Fantasy Nascar

Ford 400 Preview

            Jimmie Johnson only needs to finish 18^th or better this weekend to shut out Jeff Gordon, who is the only remaining contender for this years NEXTEL Cup Championship. This will have a big impact as to how Jimmie will approach this weekend and affect your fantasy team also.

            Greg Biffle has won the last 3 races at Homestead and this weekend should be another Roush brigade toward the front. I can’t pick against Greg until someone beats him here and I think that anyone else is going to do it, it is going to be one of his teammates. Matt Kenseth and Carl Edwards have the best shot of anyone on the circuit to wrestle Greg’s hold on Miami away from him.

            Jeff Gordon is going to do everything he can to win this race and put as much pressure on Johnson as possible. I really think that for Jeff to have any chance at all, Jimmie is going to have to have some really terrible luck this weekend. Jimmie has been better than Jeff at most mile and a half tracks all year long.

            Kevin Harvick has always run well at Homestead and can use this race to create a little momentum heading into next season where he will try to defend this years Daytona 500 victory. Kevin has 5 top 10 finishes in 6 starts here and will come away with another good finish if he can avoid the mechanical issues that have been plaguing him for most of the season.

            Tony Stewart won the first 2 races ever run at Homestead back in 1999 and 2000. Since then he has fallen off a little bit with only 2 top 10 finishes in his last 6 starts there. Tony doesn’t have a lot to shoot for this weekend but he is one of the drivers who won’t just be looking to just get the race over so he can go home.

            Martin Truex Jr. will be one of the top dogs this weekend also. Martin seems to have a great handle on tracks of this type and almost beat Greg Biffle here last year. This will be the last race that he will be under the shadow of Dale Earnhardt Jr. at DEI and next year he will get a lot more recognition.

            Dale Earnhardt Jr. has never finished in the top 10 at Homestead and if he doesn’t have a decent car at the start of the race he might just be looking g toward next year when he moves over to Hendrick Motorsports. I don’t put a lot of stock in him for this weekend’s race.

            Denny Hamlin might be another car to watch for this weekend. Denny had a good run going at Texas until he crashed while battling Matt Kenseth for the lead late in the race. Denny is young and will not give up just because it is the last race of the season.

            Yahoo Picks for Homestead

            Group A

            Greg Biffle (starter)

            Jimmie Johnson

            Group B

            Martin Truex Jr. (starter)

            Denny Hamlin (starter)

            Kurt Busch

            Ryan Newman

            Group C

            J.J. Yeley (starter)

            David Ragan

            Top 5 Overall at Homestead

1.      Greg Biffle

2.      Carl Edwards

3.      Martin Truex Jr.

4.      Denny Hamlin

5.      Matt Kenseth

Dark Horse: Kevin Harvick

Stay Away From: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

As always you can Email me with any questions, comments or suggestions at gutsamaniac@hotmail.com. Thank you all for reading my articles throughout the year and I look forward to coming back next year and doing it all over again. Come back once again next year around the end of January and I will have a 2008 Preview and information on joining my Yahoo NASCAR Fantasy League!