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NASCAR Fantasy Tool 2010 - Average Finish on Flat Tracks [Martinsville, Phoenix, Richmond]

This table is a companion for my NASCAR Fantasy Racing Preview of the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 from New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Below are 33 drivers of interest and their average finish this season in the three races held on flat tracks.

	MVIL	PHX	RICH	AVG
Jeff Gordon	3	2	2	2.3
Ryan Newman	4	1	8	4.3
Carl Edwards	8	7	5	6.7
Jimmie Johnson	9	3	10	7.3
Clint Bowyer	7	9	12	9.3
Joey Logano	2	10	16	9.3
Martin Truex, Jr.	5	17	7	9.7
Kyle Busch	22	8	1	10.3
Marcos Ambrose	11	11	9	10.3
Matt Kenseth	18	6	13	12.3
Brad Keselowski	12	16	14	14.0
Denny Hamlin	1	30	11	14.0
Juan Pablo Montoya	36	5	6	15.7
Jeff Burton	20	25	4	16.3
Mark Martin	21	4	25	16.7
Kevin Harvick	35	13	3	17.0
Greg Biffle	10	22	22	18.0
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	15	12	32	19.7
David Ragan	16	19	24	19.7
David Reutimann	28	20	15	21.0
Sam Hornish, Jr.	13	18	36	22.3
A.J. Allmendinger	38	15	17	23.3
Paul Menard	14	29	27	23.3
Tony Stewart	26	23	23	24.0
Jamie McMurray	30	24	19	24.3
Kurt Busch	23	35	18	25.3
Robby Gordon	34	14	28	25.3
Kasey Kahne	17	39	21	25.7
Regan Smith	32	26	30	29.3
Scott Speed	33	21	35	29.7
Elliott Sadler	24	31	38	31.0
Travis Kvapil	27	36	34	32.3
Kevin Conway	31	33	37	33.7

NASCAR Fantasy Racing Expert Darkhorse Picks: Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500

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	A J Allmendinger	38	21.67
James Jones	On Pit Row	Denny Hamlin	1	9.33
Josh Lobdell	FFToolbox	Juan Pablo Montoya	36	20.33
Dennis Mickelson	RaceTalkRadio.com	Mark Martin	21	11.00
Jon Rodgers	Gillette Young Guns Challenge Winner	Carl Edwards	8	13.17
Jerry Lagger Eric McGuire	One and Done Game Winner Free agent	Juan Pablo Montoya Jamie McMurray	36 30	11.17 9.67
Charlie Turner	On Pit Row	Denny Hamlin	1	8.00
Tall Glass of Milk	Answerthis.com	Denny Hamlin	1	8.17
Adam Ansell	Roto Experts	Denny Hamlin	1	9.33
Charles Rantz	ifantasyrace.com	Jamie McMurray	30	11.67
Darren Fauth	Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet	Denny Hamlin	1	9.67
Lou Lauer	USAR Fans	Mark Martin	21	13.00
Ryan Rantz	On Pit Row	Juan Pablo Montoya	36	17.50
Eric McClung	On Pit Row	Denny Hamlin	1	18.50
P J Walsh	FantasyNASCARPreview.com	Denny Hamlin	1	11.00
Bob Ellis	NASCAR Ranting and Raving	Mark Martin	21	17.83
Chris Leone	On Pit Row	Juan Pablo Montoya	36	25.33
Dan Beaver	Fantasy Racing Games	Denny Hamlin	1	13.00

NASCAR Fantasy Racing Experts Picks: Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500

Expert	Website	Pick to Win	Finish	Experts Avg
Josh Lobdell	FFToolbox	Jimmie Johnson	9	8.33
Jerry Lagger	One and Done Game Winner	Jimmie Johnson	9	10.00
Dennis Michelsen	RaceTalkRadio.com	Tony Stewart	26	16.83
Tall Glass of Milk	Answerthis.com	Dale Earnhardt Jr	15	14.83
Eric McClung	On Pit Row	Jimmie Johnson	9	14.67
Eric McGuire	free agent	Jimmie Johnson	9	15.33
Dan Beaver	Fantasy Racing Games	Jimmie Johnson	9	8.00
Matt Mercer	On Pit Row	Jeff Burton	20	18.00
Adam Ansell	Roto Experts	Jimmie Johnson	9	12.83
Chris Leone	On Pit Row	Jimmie Johnson	9	11.00
Bob Ellis	NASCAR Ranting and Raving	Jeff Gordon	3	11.83
CharlieTurner	On Pit Row	Jimmie Johnson	9	21.50
Lou Lauer	USAR Fans	Jimmie Johnson	9	14.67
Jon Rodgers	Gillette Young Guns Challenge Winner	Kyle Busch	22	13.00
Jay Busby	Yahoo! Sports	Jimmie Johnson	9	10.33
James Jones	On Pit Row	Jeff Gordon	3	10.00
Ryan Rantz	On Pit Row	Jimmie Johnson	9	10.33
Darren Fauth	Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet	Jimmie Johnson	9	16.17
P J Walsh	FantasyNASCARPreview.com	Jimmie Johnson	9	15.00
Charles Rantz	ifantasyrace.com	Jimmie Johnson	9	17.50

NASCAR Fantasy Racing Preview: Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500

The half-mile paperclip track known as Martinsville Speedway is among the most unique tracks in NASACAR. The long asphalt straightaways are twin dragstrips connected by concrete corners. There are very little options when it comes to sleepers for fantasy lineups. The elite drivers rarely disappoint and the list of decent options is thin.

Chasing the pole at Martinsville Speedway.

• Jeff Gordon… Has won the pole in the last two March races at Martinsville.
• Clint Bowyer… Has started in the Top Five in two of the last three races at Martinsville.
• Joey Logano… Won the pole at Bristol, started seventh in 10/09 race at Martinsville.

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. Jimmie Johnson… Six-time winner at Martinsville (3/09, 10/08, ‘07 sweep, 10/06, 10/04), nine straight Top Fives, 15 straight Top 10s– average finish of 5.1 in 16 career starts. Y!-A1
2. Jeff Gordon… Seven-time winner (’05, ‘03 sweeps, 10/99, 4/97, 9/96) at Martinsville, 10 straight Top Fives, 14 straight Top 10s. Y!-A2
3. Denny Hamlin… Two-time winner (10/09, 3/08) at Martinsville. Average finish of 7.2 in nine career starts, four straight Top Fives. Led 50.1 percent of the laps in ‘09. Y!-A3
4. Mark Martin… Two-time winner (4/00, 4/92) at Martinsville, average finish of 7.5 in ‘09 races. Y!-A4
5. Kevin Harvick… Average finish of 10.0 in the last four Martinsville races. Y!-B1
6. Tony Stewart… Two-time winner (4/06, 10/00) at Martinsville, average finish of 12.0 in 22 career starts at Martinsville– two Top 10s in ‘09.
7. Clint Bowyer… Average finish of 10.5 in the last six races at Martinsville. Y!-B2
8. Matt Kenseth… Two Top 10s in ‘07 Martinsville races, only two Top 15s in the four races since. Y!-B3
9. Dale Earnhardt Jr…. Three Top 10s in the last four races at Martinsville. Y!-B4
10. Jeff Burton… Won 9/97 race at Martinsville, average finish of 15.0 in ‘09. Y!-B5
11. Carl Edwards… Two Top 10s in ‘08 Martinsville races, 23.0 average finish in ‘09.
12. Greg Biffle… Average finish of 16.0 in ‘08 Martinsville races, 26.5 in ‘09.
13. Kurt Busch… Won 10/02 race at Martinsville, no Top 10s since ‘05– average finish of 23.1 in the eight races since.
14. Jamie McMurray… Three Top 10s in the last four Martinsville races. Y!-B6
15. Juan Pablo Montoya… Finished 12th and third last year at Martinsville.
16. Joey Logano… Finished 32nd and 12th last year at Martinsville. Y!-B7
17. Kyle Busch… Finished fourth in last year’s Oct race, 30.3 in the three prior.
18. Ryan Newman… Average finish of 21.0 in ‘08 Martinsville races, 6.5 in ‘09. Y!-B8
19. Brian Vickers… Average running position of 13th in both ‘09 Martinsville races.
20. David Reutimann… Started fifth, finished 16th at Martinsville in last year’s Oct race, led 18 laps– all career highs.
21. Kasey Kahne… Average finish of 23.5 at Martinsville since ‘07.
22. Brad Keselowski… No career Cup starts at Martinsville, four career Truck starts (’04-’07), two Top 20s.
23. Paul Menard… Average finish of 23.0 in five career starts at Martinsville. Y!-C1
24. A.J. Allmendinger… Finished ninth and 34th last year at Martinsville. Y!-C2
25. Marcos Ambrose… Finished 14th and 27th last year at Martinsville.
26. Scott Speed… Average finish of 33.3 in three career starts at Martinsville. Y!-C3
27. David Ragan… Average finish of 12.0 in ‘08 Martinsville races, 24.5 in ‘09.
28. Martin Truex Jr…. Average finish of 28.5 last year at Martinsville.
29. Elliott Sadler… Only one Top 20 at Martinsville since ‘08.
30. Bobby Labonte… Long shot value play. Won 4/02 race at Martinsville, Average finish of 14.5 in ‘09 races at Martinsville. Y!-C4
31. Travis Kvapil… Long shot value play. Average finish of 18.5 in ‘08 Martinsville races.
32. Sam Hornish Jr…. Average finish of 33.0 in four career starts at Martinsville.
33. Regan Smith… Finished 14th, 42nd in ‘08 Martinsville races.
34. Casey Mears… Average finish of 19.5 in ‘09 Martinsville races. Four DNQs this season.
35. Max Papis… No career Cup starts at Martinsville, average start of 12.5, finish of 17.0 in two Truck starts last year.
36. Mike Bliss… Average finish of 31.1 in nine career Cup starts, 11.8 in 11 Truck starts. DNQ last week.
37. Kevin Conway… No career Cup starts at Martinsville.
38. David Gilliland… Average finish of 37.5 in ‘09 Martinsville races.
39. Robby Gordon… Average finish of 40.0 in ‘08 Martinsville races, two DNFs last year.
40. Terry Cook… No career Cup starts at Martinsville. Average finish of 15.8 in 19 career Truck starts. Four DNQs this season.
41. Johnny Sauter… No Cup starts at Martinsville since ‘07, average finish of 22.0 in four career Truck starts.
42. Boris Said… No career Cup starts at Martinsville, finished 18th in 7/06 N’wide race, 27.5 in two Truck races.
43. Dave Blaney… Likely start and park.
44. Michael McDowell… Likely start and park.
45. Aric Almirola… Likely start and park. Two DNQs this season.
46. Joe Nemechek… Likely start and park.

Pretender Or Contender: Martinsville

Jimmie Johnson (Contender) - Bristol has traditionally been one of Jimmie Johnson’s weakest tracks, now that we have the rough part of his schedule completed now we’re heading to his best track. In his career Jimmie Johnson has only once finished outside the top 10 and that was back in 2002 when he made his first career start at NASCAR’s smallest track. In the last 7 races at Martinsville Jimmie Johnson has won an astounding 5 races (71 percent). Picking Jimmie Johnson at Martinsville is perhaps the safest pick you’ll make this season.

Kevin Harvick (Pretender) - In the last 2 races Kevin Harvick hasn’t even been close to being competitive. In my opinion if you race uncompetitively for a long enough duration of time bad luck is going to catch up with you. Martinsville is Kevin Harvick’s traditional worst short track and with the way he’s been running lately I wouldn’t bet on his chances. Recently at Martinsville Kevin Harvick has been about a tenth place car.

Juan Pablo Montoya (Contender) - I have no clue why people are always writing Montoya off. At Martinsville they’ll do it again and say his 3rd place finish at Martinsville last year was a fluke. Don’t question his short track ability. Last fall Montoya started 21st and drove his way up to a third place finish and led 37 laps.

Matt Kenseth (Pretender) - No matter how good Matt Kenseth is doing he’ll never be a contender at Martinsville. Over the years Roush cars have improved their performances at Martinsville but their still leaps and bounds away from challenging the regular Martinsville front runners.

Jamie McMurray (Contender) - McMurray’s not typically the first name that comes to peoples minds at Martinsville but throughout his career he’s been strong at NASCAR’s shortest track. In his career he has 9 career top tens in 14 starts at Martinsville. McMurray was a front runner with his previous stint with Ganassi and even more remarkably he was consistently good in a Roush car.

Kurt Busch (Pretender) - Kurt won here in 2002, but that is his only one bright spot. Over the course of his career he has a 21.5 average finish. The last time Kurt even finished in the top 10 at Bristol was way back in 2005. Since then his average finish has been 23rd.

2009 Average Finish at Flat Tracks - Martinsville, Phoenix, Richmond, New Hampshire

This table is a companion for my NASCAR Fantasy Racing Preview of the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Below are 24 drivers of fantasy interest and their average finish this season at four flat tracks: Martinsville Speedway, Phoenix, Richmond International Raceway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

The four flat tracks vary in length but do feature similar banking. Over the last nine races this season, three have been on flat tracks: Richmond is a little shorter (0.75 miles) and banked 14 degrees; New Hampshire is a little longer (1.06 miles) and most recently, Martinsville which is much shorter (0.53 miles) both are banked 12 degrees. Phoenix is 1.00 miles and banked 11 degrees and held its first race in April, the eighth race of the season.

	MVILLE 1	PHX	Rich 1	NH 1	RICH 2	NH 2	MVILLE2	AVG
Mark Martin	7	1	5	14	4	1	8	5.7
Denny Hamlin	2	6	14	15	1	2	1	5.9
Tony Stewart	3	2	2	5	17	14	9	7.4
Kurt Busch	18	3	12	3	2	6	17	8.7
Jeff Gordon	4	25	8	2	3	15	5	8.9
Kyle Busch	24	17	1	7	5	5	4	9
Jimmie Johnson	1	4	36	9	11	4	2	9.6
Ryan Newman	6	16	4	29	10	7	7	11.3
Juan Pablo Montoya	12	24	10	12	19	3	3	11.9
Clint Bowyer	5	26	18	20	6	10	19	14.9
David Reutimann	20	8	28	4	20	12	16	15.4
Jamie McMurray	10	11	7	33	27	18	6	16.0
Jeff Burton	15	15	3	31	18	16	15	16.1
Greg Biffle	28	5	17	18	13	9	25	16.4
Joey Lagano	32	21	19	1	14	21	12	17.1
Casey Mears	21	20	9	11	30	13	18	17.4
Brian Vickers	33	19	15	35	7	11	11	18.7
Marcos Ambrose	14	14	11	23	22	20	27	18.7
Carl Edwards	26	10	26	19	15	17	20	19.0
Sam Hornish, Jr.	34	9	6	8	8	37	36	19.7
Matt Kenseth	23	27	13	22	25	23	14	21.0
Kasey Kahne	19	13	29	10	12	38	32	21.9
Kevin Harvick	11	30	34	34	9	32	10	22.9
Dale Earnhardt Jr.	8	31	27	13	21	35	29	23.4

NASCAR Power Rankings: Chase Edition Week 7

Martinsville

Who's Up	Who's Down
Biggest Gain This Week: Ryan Newman: 10th to 8th	Biggest Drop This Week: Kasey Kahne: 7th to 9th
No new drivers this week.	No drivers dropped out this week.

Rank: 1st Jimmie Johnson #48 Last Week: 1 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Jimmie Johnson- 6 Wins, 21 Top Tens Johnson will race so conservatively at Talladega that I personally wouldn't be surprised if he settles for a 15th place finish. Last year he drove the most conservative race that I ever seen out of the 48.

Rank: 2nd Jeff Gordon #24 Last Week: 2 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Jeff Gordon- 1 Win, 23 Top Tens Gordon now sits 150 points out of the lead so he needs maximum points every race just to even put himself in a position to gain on the 48. I think Gordon will beat Johnson at two of the last four races, but that won't be enough.

Rank: 3rd Juan Pablo Montoya #42 Last Week: 4 Change: +1 Driver Page | Articles

Juan Pablo Montoya - 7 Top Fives, 17 Top Tens Another week, another good finish. I'm amazed that they've had so many good races in the Chase and yet somehow they're 200 points back. If he didn't have problems at Lowes then he would be within 100 points .

Rank: 4th Mark Martin #5 Last Week: 3 Change: -1 Driver Page | Articles

Mark Martin - 5 Wins, 19 Top Tens According to Martin after Talladega is when we'll first be able to hear about how he views his Championship hopes. Mark has only raced here once since 2006, and that didn't turn out so good.

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

Tony Stewart - 4 Wins, 22 Top Tens It's not mathematically official yet but in my opinion it's over for the 14. Stewart may be able to make up a considerable amount of points on the 48 at Talladega, but I think he'll lose them at Texas and Phoenix.

Rank: 6th Kurt Busch #2 Last Week: 5 Change: -1 Driver Page | Articles

Kurt Busch - 1 Win, 18 Top Tens Statistically speaking Kurt Busch is the top driver in the series at Talladega. He's never won here, but he does have an knack for finishing races at Talladega.

Rank: 7th Denny Hamlin #11 Last Week: 8 Change: +1 Driver Page | Articles

Denny Hamlin - 3 Wins, 17 Top Tens On Sunday Hamlin captured his second career win at Martinsville and his third of the season. Now the question in my mind is when will Hamlin win at a track that isn't either flat or short?

Rank: 8th Ryan Newman #39 Last Week: 10 Change: +2 Driver Page | Articles

Ryan Newman - 5 Top Fives, 15 Top Tens Ryan Newman collected his second pole of the season at Martinsville and he also tied his Chase best finish of 7th. Newman is also currently 7th in points.

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

Kasey Kahne - 2 Wins, 13 Top Tens One of my Talladega rules of thumb is that if your in a bad streaking heading into Talladega don't expect to get spared from the big one. In 11 races at Talladega Kahne only has 1 top ten finish.

Rank: 10th Greg Biffle #16 Last Week: 9 Change: -1 Driver Page | Articles

Greg Biffle - 9 Top Fives, 14 Top Tens Greg Biffle says that he doesn't like Martinsville and he went out there and proved it. I sure would love to hear thoughts on Talladega where in 13 races he only has 1 top ten and 5 DNF's.

Rank: 11th Carl Edwards #99 Last Week: 11 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Carl Edwards - 7 Top Fives, 13 Top Tens Carl Edwards had a little better day going for him then his final finish position shows. It wasn't to much better though. This team can't wait until the season is over. I expect them to be really good in 2010, but this year is a complete flop.

Rank: 12th Brian Vickers #83 Last Week: 12 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Brian Vickers - 1 Win, 13 Top Tens With his 11th place finish at Martinsville Vickers tied his 2008 last ten races best finish (also at Martinsville). History doesn't repeat itself though because the 83 team wasn't caught cheating this year.

NASCAR Fantasy Experts Picks: Tums Fast Relief 500 from Martinsville

Expert	Website	Pick to Win	Finish	Experts Avg
Ryan Rantz	On Pit Row	Jimmie Johnson	2	7.35
James Jones	On Pit Row	Jeff Gordon	5	7.84
Mike Harmon	FOX Sports	Jimmie Johnson	2	9.84
Dennis Michelsen	RaceTalkRadio.com	Jimmie Johnson	2	10.03
Roger Rotter	FOX Sports	Jimmie Johnson	2	10.13
Gerritt Ritt	FOX Sports	Kurt Busch	17	10.16
Yahoo Users	Yahoo! Sports	Jimmie Johnson	2	10.23
Cheryl Lauer	Speed Couch	Jeff Gordon	5	10.68
Eric Brewer		Jeff Gordon	5	11.42
Darren Fauth	Fantasy NASCAR Names	Jimmie Johnson	2	11.65
Lou Lauer	USAR Fans	Jimmie Johnson	2	11.81
Eric McClung	On Pit Row	Jeff Gordon	5	11.87
Charlie Turner	On Pit Row	Jimmie Johnson	2	12.06
P J Walsh	FantasyNASCARPreview.com	Jeff Gordon	5	12.52
Eric McGuire	FFToolbox	Jimmie Johnson	2	13.10
Bob Ellis	NASCAR Ranting and Raving	Jimmie Johnson	2	15.77
Jon Rodgers	Gillette Young Guns Challenge Winner	Kyle Busch	4	18.52

NASCAR Fantasy Racing Preview: Tums Fast Relief 500

The fantasy strategy at Martinsville is simple: start drivers who are great at Martinsville. Unlike a lot of other tracks, the numbers do not lie at Martinsville. The same guys tend to get to the front– and stay there. Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin all have career average finishes of 8.0 or better. Tony Stewart, Juan Pablo Montoya, Clint Bowyer, Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. are all between 12.1 and 13.3.

There are other short tracks on the schedule but none are close to Martinsville’s unique paper clip shape. New Hampshire Motor Speedway is essentially a bigger version of Martinsville and braking is key at both venues. New Hampshire held its second race to open the Chase.

One interesting loop data statistic from the March race at Martinsville is the number of drivers who were in the top-15 during all 500 laps; there were a total of five (Hamlin, Stewart, Gordon, Bowyer and Kevin Harvick). In 2008, only three total drivers accomplished this in either of the two races: David Ragan in March; Johnson and Carl Edwards in October.

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.

1. Jimmie Johnson… Six-time winner at Martinsville. 11 top-fives, 14 top-10 finishes in 15 career starts. Lead an average of 173.7 laps per race and won five of the last seven Martinsville races. Won the March race. Y!-A1
2. Jeff Gordon… Strong qualifier at Martinsville, won three of the last four poles. Seven-time winner (’05 sweep, ‘03 sweep, ‘99, ‘97, ‘96. Finished fourth in the March race. Top-five finishes in nine straight Martinsville races, lead an average of 100.6 laps in each. Y!-A2
3. Tony Stewart… Two-time winner (’06, ‘00). Better in March: ‘08 fifth/26th -place finishes; ‘07 seventh/13th-place finishes. Finished third in the March race. Y!-B1
4. Mark Martin… Two-time winner at Martinsville (’00, ‘92) Finished seventh in the March race, first start since ‘06. Y!-A3
5. Denny Hamlin… Won last year’s March race at Martinsville. Runner-up in this year’s March race, led 296 laps. Average finish of 3.2 over the last six Martinsville races. Y!-B2
6. Clint Bowyer… Good qualifier at Martinsville, started in the top-five two of the last three races. Average finish of 8.8 since 2007. Started third, finished fifth at Martinsville in March- both career-bests. Y!-A4
7. Juan Pablo Montoya… Average finish of 12.6 over five career starts at Martinsville. Finished 12th in the March race. Y!-B3
8. Kevin Harvick… Average finish of 10.0 over the last four races at Martinsville. Finished 11th in the March race.
9. Ryan Newman… Finished sixth in the March race at Martinsville, average running position of 16th. Average finish of 21.0 in ‘08 races, 8.0 in ‘07. Y!-B4
10. Kurt Busch… Won at Martinsville in ‘02 but only two top-10 finishes since. Average finish of 24.0 since ‘06. Finished 18th in the March race, average running position of ninth. Y!-B5
11. Matt Kenseth… Finished 23rd at March race at Martinsville. Finished 30th and eighth last year, 7.5 average in ‘07.
12. Kyle Busch… Three top-five finishes in his first six career starts at Martinsville- average finish of 30.3 in the last three.
13. Kasey Kahne… Finished 19th in the March race at Martinsville. Last top-10 in ‘06, average finish of 21.8 since. Y!-B6
14. Marcos Ambrose… Started 24th, finished 14th in the March race, first career start at Martinsville. Y!-C1
15. Jeff Burton… Won at Martinsville in ‘97. Average finish of 10.6 since ‘07. Finished 15th in the March race.
16. Dale Earnhardt Jr…. Five finishes of eighth or better over the last seven races at Martinsville. Runner-up last year, finished eighth in the March race. Y!-B7
17. Casey Mears… Strong value play. Only two career top-10 finishes at Martinsville, two were in 2008. Finished 21st in the March race. Y!-B8
18. David Reutimann… Finished 20th in the March race at Martinsville but had an average running position of 11th; has never finished better than 17th.
19. Greg Biffle… Average finish of 20.0 over the last three Martinsville races. Finished 28th in the March race.
20. Carl Edwards… Good qualifier at Martinsville. Started fourth, finished third last year. Started fifth in March, finished 26th- average running position of 18th.
21. Brian Vickers… Finished 33rd at March race at Martinsville, average running position of 13th. Average finish of 17.0 in ‘08 races, no starts in ‘07.
22. AJ Allmendinger… Strong value play. Finished 15th at last year’s Martinsville October race, ninth in the March race this season. Y!-C2
23. Joey Logano… Started 34th, finished 32nd in the March race, first career start at Martinsville.
24. Martin Truex Jr…. One top-10 in seven career starts at Martinsville, 23.3 average finish.
25. Jamie McMurray… Weak value play. Two top-10 finishes in his last three starts at Martinsville. Finished 10th in the March race.
26. Paul Menard… Average finish of 23.0 in four career starts at Martinsville.
27. David Ragan… Finished 11th and 13th at Martinsville last year, 27th in the March race.
28. Michael Waltrip… Long shot value play. Finished 13th in the March race at Martinsville, 18th in last two October races.
29. Reed Sorenson… Finished 36th and 35th at Martinsville last year, 17th in the March race. Y!-C3
30. David Stremme… Started and finished 22nd in the March race at Martinsville.
31. Elliott Sadler… Average finish of 39.6 in his last three October races at Martinsville. Finished 31st in the March race.
32. Bobby Labonte… Won in ‘02. Finished 16th in the March race at Martinsville, 31.8 average finish in ‘07, ‘08 starts. Y!-C4
33. Scott Speed… Average finish of 34.5 in two career starts at Martinsville.
34. Sam Hornish Jr…. Has finished 34th in his last two starts at Martinsville.
35. Robby Gordon… Has finished 34th or worse in eight straight starts at Martinsville.
36. Travis Kvapil… Long shot value play. Average finish of 18.5 in ‘08 races at Martinsville.
37. John Andretti… Won in ‘99. Finished 35th in the March race at Martinsville, 33rd in ‘07.
38. David Gilliland… Average finish of 30.7 in six career starts at Martinsville.
39. Michael McDowell… Started 34th, finished 26th in last year’s March Martinsville race- first ever Cup start.
40. Joe Nemechek… Likely start and park. DNFs in two straight starts at Martinsville.
41. Sterling Marlin… Likely start and park. Failed to qualify in last year’s October Martinsville race.
42. Dave Blaney… DNFs in two of the last three races at Martinsville.
43. Mike Wallace… No starts at Martinsville since ‘05.
44. Derrike Cope… No starts at Martinsville since ‘05.

NASCAR Power Rankings: Chase Edition Week 6

Charlotte

Who's Up	Who's Down
Biggest Gain This Week: Kasey Kahne: 10th to 7th	Biggest Drop This Week: Carl Edwards: 9th to 11th
No new drivers this week.	No drivers dropped out this week.

Rank: 1st Jimmie Johnson #48 Last Week: 1 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Jimmie Johnson- 6 Wins, 20 Top Tens All of Jimmie Johnson's biggest competitors fell wayside at Lowes and the 48 team capitalized on the situation with a win. The only team that can beat the 48 team right now is themselves.

Rank: 2nd Jeff Gordon #24 Last Week: 4 Change: +2 Driver Page | Articles

Jeff Gordon- 1 Win, 22 Top Tens Performance/ Schedule wise I believe that my pre-Chase championship pick is the only team that has anything for the 48 right now. He'll need a little bit of help to catch up, but when it he does the 48 will be in trouble.

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

Mark Martin- 5 Wins, 18 Top Tens If your a Mark Martin fan then you knew the bubble would burst somehow. I'm not saying that he's out of it yet, but the remaining races in my opinion give the others drivers an edge over the 5 team.

Rank: 4th Juan Pablo Montoya #42 Last Week: 3 Change: -1 Driver Page | Articles

Juan Pablo Montoya- 6 Top Fives, 16 Top Tens Juan Pablo Montoya arguably had the fastest car at Lowes until his COT tank didn't hold up very well to the damage. Montoya now sits 6th in the points 195 points out of the lead.

Rank: 5th Kurt Busch #2 Last Week: 5 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Kurt Busch- 1 Win, 18 Top Tens Lowes was a tough track on the Chase drivers and only 4 of them finished in the top ten. Kurt luckily was one of them, but don't expect Martinsville to be an easy task for this team.

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

Tony Stewart- 4 Wins, 21 Top Tens Martinsville and Talledega are "do or die" races for this team. If Stewart doesn't finish in the top 5 in both of these races and gain ground on Johnson then his Chase chances are effectively zero.

Rank: 7th Kasey Kahne #9 Last Week: 10 Change: +3 Driver Page | Articles

Kasey Kahne- 2 Wins, 13 Top Tens If Kasey Kahne didn't have problems on the race restarts then the 9 might very well have been the car in victory lane. I expect Kahne to move up to about 7th in the points this season before his points progression stops.

Rank: 8th Denny Hamlin #11 Last Week: 7 Change: -1 Driver Page | Articles

Denny Hamlin- 2 Wins, 16 Top Tens Hamlin had another good run but now he's back to 11th in the point standings. If you take away Hamlin's rookie Chase appearance then I believe Hamlin almost has to fall into people's conversations of who's the biggest choke in the Chase.

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

Greg Biffle- 9 Top Fives, 14 Top Tens Somehow Greg Biffle has managed to score the 8th most points in the series over the last 6 races. At Martinsville I expect this team to have a rough day. Roush cars usually always struggle at this track.

Rank: 10th Ryan Newman #39 Last Week: 11 Change: +1 Driver Page | Articles

Ryan Newman- 5 Top Fives, 14 Top Tens If Newman's going to win a race this year then I believe it will have to happen either here at Martinsivlle or Talledega. These are both "skill tracks" which Newman has excelled at this year.

Rank: 11th Carl Edwards #99 Last Week: 9 Change: -2 Driver Page | Articles

Carl Edwards- 7 Top Fives, 13 Top Tens It's shocking how uncompetitive Carl's been in the Chase. Last year Edwards was a challenger all the way until the end and this year they're not even close to being competitive.

Rank: 12th Brian Vickers #83 Last Week: 12 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Brian Vickers- 1 Win, 13 Top Tens Jimmie Johnson isn't the only driver who's on the verge of making history this year. Vickers is on pace to easily surpass Hamlin's 2007 Chase record of finishing 580 points behind the champion. Vickers currently is 485 points behind.

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