Fantasy Nascar

Sharpie 500 Preview

            This week the drivers head to Bristol, Tennessee for the Saturday night running of the Sharpie 500. This is one of the most exciting races of the year if not the most exciting. Just about anyone has a chance to pull off the win here and we shouldn’t have to worry about fuel mileage or not being able to pass. This will be a bumping and banging race with the last man standing.

            My pick for the last man standing on Saturday night is Dale Earnhardt Jr. Junior has had an impressive run at Bristol over the past several years where he has accumulated 10 straight finishes of 11^th or better in a row including a win. This will be Dale’s week to get a win by being the best on the track not worrying about fuel mileage.

            There will be a lot of competition for Junior this week and one of those drivers is going to be Greg Biffle. Greg has 6 top 10 finishes in his last 7 Bristol starts and has been coming on lately. Greg has the attitude and driving ability to get it done at Bristol and it was a toss up for me to pick the winner between him and Junior this week.

            Jeff Burton won the spring race here this year and has 3 top 2 finishes in his last 6 races at Bristol. Jeff is one of those drivers you never look at as aggressive enough to win at Bristol but he can still get it done with his driving style. The only other driver I can think of that could do what Jeff does is Mark Martin.

            Kyle Busch got the first COT win here when the car made its debut here last season. Kyle also has 4 top 10 finishes in his last 5 starts here and could go on a roll of winning here like his brother Kurt was on a few years ago.

            Speaking of Kurt Busch he had a streak where he won 5 of 9 races at Bristol just a few years ago. When Kurt first moved over to Penske Racing he struggled a little bit at Bristol but has been getting better once again. I wouldn’t be surprised to see this team regain its old form this weekend and battle for the win.

            Carl Edwards won the fall race here last year and has been rolling right along lately. He would like nothing better than to get at least 1 more win before the Chase starts so that he can close the gap on Kyle Busch.

            Matt Kenseth is another Roush driver who has been running fairly well lately. Matt won back-to-back fall races at Bristol during the 2005 and 2006 seasons. If Matt gets his car set up right at the beginning of the race this weekend all of the other drivers are really going to have their work cut out for them.

            Jeff Gordon has struggled all year so far. The only race that he actually didn’t struggle at that I can remember is Martinsville. This is the type of track that can get Jeff back on track. If Jeff has any chance of winning the title this year he has to turn it around this weekend.

            Kevin Harvick is another “dark horse” this weekend. Not that I really believe that he is a “dark horse”. Kevin has been very good at Bristol over his career with 8 top 5 finishes in 15 races. Those are Mark Martin Pocono numbers right there folks. That includes 1 win and 4 runner-up finishes.

            Tony Stewart hasn’t gotten to victory lane yet this season but is another driver who can get it done this weekend. I wouldn’t want to be in front of Tony with a slower car this weekend because he is hungry and will move anyone out of his way with his bumper if necessary.

            Yahoo Picks for Bristol

            Group A

            Kevin Harvick (starter)

            Kurt Busch

            Group B

            Dale Earnhardt Jr. (starter)

            Greg Biffle (starter)

            Kyle Busch

            Kasey Kahne

            Group C

            Aric Almirola (starter)

            David Reutimann

            Top 5 Overall at Bristol

1.      Dale Earnhardt Jr.

2.      Greg Biffle

3.      Kevin Harvick

4.      Tony Stewart

5.      Matt Kenseth

Dark Horse: Clint Bowyer

Stay Away From: Jimmie Johnson