row	Marcos Ambrose	5	14.19
Adam Ansell	Roto Experts		44	15.13
Chris Leone	On Pit Row	Marcos Ambrose	5	21.00
Bob Ellis	NASCAR Ranting and Raving	Marcos Ambrose	5	15.94
CharlieTurner	On Pit Row	Marcos Ambrose	5	11.69
Jordan McAbee	On Pit Row	Marcos Ambrose	5	12.38
Jon Rodgers	Gillette Young Guns Challenge Winner	Marcos Ambrose	5	14.69
James Jones	On Pit Row	Juan Pablo Montoys	22	13.13
Mike Wells	Racing4Glory.com	Juan Pablo Montoya	22	9.25
Darren Fauth	FantasyRacingCheatSheet	Kasey Kahne	20	14.75
P J Walsh	FantasyNASCARPreview.com	A J Allmendinger	13	17.88
Charles Rantz	ifantasyrace.com	Marcos Ambrose	5	13.00

NASCAR Fantasy Racing Experts Picks: 2011 Toyota/Save Mart 350

Expert	Website	Pick to Win	Finish	Experts Avg
Josh Lobdell		Carl Edwards	3	12.38
Jerry Lagger	One and Done Game Winner	Jeff Gordon	2	12.50
Dennis Michelsen	RaceTalkRadio.com	Tony Stewart	39	13.88
Steve Wronkowicz	On Pit Row	Marcos Ambrose	5	10.75
Eric McClung	KFFL	Juan Pablo Montoya	22	13.56
Eric McGuire	free agent	Kyle Busch	11	16.31
Dan Beaver	Fantasy Racing Games	Marcos Ambrose	5	11.25
Matt Mercer	On Pit Row	Juan Pablo Montoya	22	15.13
Adam Ansell	Roto Experts		44	14.38
Chris Leone	On Pit Row	Robby Gordon	18	14.06
Bob Ellis	NASCAR Ranting and Raving	Juan Pablo Montoya	22	12.75
CharlieTurner	On Pit Row	Tony Stewart	39	14.69
Jordan McAbee	On Pit Row	Marcos Ambrose	5	13.69
Jon Rodgers	Gillette Young Guns Challenge Winner	Kyle Busch	11	10.56
James Jones	On Pit Row	Jeff Gordon	2	10.38
Mike Wells	Racing4Glory.com	Tony Stewart	39	13.00
Darren Fauth	FantasyRacingCheatSheet	Kurt Busch	1	8.75
P J Walsh	FantasyNASCARPreview.com	Marcos Ambrose	5	9.94
Charles Rantz	ifantasyrace.com		44	13.13

Fantasy NASCAR Preview: Infineon - Toyota/Save Mart 350

This week the Sprint Cup Series will visit the twisty two-mile track near Sonoma, California: Infineon Raceway. Some NASCAR regulars love these road course tracks, while others just try to survive the race, earn the most points possible, and move onto the next race. This week we also see some unfamiliar faces in the field, otherwise known as the “road course ringers”.

During The Last Race At Infineon…Jimmie Johnson started 2nd and led 55 laps en route to his first road course victory of his career. Marcos Ambrose was leading late but stalled his car trying to conserve fuel under a caution and lost his spot in line–causing him to accept a disappointing 6th-place finish. Robby Gordon, Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne, and Jeff Gordon followed Johnson to the line, giving them all top five finishes.

My Recommendation To Fantasy Racers…The road ringers used to be awesome picks–whether in an allocation league or not–but the rest of the Cup Series regulars have really learned to master these windy tracks lately. Later in this article you will find my views on picking ringers this week. Because it is so difficult to pass on these road courses, I find qualifying to be very important. Of the top nine finishers at this track last season, seven of them started in the top ten. Very few drivers are consistently great at these tracks, and usually each Cup Series regular will have at least one good run here.

Top Fifteen Ranking Entering The Toyota/Save Mart 350:

1. Marcos Ambrose - If my prediction from April is going to be right, the #9 Ford will have to find victory lane this Sunday–and I think Ambrose will. He is one of–if not the–best road racer in the series and probably would have won the race here last season if he didn’t stall his car. In the last two years, Ambrose has the best average driver rating and best average finish at the road course races, even though he has yet to visit victory lane. Considering he should have won in his JTG-Daugherty Toyota last season, you have to believe Marcos will take the checkered flag in his Richard Petty Motorsports Ford on Sunday. His teammate, A.J. Allmendinger, finished 7th here in 2009 while running for Petty.

2. Juan Montoya - If JPM wants to make the Chase this season, he’s probably going to need at least two wins, and he could very easily win at both road courses. He already has a win at each track, and he hasn’t finished outside of the top ten at Sonoma in his four career starts here. Montoya’s average driver rating at Infineon of 104.1 over the past two races is good enough for fifth-best in the series.

3. Jimmie Johnson - “Five Time” finally got a win on a road course last season, taking the checkered flag at this race in June. Over the past two years here, Johnson has the best average driver rating as well as the best average finish, and you have to believe he’s going to come out driving hard after last week’s disappointing finish. Jimmie’s average finish at Infineon is 15.6 but he seems to have the tricky tracks figured out, posting two straight top 5s here and he also has four top 10s in nine starts at Watkins Glen.

4. Tony Stewart - I’m not going to mention the time of year, but Smoke’s 7th-place finish at Michigan last week should be the start of a string of solid runs for the #14 team. Over the past two years, Stewart’s average driver rating of 112.0 is fourth-best in the series, and he’s on a streak of four straight top 10s at this tricky track. Tony’s average career finish in twelve races at Infineon is 9.3 and he has visited victory lane twice here. He’s better at Watkins Glen, but Stewart isn’t too bad of a pick when the series visits Sonoma, either.

5. Kevin Harvick - My prediction that Harvick would slump this season is really turning out the be wrong, and while his average finish at Infineon is 16.8, he finished 3rd here last season and wound up 2nd in the 2007 race at this track. At the other road course track–Watkings Glen–”Happy” has one win and two top 11 finishes in the last three races. Harvick has seven finishes of 14th or better in the last eight Sprint Cup races, and it should be eight of nine after the checkered flag waves on Sunday.

6. Jeff Gordon - Gordon has excelled on the flat tracks this season, but has really disappointed on most intermediate tracks. So how will he do at the road courses? If you go by his recent finishes, one would expect a great run out of the #24 Chevrolet this weekend: Gordon has five straight top 10s here and has finished there in fourteen of the last sixteen races at Sonoma. He has five wins at this track (the last coming in 2006) and he has led an impressive 437 laps at Infineon.

7. Kasey Kahne - This ranking is the most likely one to change once I make my final predictions on Saturday. Kahne didn’t have a finish better than 23rd here before winning at Sonoma in 2009, but he proved he may have gotten the hang of this track last year by winning the pole and finishing a solid 4th. Kasey’s average driver rating of 118.1 is good enough for third-best in the series over the past two years at Infineon Raceway.

8. Kyle Busch - Kyle Busch–in case you haven’t noticed–can win at any track at any time, and ”Rowdy” proved that when he took the checkered flag here in 2008 after leading 78 of the 112 laps ran. He has five straight top 10s at the other road course (Watkins Glen) and that includes a victory in 2008 from the pole. This ranking may be a little too low for Busch, as momentum is important for drivers coming into road course races and he has two straight top fives. Kyle should improve his career average finish of 20.2 at Infineon this weekend.

9. Carl Edwards - Cousin Carl is fast every weekend, and this race should be no exception. At Watkins Glen, Edwards has five straight top 10s, but he hasn’t found that success at Sonoma yet, as he has just two top 10s in his six starts here. With the way Carl’s season is going, though, you have to believe he will have another good run in the Toyota/Save Mart 350 on Sunday. In allocation leagues, there are probably better choices this weekend, but going against Edwards is usually not a very good decision–especially this season.

10. Kurt Busch - I used to always look at Kurt Busch as a fantasy option when the series came to road courses, but that hasn’t been the case in recent years. His best finish at Sonoma since 2006 has been 15th, but he has four straights top 11s at Watkins Glen during that span. Also, Kurt’s average driver rating over the past two years at Infineon is 7th-best in the series, even though he only has the 26th-best average finish. With the way the Double Deuce has been running (five straight top 14 finishes), I expect Kurt’s luck to change at Sonoma this weekend.

11. A.J. Allmendinger - There are many reasons that I like The Dinger this weekend, and you will probably find him on at least one of my rosters on Sunday. First, he’s now teammates with Marcos Ambrose, and you have to believe that the Tasmanian will share some secrets with A.J. Second, he’s not terrible here: Allmendinger’s last two starts at Infineon have ended in 7th and 13th-place finishes, and at Watkins Glen last season he brought the #43 Ford home in 4th.

12. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. - Little E has never posted a top ten finish in eleven starts at Infineon, but that could very well change this weekend. He’s having an awesome season–as you probably know–and at Watkins Glen he had three straight top 10s from 2003 to 2005. Remember, Junior has Jeff Gordon’s old crew chief, and those two have found success here recently. Earnhardt has finished between 11th and 13th in three of the last four Sprint Cup races at Sonoma.

13. Ryan Newman - “The Rocketman” isn’t the first name you think of when the series comes to a road course, but he’s not too bad at Sonoma. His average career finish here is 11th and Newman has completed 100% of the laps ran here in his nine starts. He’s never finished worse than 20th at Infineon and has five total top 10s at this tricky track–including a 2nd-place effort in 2006.

14. Clint Bowyer - Before last season’s 31st-place finish at Sonoma, Bowyer recorded three straight top 10s at this track after his 16th-place finish in his rookie attempt. Like Newman, Clint has completed 100% of the laps in all of his starts here and needs a good run to stay in the top ten in points.

15. Greg Biffle - In eight career starts here, The Biff has three top 10s and just two finishes outside of the top 15. He hasn’t finished better than 10th since Darlington, though, and I don’t expect that to change this weekend. However, a solid top 15 is a definite possibility for Biffle. In the last four Watkins Glen races, Greg has brought the #16 Ford home in the top 10 twice.

Breaking Down The Ringers:

There’s no question that each ringer has the skill to score a solid top ten finish at both road course stops on the circuit. What should concern you, though, is whether their equipment will hold up for the full race. Due to this, picking a ringer in your fantasy leagues is extremely risky, but their potential opens the possibility of you having a huge points week.

Boris Said - He isn’t on the preliminary entry list, but you have to believe someone will give Boris a ride this weekend. He ran his (somewhat) usual #26 at Sonoma last season and finished a solid 8th after leading eight laps. From 2004 to 2007, Said had three top 10s in the four Infineon races ran, and he will be the guy many Sprint Cup regulars will be going to for advice this weekend. Edit: Boris Said will drive the #51 Chevrolet this weekend, the same car that Landon Cassill finished 12th with last weekend in Michigan.

Robby Gordon - Gordon finished 2nd here last season, but most of the times when the series visits the road course, the #7 has mechanical issues. Since starting Robby Gordon Motorsports, Robby has started six races at Infineon, and that 2nd-place effort has been his only top 15. He has the talent, but the car reliability is a concern when picking Gordon this week.

Tomy Drissi - In case you don’t know who this is (I didn’t either), his Wikipedia page can be found by clicking here. I am assuming that he is a road course ringer because of my inability to recognize, or pronounce, his name, and he will be driving the #37 Black Cat Fireworks Ford this weekend. He ran the Nationwide Series race at Montreal (road course) last year, finishing 18th after starting 39th.

Tony Ave - Another guy I haven’t really heard of, but Tony Ave has made two starts in the Sprint Cup Series, both at the other road course track, Watkins Glen. His first was in 2004 when Ave qualified 42nd and wound up 31st when it was all said and done. In 2009, he finished 43rd at The Glen. He will be driving the #38 Long John Silvers Ford, which is the same car that Travis Kvapil has driven this season. They’re usually not a start-and-park, so watch Ave in practice.

Andy Pilgrim - This guy has also made two starts in NASCAR, but they were both in the Nationwide Series during the 2007 season. He raced at Montreal and Watkins Glen and finished 15th in both races while piloting the #88 for JR Motorsports. This weekend he will drive the #46 Chevrolet that is usually the seat for J.J. Yeley. Not sure if they will be a start-and-park or not.

P.J. Jones - You usually see P.J.’s name come up when the series visits the road courses, but I wouldn’t recommend picking him. He has started both races at Infineon and Watkins Glen over the past two years and has a best finish of 41st. He will be running a car (#177) owned by Robby Gordon this weekend.

Brian Simo - Simo posted a 10th-place finish at Sonoma in 2005, but he was in the #33 Chevrolet from Richard Childress Racing. This week he will pilot the #181 Whitney’s Collision.com Chevrolet, owned by Dusty Whitney. He will probably be a start-and-park, but I could be wrong. Either way, I would avoid him.

Please Note: The drivers on this list are the ones listed on the preliminary entry list for this weekend’s Toyota/Save Mart 350. I will update this list (and my thoughts) after practice and qualifying this weekend, and, as usual, you will be able to find that breakdown on www.ifantasyrace.com.

As I said earlier, it seems like every driver eventually has a good run at one of the road course races. For this reason, I won’t be doing an “Avoid” list in this preview, but I will tell you drivers I think you should avoid once practice and qualifying is over with. You already know where you can find that.

Scouting Report: Infineon

How to make an informed pick for the Toyota Savemart 350?

1. Picking a driver with a good starting position is crucial at road courses. Seventy percent of all races run at Infineon have been won by a driver starting in the top ten. In the twenty-two races run here only twice has a driver started from 21st or worse and won.

2. Having a good track history is a must for making an informed pick this week. Road course racing is a skill and the turning of a few wrenches won’t help a driver who struggles at serpentine tracks.

3. Practice also has a role this week in the equation of how to make a good fantasy pick. I don’t care about average laps times this week though. What I want to hear is that my drivers happy with their car, their brakes are good, and their not having any trouble with their transmission.

What’s the difference between Infineon and Watkins Glen?

Infineon Raceway is a technical track that is a lot slower than Watkins Glen. Infineon is the “Martinsville” of road courses and Watkins Glen is the “Talladega” of road courses. The difference between them is night and day but a good course driver excels at both. Traditionally this track is tougher on non-road course skilled NASCAR drivers.

Drivers to watch:

Jeff Gordon – 5 Wins here along with 5 straight top tens. Add in how well he’s been doing in recent weeks and this race appears his to lose. Don’t underestimate him this week.

Juan Pablo Montoya – This former Infineon winner / former F1 driver has an impressive 5.75 average finish. Look for him to go all out in the Toyota Savemart 350. Only once in his career has he finished outside the top ten at a road course and it was because of an accident with Kevin Harvick.

Marcos Ambrose – Ambrose had this race won last year but his fuel saving tactic of shutting off his car going uphill ruined his chances. His average finish in the last five road course races is 3.5.

Tony Stewart – Stewart is traditionally better at Watkins Glen but he’s no slouch here. Stewart has two wins here and five at Watkins Glen. He’ll definitely be a favorite this week.

Kyle Busch – In the last ten road course races he has eight top tens. In 2008 he won at both road courses.

Kevin Harvick – Harvick’s a previous road course winner. In 2007 when Juan Pablo Montoya won he might’ve actually had the best car. He just choose not to drive hard because he was given information that the 42 car didn’t have enough gas to make it to the finish.

VegasInsider.com odds to win:

Jeff Gordon 7/2, Jimmie Johnson 9/2, Kyle Busch 6/1, Tony Stewart 6/1, Juan Pablo Montoya 7/1, Marcos Ambrose 8/1, Kevin Harvick 10/1, Kurt Busch 12/1, Robby Gordon 16/1, Carl Edwards 16/1, Boris Said 18/1

NASCAR Fantasy Racing Experts Picks: Toyota Save Mart 350 at Sonoma

Expert	Website	Pick to Win	Finish	Experts Avg
Josh Lobdell	FFToolbox	Denny Hamlin	34	13.23
Jerry Lagger	One and Done Game Winner	Juan Pablo Montoya	10	10.13
Dennis Michelsen	RaceTalkRadio.com	Tony Stewart	9	12.63
Tall Glass of Milk	Answerthis.com	Mark Martin	14	13.06
Eric McClung	On Pit Row	Tony Stewart	9	14.63
Eric McGuire	free agent	Jeff Gordon	5	12.31
Dan Beaver	Fantasy Racing Games	Juan Pablo Montoya	10	8.0
Matt Mercer	On Pit Row	Kyle Busch	39	14.75
Adam Ansell	Roto Experts	Tony Stewart	9	14.19
Chris Leone	On Pit Row	Juan Pablo Montoya	10	14.69
Bob Ellis	NASCAR Ranting and Raving	Jeff Gordon	5	9.94
CharlieTurner	On Pit Row	Tony Stewart	9	16.69
Lou Lauer	USAR Fans	Tony Stewart	9	13.75
Jon Rodgers	Gillette Young Guns Challenge Winner	Kyle Busch	39	13.50
James Jones	On Pit Row	Kyle Busch	39	11.38
Ryan Rantz	On Pit Row	Kyle Busch	39	11.63
Darren Fauth	Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet	Juan Pablo Montoya	10	13.31
P J Walsh	FantasyNASCARPreview.com	Tony Stewart	9	10.31
Charles Rantz	ifantasyrace.com	Kurt Busch	32	15.75

NASCAR Fantasy Racing Expert Darkhorse Picks: Infineon Raceway

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	6	15.75
James Jones	On Pit Row	Jamie McMurray	15	11.31
Josh Lobdell	FFToolbox	Juan Pablo Montoya	10	21.13
Dennis Mickelson	RaceTalkRadio.com	Marcos Ambrose	6	12.06
Jon Rodgers	Gillette Young Guns Challenge Winner	Joey Logano	33	13.31
Jerry Lagger Eric McGuire	One and Done Game Winner Free agent	Clint Bowyer Juan Pablo Montoya	31 10	13.31 12.75
Charlie Turner	On Pit Row	Juan Pablo Montoya	10	10.75
Tall Glass of Milk	Answerthis.com	Kasey Kahne	4	8.44
Adam Ansell	Roto Experts	Juan Pablo Montoya	10	11.31
Charles Rantz	ifantasyrace.com	Juan Pablo Montoya	10	12.75
Darren Fauth	Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet	Juan Pablo Montoya	10	11.94
Lou Lauer	USAR Fans	Marcos Ambrose	6	13.00
Ryan Rantz	On Pit Row	Juan Pablo Montoya	10	15.81
Eric McClung	On Pit Row	Marcos Ambrose	6	18.31
P J Walsh	FantasyNASCARPreview.com	Marcos Ambrose	6	10.94
Bob Ellis	NASCAR Ranting and Raving	Boris Said	8	13.31
Chris Leone	On Pit Row	Boris Said	8	20.50
Dan Beaver	Fantasy Racing Games	Mattias Ekstrom	21	10.56

NASCAR Fantasy Racing Preview: Toyota Save Mart 350 from Infineon Raceway

The road course at Infineon Raceway is the first of only two road courses on the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule. The second, Watkins Glen International, will take place six races after Sonoma. While drivers who are good at one track tend to perform well at the other, Infineon is the more technical of the two.

Chasing the pole at Infineon Raceway

1. Marcos Ambrose… Started third last year at Sonoma, fourth at Watkins Glen.
2. Kasey Kahne… Started fifth last year at Sonoma, won the pole in ‘08.
3. Ryan Newman… Average start of 7.2 over the last four starts at Sonoma.

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… Five-time winner (’06, ‘04, ‘00, ‘99, ‘98) at Sonoma. Last 15 starts: five wins, 10 Top Fives, 13 Top 10s. Y!-A1
2. Denny Hamlin… Finished a career-best fifth last year at Sonoma, led 33 laps. Y!-A2
3. Juan Pablo Montoya… Won ‘07 race at Sonoma, has never finished worse than sixth in three career starts. Y!-A3
4. Marcos Ambrose… Strong value play. Finished third last year at Sonoma. Y!-B1
5. Tony Stewart… Two-time winner (’05, ‘01) at Sonoma, average finish of 9.3 in 11 career starts. Y!-A4
6. Kyle Busch… Won ‘08 race at Sonoma, average running position of 15th or better in three of the last four starts.
7. Clint Bowyer… Strong value play. Average finish of 8.0 in four career starts at Sonoma, two Top Fives. Y!-B2
8. Carl Edwards… Average running position of 15th or better in four straight starts at Sonoma, two Top 10s.
9. Jimmie Johnson… Finished a career-best fourth last year at Sonoma.
10. Kurt Busch… Three Top 15s in the last five starts at Sonoma, two Top Fives.
11. Jeff Burton… Four Top 15s and three Top 10s over the last six starts at Sonoma. Y!-B3
12. Kasey Kahne… Won ‘09 race at Sonoma, first Top 20 at the site. Y!-B4
13. Ryan Newman… Average finish of 10.4 in eight career starts at Sonoma- two Top Fives, five Top 10s. Y!-B5
14. Greg Biffle… Average finish of 16.0 in seven career starts at Sonoma.
15. Kevin Harvick… Average running position of 14th or better in three of the last four races at Sonoma, runner-up in ‘07. Y!-B6
16. Jamie McMurray… Average finish of 17.4 in seven career starts at Sonoma. Average running position of 13th or better in four of the last five. Y!-B7
17. Elliott Sadler… Average finish of 15.3 in 11 career starts at Sonoma, finished 10th last year. Y!-B8
18. A.J. Allmendinger… Finished a career-best seventh last year at Sonoma, average running position of 26th. Y!-C1
19. Mattias Ekström… Strong value play. First career Cup start. Won ‘07, ‘04 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters championships. Y!-C2
20. Boris Said… Weak value play. Average finish of 20.6 in 10 career starts at Sonoma, four Top 10s. Y!-C3
21. Max Papis… Finished a career-best 12th last year at Sonoma. Y!-C4
22. Dale Earnhardt Jr…. Average finish of 21.4 in 10 career starts at Sonoma- no Top 10s, four Top 15s.
23. Matt Kenseth… Average finish of 21.4 in 10 career starts at Sonoma, three Top 15s.
24. Robby Gordon… Won ‘03 race at Sonoma, average running position of 19th in four straight starts.
25. Joey Logano… Started 12th, finished 19th in first career start at Sonoma. One career Top 10 in three Nationwide starts on road courses.
26. Brad Keselowski… First career Cup start at Sonoma. Average finish of 13.8 in six career Nationwide starts on road courses- one Top Five, four Top 10s.
27. Martin Truex Jr…. Average finish of 20.0 in four career starts at Sonoma.
28. Paul Menard… Average finish of 27.5 in two career starts at Sonoma. Average finish of 16.1 in seven Nationwide starts on road courses- two Top Fives, three Top 10s.
29. Scott Speed… Finished 37th last year at Sonoma, first career start at the site. Finished 10th in last year’s Nationwide race at Watkins Glen.
30. David Gilliland… Average finish of 22.8 in four career starts at Sonoma, runner-up in ‘08.
31. Mark Martin… Won ‘97 race at Sonoma, finished 35th last year, first start since ‘06.
32. David Ragan… Average running position of 19th last year at Sonoma, finished 33rd.
33. David Reutimann… Started 42nd in the last two races at Sonoma– DNF, 31st-place finish.
34. Travis Kvapil… Finished 22nd in ‘08 at Sonoma, no starts last year.
35. Michael Waltrip… Finished 25th at Sonoma in ‘08, did not start last year.
36. Sam Hornish Jr…. Average finish of 34.5 in two career starts at Sonoma.
37. P.J. Jones… DNF last year at Sonoma, average finish of 26.3 in nine career starts.
38. Brian Simo… Average finish of 32.8 in four career starts at Sonoma- two DNFs, one Top 10. DNQ last year.
39. Brandon Ash… Average finish of 40.0 in three career starts at Sonoma, two DNFs.
40. Regan Smith… Finished 30th in his only career start at Sonoma (’07).
41. Kevin Conway… First career starts at Sonoma.
42. Jan Magnussen… No career Cup starts, former CART and F1 driver. Possible start and park.
43. Bobby Labonte… Likely start and park.
44. Joe Nemechek… Likely start and park.
45. J.J. Yeley… Likely start and park.
46. Dave Blaney… Likely start and park

Contender or Pretender: Infineon Raceway

Juan Pablo Montoya (Contender) – Juan’s had his share of problems this year but he’s never had any difficulty getting around Infineon Raceway. In his three visits to this track he’s never finished worse than sixth. Infineon is also the site of Montoya’s lone win back in 2007. Only once in Montoya’s whole NASCAR career has he even finished outside the top six on a road course and that was because of a wreck.

Matt Kenseth (Pretender) – One basic fantasy racing rule of thumb about using Matt Kenseth is don’t use him on a road course. If you’re in an allocation league and you use Kenseth then you obviously don’t plan on winning. Matt Kenseth has openly said he hates these tracks and his numbers back it up. At Infineon Raceway Matt Kenseth has never cracked the top five and only once in his career has he finished in the top ten here.

Jeff Gordon (Contender) – Jeff Gordon’s been good all season long and at Infineon Raceway he has the longest active consecutive top ten streak in the series with four top tens in a row. His first top ten in this time period was a win for the 24 team. Jeff Gordon should be very confident this time around because he knows his car will have plenty of horse power under his hood from his seat time exchange with Marcos Ambrose recently.

Kasey Kahne (Pretender) – Last year’s Kasey Kahne win at Infineon was a complete surprise, probably even for Kahne. When you take away Kahne’s win last year he only has one finish that is better than 30th. Even with his win last year his average finish (26.7) is nearly the worst in the series. His average finish excluding his win is 31.8. Beyond a shadow of doubt I wouldn’t even consider Kasey Kahne this weekend.

Kurt Busch (Contender) – Kurt Busch is the best road course driver to never win a road course race. Last year he was very competitive running inside the top five until he had a run in with Jimmie Johnson. He rebounded from that and finished 15th. I expect Busch to be very competitive Sunday.

Jamie McMurray (Pretender) – Jamie McMurray is a good road course driver and has been in contention for the win on these tracks on multiple occasions. However at some point you need to check out the stats. In seven races he’s only finished in the top ten once. I’ll say it again that he’s a good road course driver but I don’t see him contending.

NASCAR Power Rankings: New Hampshire

Who's Up	Who's Down
Biggest Gain This Week: Kasey Kahne: 11th to 9th	Biggest Drop This Week: Mark Martin: 1st to 3rd
No new drivers this week.	No drivers dropped out this week.

Rank: 1st Tony Stewart #14 Last Week: 2 Change: +1 Driver Page | Articles

Tony Stewart- 1 Win, 12 Top Tens Stewart has had a consistent season to date, but I really think in time questions about how fast this team is on the track compared to their competition will surface. Consistency is good but it isn't always enough (Jeff Gordon 2007 Chase).

Rank: 2nd Jimmie Johnson #48 Last Week: 3 Change: +1 Driver Page | Articles

Jimmie Johnson- 2 Wins, 10 Top Tens Jimmie Johnson is driving like a man on a mission and people better stay out his way or their day will end like Kurt's at Infineon. This team is ready for the Chase to begin.

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

Mark Martin- 3 Wins, 8 Top Tens After a long day at Infineon Martin now remembers why he's skipped it the last 2 years. Did you know that Martin's never won at New Hampshire? It's true.

Rank: 4th Jeff Gordon #24 Last Week: 4 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Jeff Gordon- 1 Win, 11 Top Tens Jeff Gordon battled back from a pit road penalty and finished 9th at Infineon. This team needs to step up their game now and get some bonus points, and more importantly build up some momentum for the Chase.

Rank: 5th Carl Edwards #99 Last Week: 5 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Carl Edwards- 4 Top Fives, 8 Top Tens Carl Edwards is quietly creeping into the Championship picture and will be the top Ford once the Chase begins. Out of all the non-Chevy teams Edwards appears to be their main challenger.

Rank: 6th Ryan Newman #39 Last Week: 6 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Ryan Newman- 5 Top Fives, 8 Top Tens Here's a little bit of a Ryan Newman history lesson. What is Newman’s highest points position entering the Chase? The Answer is 10th and all of his previous Chase appearances only featured 10 cars.

Rank: 7th Kurt Busch #22 Last Week: 8 Change: +1 Driver Page | Articles

Kurt Busch- 1 Win, 8 Top Tens Kurt Busch had at top 5 car at Infineon until Jimmie Johnson was behind him. It almost reminded me of when Stewart used to teach "give and take" lessons. Except Johnson did it politely.

Rank: 8th Greg Biffle #16 Last Week: 7 Change: -1 Driver Page | Articles

Greg Biffle- 5 Top Fives, 8 Top Tens Greg Biffle will be happy to forget Infineon because New Hampshire is the site of one of Biffle's 2 wins in 2008. This team is really good and in time they will challenge for a top 5 spot overall.

Rank: 9th Kasey Kahne #4 Last Week: 11 Change: +2 Driver Page | Articles

Kasey Kahne- 1 Win, 5 Top Tens How neat was it to see the King in victory lane. Perhaps the most amazing thing was Kasey Kahne never even had a top ten at a road course until his win on Sunday.

Rank: 10th Denny Hamlin #11 Last Week: 12 Change: +2 Driver Page | Articles

Denny Hamlin- 4 Top Fives, 6 Top Tens Denny Hamlin had a nice day at Infineon and will look to build on his recent momentum at New Hampshire which is similar to Richmond and Phoenix were Denny's been successful in 2009.

Rank: 11th Kyle Busch #18 Last Week: 9 Change: -2 Driver Page | Articles

Kyle Busch- 3 Wins, 5 Top Tens In 2005 Jeff Gordon won 3 of the first nine races and missed the Chase. In 2009 Kyle Busch has won 3 of the first ten races. I'm not saying history will repeat itself but the 18 needs to find consistency again.

Rank: 12th Matt Kenseth #17 Last Week: 10 Change: -2 Driver Page | Articles

Matt Kenseth- 2 Wins, 6 Top Tens Matt Kenseth doesn't like road courses and his results typically show it. Over the last 3 races this team has been averaging a 19th place finish. At this point in the season that isn't good enough.

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