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Fantasy Racing Darkhorse Picks: 2011 Heluva Good Sour Cream Dips at The Glen

Expert	Website	Pick to Win	Finish	Experts Avg
Josh Lobdel		Marcos Ambrose	1	10.18
Jerry Lagger	One and Done Game Winner	Marcos Ambrose	1	13.77
Dennis Michelsen	RaceTalkRadio.com	Marcos Ambrose	1	15.64
Steve Wronkowicz	On Pit Row	Marcos Ambrose	1	15.45
Eric McClung	KFFL	Marcos Ambrose	1	14.45
Eric McGuire	free agent	Juan Pablo Montoya	7	13.91
Dan Beaver	Fantasy Racing Games	Marcos Ambrose	1	14.00
Matt Mercer	On Pit Row	Marcos Ambrose	1	13.41
Adam Ansell	Roto Experts	no pick	44	23.00
Chris Leone	On Pit Row	Marcos Ambrose	1	22.00
Bob Ellis	NASCAR Ranting and Raving	Brad Keselowski	2	17.05
CharlieTurner	On Pit Row	Marcos Ambrose	1	11.64
Jordan McAbee	On Pit Row	Marcos Ambrose	1	13.77
Jon Rodgers	Gillette Young Guns Challenge Winner	Marcos Ambrose	1	15.91
James Jones	On Pit Row	Marcos Ambrose	1	14.09
Mike Wells	Racing4Glory.com	Marcos Ambrose	1	10.27
Darren Fauth	FantasyRacingCheatSheet	Marcos Ambrose	1	14.59
P J Walsh	FantasyNASCARPreview.com	Marcos Ambrose	1	17.00
Charles Rantz	ifantasyrace.com	Marcos Ambrose	1	14.00

NASCAR Fantasy Racing Experts Picks: 2011 Heluva Good Sour Cream Dips at The Glen

Expert	Website	Pick to Win	Finish	Experts Avg
Josh Lobdell		Tony Stewart	27	13.36
Jerry Lagger	One and Done Game Winner	Tony Stewart	27	13.82
Dennis Michelsen	RaceTalkRadio.com	Jeff Gordon	13	12.27
Steve Wronkowicz	On Pit Row	Juan Pablo Montoya	7	11.09
Eric McClung	KFFL	Tony Stewart	27	13.95
Eric McGuire	free agent	Tony Stewart	27	15.09
Dan Beaver	Fantasy Racing Games	Tony Stewart	27	12.41
Matt Mercer	On Pit Row	Denny Hamlin	36	15.68
Adam Ansell	Roto Experts	no pick	44	22.45
Chris Leone	On Pit Row	Tony Stewart	27	13.36
Bob Ellis	NASCAR Ranting and Raving	Marcos Ambrose	1	11.32
CharlieTurner	On Pit Row	Carl Edwards	12	14.45
Jordan McAbee	On Pit Row	Kyle Busch	3	12.64
Jon Rodgers	Gillette Young Guns Challenge Winner	Kyle Busch	3	10.36
James Jones	On Pit Row	Tony Stewart	27	12.32
Mike Wells	Racing4Glory.com	Tony Stewart	27	12.27
Darren Fauth	FantasyRacingCheatSheet	Tony Stewart	27	9.77
P J Walsh	FantasyNASCARPreview.com	Kurt Busch	38	10.77
Charles Rantz	ifantasyrace.com	Tony Stewart	27	13.91

Fantasy NASCAR Preview: Watkins Glen - Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen

There will be some rarely heard yet familiar faces in some cars this weekend at Watkins Glen International, as some teams will hand the reigns over to the “road course ringers” to try and gain more points than they are accustomed to. I don’t expect any of them to challenge for the win, though, as the Cup regulars have started to figure out these tricky tracks in recent history. I will discuss these ringers later in this preview. Like last weekend in Pocono, the Sprint Cup Series is set to run two practice sessions on Friday afternoon and will solidify the starting lineup on Saturday morning. At least 90 laps should be ran (if the rain stays away) on Sunday afternoon for the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips At The Glen.

During The Last Race At Watkins Glen…Juan Montoya pretty much dominated the entire race, leading 74 of the 90 laps before taking the checkered flag. His driver rating during that race was 149.8, which is nearly perfect. Kurt Busch finished 2nd with Marcos Ambrose, A.J. Allmendinger, and pole-sitter Carl Edwards rounding out the top five.

Top Fifteen Ranking Entering The Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips At The Glen:

1. Kurt Busch - With the way these Penske Dodges have been running, I see no reason why Kurt Busch can’t make it two-for-two on the road course tracks this season (remember he dominated the race at Sonoma in June). The elder Busch brother has a less-than-stellar record (average finish of 18th) at Watkins Glen, but he finished runner-up to Montoya here last season and is on a streak of three-straight top 10s here.

2. Carl Edwards - Cousin Carl isn’t the first name that comes into your mind when the series stops at a road course, but it should start entering your train of thought soon. His career average finish at Watkins Glen of 8.2 is bested only by Marcos Ambrose and Tony Stewart, who’s averages are 2.7 and 5.4, respectively. Edwards is on a streak of five-straight top 10s at this track and started from the pole in this race last season before ending up 5th.

3. Marcos Ambrose - Marcos has never finished worse than 3rd in his three starts at Watkins Glen–although he has only led a total of 17 laps–and I don’t expect that to change this Sunday. I didn’t think he had a very good car at Infineon in June and he still ended up 5th–probably because he’s just that good of a road course driver. If Marcos wants to keep any chance (albeit small) of making the Chase this year, he’s going to have to visit victory lane on Sunday.

4. Tony Stewart - “Smoke” has collected five wins at Watkins Glen in twelve starts and has finished outside of the top 20 just once (back in 2001). His 7th-place effort here last season ended his streak of six-straight top two finishes at this track, but he should still have a very good shot at posting another top five at his best track on the circuit…as long as him and Brian Vickers don’t get into it again. Steward has led the second-highest amount of laps (225) in the history of this race track.

5. Jeff Gordon - The driver with the most amount of laps ran at this track is Jeff Gordon, barely edging out Stewart (JG has 227). That being said, Gordon’s record isn’t quite as stellar as Smoke’s is: Jeff has amassed four wins in his career here but has average finish of just 14.6. Gordon hasn’t posted a top 5 finish here since his win here in 2001, but I think there is a good chance of that changing this weekend. He finished 2nd at Sonoma earlier this season and has finished in the top 11 in eight of the last nine Sprint Cup races.

6. Kyle Busch - “Rowdy” started off on a bad note at Watkins Glen when he finished 33rd in his first start here, but since then he has went on to post five-straight top 10 finishes and that includes his win from the pole here in 2008 after leading 52 laps. Kyle has also started in the top 10 in each of those last five races. At Infineon in June, Busch started 19th and ended up 11th.

7. Juan Montoya - Surprised I have Montoya ranked this low? He’s the most recent race winner here but I just don’t like how JPM has been running recently, with just one top 20 finish in the last four Sprint Cup races, and that was a 15th at Kentucky. Montoya finished 39th in his first start at The Glen but has since posted three top 10s in a row (including his win last season). He was running in the top ten at Sonoma before Brad Keselowski spun him and Juan went on to finish 22nd.

8. Jimmie Johnson - This is one of the tracks that “Five Time” has never won at, but I’m sure he’ll take Watkins Glen off of his list soon, although I don’t see that happening this weekend. Jimmie has four top 10s in his nine starts at The Glen, which is the reason his average finish (14.7) is relatively low–for him anyway. He qualifies really well, here though, with an average start of 6.8. At Sonoma in June, Johnson finished 7th after starting 12th.

9. Kevin Harvick - “Happy” finished 9th at Infineon, and it would not surprise me at all if he wound up right around there at Watkins Glen on Sunday. Harvick has made ten starts at this road course and has one win and just two finishes outside of the top 20. If you are a superstitious person, though, you may want to stay away from the #29 this weekend though: in the last two “odd year” races here (2007 & 2009) Harvick has finished 36th and 35th, while in the last two “even years” (2008 & 2010) he has finished 6th and 11th.

10. A.J. Allmendinger - With the high number of surprising winners happening lately (and throughout this entire season, really) right here is my choice for the next. The Dinger has made three starts at Watkins Glen and has never finished worse than 13th (which is also where he ended up at Sonoma in June). A.J.’s average finish of 9.3 is better than such drivers as Kyle Busch, Juan Montoya, Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson, believe it or not. With Marcos Ambrose as his partner now, it’s possible that he may be able to post another top 5 finish here–and maybe even a win.

11. Denny Hamlin - Denny Hamlin has a great record here (four top 10s in five career starts) but he just can’t seem to catch a break this season very often. The #11 has been fast a lot of weeks, but something has always gone wrong and this team haven’t notched the finishes they deserve. I’m being conservative and ranking Denny here, as I think it will take a literally perfect weekend from this team, driver, and car for him to get a top 10. Hamlin has never led a lap in his career at Watkins Glen.

12. Matt Kenseth - Kenseth has been very consistent as of late at Watkins Glen (surprising, huh?) with finishes between 12th and 14th in each of his last four starts here. He has led only one lap here in eleven starts, though, so I don’t expect to see the #17 Ford challenging for the win on Sunday, but a top fifteen is very likely for Matt. He finished 14th at Sonoma in June.

13. Joey Logano - Logano’s pole win at Infineon and subsequent 6th-place finish that day really turned this team’s season around. Since then, this #20 Toyota has been running great (like last weekend in Pocono, where Joey led 44 laps). His best finish at Watkins Glen has been just 16th, but like I said before, most guys get the hang of these tracks eventually, and Logano never finished better than 19th at Infineon until this year.

14. Martin Truex, Jr. - Truex has two top 10s to his credit at Watkins Glen and owns an average finish of 16.4 at this track. He wound up 15th here last season and finished a solid 8th at Sonoma in June. As usual, Martin will either be real good or real bad, but if he starts in the top 15, don’t be afraid to give him a chance.

15. Greg Biffle - The Biff now has two top 10s in a row with his new crew chief, and he finished 5th here two years ago, sot here is some potential there. The bad news, however, is that 5th-place effort is one of only two top 10s he has at eight starts at this track. The good news? Those two top 10s have came in the last four races at this track, and his other finishes in that span have been 21st and 24th, which is good for Biffle considering he failed to finish better than 30th in his first four tries at The Glen. Keep an eye on the #16 Ford this weekend, he may surprise you.

Breaking Down The Ringers:

There’s no question that each ringer has the skill to score a solid top ten finish at both road course stops on the circuit. What should concern you, though, is whether their equipment will hold up for the full race. Due to this, picking a ringer in your fantasy leagues is extremely risky, but their potential opens the possibility of you having a huge points week. I would not recommend putting a ringer on your final roster, though, unless they start in the top 15.

Boris Said - Boris will take over the #51 Chevrolet from Landon Cassill this week, and as far as equipment goes with the ringers, this car has to be considered one of the most reliable. However, while Said has had good runs at road courses in the Sprint Cup Series over the past seasons, he has had just one top 10 in the last nine road course races, and hasn’t had one at Watkins Glen since 2005 when he finished 3rd. Boris started 30th and finished 28th at the Sonoma race in June while driving this same car.

Robby Gordon - Robby is either brilliant at road courses or disappointing, which I’m sure most of you have figured out by now. He won at Watkins Glen back in 2003 and when he started Robby Gordon Motorsports in 2005, Gordon went on to post top 5s in his first three starts here. Since then, however, Robby has started three races at this track and has a best finish of 18th. He finished 18th at Sonoma in June.

Ron Fellows - Ron will be in the #36 Chevrolet this weekend, which is the car that Dave Blaney has driven all of this year, posting an average finish of 29.8 and just one top 20 finish. There is potential that this Tommy Baldwin Racing racecar could get a second top 20 finish, though, so keep your eye on Fellows in practice and qualifying. He has two 2nd-place finishes in his career at Watkins Glen.

P.J. Jones - P.J. will be running a car (#177) owned by Robby Gordon this weekend, but I fully expect him to start-and-park this weekend, as he did at Sonoma in June. Jones finished 4th here in 2002 but hasn’t finished better than 24th at this track since.

Please Note: The ringers I have listed the only ones shown on the preliminary entry list for this weekend’s race at Watkins Glen. I will update this list (and my thoughts) after practice and qualifying this weekend, and, as usual, you will be able to find that breakdown on www.ifantasyrace.com.

As I have said before, it seems like every driver eventually has a good run at one of the road course races. For this reason, I won’t be doing an “Avoid” list in this preview, but I will tell you drivers I think you should avoid once practice and qualifying is over with. You already know where you can find that.

Watkins Glen Scouting Report

How to make an informed fantasy pick at Watkins Glen:

1) Look at drivers averages finishes at Watkins Glen. This is a drivers track and as a result their averages finishes can stand the test of time. No over thinking is required this week. This is the one and only stat you need to look at.

2) Pick at driver who starts up front. Nine of the twenty-eight races run at Watkins Glen have been won from the pole (32%). Eighteen races have been won from a top five starting position (64%). The deepest any race winner has started is eighteenth.

Drivers to watch in Heluva Good Sour Cream Dips at the Glen:

Tony Stewart – After Watkins Glen there’s just four races before the Chase starts. This race is a “must win” in order to assure Tony Stewart will be in the Chase. Watkins Glen is Tony Stewart’s best track and there’s no reason to believe he won’t be the favorite heading into the weekend. At Watkins Glen since 1999 Tony Stewart has 5 wins and has only finished worse than 11th once. Since 2004 Stewart has finished either first or second every year except for 2010.

Marcos Ambrose – In his three races at Watkins Glen Ambrose has finished either third or second. The worst he’s finished in a road course race where he didn’t have some sort of car problem is sixth. At Infineon earlier this year he finished 5th.

Carl Edwards – Carl is a very underrated road course driver who will be below most people’s radar this week. Carl has five straight top tens at Watkins Glen and last year he started on the pole and finished fifth. At Infineon earlier this season he finished 4th.

Kurt Busch – Busch won at Infineon earlier this year and last year at Watkins Glen he finished second. Kurt Busch has three straight top tens here. His driver rating earlier this year at Infineon was 142.6.

Kyle Busch – Busch won at Watkins Glen in 2008. Busch has five straight top tens and five straight top ten qualifying efforts at the Glen. The last time he didn’t finish in the top ten here he was a rookie.

To see the rest of my rankings check out my Watkins Glen Fantasy Preview

VegasInsider.com Vegas odds to win at Watkins Glen:

Juan Pablo Montoya 6/1, Jeff Gordon 6/1, Jimmie Johnson 6/1, Tony Stewart 6/1, Kurt Busch 6/1, Kyle Busch 7/1, Marcos Ambrose 7/1, Kevin Harvick 12/1, Carl Edwards 15/1, Robby Gordon 18/1

FantasyRacingCheatSheet.com driver momentum over the last six races:

1)Ryan Newman 2)Tony Stewart 3)Jeff Gordon 4)Jimmie Johnson 5)Paul Menard 6)Greg Biffle 7)Carl Edwards 8)Kurt Busch 9)Dale Earnhardt Jr. 10)Matt Kenseth

NASCAR Fantasy Racing Experts Picks: Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen

Expert	Website	Pick to Win	Finish	Experts Avg
Josh Lobdell	FFToolbox	Jimmie Johnson	28	16.77
Jerry Lagger	One and Done Game Winner	Juan Pablo Montoya	1	12.32
Dennis Michelsen	RaceTalkRadio.com	Tony Stewart	7	11.50
Tall Glass of Milk	Answerthis.com	Carl Edwards	5	11.91
Eric McClung	On Pit Row	Tony Stewart	7	14.82
Eric McGuire	free agent	Tony Stewart	7	12.27
Dan Beaver	Fantasy Racing Games	Tony Stewart	7	10.73
Matt Mercer	On Pit Row	Jeff Gordon	10	13.86
Adam Ansell	Roto Experts	Tony Stewart	7	15.36
Chris Leone	On Pit Row	Tony Stewart	7	13.36
Bob Ellis	NASCAR Ranting and Raving	Marcos Ambrose	3	11.36
CharlieTurner	On Pit Row	Tony Stewart	7	16.68
Lou Lauer	USAR Fans	Tony Stewart	7	13.86
Jon Rodgers	Gillette Young Guns Challenge Winner	Tony Stewart	7	14.64
James Jones	On Pit Row	Denny Hamlin	37	14.86
Ryan Rantz	On Pit Row	Kevin Harvick	11	12.95
Darren Fauth	Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet	Tony Stewart	7	13.32
P J Walsh	FantasyNASCARPreview.com	Tony Stewart	7	11.95
Charles Rantz	ifantasyrace.com	Tony Stewart	7	16.23

NASCAR Fantasy Racing Expert Darkhorse Picks: Heluva Good Sour Cream Dips at the Glen

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.

Expert	Website	Pick to Win	Finish	Experts Avg
Matt Mercer	On Pit Row	Marcos Ambrose	3	14.95
James Jones	On Pit Row	Juan Pablo Montoya	1	11.14
Josh Lobdell	FFToolbox	Juan Pablo Montoya	1	22.32
Dennis Mickelson	RaceTalkRadio.com	Juan Pablo Montoya	1	10.86
Jon Rodgers	Gillette Young Guns Challenge Winner	Marcos Ambrose	3	13.64
Jerry Lagger Eric McGuire	One and Done Game Winner Free agent	Marcos Ambrose Juan Pablo Montoya	3 1	13.00 12.77
Charlie Turner	On Pit Row	Boris Said	38	13.59
Tall Glass of Milk	Answerthis.com	Jamie McMurray	6	9.64
Adam Ansell	Roto Experts	Marcos Ambrose	3	11.55
Charles Rantz	ifantasyrace.com	Marcos Ambrose	3	12.73
Darren Fauth	Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet	Juan Pablo Montoya	1	12.55
Lou Lauer	USAR Fans	Marcos Ambrose	3	12.59
Ryan Rantz	On Pit Row	Marcos Ambrose	3	14.27
Eric McClung	On Pit Row	Marcos Ambrose	3	19.36
P J Walsh	FantasyNASCARPreview.com	Marcos Ambrose	3	11.77
Bob Ellis	NASCAR Ranting and Raving	Boris Said	38	15.55
Chris Leone	On Pit Row	Marcos Ambrose	3	19.41
Dan Beaver	Fantasy Racing Games	Marcos Ambrose	3	10.64

NASCAR Fantasy Racing Preview: Heluva Good Sour Cream Dips at the Glen

Five races have passed since the Sprint Cup Series drivers have needed to make a right-hand turn on the race track. For fantasy owners, the results from the June race at Infineon Raceway are a good starting point for making early evaluations. The Glen features longer straightaways which allow for more speed, while Infineon is a more technical course and requires more precision.

Chasing the pole at Watkins Glen International

Note: Qualifying was rained out at The Glen in ‘08, ‘07, ‘05 and ‘04 but the forecast for this weekend looks good. The Yahoo! rosters lock Saturday morning before qualifying so pay close attention to the practice sessions on Friday and use them to your advantage find the likely pole sitters.

• Jimmie Johnson… Won the pole at The Glen last year, second this year at Sonoma.
• Kurt Busch… Started second at The Glen last year, third this year at Sonoma.
• Marcos Ambrose… Started fourth at The Glen last year, sixth this year at Sonoma.

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. Tony Stewart… Five-time winner (’09, ‘07, ‘05, ‘04, ‘02) at The Glen, has not finished worse than second since ‘03. Ninth at Sonoma. Y!-A1
2. Marcos Ambrose… Strong value play. Average finish of 2.5 in two career starts at The Glen. Has won two straight Nationwide races at The Glen. Sixth at Sonoma. Y!-B1
3. Jimmie Johnson… Average finish of 13.0 in eight career starts at The Glen- three Top Fives, four Top 10s. Won at Sonoma. Y!-A2
4. Kevin Harvick… Won ‘06 race at The Glen, five Top 10s in nine career starts. Third at Sonoma. Y!-B2
5. Jeff Gordon… Four-time winner (’01, ‘97-’99) at The Glen- one Top 10, three Top 15s since ‘02. Fifth at Sonoma. Y!-A3
6. Juan Pablo Montoya… Average finish of 5.0 in the last two starts at The Glen, has never held an average running position worse than 15th. 10th at Sonoma. Y!-A4
7. Kyle Busch… Won ‘08 race at The Glen, four straight Top 10s.
8. Denny Hamlin… Has never started or finished worse than 10th in four starts at The Glen, has never held an average running position worse than 12th.
9. Carl Edwards… Average finish of 8.8 in five starts at The Glen, four straight finishes of ninth or better.
10. Kasey Kahne… Average running position of 17th or better in four of the last five starts at The Glen. Fourth at Sonoma. Y!-B3
11. Greg Biffle… Finished a career-best fifth last year at The Glen. Seventh at Sonoma.
12. Clint Bowyer… Finished a career-best ninth last year at The Glen. Y!-B4
13. Kurt Busch… Four straight Top 20s with an average running position of 14th or better in four straight at The Glen.
14. Robby Gordon… Strong value play. Won ‘03 race at The Glen, three straight Top Fives from ‘05-’07- finished 18th last year. Runner-up at Sonoma. Y!-C1
15. Boris Said… Strong value play. Average finish of 23.1 in nine starts at The Glen, one Top 15 since ‘06. Eighth at Sonoma. Y!-C2
16. Matt Kenseth… Three straight finishes of 14th or better at The Glen. Y!-B5
17. Jeff Burton… Has crashed in three of the last five starts at The Glen, finished 11th and 17th in the other two. Y!-B6
18. A.J. Allmendinger… Average finish of 12.0 in two starts at The Glen. Y!-C3
19. Martin Truex Jr…. Strong value play.Finished sixth in ‘07, fifth at ‘08 at The Glen. Average running position of 14th last year, finished 28th. Y!-B7
20. Jamie McMurray… Average running position of 17th or better in three of the last five starts at The Glen- one Top Five, three Top 16s. Y!-B8
21. Ryan Newman… Average finish of 23.5 in the last two starts at The Glen.
22. Mark Martin… Three-time winner (’93-’95) at The Glen. Finished 23rd last year, first start since ‘06.
23. Dale Earnhardt Jr…. Average running position of 19th or better in four of the last five starts at The Glen, finished 39th last year.
24. Joey Logano… Finished 16th last year in first Cup start at The Glen. One Top 10 in two Nationwide starts.
25. Brad Keselowski… First Cup start at The Glen. Average finish of 7.5 in two Nationwide starts.
26. Patrick Carpentier… First career Cup start at The Glen. Average finish of 20.5 in two Nationwide starts. Y!-C4
27. Scott Speed… Finished 22nd last year in first Cup start at The Glen.
28. Elliott Sadler… Average finish of 21.1 in 11 starts at The Glen.
29. Sam Hornish Jr… Average finish of 34.0 in two starts at The Glen.
30. Paul Menard… Average finish of 25.2 in six starts at The Glen.
31. David Ragan… Average finish of 28.7 in three starts at The Glen.
32. David Reutimann… Average finish of 29.0 in two starts at The Glen.
33. Bobby Labonte… Average running position of 24th or worse in five straight starts at The Glen.
34. David Gilliland… Average running positions of 26th and 22nd in ‘07 and ‘08, did not start at The Glen last year.
35. Travis Kvapil… Did not start at The Glen last year, finish 36th in ‘08.
36. Regan Smith… First Cup start at The Glen since ‘07, finished 37th.
37. Kevin Conway… First career start at The Glen.
38. Casey Mears… Possible start and park.
39. J.J. Yeley… Possible start and park.
40. Andy Lally… Possible start and park.
41. Joe Nemechek… Possible start and park.
42. Max Papis… Possible start and park.
43. P.J. Jones… Possible start and park.
44. Dave Blaney… Possible start and park.
45. Michael McDowell… Possible start and park.
46. Tony Ave... Possible start and park.

Contender or Pretender: Watkins Glen

Tony Stewart (Contender) – Since 2004 Tony Stewart hasn’t finished worse than second at Watkins Glen. What makes this even more amazing is that he’s only finished second twice over this time span because the majority of his recent finishes were wins.  If you need the sure thing look no further than Tony Stewart this weekend, his average finish over the last five years is 1.4.

Jeff Gordon (Pretender) – Since Tony Stewart’s been on the scene at Watkins Glen, Jeff Gordon’s been off it. Jeff Gordon who was once known as the King of the Road last won at this New York track in 2001. Since then he’s only finished in the top ten once (9th in 2007). Last year he was very uncompetitive and was caught up in a spectacular crash.

Carl Edwards (Contender) – In five starts at Watkins Glen Carl Edwards has proven himself to be a road course ace. Only once has he finished outside the top ten (15th) and that was in his rookie year. His average finish when you omit his rookie year is 6.25. Another big plus for Carl Edwards heading into this race is that he’s arguably the hottest driver in NASCAR at the moment.

Kasey Kahne (Pretender) – Kasey Kahne won at Infineon last year but at Watkins Glen he’s never finished better than 14th. His average finish in six attempts at this fast road course is 18.3. One positive thing about Kasey Kahne is that his finish spread is relatively small (14th place – 26th place).

Marcos Ambrose (Contender) - After how Infineon played out earlier this year how can you not feel bad for Marcos Ambrose? I bet he won’t make that mistake again.

Marcos Ambrose has been nearly flawless at Watkins Glen in his short career. In his two races here he’s finished third and second. When you omit Ambrose’s 2008 Infineon transmission problem than his career average road course finish in NASCAR is a staggering 2.6.

Matt Kenseth (Pretender) – Rule #1 about Matt Kenseth is don’t use him at a road course. He doesn’t like them, and they don’t like him. He’s had some decent finishes on this serpentine tracks recently (teen finishes), but in any particular type of league you’re in there’s going to be better picks available this week.

Printable NASCAR TV Schedule for August 2010

Download your August 2010 NASCAR television schedule in PDF

NASCAR’ Sprint Cup Series travels to Pocono Raceway, Watkins Glen, Michigan International Speedway,  and Bristol Motor Speedway  in August. The Nationwide Series goes road racing in Montreal while the Camping World Truck Series heads to Chicagoland.

Click here to download your printable August 2010 NASCAR TV schedule

 

NASCAR Power Rankings: Michigan 2

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 #22 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 #4 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.

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