Champs Can Trip Up At Dover

September 16, 2008

In the Chase For The Cup, winning isn’t everything. Oh sure, Jimmie Johnson tried to prove me wrong last year. But, substitute his run with 2nd, 3rd, or 4th place finishes, he still wins the title. No, in the Chase consistency is king. Everyone is entitled to slip up, but make sure it happens early. As Johnson said after Loudon, you don’t really know how it’ll shake out until about Kansas.

Dover has seen Chasers win each race since 2004, yet the eventual champion has, with the exception of Kurt Busch, has had a rather pedestrian finish. That trend could always change, but thus far it has held up. Just something to keep in mind with just 9 races remaining in the year. I hope you saved your fantasy starts for the top drivers at the end. The numbers prove me right:

The winners:
2007 – Carl Edwards
2006 – Jeff Burton
2005 – Jimmie Johnson
2004 – Ryan Newman

Champs finish:
2007 – Jimmie Johnson 14th
2006 – Jimmie Johnson 13th
2005 – Tony Stewart 18th
2004 – Kurt Busch 5th

There are 4 drivers I like to either win or secure a top finish at Dover based on how well they run and their previous records at the track. Those drivers are Jeff Burton, Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, and Kyle Busch. Each driver has won at Dover before, with Burton and Edwards winning the ’06 and ’07 races. Biffle and Busch have won spring Dover races and each have 2nd-place Chase finishes here. One driver I say to stay away from is Jimmie Johnson. Sure, Johnson won here in ’05. Yet look at his previous finishes. I don’t like the way he has run here recently, and the recent performance is what I’m looking at. You’d be better-served saving him for Kansas, Charlotte, or Martinsville.

I have a few sleepers to keep an eye on as well. The first is Mark Martin. He does nothing but run up front at Dover. Last season running part-time, he finished 4th. The team and car this year have been good on the smaller tracks. The second sleeper is Jamie McMurray. Despite having his team raided pre-Chase, he always seems to run well at Dover. For those brave souls that don’t mind taking a risk I’d almost say Juan Pablo Montoya. Just call it a hunch. He didn’t run bad last year and was racier than he has been most of the year at Loudon. Maybe he has a little momentum on his side.

Finally, the song for Dover is “Push” by Matchbox Twenty. Like the song says, “It’s not over, no not here.” That, and it’s hard to find a song about Delaware.

Photo credit: Icon Sports Media

Written by Matt Mercer · Filed Under Fantasy NASCAR, NASCAR, Nascar Chase 2008, New Hampshire Motor Speedway | Leave a Comment

Try our “Rattles from the Catch Can” Quiz and Win Stuff

May 12, 2008

Do you think you are up on the latest from the NASCAR internet? Take a shot at our first ever quiz. We’re calling it Rattles from the Catch Can. The plan is to take the names of all those who get perfect scores – seven for seven – and that would be 7 correct answers for you contest lawyers out there, and we will pick a winner. The big winner will get, let’s see…

DVD “The Daytona 500 – 50 years of the Great American Race”
ARCA RE/MAX Series official hat
Crown Royal-Dan Lowry 400 # 26 Jamie McMurray hat
Boris Said – No Fear Racing T-shirt – great shirt!
1 set of “ON PIT ROW”/ “INSIDE ARCA” Mardi Gras beads

All you have to do is play – and keep playing ’till you get it right! Make sure that you enter your email address at the end. It’s how we validate your score.

If you want to feature this contest on your blog or site by all means be our guest. And let us know what you think of our first “Rattles from the Catch Can”.

Written by Charlie Turner · Filed Under Bench Racing blog, Inside the ARCA Remax Series, NASCAR, On Pit Row, Rattles from the Catch Can, Site News | 4 Comments

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