Fantasy Nascar

UAW-Ford 500 Preview

            After everything that happened this past weekend and everything that could have happened NASCAR needs to make a new rule for next season. All races in the Chase will be run in their entirety. I’m sure that there was a lot of lobbying going on with NASCAR throughout the day by all of the teams in the Chase. I think that it is only fair for the drivers in the Chase to know how long the race is going to be instead of taking chances to try and gain the most points in non-racing situations.

            If all of the drivers knew that the race would have been run the full 267 laps no one would have had to gamble on fuel, track position or anything else. The top 12 drivers would have actually raced for a win. Not only did this cheat all of the Chase participants but the fans as well. I for one hate to see a race won on lucky strategy because of Mother Nature. They raced for 26 weeks to see who the best driver was; now let them finish it the way it was meant to be!

            This week we head to the real wildcard in the Chase at Talladega with restrictor plates in a COT for the first time. Once again NASCAR hasn’t decided on the size of the restrictor plate yet so the teams are all left to guess as to how they want to get their cars ready for the race next weekend.

            There are only 3 drivers in the Chase that are close to the top. The other 9 drivers are over 100 points out already. During testing for the race at Talladega this weekend the Ford teams were all very slow with the COT. The only other make that was slower were the Toyotas but none of these teams are in the Chase.

            So, I have to go with the best COT teams this weekend, which will be the Hendrick teams. That means that after this weekend the Chase could be down to 2 drivers. Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon. You can bet that you will see these two guys drafting together a lot this weekend and then they can battle each other for the championship the remainder of the year.

            I’m going to pick Jeff Gordon to win over Jimmie Johnson in a coin toss. Both of these guys are good no matter what their cars are like before a restrictor plate race and you won’t see one of their teammates pulling out to pass them at the end and causing a big wreck.

            I don’t really know what else to tell you this week. They have never run a COT at a restrictor plate track before so it will really be up in the air as to who will run well. Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch and Matt Kenseth are all very good at plate tracks but like I said, if the Ford’s don’t come up with some speed by this weekend they might be drafting in a pack behind the Chevy drivers with no chance of catching up.

            All I can tell you to do is go with the Bowtie Brigade this weekend and hope that it works out that way. Next week I can give you better insight as to what will happen in Charlotte. Sorry folks but you know as much as I do about this weekend’s race now.

            Yahoo Picks for Talladega

            Group A

            Dale Earnhardt Jr. (starter)

            Jeff Gordon

            Group B

            Martin Truex Jr. (starter)

            Casey Mears (starter)

            David Gilliland

            Kurt Busch

            Group C

            Johnny Sauter (starter)

            J.J. Yeley

            Top 5 Overall at Talladega

1.      Jeff Gordon

2.      Jimmie Johnson

3.      Tony Stewart

4.      Dale Earnhardt Jr.

5.      Denny Hamlin

As always you can Email me with any questions, comments or suggestions at gutsamaniac@hotmail.com. Good luck once again this weekend and I really mean it when I say luck!