Fantasy Nascar

Dickies 500 Preview

            Only three races to go and it looks like the battle between Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson just tightened up. This could be the week that one of these drivers takes a commanding lead heading into the final 2 weeks of the season. Which one will it be? I’ll answer that in a little while.

            First, my pick to win this weekend is Matt Kenseth. Matt had one of the best cars last week at Atlanta. After starting in the back because they had to change transmissions after qualifying, Matt moved to the front of the pack in a hurry. Texas is very similar to Atlanta and Matt finished 2^nd here in the spring race.

            Martin Truex Jr. had one of the cars to beat last weekend also but got caught up in an accident at the end of the race when Denny Hamlin’s car stalled out on a restart and Martin got into the back of him because he couldn’t see him until it was too late. Martin also ran won at Michigan this year and this track will play out similar to that.

            Carl Edwards won at Michigan this year also and finished 2^nd at Atlanta last week. Carl will also be at the front of the pack come the end of the race and will be in a position to win. This is another 500-mile race and the Roush/Fenway engines have been very good this season.

            Now the Jimmie and Jeff question gets answered. If anyone takes a good lead this weekend it will be Jimmie Johnson. Jimmie has finished in the top 10 six times in his 8 starts at Texas. Chad Knaus just seems to have such a great handle on these mile and a half tracks that it is hard to bet against him.

            Jeff on the other hand has been getting better this year on these tracks but this team could make that fatal mistake that would cost him his 5^th championship. Jeff finished 4^th at Texas this spring and 9^th here last fall but the 3 races before that left a lot to be desired by this team.

            Dale Earnhardt Jr. has always run well at Texas but I can’t pick him because of the engine troubles this team has had this season. Dale lost an engine at Texas earlier this year and after a great run last weekend ended up with a totaled car when he lost a wheel during the green, white, checker restart. Wait until next year when he is with the Hendrick teams.

            Tony Stewart has seemed to lose a bit of his momentum during the Chase this year and I wouldn’t doubt that it has a lot to do with Gibbs going to Toyota next season. Tony has put negotiations for a contract extension on hold for now, citing that he wanted to concentrate on the Chase without having negotiations interfere with his driving. I really don’t think he wants to stay with Gibbs unless the Toyotas run much better next year than they did this year.

            Yahoo Picks for Texas

            Group A

            Matt Kenseth (starter)

            Carl Edwards

            Group B

            Denny Hamlin (starter)

            Martin Truex Jr. (starter)

            Ryan Newman

            Kurt Busch

            Group C

            Reed Sorenson (starter)

            Dave Blaney

            Top 5 Overall at Texas

1.      Matt Kenseth

2.      Martin Truex Jr.

3.      Carl Edwards

4.      Jimmie Johnson

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!