Fantasy Nascar

Bank of America 500 Preview

           Okay Jimmie Johnson fans, he was wrong to blast Brian Vickers. Here is my reasoning. Brian did what he was supposed to do. He pulled out behind Jimmie to help him past Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the last lap. If Brian had stayed behind Junior then he would have done something wrong. Yes, he made a mistake but Jimmie has to realize that he has made that same mistake before himself. I think after Jimmie has time to cool off he will change his mind this week.

            So this weekend we head to Lowe’s Motor Speedway for a Saturday night race. Jimmie Johnson is still only 156 points out of the points lead right now. I say only because Johnson can go on a tear at the upcoming tracks and has a legitimate shot at winning 5 of the last 6 races this season. He will rebound this weekend and get his first win of the Chase. He has won 5 of the last 7 races at Charlotte and finished 2^nd and 3^rd in the other 2 races. You need to start him this weekend.

            Matt Kenseth and Mark Martin should have top 10 cars once again this weekend and could compete with Jimmie for the win. Who am I kidding? All of the Roush teams should have a great shot at the win this weekend. All 5 of these cars finished in the top 8 this spring during the Coca-Cola 600. Jimmie Johnson might have the best record for a single driver at Charlotte but Jack Roush has more than that. Carl Edwards has finished in the top 10 in all 3 of his starts here. Greg Biffle has 3 straight top 10 finishes and Jamie McMurray finished 8^th in his only Roush start here.

            Kasey Kahne beat Johnson in the Coca- Cola 600 this spring and has been dominant on the mile and a half tracks this season. This weekend should be no different with Kahne having a car capable of repeating at Charlotte.

            Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick seem to be the 2 Chase drivers that struggle the most at Charlotte. Jeff had terrible luck when he cut a tire with 10 laps to go but held on the points lead by the smallest of margins. Kevin finds himself in 4^th in the standings only 33 points behind Burton. However, Kenseth and Martin are the 2^nd and 3^rd place drivers right now and as I said before they are both tough at Charlotte. Look for a new points leader after this weekend.

            Dale Earnhardt Jr. needs to bring his Michigan car to Charlotte this weekend. Junior is just over 100 points out of the lead but doesn’t have the luxury of having a lot of his favorite tracks on the Chase schedule. If he wants to win the championship he is going to have to step up his program in a big way from here on out.

            Tony Stewart has struggled at Charlotte over the past couple of seasons and might just be trying some new things for next season right now. He still has almost a 250-point lead over Carl Edwards for the 11^th place slot and the $1 million bonus at the end of the year.

            Kyle Busch and Brian Vickers have looked very good at Charlotte during their short careers but have yet to finish strong here. Either one of these drivers could break out this weekend.

            Yahoo Picks for Charlotte

            Group A

            Jimmie Johnson (starter)

            Kurt Busch

            Group B

            Denny Hamlin (starter)

            Bobby Labonte (starter)

            Brian Vickers

            Kasey Kahne

            Group C

            Reed Sorenson (starter)

            Scott Riggs

            Top 5 Overall

1.      Jimmie Johnson

2.      Matt Kenseth

3.      Kasey Kahne

4.      Mark Martin

5.      Carl Edwards

As always you can Email me with any questions, comments or suggestions at gutsamaniac@hotmail.com. Good luck once again this weekend and remember that the race is Saturday night! Qualifying is on Thursday night so all Yahoo picks must be in by 11:59 pm EST Wednesday night!