On Pit Row

One and Done Race to the Chase Prize List

Charlie Turner — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:36:18 +0000

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The prize list for our second, free, NASCAR fantasy racing game of 2009 is complete. The One and Done Race to the Chase will reward the top ten finishers in total points with more terrific swag.

The One and Done game has been a big success for us here. A really nice community has built up around the game. I think there are a couple reasons for that. One - its just so simple to play. Pick one driver each week - not six or ten. No salary caps or different categories of drivers. It’s the perfect game for lazy fans like me. Two - it’s free and you can win cool stuff anyway.

Check out the prizes below.

The grand prize is a Fast Track Driving School 2 hour Thunder Course at legendary Rockingham! Twelve laps at the Rock! How cool is that!
Kyle Busch No. 18 M&Ms Camry “liquid color” 1/24th scale diecast
No Fear Racing team hat and t-shirt (size mens XXL)
“The Blount Report: NASCAR’s Most Overrated and Underrated Drivers, Cars, Teams, and Tracks” (Hardcover) book. Great read.
Kurt Busch 1st Win 1/64th diecast hauler and Gillette Young Guns hat
Martin Truex Jr signature Bass Pro Shops team hat
“50 Years of ARCA” hardcover coffee table book and ARCA hat
Denny Hamlin Fed Ex Racing checkers set
Joe Gibbs - Toyota Racing t-shirt (size mens large)
Kevin Harvick Shell Gasolines bobblehead.

In addition, every one of the top ten will get a copy of the Backstretch Boys great racing music CD - “Rookie Season”. And…every week the Shell Nitrogen Enriched Gasolines player of the week will win a Kevin Harvick bobblehead.

Good luck.

Daytona Fantasy Racing Live Chat: Thursday at 7 PM ET

Charlie Turner — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:07:49 +0000

Join us tonight on the Bench Racers Live page for an hour or more of live NASCAR fantasy racing advice and discussion.

You can sign up to be reminded in the box below. Hope you can stop by as Ryan Rantz shares his expertise for the Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca Cola at Daytona International Speedway.

One and Done: Coke Zero 400

Chris Leone — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:39:03 +0000

The Coke Zero 400 signals the halfway mark of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. When the winner crosses the finish line on Saturday night, we’ll be 18 races into the 36-race season, and only eight events away from the Chase for the Sprint Cup. The venue is historic Daytona International Speedway, site of the season-opening Daytona 500 and the birthplace of the sport.

Daytona, like its restrictor-plate superspeedway cousin Talladega, is often wildly unpredictable, with top cars often getting taken out of the race due to the “big one.” Surviving a restrictor-plate race is all about luck. It’s about not getting shuffled to the back of the pack at the wrong time, and not running into the back of another car during the wrecks.

But, assuming we have one of those rare restrictor-plate races where no crash occurs and everybody survives, here are some picks:

Marcos Ambrose: It’s Daytona. Crashes happen. Crazy things happen. Anybody can, provided they avoid the big one, win this race. Ambrose avoided trouble in his first Daytona start, has run solidly all season, and could, just as easily as anybody, avoid the wrecks this time around and win. Then again, so could anybody. It’s always a crapshoot.

Matt Kenseth: Well, he did win the Daytona 500… At the same time, he’s also got an incredible record in summer Daytona races, finishing in the top 10 in five of the past six races.

Kyle Busch: You know how it is with Shrub. He’s a factor to win every week, and the defending champion of this race. And if we know anything about Shrub, just because he triggered a melee last weekend, doesn’t mean he won’t be afraid to set off an even bigger one on the superspeedway. He’s going to make every move available to win the race.

Jeff Gordon: You know, neither Gordon or teammate Jimmie Johnson has been too stellar over the past few years at Daytona, aside from a fifth by Gordon in this race two years ago. But Gordon’s led laps in his past four Daytona races, and 12 of his past 15 starts at the track. It’s a solid bet that you can’t keep him down for long.

Tony Stewart: At this stage of the game, Stewart-Haas is one of the top teams on the circuit, and Smoke’s the undisputed leader. He’s won at Daytona before, and this is traditionally the time of year he starts to heat up. Imagine Smoke getting even better? That’s a scary thought for the opposition.

NASCAR Fantasy Experts Picks: Coke Zero 400

Charlie Turner — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:48:45 +0000

Expert	Website	Pick to Win	Finish	Experts Avg
James Jones	On Pit Row	Tony Stewart		7.3
Ryan Rantz	On Pit Row	Kyle Busch		8.6
Cheryl Lauer	Speed Couch			9.4
Yahoo Users	Yahoo! Sports	Jimmie Johnson		10.4
Mike Harmon	FOX Sports	Tony Stewart		10.9
Dennis Mickelsen	RaceTalkRadio.com	Tony Stewart		11.7
Darren Fauth	Fantasy NASCAR Names	Ryan Newman		12.3
Lou Lauer	USAR Fans	Jamie McMurray		12.4
Eric Brewer		Mark Martin		12.5
Bob Ellis	NASCAR Ranting and Raving			12.9
Gerrit Ritt	FOX Sports	Jeff Gordon		13
Roger Rotter	FOX Sports	Tony Stewart		13.4
Charlie Turner	On Pit Row	Jeff Gordon		14.6
P J Walsh	FantasyNASCARPreview.com	Kyle Busch		16.1
Eric McGuire	FFToolbox	Kyle Busch		16.4
Eric McClung	On Pit Row	Kyle Busch		17.2
Jon Rodgers	Gillette Young Guns Challenge Winner	Kyle Busch		17.9

NASCAR Fantasy Racing Preview: Coke Zero 400 Powered by Coca Cola

Eric McClung — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:15:52 +0000

Greetings On Pit Row readers.

There have been two restrictor plate races held thus far, so consider the results of the Daytona 500 and the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway when evaluating your lineup for this week.

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.

Leave your comments below!

Tony Stewart… Strong qualifier: best average starting position (16.0) over the last five years. Eight top-10 finishes in 11 races since ‘04, including two wins. Led laps in those eight top-10s. Y! B-1
Kyle Busch… Finished fourth or better in four of the last six races, including a win last year. Y! A-1
Matt Kenseth… Won this year’s Daytona 500 but historically better in the July race: ‘08- third, ‘07- eighth, ‘06- fifth, ‘05- ninth, ‘03- sixth. Y! A-2
Kurt Busch… 17 career starts: eight top-fives. Top-10 finishes in five of the last six races. Y! B-2
Mark Martin… Good qualifier. 48 career starts, zero wins. Started second at this year’s Daytona 500 (finished 16th) and last year’s Coke Zero 400 (finished 10th). Y! A-3
Jimmie Johnson… Won in ‘06, only one top-10 in the six races since. Had finished eighth or better in six of seven previous races (’02-’05). Y! A-4
Jeff Gordon… Wins in ‘04 and ‘05 but only three top-10 finishes in the eight races since.
Clint Bowyer… Seven career starts: five top-10 finishes. Career-best fourth-place finish at Daytona.
Kasey Kahne… ‘07, ‘08: streak four top-10 finishes, finished 29th at this year’s Daytona 500. Y! B-3
Dale Earnhardt Jr…. Finished ninth and eighth last year, leading laps in both. Finished 27th at this year’s Daytona 500. 19 career starts: led laps 13 times. Runner-up at Talladega. Y! B-4
Ryan Newman… 14 career starts: won 2/08, only two other top-10 finishes. Third at Talladega. Y! B-5
Brian Vickers… Finished 12th and 11th last year. Finished 39th (accident) at this year’s Daytona 500. Y! B-6
Kevin Harvick… Last six races at Daytona: win, runner-up, five finishes of 14th or better.
Carl Edwards… Only two top-10 finishes but each came in the last two July races (fourth 7/07, second 7/08).
Denny Hamlin… Seven career starts: zero top-10 finishes. Career-best 17th (2/08, 7/06) Y! B-7
Greg Biffle… 13 career starts: only three top-10 finishes. Third at Talladega.
Jeff Burton… One top-10 finish since ‘04.
David Reutimann… Career-best 12th-place finish at Daytona. Y! B-8
Marcos Ambrose… Finished 17th at this year’s Daytona 500, first career start. Fourth at Talladega. Y! C-1
Elliott Sadler… Strong value play. Last seven races: five finishes of sixth or better
AJ Allmendinger… Finished third in second career start at Daytona this year. Y! C-2
Brad Keselowski… Long shot value play. No Cup starts at Daytona. Nationwide Series: ‘08- 16th, fifth (led 28 laps). ‘09- 2nd (led six laps). Won at Talladega. Y! C-3
Joey Logano… DNF in first career start at Daytona this year. Finished 20th in the Nationwide Series.
Martin Truex Jr…. Weak value play. No top-10s but four straight finishes of 20th or better.
Juan Pablo Montoya… Career-high 14th-place finish at this year’s Daytona 500. 32nd or worse in three of five career starts.
Jamie McMurray… Finished 26th or worse in four of the last five at Daytona, a win in ‘07.
Bobby Labonte… Finished 11th and 13th last year. Finished 22nd at this year’s Daytona 500. Y! C-4
Robby Gordon… Daytona 500: 34th. ‘08: eighth, sixth. Streak of six top-15 finishes from ‘06-’08.
Sam Hornish Jr…. Declining over three career starts: 15th, 29th, 32nd.
David Ragan… Lone top-10 of the season came at Daytona.
Casey Mears… 15th or worse in five straight races at Daytona.
Joe Nemechek… Good qualifier: 7/08- fourth, 7/06- fifth, 7/05- fifth.
Michael Waltrip… Daytona 500: seventh. First top-10 since winning in ‘03.
Reed Sorenson… Last three Daytona 500’s: 13th, fifth, ninth. Last three July races: 34th, 42nd, 22nd.
David Stremme… ‘07: 11th, 22nd. Daytona 500: 33nd
Scott Speed… Daytona 500: 35th. Fifth at Talladega.
Paul Menard… Finished a career-best 15th last year.
Patrick Carpentier… ‘08: started 10th, finished 14th.
John Andretti… Three top-20 finishes since ‘00.
David Gilliland… ‘07: eighth, 11th. ‘08: 28th, 40th.
Regan Smith… ‘08: 37th, 24th. Daytona 500: 21st
Dave Blaney…’08: 38th, 19th.
Max Papis… No Cup or Nationwide starts at Daytona.
Tony Raines… ‘07: 39th.

NASCAR Power Rankings: Daytona 2

Ryan Rantz — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:40:17 +0000

Loudon

Who's Up

Who's Down

Biggest Gain This Week:

Kurt Busch: 7th to 5th

Biggest Drop This Week:

Ryan Newman: 6th to 9th

New This Week:

Juan Pablo Montoya

Dropped Out This Week:

Rank: 1st

Tony Stewart #14
Last Week: 1
Change: 0
Driver Page | Articles

Tony Stewart- 1 Win, 13 Top Tens

For the 4th consecutive week Tony Stewart remains in the top spot. What is keeping him there? The answer is consistency. Many of his top competitors have looked good, but have been inconsistent.

Rank: 2nd

Jimmie Johnson #48
Last Week: 2
Change: 0
Driver Page | Articles

Jimmie Johnson- 2 Wins, 11 Top Tens

Over the last month and a half Jimmie Johnson has been the best car on the track. The point standings don't properly reflect this but Johnson's league best driver rating of 108.5 does.

Rank: 3rd

Jeff Gordon #24
Last Week: 4
Change: +1
Driver Page | Articles

Jeff Gordon- 1 Win, 12 Top Tens

At New Hampshire Jeff Gordon almost had the race won. If it wasn't for Joey's fuel mileage and the rain, Gordon would have been able to tack on another 10 bonus points for the Chase. More importantly the 24 is starting to get momentum going.

Rank: 4th

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

Mark Martin- 3 Wins, 8 Top Tens

Mark Martin had a pretty mediocre day at New Hampshire. I thought it was pretty unusual because at similar tracks earlier in the season (Phoenix-Win, Richmond- 5th) Martin had very successful races.

Rank: 5th

Kurt Busch #2
Last Week: 7
Change: +2
Driver Page | Articles

Kurt Busch- 1 Win, 9 Top Tens

Kurt Busch was a thorn in Jeff Gordon's side all day long at New Hampshire. At Daytona Kurt will look to be ahead of Gordon with his series best 5.3 COT average finish.

Rank: 6th

Carl Edwards #99
Last Week: 5
Change: -1
Driver Page | Articles

Carl Edwards- 4 Top Fives, 8 Top Tens

The 99 has been off their game for the last 2 races but other then that Carl Edwards has positioned himself as a top contender for 2009.

Rank: 7th

Greg Biffle #16
Last Week: 8
Change: +1
Driver Page | Articles

Greg Biffle- 5 Top Fives, 8 Top Tens

As soon as I heard that the 16 was using their winning setup from last year I knew he was in trouble. Teams must always strive to do better then before, but that wasn't in the 16's game plan and they finished 18th with last years winning setup.

Rank: 8th

Kasey Kahne #9
Last Week: 9
Change: +1
Driver Page | Articles

Kasey Kahne- 1 Win, 6 Top Tens

The 9 car over the last 6 races has accumulated the 5th most points in the series with 1 win and 4 top tens. Over this time period they have averaged ~140 points a race which equates roughly to an eighth place finish.

Rank: 9th

Ryan Newman #39
Last Week: 6
Change: -3
Driver Page | Articles

Ryan Newman- 5 Top Fives, 8 Top Tens

Ryan Newman won his first career race in the rain at New Hampshire in 2002. In 2009 Newman tried to duplicate his first victory but the rain came to late and his tank was empty.

Rank: 10th

Denny Hamlin #11
Last Week: 10
Change: 0
Driver Page | Articles

Denny Hamlin- 4 Top Fives, 6 Top Tens

Hamlin's performance at New Hampshire was the big let down of the week for me. The 11 was never a factor all day long.

Rank: 11th

Kyle Busch #18
Last Week: 11
Change: 0
Driver Page | Articles

Kyle Busch- 3 Wins, 6 Top Tens

Kyle Busch likes the rain. Until Sunday the last top 10 Kyle Busch had was at the Coke 600 which was also a rain out.

Rank: 12th

Juan Pablo Montoya #42
Last Week: NR
Change: N/A
Driver Page | Articles

Juan Pablo Montoya- 1 Pole, 7 Top Tens

Remember back in 2007 when Bowyer made the Chase but didn't have a single win. Well, in 2009 seventeen races into the season Montoya is currently in the Chase and he doesn't even have a single top 5.

Fast Laps: Daytona

Matt Mercer — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 20:29:21 +0000

We’ve recently witnessed Formula One save itself from an IRL/CART division, and in the process Max Mosley will step aside from leadership. The teams’ complaint was over a salary cap, as teams wish to spend as much as their heart desires each year. Ferrari’s annual budget reportedly runs close to half a billion(!) dollars. I bring this up to talk about NASCAR and cost-cutting measures being talked about and in some cases already implemented. No more testing. The new car and strenuous limits on what can be done to the car. It’s been my opinion for a long time that NASCAR needs to open up and make the Sprint Cup Series more like Formula One, at least from the standpoint that teams should be free to do what works and let them be creative. The sport grew because of those advancements along with teams and manufacturers wanting to best one another. Today, however, manufacturers are in trouble. Still, that’s not a reason to homogenize the top series any more than it has already become. My view is let Sprint Cup be the big boys and let them have the advancement. Drop down to Nationwide, and let’s go with some cost-cutting. Limit cars. Do whatever they planned to do. In the Camping World Truck Series, go even further. Let’s have the best of both worlds. Sprint Cup doesn’t need to be like IROC with common cars and common everything. If you’re going to call it your top series, then actually treat it as the pinnacle of the sport.

Let’s get to the comments and see some good answers. Tell your friends to reply too. Remember the new rule, 100 words total.

1. Going back to my complaint/rant in the opening, are “spec” or common engines inevitable or will we continue to see brand-specific engines in Sprint Cup?

2. Should NASCAR push through the Nationwide COT in superspeedway and road course races in 2010, as has been mentioned?

3. Does this restrictor plate package need to be changed?

4. How long do you remember rain-shortened wins? Stats don’t care about it, but do fans?

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media

Joey Logano Uses Zippadelli’s Leadership to Beat the Rain at Loudon

Steve Wronkowicz — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:45:45 +0000

Joey Lagono did something that most nineteen year olds have a hard time with; listening to their elders.

Logano listened to crew chief Greg Zippadelli, when he told the first year Cup driver to save enough fuel to make it to the red flag. Rain came on lap 273 of the scheduled 301 laps and “Sliced Bread” was in a position to win. What early on looked to be bad luck turned out to be good for the #20 team. A couple of flat tires and a torn up left rear quarter panel forced him to pit for new tires and allowed the rookie to top off with fuel during the several stops necessary to get the car back into contention. Logano wasn’t thinking silver lining at the time:

We had a left rear cut down right before we made that last long green flag run and just trying to overcome that. When that happened, I thought we were done. I was like, the day just went bad, just try to finish it off and get as best finish we can and we made the right move at the end. He (Zippadelli) went for it and I was just lucky enough to be in the seat.

The win puts Joe Gibbs Racing back in the win column for the first time in a ride other than the #18 of Kyle Busch. Logano’s Cup season got off to a rough start. Just maybe he was in a bit over his head which led me to believe that he might fold under the pressures and not make it past the middle of the season. Look here to see how wrong I could be.

Double file restarts have greatly increased the viewer excitement of the races since their inception. They have also been the cause of some mishaps. Perhaps the two go hand in hand. Loudon had a “big one” the likes of which reminds fans of the side by side racing usually reserved for the plate tracks. The racing has been more fun to watch and NASCAR must be given credit for the move.

This all leads us to this week’s BUZZ ON PIT ROW:

If the new double file restarts can make for exciting races at New Hampshire and Sonoma; can it do the same for the ‘cookie cutters” at Chicago, Kansas, Atlanta et al?

Let us know what you think and we could use your comments on this week’s ON PIT ROW radio show. Listen live every Tuesday from 5-7pm ET at www.onpitrow.com. Or give us a call at 1-800-645-2946 and if your call is The Shell Nitrogen Enriched Call of the Day you will win a Kevin Harvick bobblehead.

photo credit: Dew Hallowell/Getty Images for NASCAR

A Much Different Race At New Hampshire This Time Around

Chris Leone — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:59:36 +0000

It’s difficult to knock your home racetrack for usually putting on a boring show, but I frequently find myself complaining about the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Sprint Cup’s answer to the Milwaukee Mile, the 1-mile flat track has put on plenty of snoozefests or rain-shortened tilts over the past few years. As a fan who attends both Sprint Cup races at the track every year, and having been a ticket holder at the track for more than ten years, I often find myself wondering on the drive home whether or not the race I just saw was worth the price of admission.

Today’s event, however, might have finally sold me on Loudon.

Remember that when I wrote about “fixing” NASCAR, I wanted a shorter schedule for the Sprint Cup boys, and that NHMS was one of the first tracks I wanted to go. Despite the fact that it almost always sells out (owing to its status as the only Cup track in New England), there’s always been a negative aura over the track ever since Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin Jr.’s accidents. Remember the 2001 race run on Thanksgiving weekend? Do you have any idea how frigid that was?

Today’s race, though - there was something different about it, compared to the past few years. It didn’t feel like a chore to sit through this race the way it has in some years past. For one, with the starting lineup set by owners’ points, it was fun to watch the guys who were fast in happy hour work their way through the field. In particular, Martin Truex Jr. was showing his stuff early on, working his way into the top 10.

Even the commercialism seemed to be toned down this weekend. The $ouvenir price$ were $till the $ame (if you were enough of a $ucker to $pend $25 on a t-$hirt), but there were far fewer trailers on track grounds selling new gear. Aside from the Aaron’s Lucky Dog and ServiceMaster Cautions, there weren’t too many ads on the three big screens placed around the track.

That made it a lot easier to focus on the racing at hand - and boy, were there some highlights. I’m a little peeved at Kyle Busch for taking out Truex, my One and Done pick this weekend, and causing one of the biggest wrecks at the track in recent memory. The double-file restarts (I refuse to call them that cheesy name that Brian France gave them) completely changed the race, and produced some pretty good battles between Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch.

And how about Joey Logano winning his first career Sprint Cup race? In a way, this is Sliced Bread’s home track - although he relocated to Georgia to further his career around the turn of the decade, he’s originally from Connecticut. Same goes for crew chief Greg Zipadelli, a Berlin, CT native. It’s always a great feeling to get your first win, and it’s great, too, to win at your home track. Combining both must be a dream come true for the No. 20 team.

Sure, the win’s a little controversial due to the race ending early, but either way, it etches Logano into the record books as the youngest Sprint Cup winner ever. And even as driver development contracts are starting earlier and earlier in drivers’ lives and careers, it’s unlikely that anyone is going to win another Sprint Cup race at 19 years old anytime soon.

Today’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301, although rain-shortened (do you think they’ll ever go “the extra mile”?), was the best Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in a long time. More than ever, I can say that I’m looking forward to the start of the Chase ten weeks from now. Hopefully that race will deliver as much entertainment as this one did.

A Stewart-Haas One-Two at Loudon?

Charlie Turner — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 15:05:01 +0000

What else does Tony Stewart have to do?

He’s already taken a third tier Cup team from struggling to qualify for races to leading the Sprint Cup Series points after 16 meets. Smoke has won an all-star race and the cupper at Pocono. In fact, both of Tony’s cars - his no. 14 Office Depot/Old Spice Racing Chevy and Ryan Newman’s no. 39 U S Army/Haas Automation Impala are solidly in the top 12 in points.

The problem is, I am not yet a believer. Which may mean the mantle of resident idiot at the Bench Racing blog is up for grabs. Again. But, whatever. I need more convincing and it might just come today at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

You can make the argument that Loudon is Stewart’s best track. 20 races, 2 wins, 10 top fives, 12 top tens. Newman also has two wins and nine top tens.

A one-two finish on the real, big paperclip would probably end my doubts.

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

Loudon NASCAR Fantasy Racing Live Chat: Tuesday at 7 PM ET

Charlie Turner — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:31:07 +0000

Join us tonight on the Bench Racers Live page for an hour or more of live NASCAR fantasy racing advice and discussion.

You can sign up to be reminded in the box below. Hope you can join us as Eric McClung shares his expertise for the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

One and Done: Lenox Industrial Tools 301

Chris Leone — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 06:43:41 +0000

The Sprint Cup Series traverses the entire country this weekend, making the long trek to New Hampshire Motor Speedway after racing in California last weekend. The 1-mile oval is often maligned for boring racing and the two deaths that occurred in turns 3 and 4 in 2000 – Adam Petty in the spring, and Kenny Irwin Jr. in the summer. However, the track is one of the best-attended in the sport, the fans come in droves from all around New England, and Bruton Smith’s makeover of the facility has turned it into a first-rate spectator experience.

Last year’s June race featured one of the oddest top threes in recent memory, as Kurt Busch (in a Penske car that was, at the time, underperforming), Michael Waltrip, and J.J. Yeley topped the field in a rain-shortened event. Although we up in New England have been getting a lot of rain lately, don’t expect two consecutive rain-shortened events that are won by staying out of the pits. Instead, look to these guys to run near the front:

Martin Truex Jr.: The TomTom paint scheme he’s running this weekend is pretty ugly, but one can’t say the same for Truex’s record on the Magic Mile. He used to run on this track a few times a year as a part of the old Busch North Series, so he knows his way around. His last four finishes are 3rd, 5th, 4th, and 7th, consecutively, and he led as many laps – 46 as eventual winner Denny Hamlin in the June 2007 race.

Jeff Burton: Yes, it’s been a while since he led all 300 laps and won at NHMS. No, he hasn’t won since 2000. But you’d have to go all the way back to 2003 to find a race in which Burton finished worse than 18th, and that was due to engine failure. He’s been a great driver at New Hampshire ever since he joined Roush Racing in 1996, and has performed just as solidly with RCR.

Mark Martin: This is one of six tracks at which Martin has never won, but it sure isn’t for lack of trying. He has an average finish of 11.0 with 13 top-10s in 24 starts. The only issue with picking Martin is that Loudon is one of the tracks he always skipped during his limited schedule runs in 2007 and 2008, so he hasn’t hit the track since the fall of 2006. The cars and track have both changed, and it’ll be interesting to see how he adapts.

Denny Hamlin: Hamlin tops all drivers with an average finish of 7.2. His worst finish is 15th in six starts. He’s won at New Hampshire before, leading 46 laps in this race in 2007. The one drawback to Hamlin is that he hasn’t led any laps at the track since winning in 2007.

Kurt Busch: He won this race last year, but again, it was due to a smart call on the part of Pat Tryson. This time around, the Blue Deuce is competitive on a weekly basis, and could’ve won last weekend at Sonoma if not for Jimmie Johnson. Be warned, though: At NHMS, Busch is often feast or famine. His 16-3-5-7 record doesn’t tell the whole story: six finishes outside of the top 20 complete the picture.

Dale Earnhardt Edges David Pearson: NASCAR’s 64 Greatest Drivers Tourney

Charlie Turner — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:02:27 +0000

It’s Earnhardt at the flag!

After over 60 head-to-head match ups between 64 of NASCAR’s Greatest All-time drivers, the votes are in. In hundreds of blog comments, Twitter tweets and radio interviews, On Pit Row’s listeners and readers narrowly chose Dale Earnhardt as the winner of our 64 Greatest Drivers of NASCAR Tournament at Bench Racing with Steve and Charlie.

Earnhardt’s supporters gave him victories over Bobby Isaac, Rex White, Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson leading up to the Four Wide Final.

There, The Intimidator’s fans voted him over Darrell Waltrip and finally, David Pearson to win the tourney.

Here is a sample of some of the comments we got from voters in the final face-off between Earnhardt and Pearson.

…Pearson was untouchable at Charlotte and Darlington, Earnhardt the best at Talladega. Had Pearson run full schedules his entire career, who knows how many titles he would have won? Bottom line, though, in a head-to-head race in comparable equipment at almost any track, I’d pick Pearson–unless Earnhardt wrecked him. - Reid Spencer

my vote is for the 7 time champ - Steve1381

For me it has to be a split decision. Dale Earnhardt Sr. gets my vote for charisma, showmanship and heart. While David Pearson for mechanical driving skill, determination and heart.Dream season would have been to have the two on the track at the same time! Now that would have put the butts in the seat. - Zoey

It’s always difficult to compare great drivers who raced in different eras under different circumstances. Are we guaging talent…or impact on the sport? I don’t think there is really a balanced way to compare talent between these two since they didn’t compete. But, in my opinion, Earnhardt’s personal accomplishments and impact on the sport were greater than Pearson’s. - Jeff Gilder

DALE EARNHARDT ALL THE WAY. - donnie lee redd jr.

Dale Earnhardt all the way. Dale is arguably the most talented driver in Nascar history. Seven championships in first sixteen seasons is remarkable. He also started at a much later age than drivers today. Second is point standings at age 49 remarkable achievement. - Dave Watson

Here’s the complete bracket for the tournament. Thanks to everyone.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media Inc

NASCAR Fantasy Racing Preview: Lenox Industrial Tools 301

Eric McClung — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:21:39 +0000

Greetings On Pit Row readers,
Last week I got feedback from a reader that the Fantasy Racing Preview would be more useful if the drivers were ranked straight through, rather than split into the A/B/C list used by Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing. The Preview is still a work in progress and the aim is to inform all fantasy NASCAR players - regardless of format. That said, I’ve taken the feedback and I’ve ranked everyone on the entry list from No. 1 to No. 46 as a test run this week.

For Yahoo! players, the top-four A list drivers, top-eight B list drivers and top-four C list drivers will have Y! tags attached to them. Top qualifiers, for those chasing bonus points, and value plays, for those looking for low-rent salary cap options, will remain the same. Value plays are also geared for owners in allocation formats looking to save driver starts.

As I mentioned on Tuesday’s On Pit Row, starting position is huge at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. In the 28 races runs here, the winner has started 15th or better 21 times. Over the last three years (six races), two drivers have won from the pole. The other three winners qualified fourth, ninth and 11th. Kurt Busch won from the 26th position last year, but stayed out prior to rain showers and won a shortened race.

What do you think of the new format? Leave your comments below.

Jimmie Johnson… Swept in ‘03. Top-10s in six of the last seven, finished 15th or better in 13 of 14 career starts. Best average starting position of the last five years (10 starts): 7.9. Y! A-1
Tony Stewart… Twenty career starts: 10 top-five finishes. Laps led in three starts in a row and seven of the last nine. Y! B-1
Jeff Gordon… Laps led in 17 of 28 career starts. ‘08- 11th, 14th. ‘07- second, second. Last pole- ‘04. Last win- ‘98. Y! A-2
Denny Hamlin… Six career starts: won in ‘07, five top-10 finishes, never finished worse than 15th. Y! B-2
Greg Biffle… 13 career starts: won the most recent race in September, three consecutive top-fives (7/05, 9/05, 7/06). Only top-10 in the other nine starts. Y! A-3
Kyle Busch… Most recent pole winner. Laps led in four on eight career starts. ‘08- 25th, 34th. ‘07- 11th, fourth. Won 7/06. Y-4
Matt Kenseth… No victories, but consistent. Top-10 finishes in 10 of the last 13 starts.
Ryan Newman… Strong qualifier. Four poles but none since ‘06. Laps led in 11 of 14 career starts. ‘07- ninth, 10th. ‘08- 15th, 36th. Y! B-3
Kurt Busch… Good qualifier. Started inside the top-three (9/06, 7/07, 9/07) Defending champion of this race, swept in ‘04 but poor finishes in between (19th or worse in five straight races). Y! B-4
Carl Edwards… Finished third last September, only one top-10 in eight other starts.
Mark Martin… No starts since ‘06, two top-10s in the last 10 starts.
Jeff Burton… Four career wins, none since ‘00. Top-10 finishes in five of the last seven starts.
Clint Bowyer… Six career starts: one top-10, a victory from the pole in 9/07- led 222 of 300 laps.
Dale Earnhardt Jr…. Good qualifier. Started fourth and fifth last year. Laps led in four straight races but uneven finishes: ‘07- fourth, 16th. ‘08- 24th, fifth. Y! B-5
Kasey Kahne… First five career starts: four top-10s. Next five starts: zero top-10s, finished 20th or worse three times. Y! B-6
David Reutimann… Improvements in four straight career starts: ‘07- 38th, 26th. ‘08- 19th, 15th. Y! B-7
Martin Truex Jr…. Strong value play. Six career starts: seventh or better in four straight. Y! B-8
Casey Mears… Weak value play. Two top-10 finishes over the last three starts. Finished outside of the top-20 in eight of 12 career starts.
Kevin Harvick… Laps led in eight of 16 career starts. Won from the pole 9/06.
Bobby Labonte… Weak value play. ‘08- 10th, 13th. Outside of top-20 in four of five races prior. Seven top-10s nine races from 8/98-9/02. Y! C-1
Brian Vickers… Laps led in four of 10 career starts but only one top-10 finish (fifth in 9/06).
Marcos Ambrose… Two Nationwide starts: ‘07- 27th, ‘08- 14th. Truck series: ‘06- 23rd. Y! C-2
Joey Logano… First career start in last year’s September race: started 40th, finished 32nd. Two ‘07 wins in the East Series.
Juan Pablo Montoya… Four career starts: 22.8 average finish, never finished better than 17th.
Jamie McMurray… Eight straight starts without a top-10. ‘07- 16th, 11th. ‘08- 41st, 39th.
Elliott Sadler… Career-best fifth-place finish last year but only five top-10 finishes in 20 career starts.
Michael Waltrip… Finished second last year but 23rd or worse in three of the last four starts.
David Ragan… Four career starts: 25.5 average finish, never finished better than 15th.
Brad Keselowski… Long shot value play. One Nationwide start last year: 10th. Y! C-3
AJ Allmendinger… Two DNFs in ‘08. One start in ‘07- 33rd. Truck series- ‘06- 13th, ‘07- 34th. Y! C-4
Sam Hornish Jr…. First two career starts last year: 39th, 30th (34.5 average finish)
Reed Sorenson… Started and finished sixth last year (his only top-10 in six career starts), finished 22nd in September.
Paul Menard… Four career starts: 28.3 average finish, never finished better than 21st.
Robby Gordon… Won in 11/01. Outside of the top-20 in eight of the last 11 races.
Patrick Carpentier… Won the pole ‘08. Finished 31st in both races last year.
Dave Blaney… Won the pole in ‘07. Four straight finishes of 29th or worse.
Joe Nemechek… Won 9/99. Seven straight races of 20th or worse, three DNFs.
David Stremme… Declining finishes in four straight career starts: ‘06- 11th, 20th. ‘07- 27th, 42nd.
Regan Smith… Four career starts: 29.5 average finish, never finished better than 23rd.
David Gilliland… Six career starts: 28.7 average finish, never finished better than 28th.
John Andretti… No starts in ‘08. One start in ‘07- DNF.
Scott Speed… No starts at New Hampshire.
Mike Wallace… Ten career starts, none since ‘05: 30.2 average finish.
Tony Raines… Six career starts: 25.8 average finish, never finished better than 20th.
Dexter Bean… No starts at New Hampshire.
Ted Christopher… Six lifetime Cup starts, none since ‘06, five at New Hampshire: all DNFs. Four Nationwide starts (’97-’00): two DNFs, 18th, 12th

NASCAR Fantasy Experts Picks: Lenox Industrial Tools 301 from Loudon

Charlie Turner — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:05:08 +0000

Expert	Website	Pick to Win	Finish	Experts Avg
James Jones	On Pit Row	Jimmy Johnson	9	7.3
Ryan Rantz	On Pit Row	Jimmy Johnson	9	8.6
Cheryl Lauer	Speed Couch	Kurt Busch	3	9.4
Yahoo Users	Yahoo! Sports	Jeff Gordon	2	10.4
Mike Harmon	FOX Sports	Jeff Gordon	2	10.9
Dennis Mickelsen	RaceTalkRadio.com	Carl Edwards	19	11.7
Darren Fauth	Fantasy NASCAR Names	David Reutimann	4	12.3
Lou Lauer	USAR Fans	Tony Stewart	5	12.4
Eric Brewer		Denny Hamlin	15	12.5
Bob Ellis	NASCAR Ranting and Raving	Tony Stewart	5	12.9
Gerrit Ritt	FOX Sports	Kurt Busch	3	13
Roger Rotter	FOX Sports	Kurt Busch	3	13.4
Charlie Turner	On Pit Row	Ryan Newman	29	14.6
P J Walsh	FantasyNASCARPreview.com	Tony Stewart	5	16.1
Eric McGuire	FFToolbox	Tony Stewart	5	16.4
Eric McClung	On Pit Row	Jimmie Johnson	9	17.2
Jon Rodgers	Gillette Young Guns Challenge Winner	Dale Earnhardt Jr	13	17.9

NASCAR Power Rankings: New Hampshire

Ryan Rantz — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 01:00:56 +0000

Sonoma

Who's Up

Who's Down

Biggest Gain This Week:

Kasey Kahne: 11th to 9th

Biggest Drop This Week:

Mark Martin: 1st to 3rd

No new drivers this week.

No drivers dropped out this week.

Rank: 1st

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

Tony Stewart- 1 Win, 12 Top Tens

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

Rank: 2nd

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

Jimmie Johnson- 2 Wins, 10 Top Tens

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

Rank: 3rd

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

Mark Martin- 3 Wins, 8 Top Tens

After a long day at Infineon Martin now remembers why he's skipped it the last 2 years.

Did you know that Martin's never won at New Hampshire? It's true.

Rank: 4th

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

Jeff Gordon- 1 Win, 11 Top Tens

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

Rank: 5th

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

Carl Edwards- 4 Top Fives, 8 Top Tens

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

Rank: 6th

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

Ryan Newman- 5 Top Fives, 8 Top Tens

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

Rank: 7th

Kurt Busch #2
Last Week: 8
Change: +1
Driver Page | Articles

Kurt Busch- 1 Win, 8 Top Tens

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

Rank: 8th

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

Greg Biffle- 5 Top Fives, 8 Top Tens

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

Rank: 9th

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

Kasey Kahne- 1 Win, 5 Top Tens

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

Rank: 10th

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

Denny Hamlin- 4 Top Fives, 6 Top Tens

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

Rank: 11th

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

Kyle Busch- 3 Wins, 5 Top Tens

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

Rank: 12th

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

Matt Kenseth- 2 Wins, 6 Top Tens

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