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Download the 2010 NASCAR HBO and Showtime Schedules in PDF

Here’s your link to all of the Showtime NASCAR programming and the HBO NASCAR Series for the 2010 season.

If you like these printable features, please subscribe to our On Pit Row newsletter below.

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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.

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With four races in the books, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will head to Bristol Motor Speedway for this weekend’s Food City 500. Kurt Busch will attempt to follow up his win at Atlanta two weeks ago by winning this race for the fifth time.

Hope everybody’s all rested up after the off weekend, but it’s high time that we get into the swing of things and kick this season into full gear. This will be the last race that 2009 owner’s points determine the cars locked into the starting field for this season, so expect some backmarkers to try and push towards the front.

My pick for the weekend stays in the Busch family – I’m picking Kyle to win. Easy, I know. But in his last three Bristol starts, he has accumulated an average finish of 1.3 while leading 861 of a possible 1503 laps. That’s over 57% of his past three Bristol starts. Also keep in mind that Rowdy has led a lap in every Bristol race dating back to the spring of 2006, and has led in double digits in five of those eight events.

My dark horse for the week has to be Marcos Ambrose. Still looking for his first top-10 of the season, mired at 28th in points due to DNFs at Daytona and California, Ambrose has finishes of 10th and 3rd at Bristol in Cup cars. Bristol is known as a track of heavy beating and banging, as are the V8 Supercars that Ambrose drove in Australia before coming stateside.

Three more, as per tradition:

Kurt Busch. I’ve discovered over the years that a solid projection of a driver’s skill at any once track is the amount of top-10s he accumulates. If, over a career of decent length, he finishes in the top 10 about half the time, he is usually judged as a star at that given track. That would be Busch at Bristol… oh, and the five career wins there help too.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been decent at Bristol since joining Hendrick Motorsports, though it was mostly his work with Dale Earnhardt Inc. that currently gives him the sixth best average finish at Bristol of all active drivers. He’s also been fast for much of the year, with an average start of 8.5. Qualifying up front at such a small track gives drivers an inherent advantage, not only because leaders can catch lapped traffic quickly, but also because of their better pit selection – though that mattered more when Bristol separated its backstretch pits from its frontstretch ones.

Finally, let’s not forget that Kevin Harvick has a strong Bristol record. While he only has one win, the current series points leader has 11 top-10s in 18 career starts. Happy’s also in the best equipment he’s had in years, and there’s no reason to expect things to drop off now.

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NASCAR’s amphitheatre, Bristol Motor Speedway, is known for aggressive driving and carnage on the race track. However, the resurfacing in 2007 added variable banking, opening up room but dialed down the beating and banging. The SAFER barrier has been extended, narrowing Turns Two and Four by nearly three feet, so perhaps some of the physicality may return. This is the first race on a short track this season, so the results over the past few weeks on intermediates carry some momentum, but little else.

Chasing the pole at Bristol Motor Speedway

1. Mark Martin… Swept the poles last year at Bristol.
2. Greg Biffle… Started fourth and second last year at Bristol.
3. Dave Blaney… Started eighth and fourth last year at Bristol.

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. Kyle Busch… Three-time winner at Bristol (’09 sweep, 3/07), has led 57.3 percent of the laps in the last three races– at least one lap led in eight straight. Y!-A1
2. Mark Martin… Two-time winner at Bristol (8/98, 8/93), average finish of 4.0 last year at Bristol– 12.4 in 42 career starts. Y!-A2
3. Matt Kenseth… Two-time winner at Bristol (8/06, 8/05), three Top 10s in the last four starts at BMS. Y!-B2
4. Greg Biffle… Average finish of 7.5 in ‘07 and ‘08 at Bristol, DNF (engine) and fourth last year. Y!-A3
5. Jimmie Johnson… Average finish of 21.2 from ‘05-’08 at Bristol, 5.5 in ‘09- led over 80 laps in both. Y!-A4
6. Kevin Harvick… Won 4/05 race at Bristol. Average finish of 3.0 in ‘08 at Bristol, 34.0 last year. Y!-B3
7. Denny Hamlin… Average finish of 4.0 from ‘08-’09 at Bristol.
8. Jeff Gordon… Five-time winner at Bristol (8/02, 3/98, 4/97, 3/96, 4/95), average finish of 10.8 (two Top Fives) from ‘08-’09 at Bristol.
9. Clint Bowyer… Average finish of 5.3 from ‘07-’08 at Bristol, 17.0 last year. Y!-B4
10. Kasey Kahne… Last five races at Bristol: two Top Fives, three Top 10s. Y!-B5
11. Juan Pablo Montoya… Finished a career-best ninth in last year’s March race at Bristol.
12. Jeff Burton… Won 3/08 race at Bristol, finished eighth and 18th last year. Y!-B6
13. Kurt Busch… Five-time winner at Bristol (3/06, 3/04, ‘03 sweep, 3/02), average finish of 11.3 in ‘08 and ‘09.
14. Tony Stewart… Won 8/01 race at Bristol. Average finish of 11.0 in ‘08 Bristol races, 25.0 last year.
15. Ryan Newman… Last five Bristol races: four finishes of six or seventh place. Y!-B7
16. Dale Earnhardt Jr…. Won 8/04 race at Bristol, average finish of 11.6 in 20 career starts. Y!-B8
17. Marcos Ambrose… Strong value play. Average finish of 6.5 in two career starts at Bristol.
18. Carl Edwards… Two-time winner at Bristol (8/08, 8/07), average finish of 15.5 last year.
19. David Reutimann… Average finish of 22.5 in ‘08 Bristol races, 14.5 in ‘09.
20. Scott Speed… Strong value play. Started third, finished 15th in last year’s August race at Bristol. Y!-C1
21. Brad Keselowski… Weak value play. No career Cup starts at Bristol. Average finish of 11.3 in six career N’wide starts, won 8/08 race.
22. Joey Logano… Weak value play. Average finish of 12.5 in two career starts at Bristol. Average finish of 12.5 in two career N’wide starts.
23. Brian Vickers… Tied a career-best 12th in last year’s August race at Bristol, average finish of 24.7 in 11 career starts.
24. Jamie McMurray… Average finish of 40.0 in the last two March races at Bristol, 11.5 in August.
25. A.J. Allmendinger… Average finish of 32.4 in five career starts at Bristol, career-best 16th in last year’s March race. Y!-C2
26. Paul Menard… Average finish of 24.2 in five career starts at Bristol, no Top 10s. Y!-C3
27. Martin Truex Jr…. Average finish of 25.0 in eight career starts at Bristol, no Top 10s. Average running of position of 10th in 8/09 race.
28. David Ragan… Average finish of 24.0 in the last two March races at Bristol, 12.0 in August.
29. Elliott Sadler… Won 3/01 race at Bristol, average finish of 25.5 since ‘07.
30. Regan Smith… Long shot value play. Average finish of 23.0 in four career starts at Bristol.
31. Sam Hornish Jr…. Average finish of 33.0 in four career starts at Bristol. Y!-C4
32. Travis Kvapil… Average finish of 23.0 in three starts from ‘08-’09.
33. Michael Waltrip… Sub for Michael McDowell. Average finish of 27.8 since ‘07 at Bristol.
34. Robby Gordon… Average finish of 29.0 from ‘08-’09 at Bristol.
35. Bobby Labonte… Average finish of 29.8 from ‘08-’09 at Bristol.
36. David Gilliland… Average finish of 31.0 in seven career starts at Bristol.
37. Mike Bliss… No Cup starts at Bristol since ‘07. Average finish of 18.2 in 11 career N’wide starts.
38. David Stremme… Sub for Boris Said. Average finish of 13.5 in ‘07 races at Bristol, no starts in ‘08, 19.5 in ‘09.
39. Max Papis… No career Cup starts at Bristol. Finished 28th in last year’s Truck race.
40. Kevin Conway… No career Cup starts at Bristol.
41. Aric Almirola… Likely start and park. Has failed to qualify for two races this season. Average finish of 23.0 in five career starts at Bristol. Finished sixth in last year’s Truck race.
42. Dave Blaney… Likely start and park.
43. Joe Nemechek… Likely start and park.
44. Casey Mears… Has failed to qualify for all four races this season.
45. Terry Cook… Has failed to qualify for all four races this season.

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Denny Hamlin (Contender) - Denny Hamlin isn’t the best intermediate track driver in NASCAR, but what he is good at is short tracks. In the last 4 Bristol races Denny Hamlin has finished in the top 6 every race. His overall record in the COT would be spotless at Bristol if it wasn’t for incidences beyond his control. He nearly won the very first COT race at Bristol but fuel pump issues ruined his day in the COT’s debut. In the next Bristol race Denny Hamlin started at the back of the pack and drove his way to the front and then his engine blew up. Just because Denny is off to a slow start this year don’t be afraid to pick him at Bristol.

Carl Edwards (Pretender) - Don’t let his probation be the thing that scares you from picking Edwards at Bristol, let the fact that the majority of his success at Bristol comes in August, not March be the reason (sounds more intelligent).  Edwards has never finished in the top ten in a March race at Bristol. In August (COT Era) Carl has 2 wins and a 16th place finish to his name.

Kevin Harvick (Contender) - Bristol has always been a friendly Kevin Harvick track. He has the perfect amount of aggression needed to be successful at the fastest half mile in the world.  His performances at Bristol were down last year, but what wasn’t at RCR? When you take out his results from 2009 his COT average finish is 6.5.

Brian Vickers (Pretender) - Do you know when was the last time Brian Vickers finished in the top ten at Bristol? OK, I admit it’s a trick question because he never has. If you’re a Brian Vickers fan then maybe you’ll be encouraged to hear he has led a grand total of one lap at Bristol in his career.

Jimmie Johnson (Contender) - If you’re a fantasy racer this name and Bristol should appear as a odd choice to you and traditionally I would agree with you. Last year Jimmie Johnson had a top 5 car in both Bristol races. I think we’ll see more of the good Bristol Jimmie this year.

Mark Martin (Pretender) - Last year Martin finished 6th and 2nd at Bristol. I believe those finishes were anomalies because Bristol is not a Mark Martin friendly track. He dodged this track for two years in his partial retirement because of that very reason.  When you study prior Mark Martin races at Bristol you’ll discover that he finished 6th in 2006, but to find his next top ten you have to go all the way back to 2000.

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In his return to the sport after a back injury ended his season early last year, Will Power won his second career IZOD IndyCar Series race, the inaugural Sao Paulo Indy 300, over Ryan Hunter-Reay and Vitor Meira.

In one of the more interesting race weekends in recent memory, Power redeemed his Team Penske compatriot Ryan Briscoe, whose late-race brain fade gave the race away. It was Power’s first race as a full-time member for Penske after a limited schedule last year.

Hunter-Reay took second in the season opener for the second consecutive year, in his first race for Andretti Autosport. Meira, the highest finishing Brazilian driver, made his return after an injury at Indianapolis last year ended his 2009 campaign.

The weekend got off to a rough start, with the concrete frontstretch causing drivers to slip and preventing them from taking the straightaway at full throttle. Series director Brian Barnhart had to call in the diamond grinders to give that section of the track some more grip. Qualifying had to be postponed until the morning of the race, for the first time in series history, and multiple extra practice sessions were added.

Dario Franchitti took the pole in the delayed qualifying session, with outside polesitter Alex Tagliani the biggest surprise in qualifying. Brazil was the first race for Tagliani’s FAZZT Race Team. Scott Dixon, who had one of the fastest cars in practice, failed to make the Firestone Fast Six, and ended up seventh. Takuma Sato was the top rookie, qualifying tenth. The fastest Brazilian driver was Tony Kanaan, who wound up sixth.

Not long before the green flag, there were reports of sprinkles on part of the track, delaying the start as race control determined whether or not to mandate rain tires. This was only foreshadowing for the showers that came later in the race, and eventually led to a half-hour red flag period.

At the drop of the green flag, the drivers couldn’t make it through the first turn before a major accident set the tone for the race. Dust from the freshly ground concrete track made visibility difficult, and Sato didn’t brake early enough, getting into Dixon. Helio Castroneves got involved with those two, and Mario Moraes drove over Marco Andretti’s car as the American attempted to avoid the accident. Sato, Moraes, and Andretti called it a day from the wreck.

Franchitti, Tagliani, Hunter-Reay, and Kanaan led the pack early, and Simona de Silvestro led after staying out while the rest of the field pitted under a caution period. Not long after, Tagliani, Kanaan, and de Silvestro fell out of contention; Tagliani and Kanaan made contact, while de Silvestro had a mechanical failure.

Soon after, the storm came, and Briscoe led the push into the pits for rain tires. Most cars pitted for new Firestones by lap 30. The rain was so bad that parts of the track flooded, and the storm knocked out timing and scoring services. Eventually, the race had to be switched from a 75-lap event to a timed event.

A few laps after the restart, as other drivers pitted to change to better tire compounds, Hunter-Reay inherited the lead. Briscoe, Raphael Matos, and Power ran nose-to-tail, but were over six seconds behind Hunter-Reay with 25 minutes remaining.

Eventually, Briscoe closed the gap, leading to an intense back-and-forth battle that briefly gave the Aussie the lead. Hunter-Reay kept pushing until Briscoe made a mistake, driving head-on into a tire barrier on lap 54 with almost ten minutes left and bringing out a full-course yellow. This gave Hunter-Reay the lead and enough fuel to finish the race.

The race restarted with six minutes to go, with Hunter-Reay, Power, Matos, Meira, and Dan Wheldon the top five. Power made the winning pass in the final turn on lap 58, showing the type of straight-line speed that Hunter-Reay had exhibited all race. By the final lap, Power had extended a sizable lead.

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The first IZOD IndyCar Series race of the season takes place south of the border - way, way south - on the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil, for the first annual Sao Paulo Indy 300. It will be the first American open-wheel race in Brazil since CART ran on the Emerson Fittipaldi Speedway from 1996 to 2000. It will also be the first street course race for IndyCar outside of North America since the non-points event in Surfers Paradise, Australia, at the end of 2008.

The new track has posed problems for the whole field, with the narrow concrete frontstretch causing most cars to fishtail and a handful of drivers slapping the wall elsewhere on the track. Scott Dixon led the field in final practice, with Ryan Briscoe and Tony Kanaan not far behind. The biggest surprise of the session was Alex Tagliani, with a brand new team, in fifth. Drivers that had problems on the track included Briscoe, Bia Figuereido, Hideki Mutoh, and Danica Patrick.

Qualifying was eventually postponed until the morning of the race at 7:25 AM EST, replaced on Saturday by another practice session as teams and the series tried to figure out what to do about the concrete surface.

Adding to the challenge, the forecast calls for potential rain on race day. Add up all these variables on a new track, and nobody knows quite what to expect for this year’s season opener.

The field contains seven Brazilians, almost all of whom are racing IndyCars in their native country for the first time. Tony Kanaan and Helio Castroneves had three starts at Fittipaldi apiece; Kanaan’s best finish was fifth in 1999, while Castroneves never finished better than 23rd in his native country.

Dixon has been fast in every practice session, pacing the field in the intended final practice session and leading inthe early stages of the extra session. Kanaan, too, has been quick, despite trashing the quality of the track to the Brazilian media. These two should lead the fight for victory come Sunday.

As for a dark horse, street course ace Alex Tagliani has shown great speed in practice despite coming to the track with the startup FAZZT Race Team. Keep in mind that Tagliani almost won last year’s race on the streets of Toronto, leading 21 of 85 laps. The new team also features some experienced personnel, including longtime Walker Racing team manager Rob Edwards.

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I have been a fan of Roush Fenway Racing since I was a small child, watching Mark Martin pilot the No. 6 Valvoline car. Through the years, watching the team expand into one of NASCAR’s first multicar powerhouses, I have become a fan of almost every driver to slide behind the wheel of their Fords.

This means that yes, to some extent, I am a Carl Edwards fan. Say what you will about his personality, but he shows flashes of brilliance as a racecar driver, the nine-win season in 2008 included. I think his 2009 Talladega wreck may have affected his psyche a little bit, and may make him a more careful driver in the long term, but he’s still got talent.

That aside, however, his actions in Sunday’s race at Atlanta were inexcusable. I’m sure that everybody knows what happened by now – after Brad Keselowski (the same driver who put him into the catchfence at Talladega last year) got into him early in the race, he returned to the track and ruined a great run by the Penske Racing driver with five laps to go.

Keselowski’s car flipped and landed on its roof, most of the pressure on the driver’s side, before rolling back on all four wheels. Keselowski was shaken up to say the least, and Edwards was parked for his deliberate actions, which he all but admitted to later on.

The problem, however, is NASCAR’s decision only to put Edwards on probation for three races for this incident. Given his history with Keselowski, as well as the complaints that others like Denny Hamlin make about the young driver, these incidents are likely not over. They’ll just wait until Edwards’ probation is over. NASCAR didn’t even wring Edwards’ hands – they wagged a finger. That’s all that the meeting between the two drivers and their owners will be, too.

Marty Smith wrote on Twitter that a “precedent has been set” for these types of retaliatory actions – that no driver should be afraid to dive-bomb a rival they’re angry at now. I understand NASCAR’s desire to open up the racing this year, and I applaud it, but not laying the hammer down in deliberate accidents, especially ones where the wrecked driver could have been seriously hurt, is a mistake.

My opinion: NASCAR should have parked Edwards for at least one race. I might have waited until the next Atlanta race to do it, however. I don’t want a driver who’s going to race like that to make his way into the Chase, and Atlanta is the penultimate regular season race. Taking Edwards out of a race so close to the cutoff could knock him out (if he’s in) and make it far more difficult to make up ground, whereas missing Bristol would give him about 20 more races to get back to the front.

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Tires.

“Pete. Do you ever get tired of the tires? Sometimes, I get tired of the tires. Very tired”

That was a little play on the words of one of my favorite lines ever, from the very best racing movie of all time, John Frankenheimer’s Grand Prix.

Deal with it.

Steve asked Fox’s Jeff Hammond who was to blame for Sunday’s tire issues at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Jeff blamed the crew chiefs. So did Steve.

But tires were just an excuse for me to use my movie line in this post. The real story. The only real story, really, was Carl Edwards’ wrecking of Brad Kezelowski, and NASCAR’s subsequent wrist slap of Edwards for the dirty deed.

From the buzz we got during the On Pit Row broadcast Tuesday, to what I’ve read and heard around the NASCAR Twittisphere, most of the subjects of the Kingdom of France seem pretty PO’d about Carl’s easy way out of this deal. Jerry Bonkowski, one of our guests On Pit Row, sure seems to feel that way. Read what Jerry has to say here.

I think that, somewhere in the back of a very dark, and very expensively appointed hauler, Prince Brian is cackling like a drunken hen.

This whole deal, including the spectacular double axel that Kezelowski’s Penske Dodge executed at AMS, has been just what the PR(ayer) people in Daytona were hoping for. (Well maybe it was second to a Dale and Danica weekend sweep somewhere).

This wreck and the attendant story lines, put NASCAR front-and-center on all the general sports news shows, beyond the normal race recaps. Mike and Mike. Jim Rome. Oprah.

There was excitement. Maybe not the kind that NASCAR purists wanted.

But this is about the Benjamins baby. Eyes on the decals. Butts in the seats. Cash.

And this wreck will help.

Photo credit: Round girl Jen by BethAnne Heisler for OnPitRow.com

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2010 NASCAR Calender in Printable PDF

We’re making our original 2010 NASCAR calenderin printable PDF format available for the first time ever. These printable calenders featuring original photos of NASCAR drivers, taken by our fabulous photog BethAnne, have been around for three years now.

The calenders are a labor of love created by BethAnne and given only to members of the On Pit Row pitcrew. That is until now.

Check out the thumbnails below for each month. Race dates for the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule, Nationwide Series, Camping World Truck Series and ARCA schedules along with most of the Sprint Cup driver’s birthdays are included.

Click on the individual thumbs to view a larger image. There is a link at the bottom of this page to the printable PDF of the whole calender. Thanks BethAnne!

Click the link for the download, but be patient. It’s a big file.

2010 On Pit Row NASCAR Calender Printable PDF

Instructions for printing: Print calendar fit to page, double-sided, head to toe on 8.5×11 or 11×17 paper. Fold in half and staple in the middle. The finished size will be 8×5.5 or 8.5×11 respectively. Enjoy!

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“I gotta go where there aint any snow

Where there aint any blow

Cause my fin sinks so low

I gotta go where it’s warm”

Sorry, but I needed that. February was long leaving and March 2010 has been a major strain. Buffett usually helps me.

Him, baseball and Margaritas.

And the line in that song about “fins sinking low” seems to fit right now. And not just for me.

The NASCAR Shark Fin has been trimmed to negligible height since the Great White sized rudders used at Daytona.

I thought I might have to find another post title idea. But it turns out, I’m too lazy. Shark Fin Soup stays.

If you haven’t stopped by the On Pit Row Facebook Fan Page on Tuesdays during the On Pit Row radio program, you are missing some pretty good stuff. This is a plug - sure - but we do have a blast. And live “Tweeting” during the live radio is dangerous.

Steve and I were debating whether “Jeff Gordon and Steve Latarte gambled too much on a two tire stop at the end of the race?”

We agreed that Latarte had blown the call. But when I wrote the update for the Fan Page and Twitter it came out…

“Steve and I agree that Steve Latarte blew..”

Not what I intended…. Actually it was alot funnier than what I intended.

We had Kevin Conway, driver of the ExtenZe Racing Ford Fusion for Front Row Motorsports on the show. Kevin is the current favorite for 2010 Raybestos Rookie of the Year, and a funny guy in his own right.

While answering one of our questions, Conway smoothly worked this into his answer…

“with the ExtenZe racing team, we try to do everything big…..”

Nice work Kevin. You’ll go far in this NASCAR gig with sponsor stumping like that.

Latarte and Gordon stumbled and Johnson and Knaus were there to shoot the cripple as they say in billiards. Don’t make mistakes if you want to win a Cup race in the J J era.

]]> http://benchracing.onpitrow.com/jeff-gordon/fantasy-pickem-2010-kobalt-tools-500.html http://benchracing.onpitrow.com/jeff-gordon/fantasy-pickem-2010-kobalt-tools-500.html#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 07:05:09 +0000 Chris Leone http://benchracing.onpitrow.com/?p=2346

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With eight of the same drivers making up the Top 10 in two straight races, it is clear what teams have their intermediate program figured out. Momentum is key heading into third intermediate race in a row during this part of the schedule. Atlanta is first of eight races to be held on a 24 degree, 1.5 mile quad-oval but with the standings so top heavy, expect many of the same drivers to play similar parts.

• NASCAR Fantasy Tool 2009 Average Finish at Atlanta, Texas and Charlotte [24 degree, 1.5 mile quad-ovals]

Chasing the pole at Atlanta Motor Speedway

1. Mark Martin… Won pole at last year’s Kobalt Tools 500, started seventh in September race.
2. Kurt Busch… Won the pole last week at Vegas. Started second and sixth last year Atlanta.
3. Kyle Busch… Started ninth and fifth last year at Atlanta. Average start of 7.0 this season.

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.
• 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… Three-time winner at Atlanta: ‘07 sweep, 10/04. Eleven Top 10s in 17 career starts at Atlanta. Y!-A1
2. Jeff Gordon… Four-time winner at Atlanta: 10/03, 3/99, 11/98, 3/95. Since 10/05: Eight Top 10s in nine races, all 12th or better. Y!-A2
3. Kevin Harvick… Won 3/01 race at Atlanta. Average finish of 3.0 last year. Y!-B1
4. Mark Martin… Two-time winner at Atlanta: 11/94, 11/91. Finished 31st (Average Running Position of 14th) and fifth last year at Atlanta. Y!-A3
5. Matt Kenseth… Average finish of 12.0 last year at Atlanta, 6.0 from ‘06-’08. Y!-B2
6. Clint Bowyer… Finished sixth in three straight March races at Atlanta. Y!-B3
7. Greg Biffle… Average finish of 7.0 at Atlanta in ‘08, DNF (crash) and 10th place finish last year. Y!-A4
8. Tony Stewart… Two-time winner at Atlanta: 10/06, 3/02. Average finish of 4.3 in March races since ‘06 at Atlanta.
9. Jeff Burton… Average finish of 4.5 in ‘07 at Atlanta, 14.0 in ‘08. Finished 14th and 34th last year. Y!-B4
10. Carl Edwards… Three-time winner at Atlanta: 10/08, ‘05 sweep. Finished third and 37th last year at Atlanta.
11. Kurt Busch… Two-time winner at Atlanta: 3/09, 10/02. Won last year’s March race, DNF (crash) in September. Average finish of 11.0 in ‘07-’08 March races, 7.0 in September.
12. Kasey Kahne… Two-time winner at Atlanta: 9/09, 3/06. Finished seventh in last year’s March race. Y!-B5
13. Joey Logano… Average start of 38.0, average finish of 26.0 in ‘09 at Atlanta. N’wide: sixth last year. Y!-B6
14. Kyle Busch… Won 3/08 race at Atlanta. Average finish of 15.5 last year at Atlanta.
15. Denny Hamlin… Average finish of 14.0 in last two March races at Atlanta, 4.5 in Sep/Oct.
16. Dale Earnhardt Jr…. Won 3/04 race at Atlanta. Average finish of 13.5 since ‘07. Y!-B7
17. Juan Pablo Montoya… Finished at career-best third in September race last year at Atlanta.
18. David Reutimann… Finished at career-best fourth in September race last year at Atlanta. Y!-B8
19. Brian Vickers… Average finish of 6.0 at Atlanta last year.
20. Jamie McMurray… Finished 15th in last year’s March race at Atlanta, 28th in September.
21. Ryan Newman… Average finish of 15.0 in ‘08 at Atlanta, finished 22nd and ninth last year.
22. Martin Truex Jr…. Finished 10th and 26th last year at Atlanta. IROC: Won ‘05 and ‘06.
23. A.J. Allmendinger… Strong value play. Average finish of 16.8 in four career starts at Atlanta. Truck: DNFs (crashes) in ‘06 and ‘07. Y!-C1
24. Paul Menard… Strong value play. Finished 15th in last year’s September race at Atlanta. Y!-C2
25. Scott Speed… Strong value play. DNF (crash) and 24th place last year at Atlanta. Truck: 27th, fifth in ‘08. Y!-C3
26. Bill Elliott… Weak value play. Five-time winner at Atlanta: ‘92 sweep, 11/87, ‘85 sweep. DNF (crash) in last year’s March race at Atlanta, running 16th midrace. Y!-C4
27. Elliott Sadler… Average finish of 20.5 last year at Atlanta.
28. David Ragan… Average finish of 26.0 last year at Atlanta.
29. Brad Keselowski… No career Cup starts at Atlanta. N’wide: sixth in ‘08, fourth last year.
30. Marcos Ambrose… Average finish of 30.0 in three career starts at Atlanta.
31. Sam Hornish Jr…. Average finish of 30.2 in four career starts at Atlanta. N’wide: 15th in ‘07. IndyCar: fourth in ‘01. IROC: ninth of 12 in ‘06.
32. Regan Smith… Average finish of 34.0 in two career starts at Atlanta (both in ‘08). N’wide: 22.0 from ‘06-’07. Truck: 23.5 in ‘05, ‘07.
33. Bobby Labonte… Long shot value play. Six-time winner at Atlanta: 3/03, 11/01, 11/99, 3/98, 11/97, 11/96. DNF (engine) in March race, 18th in September last year at Atlanta.
34. Robby Gordon… Long shot value play. Average finish of 21.0 last year at Atlanta.
35. David Gilliland… Long shot value play. Average finish of 21.5 last year at Atlanta.
36. Travis Kvapil… DNF (engine) last year in March race at Atlanta. Average finish of 26.0 in ‘08.Truck: 11.8 in five career starts (’04, ‘07-’08). IROC: fifth in ‘04.
37. Kevin Conway… No career Cup starts at Atlanta. N’wide: ‘03, ‘06. ARCA: ‘02. Average finish of 33.5 this season.
38. Max Papis… DNF (crash) in last year’s September race, first career Cup start at Atlanta. Truck: finished 20th last year. IROC: 8.5 from ‘05-’06.
39. Dave Blaney… Did not start and park last week, finished 29th.
40. Michael McDowell… No career Cup starts at Atlanta. N’wide: DNF (transmission) last year.
41. Mike Bliss… Start and parked both races last year at Atlanta. N’wide: seventh in ‘08, start and park last year. Truck: seventh, won in ‘06, eighth last year.
42. Boris Said… Likely start and park. No career Cup starts at Atlanta.
43. Aric Almirola… Likely start and park. Finished 21st in last year’s March race at Atlanta. N’wide: 27th in ‘07. Truck: 18th, DNF (engine) in ‘06.
44. Joe Nemechek… Likely start and park. Two DNFs last year.
45. Casey Mears… Failed to qualify three times this season. Average finish of 21.2 in 14 career starts at Atlanta.
46. Terry Cook… Failed to qualify three times this season. No career Cup starts. Truck: 12.5 in 10 career starts.

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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.

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This table show the average finish of 35 drivers in the eight races at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway and Charlotte Motor Speedway (Formerly Lowe’s Motor Speedway) during the 2009 season. All of these tracks are 1.5 mile long and feature 24 degree corner backing.

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Jeff Gordon (Contender) – In the 4 COT races held at Atlanta Motor Speedway Jeff Gordon is the only driver to sweep the top ten in every race. Over the last 4 COT Atlanta races Jeff Gordon has the best average finish (6th) and the second best average start (7.0).

At Las Vegas Jeff Gordon was absolutely dominant until the end of the race and led a race high 219 laps. In 2009 Jeff Gordon scored the most points in he series on intermediate tracks and had finishes of 2nd and 8th at Atlanta.

Jimmie Johnson (Pretender) - THIS IS NOT A TYPO. Did you read Charlie’s post about Does Jimmie Johnson’s Greatness Get You Down? If it does let me try to help you out here. In the stats that you can download from the Onpitrow.com newsletter you’ll be overwhelmed by how dominant Jimmie Johnson’s been at Atlanta over the last 10 races. He’s the best in the series at Atlanta in terms of  best average start, average mid race, average finish, average position, most laps in the top 15, laps led, percent of laps led, and last but not least he boasts a driver rating 110.1 which is nearly 5 points higher than his closest competitor (Carl Edwards).

So now you’re wondering how in the world is he a pretender? He hasn’t been that good in the 4 COT races at Atlanta. In the COT era his average finish here is 15th. In the first COT Atlanta race his car was out in the weeds and got lapped on the track several times (first race graph). In the next Atlanta COT race he finished 2nd but that race result was the product of fresh tires in a near legendary sprint to the finish. His second place finish isn’t even close to reflecting how the 48 car was that day (second race graph). In the spring 2009 COT race Jimmie wasn’t competitive late in the race and finished 9th (third race graph). Last fall Jimmie Johnson was competitive for the first half the race but the 48 lost the handle of the car and shortly after that they suffered a mechanical failure and were done for the day (fourth race graph).

So after all of this I’ll say Jimmie Johnson isn’t bad here, but he certainly isn’t a contender. His stats are heavily padded by what he accomplished in the old car and that era is over.

Kevin Harvick (Contender) – Last fall at Atlanta is when I started to see something in Kevin Harvick that would translate into 2010 success. He had the car to beat in the second Atlanta race of 2009, but the 29 car wasn’t the best on short runs which is how that race was decided. He was extremely strong on the long runs (sound familiar lately).

This is a little bit off topic but check out what I said about Kevin Harvick in a Experts Fantasy NASCAR draft earlier this year.

Denny Hamlin (Pretender) – Denny Hamlin has been pretty bad this year. After Las Vegas and California I see no real reason to be optimistic about Denny Hamlin at Atlanta. At Las Vegas his average running position was 20.5. He had similar uncompetitive numbers at California. For a driver who many felt would be Jimmie Johnson’s biggest competitor this year I don’t think he could do any worse.

Kyle Busch (Contender) – Kyle smoked the field last fall at Texas. He led 232 laps, but the 18 team was off in the fuel department. His success that day will translate into a good run at Atlanta Sunday.

Ryan Newman (Pretender) – I can’t think of a worse intermediate track for Newman. Going back to 2005 Newman has only finished in the top ten once, and that was a 9th place finish last fall (product of fresh tires at the end). He’s good at winning the pole here (7 poles), but that  hasn’t translated into good finishes.

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While hangin’ out in NASCAR’s social media land Monday, I saw this query posed by America’s Greatest Racing Promoter, Eddie Gossage on Facebook…

Eddie Gossage wonders…since Jimmie has won four consecutive championships and has won two of three this season, are you enjoying seeing greatness or does his success turn you off?

It’s a terrific question. Most of the opinions that I hear on it, indicate an epidemic of Johnson hate out there.

I can relate. I’m a Detroit Tiger fan.

My earliest memories of my Tigers are from the early sixties. And yes Steve and Marc, it was the NINETEEN sixties.

1961 for the purpose of this story. In ‘61, my Tigers won 101 games.

They lost the American League pennant by eight games. To the #$%*@!& Yankees.

This was the Tigers of Al Kaline, Rocky Colovito, Stormin’ Norman Cash, Jim Bunning and Yankee Killer Frank Lary.

Unfortunately, the Yankees had guys named Bobby Richardson, Roger Maris, Whitey Ford, Yogi, Mickey….I think I’m going to be sick.

“61 wasn’t the only year that my Tigers were good back then. But they were never better than they were that year. And the New York Yankees kept winning. I hated them.

They were great.

Jimmie Johnson is showing that he too, is great. And you can hate him.

You have my permission.

Photo credit: Round girl Jen by BethAnne Heisler for OnPitRow.com

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We hope that you can use our complete, printable, NASCAR broadcast television schedule for March 2010. This one includes the NASCAR TV schedule for the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, Camping World Truck Series and NASCAR programming on ESPN, ESPN2, Speed and Fox for the entire month of March.

Click here for a printable NASCAR TV schedule for March 2010

The March  2010 NASCAR schedule includes races at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway and Martinsville Speeedway.