Fantasy Nascar : Moving on: Racing at the Rock : Fantasy Nascar

With the hype and pageantry of the Daytona 500 behind us, the season really starts this week.
Daytona was fun, and the race was certainly not the dull, dendrons of in-line racing that was expected, yet it wrecked pure havoc on my fantasy leagues. With two of the races highest picks in my command, I figured I would have a good first week in the rankings.
Oh, how I was wrong.
Little did I know that Tony Stewart wouldn't even make it to the first green flag of the race, or that Kevin Harvick would start a chain reaction that took out an impressive 18 cars, in a flash of metal and flames. But such is racing.
Simply put the final results from Sunday's race were somewhat surprising. Many of the people who ended up in the top 10 were there because they had been running in the back of the pack for it seemed that those who had the fast cars, had the worst luck.
The top 10 of the race deemed some notables. First, winner Burton lucked (and raced) into his 4th career win. He played the game right, dodged the right bullets, and made it to the end of the track, much as the lucky frog in a fast game of Frogger. Yet, Burton has the talent, and this win might be what he needs to stay on a winning track this year. As I said last week, this is one of the men to watch this season, and by not only winning his first race against his brother, but also at Daytona he is now savoring that sweet taste of being on top of the points game. Michael Waltrip is not really a surprise finisher in this race. He shines on the Daytona track, even if not much anywhere else. He ran strong in Saturday's Busch race and he ran strong, and smart in the big one. Sterling Marlin and Jeff Gordon are not surprises anywhere when their names end up in the top lists. Enough said.
Rookie Ryan Newman and somewhat newbie Elliott Sadler were definitely surprises for the finals of the race. Both are young and hungry for gold and earned a nice early season paycheck.
So now that that is said and done, we travel to North Carolina Speedway, lovingly known as the Rock. The track barely measures over 1 mile, yet with 22 degree banking and no restrictor plates can make for some fun racing on the oval. Last years winner isn't going to be a threat in this years race, because Steve Park is not yet driving again after being injured mid-season last year. So the race is up for grabs.
This track will also be the first test for the new one-engine rule. We will be able to see first hand if running only one engine during qualifying, practice, and racing will have the negative effect that has been predicted.
Although qualifying results did little to help us make our picks last week, it is simply our only "smart" way to pick our drivers. So again, I will make my picks somewhat on stats, somewhat on qualifying (although not quite as much as before) and somewhat on my gut feeling.
My number one pick for this race is Dale Jarrett. This experienced driver has placed in the top 10 in the last four races at the Rock and he will start Sunday in the fourth position. He has the skills it takes to keep control on the track, and he is looking for his first win of the season. My number two pick for this race is Johnny Benson. Although Benson keeps a rather quiet presence, he is heard on the track. He racked up an impressive 14 top 10's last season, ending the season just out of the top ten in 11th place. His finished the last race in third place, and he starts in the third position this week.
His pre-race pre-release says that he wants to move up "just a spot or two." He just may have that chance Sunday. Another of my top choices for this weekends race is Bobby Labonte. The 2000 Winston Cup champion tends to run well at the Rock. He has 3 top 10 finishes in the last four races, as well as one win in 2000. Labonte, much like Jarrett, has experience at this track and has the know-how to keep it all under control. He will start the race 14th, but we all know that the qualifying isn't everything, and he has started worst than that before and ended up in the top ten.
Another bet for this race is Tony Stewart. Yes, the young driver is coming off an incredibly disappointing race at Daytona, but he says he is ready to get back into the car and get back on the road to the championship that he so dearly wants. He is also starting the race in the 19th place, but Stewart has not trouble driving through the pack to take what he feels is his place near the front. He has driven his way to 3 top 10 finishes in the last race at the Rock, and he definitely feels he has something to prove. Look for him to be in the top 5.
And my long-shot pick of the week is Ricky Craven. Although the young driver has placed in the top 10 in two of the last 3 races I don't pick him to keep his pole-spot for long. With the likes of Jarrett, Benson, and Marlin (who also thinks he has something to prove) snipping at his heals, or at his back tires, it will be interesting to see if Craven can hold it all together and stay in control.
For my fantasy league sake and yours, I hope my picks this week fare much better than last. Happy Racin.

I will post this column each Friday afternoon. The ideas are strictly mine, with a little bit of help from the statistics and some of my racing enthusiast friends. AND I want to know what you think: If you agree, tell me. If you don't, tell me that as well. Drop me at a line at Theracingirl@yahoo.com