A tough week at Talladega sent many of the Chase drivers home very disappointed and if you’re like me many of us fantasy racing players feeling a bit sorry for ourselves also. I’ve had good weeks during restrictor plate races along with the bad weeks but, I still hate this kind of racing. To me it is all about the car and really has nothing to do with driver ability. Now that I have that off my chest let’s get to next weeks race at Kansas.
Ryan Newman is currently second in points with 3 top 5 finishes so far. Ryan has been very good at Kansas in the 4 races he has run there with 1 win and 2 second place finishes. With the roll that Ryan is on right now he should be the man to beat. His only bad finish at Kansas was last season when he was involved in an accident. Rusty Wallace has 3 top 10 finishes at Kansas also and needs a good run this weekend to get back into contention.
Tony Stewart has been the most consistent driver since Sonoma and he also has 3 top 10 finishes at Kansas. It looks like Ryan and Tony will be my 2 drivers in the A group for the Yahoo league this week. Tony’s worst finish at Kansas came last year also when he finished 14th.
Jimmie Johnson had 2 top 10 finishes at Kansas heading into the race there last year and was involved in an accident during that race. This was part of the lowlights for Jimmie during the Chase last season but, remember that he won 4 of the last 6 races during the Chase. He is another Chase driver who found and caused some of the problems last week at Talladega. Jeff Gordon won the first 2 races run at Kansas and followed them up with a 3rd and 13th place finish. Still, Jeff has a new crew chief and I believe they might be doing some testing for next season.
Jeremy Mayfield has 3 straight top 10 finishes at Kansas and has kept himself in the hunt for the NEXTEL Cup. Jeremy will need to step it up a little bit more and stay out of trouble on the track to have a legitimate shot at the title.
Mark Martin was the first Chase driver knocked out of the race last week at Talladega. Mark had started the Chase with 2 top 10 finishes and was just looking for a top 10 finish last weekend. Mark has had his struggles at Kansas also, finishing 20th or worse in the last 3 races there. Greg Biffle has steadily improved at Kansas every year and finished 3rd last season. Greg has also been very good at this type of configuration all year and he won’t hold anything back this weekend as he tries to get himself back towards the top of the point’s standings.
Matt Kenseth has only 1 top 10 finish at Kansas but, he has been one of the hotter drivers on the circuit lately. Matt fought back at Talladega after having a disappointing run at Dover 2 weeks ago. Kurt Busch has been a feast or famine driver at Kansas with 2 top 10’s but, a 31st and a 40th also. Carl Edwards finished 22nd during his only start at Kansas in the NEXTEL Cup series.
Jamie McMurray is trying to finish in the 11th spot in the points race for the 2nd year in a row and has top 10 finishes in both of the races he has run at Kansas. I still believe that both Jamie and Kurt Busch will be released from their contracts next year and be able to move on to their new teams early. Money talks, especially when I can’t see anyone on the teams being happy about working for someone that they know will be gone after next season.
Yahoo Picks for the Banquet 400
Group A
Ryan Newman (starter)
Tony Stewart
Group B
Greg Biffle (starter)
Rusty Wallace (starter)
Kevin Harvick
Jeremy Mayfield
Group C
Joe Nemechek (starter)
Kyle Busch
Top 5 Overall at Kansas
1. Ryan Newman
2. Tony Stewart
3. Greg Biffle
4. Rusty Wallace
5. Jimmie Johnson
As always you can Email me with any questions, comments or suggestions at gutsamaniac@hotmail.com. Good luck over the final 7 weeks of the season.
