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NASCAR Fantasy Racing Preview: Allstate 400 at the Brickyard

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by Eric McClung, Special To NASCAR news, fantasy racing advice and statistics On Pit Row

Follow @ericmcclung on Twitter for NASCAR, IndyCar, golf and various other fantasy sports picks.

July 22, 2009 10:11 am UTC 3 Comments

Greetings On Pit Row readers.
The historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway was built back in 1909 but the configuration has remained similar, a flat 2.5-mile rectangular track. The venue has hosts the largest single-day sporting event the world, the Indianapolis 500 (IndyCar Series) but added an annual NASCAR event starting in 1994. The track lends itself more to battles for track position and fuel mileage rather than side-by-side racing.

Last year marked the first time the Car of Tomorrow was raced here and the results were dreadful. Tire issues plagued the race, no more than 12 consecutive green-flag laps were recorded and 52 of the 160 laps were completed under caution. Since the debacle, seven tire tests have been held with very positive results.

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.

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

  1. Tony Stewart… Finished 23rd last year but eighth or better in four of the last five starts, including wins in ’05 and ’07. Led 40 or more laps in four of the last seven. Y! B-1
  2. Jeff Gordon… Four career wins. Top-10 finishes in 12 of 15 career starts. Top-eight finishes in seven of the last eight. Y! A-1
  3. Jimmie Johnson… Last five starts: won from the pole last year, won in ’06. Finished worse than 30th in the other three. Y! A-2
  4. Carl Edwards… Started ninth, finished second last year. Average finish of 13.0 in three other career starts. Y! A-3
  5. Kasey Kahne… Strong qualifier. Started fourth or fifth in four straight attempts. Accidents in ’06 and ’07, but finished seventh or better in three other career races. Y! B-2
  6. Juan Pablo Montoya… Finished 39th (DNF, engine) last year. Runner-up only other Cup series start at Indianapolis. Won the ’00 Indy 500, started second. Y! B-3
  7. Denny Hamlin… Started 23rd, finished third last year. Finished 22nd and 10th in two other career starts. Y! B-4
  8. Kyle Busch… Four career starts: three top-10 finishes, has never finished worse than 15th. Has led laps in three straight. Y! A-4
  9. Mark Martin… Finished 11th or better in five of the last six starts.
  10. Matt Kenseth… Last seven starts: four top-five finishes but 38th and 10th in the last two.
  11. Kurt Busch… Good qualifier. Started seventh or better in three straight starts but finished 40th, 11th and 12 in those races. Y! B-5
  12. Greg Biffle… Only two top-10 finishes (’04, ’08) in six career starts.
  13. Ryan Newman… Strong qualifier. Only one career top-10 finish but has never started worse than eighth. Started fifth or better in five of eight career attempts. Y! B-6
  14. Clint Bowyer… Going the wrong way in three career starts: started 40th, 26th and second, finished 19th, 13th and fourth.
  15. Jeff Burton… Only four top-10 finishes in 15 career starts, but two have come in the last two years.
  16. AJ Allmendinger… Strong value play. Started 26th, finished 10th last year and led four laps last year, first career Indianapolis start. Y! C-1
  17. Marcos Ambrose… Started 24th and finished 22nd last year, first career Indianapolis start. Y! C-2
  18. Brian Vickers… Going the wrong way in last four starts: finished 42nd, 21st, 17th and third. Y! B-7
  19. Dale Earnhardt Jr…. Only one top-10 finish (’06) in the last seven starts. Led laps the last two years. Y! B-8
  20. Joey Logano… No starts at Indianapolis.
  21. Sam Hornish Jr…. Started 38th and finished 21nd last year, first Cup series Indianapolis start. Won the ’06 Indy 500 from the pole, finished fourth in ’07. Y! C-3.
  22. Reed Sorenson… Weak value play. Won the pole in ’07, finished fifth, led 16 laps. Started 22nd and finished 17th last year. Y! C-4
  23. David Ragan… Weak value play. Two career starts: finished 14th and 16th.
  24. David Reutimann… Two career starts: started 33rd and 34th, finished 30th and 38th.
  25. David Gilliland… Long shot value play. ’07- 20th, ’08- 17th.
  26. Kevin Harvick… Won from the pole in ’03, average finish of 14.8 in the five starts since.
  27. Martin Truex Jr…. DNF in his first career start, average finish of 18.33 over the last three.
  28. Jamie McMurray… Finished six last year, breaking a streak of three finishes of 17th or worse.
  29. Elliott Sadler… Started sixth, finished fourth last year, finished 28th or worse in the previous three.
  30. Casey Mears… Only one top-10 finish in six career starts (’05), finished 23rd or worse in the other five.
  31. Bill Elliott… Won in ’02, finished 23rd or 24th in three straight starts.
  32. Bobby Labonte… Won in ’00, zero no top-10s in the eight starts since.
  33. Robby Gordon… Two top-10 finishes in ’02 and ’03, average finish of 28.2 in the five races since.
  34. John Andretti… Average finish of 21.7 in the last three Indy 500s. No Cup starts since ’03. Only one top-10 finish in 10 career starts (’98), average finish of 32.4 in the five races since.
  35. Max Papis… Started in the ’02 and ’06 Indy 500, average finish of 18.5
  36. Michael Waltrip… Only one top-10 finish in 13 career starts (’94).
  37. Joe Nemechek… Zero top-15 finishes in 14 career starts (24.6 average finish).
  38. David Stremme… ’06- 18th, ’07- 26th.
  39. Paul Menard… ’07- 20th, ’08- 41st.
  40. Regan Smith… Started 42nd and finished 31st last year, first career Indianapolis start.
  41. Dave Blaney… Only one top-10 finish in 10 career starts (’07).
  42. Scott Speed… No starts at Indianapolis.
  43. Sterling Marlin… No starts since ’06. Average finish of 26.8 from ’02-’06.
  44. Terry Labonte… Finished 27th or worse in four straight starts (three DNFs).
  45. Mike Skinner… No starts since ’06. Average finish of 34.25 from ’02-’06 (two DNFs).
  46. Derrike Cope… No starts since ’04. Average finish of 32.9 in seven career starts.
  47. Mike Wallace… No starts since ’02, crashed after completing 10 laps.

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Comments

3 Responses to “NASCAR Fantasy Racing Preview: Allstate 400 at the Brickyard”

  1. Default NASCAR Guest Avatar rambler14 on July 23rd, 2009 7:37 am

    Mark my words,
    Mark Martin is a Top 5 car this week.
    No way he finishes 9th. He’s on my roster this week, especially since I’m trying to conserve Jimmy Johnson starts.

  2. Eric McClung on July 23rd, 2009 10:36 am

    It wouldn’t surprise me if Martin did finish better than ninth. But he has been very inconsistent in the races in which he has not won. That’s primarily reason I kept him out of my top-five and why he’s in danger of missing the Chase.

  3. Default NASCAR Guest Avatar rambler14 on July 27th, 2009 2:16 pm

    :)

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