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NASCAR Fantasy Tool: 2009 Average Finish at Fontana and Michigan [2.0 mile, D-shaped ovals]

This table show the average finish of 43 drivers in the four races at Auto Club Speedway and Michigan International Speedway during the 2009 season.

	CA1	MI1	MI2	CA2	AVERAGE
Jeff Gordon	2	2	2	2	2.0
Carl Edwards	7	4	4	6	5.3
Tony Stewart	8	7	17	5	9.3
Juan Pablo Montoya	11	6	19	3	9.8
Clint Bowyer	19	10	8	9	11.5
Matt Kenseth	1	20	14	13	12.0
Brian Vickers	10	9	1	29	12.3
Greg Biffle	4	5	20	20	12.3
Denny Hamlin	6	3	10	37	14.0
Kurt Busch	5	8	36	8	14.3
David Reutimann	14	19	9	18	15.0
Kyle Busch	3	13	23	24	15.8
Bill Elliott		16	16		16.0
Casey Mears	24	24	6	11	16.3
Jimmie Johnson	9	22	33	1	16.3
David Ragan	17	15	30	7	17.3
Sam Hornish, Jr.	23	29	5	12	17.3
Joey Logano	26	25	7	14	18.0
Travis Kvapil	18				18.0
Mark Martin	40	1	31	4	19.0
Kasey Kahne	12	21	11	34	19.5
Kevin Harvick	38	18	12	10	19.5
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	39	14	3	25	20.3
Ryan Newman	28	23	15	15	20.3
Elliott Sadler	25	12	25	32	23.5
Jamie McMurray	16	11	32	36	23.8
Brad Keselowski			24		24.0
Jeff Burton	32	26	18	30	26.5
Martin Truex, Jr.	27	36	21	22	26.5
Marcos Ambrose	22	31	35	23	27.8
Regan Smith				28	28.0
Bobby Labonte	20	28	43	26	29.3
Robby Gordon	30	17	37	38	30.5
A.J. Allmendinger	29	39	22	33	30.8
Paul Menard	37	34	26	27	31.0
Scott Speed	41	37	34	21	33.3
Aric Almirola	35				35.0
Max Papis		35		35	35.0
David Gilliland	33	32	40	42	36.8
Michael McDowell				40	40.0
Mike Bliss			38	43	40.5
Joe Nemechek	43	42	39	39	40.8
Dave Blaney	42	40	42	41	41.3

More NASCAR Wives, Girlfriends and Pit Babes

Here are some of the best pictures of NASCAR driver’s wives and girlfriends from the 2009 NASCAR season. Most of these pictures of the ladies of NASCAR were shot at Michigan International Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway by our own BethAnne Heisler. We could use a little help identifying some of these NASCAR beauties. Please leave a comment if you recognize anyone.

NASCAR Fantasy Tool: 2009 Average Finish at Similar Tracks [Auto Club Speedway and Michigan International Speedway]

This table is a companion for my NASCAR Fantasy Racing Preview of the Pepsi 500 at Auto Club Speedway.  Below you can check the results and average finish for the 26 most fantasy-relevant drivers. The first race at Fontana was the second race of the season, MIS held events in June and August.

The track at Fontana, California is a two-mile, low-banked, D-shaped oval which is configured very similarly to Michigan International Speedway.

When looking at this table keep in mind that Jimmie Johnson ran out of fuel at the both races at MIS. Johnson recorded the best average running position among all drivers and was leading at the halfway mark at both races. Johnson also led the most laps at both events.

Mark Martin also ran out of fuel in the August MIS race. Martin was running second midway through and ran fourth, on the average during the race.

Also see my 2009 Average Finish at Chase Tracks Table which is very useful for planning your lineup for the rest of the season.

	Fontana	MIS 1	MIS 2	AVERAGE
Jeff Gordon	2	2	2	2.0
Carl Edwards	7	4	4	5.0
Denny Hamlin	6	3	10	6.3
Brian Vickers	10	9	1	6.7
Greg Biffle	4	5	20	9.7
Tony Stewart	8	7	17	10.7
Matt Kenseth	1	20	14	11.7
Juan Pablo Montoya	11	6	19	12.0
Clint Bowyer	19	10	8	12.3
Kyle Busch	3	13	23	13.0
David Reutimann	14	19	9	14.0
Kasey Kahne	12	21	11	14.7
Kurt Busch	5	8	36	16.3
Casey Mears	24	24	6	18.0
Dale Earnhardt Jr.	39	14	3	18.7
Sam Hornish Jr.	23	29	5	19.0
Joey Logano	26	25	7	19.3
Jamie McMurray	16	11	32	19.7
Jimmie Johnson*	9	22	33	21.3
Ryan Newman	28	23	15	22.0
Kevin Harvick	38	18	12	22.7
Mark Martin*	40	1	31	24.0
Jeff Burton	32	26	18	25.3
Martin Truex Jr.	27	36	21	28.0
Marcos Ambrose	22	31	35	29.3
AJ Allmendinger	29	39	22	30.0

NASCAR Power Rankings: Bristol 2

Michigan

Who's Up	Who's Down
Biggest Gain This Week: Jeff Gordon: 5th to 3rd	Biggest Drop This Week: Tony Stewart: 1st to 2nd
New This Week: Matt Kenseth	Dropped Out This Week:

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

Jimmie Johnson- 3 Wins, 14 Top Tens Power Rankings aren't point standings and as I've said many times before the 48 is simply the best team right now. Bristol has been a historical weak spot for the 48 team but they finished third in the spring race earlier this year.

Rank: 2nd Tony Stewart #14 Last Week: 1 Change: -1 Driver Page | Articles

Tony Stewart- 3 Wins, 18 Top Tens The 2009 Championship will be won at the Intermediate tracks in the Chase. California which is new to the Chase for 2009 is Michigan's sister track so there should be some concern in the 14 camp after their recent performance.

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

Jeff Gordon- 1 Win, 16 Top Tens With a second place finish at Michigan Jeff Gordon moved up to second in the point standings. Will Gordon go for win #6 at Bristol or will he play it safe because of his back issues? I think he'll go for the win. Playing it safe here never works.

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

Mark Martin- 4 Wins, 11 Top Tens The 5 team made a huge fuel mileage mistake at Michigan and now the Chase chances for the veteran have been reduced. Martin is a very capable driver but you have to remember he's also very unlucky.

Rank: 5th Kurt Busch #2 Last Week: 4 Change: -1 Driver Page | Articles

Kurt Busch- 1 Win, 12 Top Tens Not to many drivers had a bad day at Michigan but unfortunately Kurt Busch was not one of them. Bristol is a good track for Kurt but remember many things have changed since his glory days there (Track & Car).

Rank: 6th Carl Edwards #99 Last Week: 8 Change: +2 Driver Page | Articles

Carl Edwards- 7 Top Fives, 11 Top Tens Carl Edwards finished 4th at Michigan but once again the Roush Fords have proven to be uncompetitive for the most part against their opposition.

Rank: 7th Juan Pablo Montoya #42 Last Week: 6 Change: -1 Driver Page | Articles

Juan Pablo Montoya- 1 Top Five, 11 Top Tens Montoya ran in the top 13 for nearly 70 percent of the race at Michigan until the 42 had a cut tire. The 42 lost some points to drivers outside the Chase but I think they are a pretty safe bet to make the Chase.

Rank: 8th Kasey Kahne #9 Last Week: 7 Change: -1 Driver Page | Articles

Kasey Kahne- 1 Win, 9 Top Tens The 9 car really underperformed at Michigan. I thought Kahne would be a contender for the win but instead he started in the back and finished 11th. They really needed a top 5 points day.

Rank: 9th Brian Vickers #83 Last Week: 10 Change: +1 Driver Page | Articles

Brian Vickers- 1 Win, 11 Top Tens As I said last week the 83 needed to capitalize at Michigan. The Chase scenario for Vickers is basically don't lose to may points at Bristol, get a good finish at Atlanta, and then race like Mayfield did at Richmond in 2004.

Rank: 10th Denny Hamlin #11 Last Week: 9 Change: -1 Driver Page | Articles

Denny Hamlin- 1 Win, 11 Top Tens Over the last six races Hamlin has accumulated the 3rd most points. Building momentum at this point in the season is vital for any drivers championship aspirations.

Rank: 11th Clint Bowyer #33 Last Week: 11 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Clint Bowyer- 4 Top Fives, 10 Top Tens RCR's only hope is looking better and better all the time. Out of the drivers currently outside the Chase now I'm starting to lean towards Bowyer having the best shot of making the playoffs.

Rank: 12th Matt Kenseth #17 Last Week: NR Change: N/A Driver Page | Articles

Matt Kenseth- 2 Wins, 8 Top Tens The 17 had a good day at Michigan but they dropped off late and lost several positions in the closing laps. Matt really needs a good weekend at Bristol if he hopes to make the Chase.

NASCAR Fantasy Experts Picks: Carfax 400 at Michigan

Expert	Website	Pick to Win	Finish	Experts Avg
James Jones	On Pit Row	Tony Stewart	17	7.59
Ryan Rantz	On Pit Row	Carl Edwards	4	8.36
Dennis Michelson	RaceTalkRadio.com	Greg Biffle	20	10.32
Cheryl Lauer	Speed Couch	Mark Martin	31	10.36
Yahoo Users	Yahoo! Sports	Jimmie Johnson	33	10.68
Roger Rotter	FOX Sports	Carl Edwards	4	10.82
Mike Harmon	FOX Sports	Kurt Busch	36	11.36
Gerrit Ritt	FOX Sports	Carl Edwards	4	11.68
Lou Lauer	USAR Fans	Carl Edwards	4	12.36
Eric Brewer		Tony Stewart	17	13.09
Darren Fauth	Fantasy NASCAR Names	Greg Biffle	20	13.82
Charlie Turner	On Pit Row	Greg Biffle	20	14.23
P J Walsh	FantasyNASCARPreview.com	Greg Biffle	20	14.59
Eric McClung	On Pit Row	Carl Edwards	4	15.14
Bob Ellis	NASCAR Ranting and Raving	Jimmie Johnson	33	15.45
Eric McGuire	FFToolbox	Jimmie Johnson	33	16.45
Jon Rodgers	Gillette Young Guns Challenge Winner	Brian Vickers	1	17.41

NASCAR Fantasy Racing Preview: Carfax 400 from Michigan Speedway

Greetings On Pit Row readers.

Seven races have passed since the Sprint Cup series drivers have visited Michigan International Speedway. There has been one other cookie-cutterish track in that stretch, Chicagoland Speedway. But in terms of the most similar track on the schedule, and for the purposes of this week’s preview, we’ll be looking at the results from April’s race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Historically, Roush-Fenway have done very well at MIS. As I mentioned on this week’s On Pit Row, I have Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle top-four fantasy options despite their inconsistencies– I’ll even give David Ragan a shot this week.

Don’t sleep on Bill Elliott, who I like as a long shot in salary cap formats. Back in June he started 15th and finished 16th at MIS, where he owns seven career wins. Elliott has qualified 15th or better in his last four attempts; his average finish is 21.5 in those races– not bad for the major lineup flexibility his budget price tag opens up.

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.
• Strong qualifier - History of winning poles or qualifying inside the top-five.
• Good qualifier - History of qualifying inside the top-10.
• Value play - Good recent history at this week’s track. Drivers to consider as low-rent salary cap options or alternative options in allocation formats.
• Risky play - Good overall history at this week’s track but poor recent finishes.

Good luck this week and please leave your comments below! Download a printer-friendly version here.

1. Tony Stewart… Has finished 12th or better in six consecutive races at Michigan. Also finished 12th or better in 12 of the last 14 races, including seven top-five finishes in that span. Won in ‘00. Finished seventh in June, fourth at Texas. Y!-B1
2. Jimmie Johnson… Strong qualifier. Average start of 4.6 over the last seven races. Has led laps in five straight races, average finish of 13.4 in that span. Dominated in June, leading 146 of 200 laps but finished 22nd after running out of fuel on the final lap. Runner-up at Texas. Y!-A1
3. Carl Edwards… Nine top-10 finishes in 10 career starts, laps led in seven. Finished fourth in June. Won last year, ‘07. Finished 10th at Texas. Y!-A2
4. Greg Biffle… Wins in ‘04, ‘05. Led 42 laps, finished fifth in June after running out of fuel while leading the last lap. Finished fourth last year. Finished third at Texas. Y!-A3
5. Jeff Gordon… Four top-10 finishes over the last seven races. Runner-up in June. Won in ‘01, ‘98. Won at Texas, started second. Y!-A4
6. Mark Martin… Won in June after Johnson and Biffle ran out of fuel on the last lap, his first Michigan win since ‘98 and fifth overall. Finished sixth last year, snapping a streak of three finishes outside the top-20. Finished sixth at Texas.
7. Juan Pablo Montoya… Career-best starting position (seventh) and finishing result (sixth) in June, had never finished better than 25th. Finished seventh at Texas. Y!-B2
8. Denny Hamlin… Average finish of 9.5, not counting last year’s DNF. Finished a career-best third in June, 12th at Texas. Y!-B3
9. Brian Vickers… Strong qualifier. Has won the pole in two straight. Last four races: four top-10 finishes, led laps in three, average finish of 7.0. Finished ninth in June, 16th at Texas. Y!-B4
10. Kurt Busch… Only two top-10 finishes over the last six races: eighth-place finish in June, ‘07 win. Also won in ‘03. Finished eighth at Texas. Y!-B5
11. Matt Kenseth… Owns six top-five finishes over the last nine races, one win (’06). Also won in ‘02. Finished 20th in June, snapping a streak of three consecutive top-five finishes. Started third, finished fifth at Texas.
12. Kyle Busch… Strong qualifier. Average start of 4.4 over the last five races, average finish of 9.4 in that span- finished 13th or better in each. Has led laps in three straight. Finished 13th in June, 18th at Texas.
13. Kasey Kahne… Risky play. Has five top-five finishes in 11 career starts but average finish of 28.5 in the other six races. Won from the pole in ‘06. Finished 21st in June, 19th at Texas. Y!-B6
14. Ryan Newman… Risky play. Win in ‘03, ‘04 but average finish of 22.0 in the 10 races since, no top-10 finishes. Finished 23rd in June, 15th at Texas. Y!-B7
15. Jeff Burton… Last 13 races: nine top-15 finishes, zero top-10s. Finished ninth at Texas.
16. David Reutimann… Last two races: 5.5 average start, 16.5 average finish. Won the pole at Texas, led 40 laps, finished 11th. Y!-B8
17. Clint Bowyer… Career-best 10th-place finish in June. Average finish of 25.2 in six other career finishes. Finished 22nd at Texas.
18. Kevin Harvick… Strong value play. Finished 18th in June, snapping a streak of six straight top-15 finishes. Average finish of 11.6 over last seven races.
19. David Ragan… Strong value play. Five career starts: 13.0 career average, gained track position in each. Finished 15th in June. Started fourth, DNF at Texas (engine).
20. Dale Earnhardt Jr…. Finished 14th in June but snapped a streak of seven races with at least one lap led. Finished 23rd and won in ‘08.
21. Joey Logano… Started 24th, finished 25th in June, first career start at Michigan. Started sixth, finished seventh in last year’s Nationwide race. Started 10th, finished 30th at Texas.
22. Jamie McMurray… Weak value play. Last five races: four top-11 finishes- 10th or 11th in three straight.
23. Elliott Sadler… Weak value play. Has finished 12th or better in three straight. Average finish of 10.0 in that span. Odd stat over the last five years: average qualifying position of 4.8 in August races, 28.2 in June.
24. Casey Mears… Started 37th, finished 24 in June. Average finish of 24.0 over the last three.
25. Marcos Ambrose… DNF last August, finished 31st in June. Started 11th, DNF at Texas (engine). Average finish of 15.5 in two Nationwide races. Y!-C1
26. Paul Menard… Long shot value play. Average finish of 20.0 in seven career starts, three top-20s. Started fifth, finished 13th at Texas.
27. Brad Keselowski… Long shot value play. Average finish of 12.0 in two Nationwide races. Started 40th, finished 23rd at Texas. Y!-C2
28. Bill Elliott… Long shot value play. Started 15th, finished 16th in June. Seven-time winner, finished 11th in ‘07 and ‘05. Started 37th, finished 28th at Texas. Y!-C3
29. Sam Hornish Jr…. Career average finish of 24.3. Finished 29th in June, 22nd in both ‘08 races. Y!-C4
30. Martin Truex Jr…. Going the wrong way. ‘07- runner-up twice, ‘08- finished 16th and 17th. ‘09- finished 36th in June.
31. AJ Allmendinger… Started sixth, but finished a career-worst 39th in June due to equipment issues. Average finish of 26.0 in three other career starts.
32. Bobby Labonte… Started 17th, finished 28th in June. Average finish of 28.7 over the last three races. Three-time winner: ‘99, ‘95 sweep.
33. Robby Gordon…. Average finish of 38.5 last year, 16.75 the previous two years (’06-’07). Started 13th, finished 17th in June.
34. Michael Waltrip… Started 36th, finished 30th in June. Average finish of 21.0 last year.
35. Reed Sorenson… Two top-10 finishes as a rookie in ‘06 but average finish of 31.0 in the five races since.
36. David Stremme… Average finish of 29.2 in five career starts, one top-20.
37. David Gilliland… Started 35th, finished 32nd in June. Average finish of 26.5 last year.
38. John Andretti… Started 10th, finished 33rd in June. Average finish of 32.0 last year.
39. Joe Nemechek… DNF in June. Average finish of 31.0 last year. Failed to qualify at Texas.
40. Scott Speed… Started 21st, finished 37th in June, first career start at Michigan. Failed to qualify at Texas.
41. Mike Skinner… Started 22nd, finished 35th in June.
42. Dave Blaney… Has not finished on the led laps in three straight (two DNFs).
43. Tony Raines… DNF in June. Started 30th, finished 31st last year.
44. Mike Bliss… No starts at Michigan since ‘05.
45. Mike Wallace… No starts at Michigan since ‘05.

NASCAR Power Rankings: Michigan 2

Watkins Glen

Who's Up	Who's Down
Biggest Gain This Week: Kurt Busch: 6th to 4th	Biggest Drop This Week: Kasey Kahne: 5th to 7th
New This Week: Kyle Busch	Dropped Out This Week:

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

Tony Stewart- 3 Wins, 18 Top Tens In only 22 races this season Tony Stewart already has 18 top tens. With his 3rd win of the season Stewart now leads Jimmie Johnson by 260 points.

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

Jimmie Johnson- 3 Wins, 14 Top Tens Michigan is one of the few remaining tracks on the schedule where Johnson hasn't won, but over the last 4 years Johnson has led 17.1 percent of the laps run at Michigan.

Rank: 3rd Mark Martin #5 Last Week: 3 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Mark Martin- 4 Wins, 11 Top Tens The last time Martin raced at Watkins Glen was 3 years ago but that excuse doesn't doesn't cut it for me. Martin also avoided Bristol and Martinsville for years and those tracks are where Martin collected his first two top tens of the season.

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

Kurt Busch- 1 Win, 12 Top Tens Kurt potentially had a winning car but due to their questionable pit stop strategy (Bad Dodge Fuel Mileage again) Kurt was shuffled back into the pack and raced his way up to 7th.

Rank: 5th Jeff Gordon #24 Last Week: 4 Change: -1 Driver Page | Articles

Jeff Gordon- 1 Win, 15 Top Tens After a hard wreck at Watkins Glen Jeff Gordon said that his back would hurt for weeks. With the upcoming schedule (Bristol & Richmond) Gordon might just drive his car to the back and play it safe.

Rank: 6th Juan Pablo Montoya #42 Last Week: 7 Change: +1 Driver Page | Articles

Juan Pablo Montoya- 1 Top 5, 11 Top Tens In the last 6 races only Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson have outscored Juan Pablo Montoya. It sounds really good but Stewart has outscored Montoya by 155 points over that time span. This team is doing what they need to do though.

Rank: 7th Kasey Kahne #9 Last Week: 5 Change: -2 Driver Page | Articles

Kasey Kahne- 1 Win, 9 Top Tens Kahne finished where he ran two thirds of the race. The first third of the race Kahne was a top ten car. It's the typical story of Dodges getting inferior fuel mileage.

Rank: 8th Carl Edwards #99 Last Week: 9 Change: +1 Driver Page | Articles

Carl Edwards- 6 Top Fives, 10 Top Tens At Watkins Glen Carl Edwards finished in the top ten for the 4th time in 5 starts. At Michigan Edwards has a 5.9 Average finish and he NEEDS a win this weekend.

Rank: 9th Denny Hamlin #11 Last Week: 8 Change: -1 Driver Page | Articles

Denny Hamlin- 1 Win, 10 Top Tens Track position is everything at Road Courses and Denny Hamlin was caught speeding on pit road which penalized him and sent him to the back of the pack. Before the penalty Hamlin was 2nd, but after he served the penalty his day was never the same.

Rank: 10th Brian Vickers #83 Last Week: 10 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Brian Vickers- 3 Top Fives, 10 Top Tens Brian Vickers had a good day at Watkins Glen. He certainly isn't a road racer and an 11th place finish was good for this team there. Now Vickers needs capitalize on this Teams Intermediate strength at Michigan.

Rank: 11th Clint Bowyer #33 Last Week: 12 Change: +1 Driver Page | Articles

Clint Bowyer- 4 Top Fives, 9 Top Tens Clint is now officially RCR's only driver who has a chance of making the Chase. The key for a third consecutive Chase appearance for Bowyer is to have strong runs at Bristol & Richmond and hope a driver currently in the Chase has bad luck.

Rank: 12th Kyle Busch #18 Last Week: NR Change: N/A Driver Page | Articles

Kyle Busch- 3 Wins, 7 Top Tens Kyle's 4th place finish at Watkins Glen was his first top 5 since Richmond. Kyle is now only 58 points out of the Chase but in order to remain in contention Kyle will need to be fast at Michigan and run with the Roush Fords to avoid losing points.

NASCAR Fantasy Experts Picks: LifeLock 400 from MIS

Expert	Website	Pick to Win	Finish	Experts Avg
James Jones	On Pit Row	Tony Stewart	7	7.5
Ryan Rantz	On Pit Row	Carl Edwards	4	9
Cheryl Lauer	Speed Couch	Mark Martin	1	9.6
Yahoo Users	Yahoo! Sports	Jimmie Johnson	22	11.1
Mike Harmon	FOX Sports	Carl Edwards	4	11.2
Dennis Michelsen	RaceTalkRadio.com	Carl Edwards	4	11.9
Eric Brewer	Fantasy NASCAR Names	Tony Stewart	7	12.6
Bob Ellis	NASCAR Ranting and Raving	No Pick	44	12.9
Gerrit Ritt	FOX Sports	Tony Stewart	7	13.4
Lou Lauer	USAR Fans	Carl Edwards	4	13.4
Darren Fauth	Fantasy NASCAR Names	Matt Kenseth	20	13.6
Charlie Turner	On Pit Row	Carl Edwards	4	14.4
Roger Rotter	FOX Sports	Carl Edwards		15
P J Walsh	FantasyNASCARPreview.com	Greg Biffle	5	16.5
Eric McGuire	FFToolbox	Matt Kenseth	20	16.8
Jon Rodgers	Gillette Young Guns Challenge Winner	Kevin Harvick	18	18.6
Eric McClung	On Pit Row	Tony Stewart	7	18.6

NASCAR Fantasy Racing Preview: LifeLock 400

Greetings On Pit Row readers,
For this week’s NASCAR Fantasy Racing Preview I’ve added value plays; drivers aimed for salary cap owners looking for cash-saving options. Strong value plays are drivers with a good recent history at this week’s track and/or over the past several weeks. Weak value plays are less dependable drivers that have a good track record but have not performed as well in recent weeks.

The rankings will continue to be spilt by using the A, B and C drivers from the Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing game. Enjoy the rankings and feel free to add your comments below!

A List

1. Carl Edwards… Best average finish among active drivers, 6.6. Nine career starts: two wins, five top-fives, finished outside of the top-10 only once, led laps in six.
2. Matt Kenseth… Top-fives in four of the last five, led laps in three. Top-10s in 13 of the last 17.
3. Jimmie Johnson… Is he due? No wins but led at least a dozen laps in four straight, has qualified in the top-four five times.
4. Kyle Busch… Won the pole last year, finished 13th. Top-13 finishes in four straight, has led laps in five of eight career starts.
5. Jeff Gordon… Best starting position (4.8) over the last five years (10 starts): started first or second five times but finished 15th or worse six times.
6. Greg Biffle… Over the last nine starts: two wins, four top-fives, six top-10s, led laps in six.
7. Jeff Burton… Unspectacular but consistent: top-15 finishes in 10 of the last 13.
8. Mark Martin… Four career wins but none since ‘98. Twenty-fifth or worse in three of the last four.
9. Kevin Harvick… Top-15 finishes in six straight.
10. Clint Bowyer… Six career starts: never finished better than 16th, outside of the top-20 three times.

B List

1. Tony Stewart… Last 13: five top-threes, seven top-fives, 11 top-12 finishes.
2. Brian Vickers… Most recent pole winner. Top-eight finishes in three straight, led laps in each.
3. Kasey Kahne… Top-five or bust in 10 career starts: five top-fives, 18th or worse in the other five.
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr…. Led laps in seven straight: one win, four top-six finishes.
5. Denny Hamlin… Had never finished worse than 14th prior to an engine problem last year.
6. Kurt Busch… Blue Deuce is wild: only one top-20 over the last four but it was a victory.
7. David Reutimann… Career-best 14th-place finish in last year’s August race. Also had his best qualifying run, seventh.
8. Ryan Newman… No top-10s since ‘04 but it was a victory, has qualified inside the top-five four times since.
9. Martin Truex Jr…. Strong value play. ‘08- 16th and 17th-place finishes, ‘07- two second-place finishes.
10. Jamie McMurray… Strong value play. ‘08- two 10th-place finishes, ‘07- eighth and 30th-place finishes.
11. Casey Mears… ‘07- fourth, 11th; ‘08- 18th and 30th
12. Joey Logano… Seventh-place finish in one career Nationwide start.
13. Michael Waltrip… ‘07- 10th, 40th; ‘08- 19th, 23rd. Led one lap in each June race.
14. David Ragan… Weak value play. ‘07- 18th, 21st; ‘08- third, eighth. Led laps in each race last year.
15. Elliott Sadler… Weak value play. ‘07- 32nd, 35th; ‘08- two ninth-place finishes. Has qualified inside the top-10 in five straight August races.
16. Juan Pablo Montoya… ‘07- 26th, 43rd; ‘08- 25th, 38th.
17. Paul Menard… ‘07, ‘08: 11th and 12th-place finishes in June, 24th and 39th in August.
18. David Gilliland… ‘07- 17th, 27th; ‘08- 26th, 27th.
19. David Stremme… ‘06- 19th, 28th; ‘07- 21st and 40th.

C List

1. Sam Hornish Jr…. Strong value play. Finished 22nd in both races last year.
2. Marcos Ambrose… Finished 43rd (engine) in last year’s August. Average finish of 15.5 in two career Nationwide races.
3. AJ Allmendinger… June ‘08: started 39th, finished 19th. August ‘08: started 33rd, finished 28th.
4. Bobby Labonte… One top-10 since ‘04. Won both poles in ‘03. Swept in ‘95.
5. Reed Sorenson… Beginner’s luck: finished fifth and eighth as a rookie in ‘06- 23rd or worse in four straight since.
6. Scott Speed… No career starts at Michigan.
7. Bill Elliott… Seven career wins. Last top-10 in ‘01. Finished 36th last year.
8. Robby Gordon… Finished 24th or worse in the last three races.
9. Joe Nemechek… Finished 26th or worse in six straight.
10. John Andretti… One top-20 over the last eight races.
11. Max Papis… No career starts at Michigan.
12. Mike Skinner… Finished 35th in last year’s August race. Six career Truck series starts: two poles, three top-fives, four top-10s, average finish of 7.7.
13. Sterling Marlin… Finished 20th in ‘07.
14. Tony Raines… Finished 31st or worse in nine of 10 career starts.
15. Dave Blaney… ‘07- sixth, 18th. ‘08- 39th, 41st

NASCAR Power Rankings: Michigan

Pocono

Who's Up	Who's Down
Biggest Gain This Week: Carl Edwards: 10th to 6th	Biggest Drop This Week: Kyle Busch: 4th to 7th
New This Week: David Reutimann	Dropped Out This Week:

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

Tony Stewart- Pole Victory (sort of) Tony Stewart started from the pole at Pocono (before one to go) in his backup car and went on to become the first owner driver to win a race since Ricky Rudd won at Martinsville in 1998. The win also propelled Stewart to #1 in the Power Rankings.

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

Mark Martin- 4 wins at Michigan On Sunday Mark Martin will be competing in his 47th race at Michigan. Over 46 races Martin has an average finish of 13.1, 4 wins, and 28 top tens. What will happen in race 47 at Michigan for Martin? My guess is a solid top ten.

Rank: 3rd Jimmie Johnson #48 Last Week: 3 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Jimmie Johnson- Ran out of gas at the end Johnson had a winning car at Pocono but a penalty for pitting under caution hurt the 48 team. Johnson was able to move up to the front of the pack again but his Impala SS didn't have enough gas. In 14 races at Michigan Johnson only has 2 top fives.

Rank: 4th Ryan Newman #39 Last Week: 6 Change: +2 Driver Page | Articles

Ryan Newman- Recovered from early Pocono problems Ryan Newman was very successful at Michigan early in his career. In fact the first top 5 of Newman's career happened at Michigan in the June race during his pre-rookie 2001 season. Newman has 2 career wins at Michigan.

Rank: 5th Jeff Gordon #24 Last Week: 5 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Jeff Gordon- 899 laps led at Michigan Gordon has been very successful at Michigan over the course of his career. In 32 races Gordon has 2 wins, 15 top fives, 20 top tens and 5 poles. The bad news is that in 2008 Gordon's best finish was 18th.

Rank: 6th Carl Edwards #99 Last Week: 10 Change: +4 Driver Page | Articles

Carl Edwards- Getting closer to a victory The 99 team is starting to get hot and at Michigan they will be entering the weekend as the car to beat. In 9 career Michigan races Edwards has an average finish of 6.6, 2 wins, 5 top fives, and 8 top tens.

Rank: 7th Kyle Busch #18 Last Week: 4 Change: -3 Driver Page | Articles

Kyle Busch- Finished 2nd at Michigan last year NASCAR rockstar wannabe Kyle Busch had a 15th place car at best at Pocono. With his 22nd place finish Kyle fell 3 spots in the points standings down to 9th. Over the last 4 races Kyle's average finish is 21.5.

Rank: 8th Greg Biffle #16 Last Week: 8 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Greg Biffle- Successful at Michigan in the past Michigan is a Roush Fenway track and Ford is getting closer to victory lane all the time. If the weather in Michigan (changes every 5 minutes) warms up and the track gets slick Greg Biffle might just be the car to beat.

Rank: 9th Matt Kenseth #17 Last Week: 9 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Matt Kenseth- 9.1 finish average at Michigan In February Kenseth won at Michigan's sister track California. What will this early season win translate into Sunday? Kenseth will be a contender for the checkered flag and anything less then a top 5 will be a disappointment.

Rank: 10th Kurt Busch #2 Last Week: 7 Change: -3 Driver Page | Articles

Kurt Busch- When will the Blue Deuce get win #2? The keys to victory at Michigan are 1) Horsepower 2) Fuel Mileage. Kurt's Dodge has the horsepower to win but Dodges for whatever reason never have the fuel mileage edge in NASCAR. Kurt does have 2 career wins at Michigan so expect a rebound Sunday.

Rank: 11th Kasey Kahne #9 Last Week: 11 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Kasey Kahne- Fast but not enough gas At Pocono the 9 car was fast, but they didn't have enough gas. At Michigan the 9 car will be fast again (thanks to R6 engine) and Kahne will continue his charge for a Chase appearance. Kahne has 1 career victory at MIS.

Rank: 12th David Reutimann #00 Last Week: NR Change: N/A Driver Page | Articles

David Reutimann- 3rd place finish at Pocono Fuel mileage races always are full of surprises at the end. The surprise finish of the race for me was Reutimann's 3rd place finish. While other drivers were idling the 00 had plenty of fuel for the race to the finish line.

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