Well folks, it was a wild night filled with unpredictable results. At one point, Larry was in the driver seat, as Hamlin showed he had the car to beat. After his engine blew, so did Larry’s chances of winning. Then we had Jordan looking like at Champion, on average, he was scoring 77 points during the race. Then his winner Kahne met misfortune and Jordan was introduced to Mr. Disappointment. “Hey, have we met before?”

Mike W was looking good as his winner Edwards would have the best restarts, but could not make the low line work and would fall back. He did pick the best winner placing 2nd.

Here comes Bobby, with his winner Kurt Busch! Where did Kurt come from? Caution would mix it up again, eventually landing Kurt in 6th place.

Damage Control – Louie needed Johnson to win bad to drop to dead weight that had accumulated over the course of the race. Those drivers were – Harvick(33), Biffle(36), Kahne(32) and Hamlin(43). He fell from +86 to now +130. Mike has checked out!

Bobby and Mike take the week scoring 113 and 130. Neither had Harvick or Hamlin.

Movers & Shakers

Rick falls another spot as Bobby slips by. He is now 8 points behind Bobby.

Larry falls again, now 3 points behind Scott.

Top Winning Picks This Week

2nd – Edwards – Mike W

3rd – Johnson – Louie, Sheila & Scott

5th – Ky Busch – Rick

6th – Ku Busch – Bobby

Official Player Results

113 – Bobby

130 – Mike W

138 – Mike C

142 – Philip

154 – Jordan

155 – Sheila & Scott

163 – Rick

167 – Larry

174 – Louie

Player Scorecard

Official Standings After Atlanta

1st – 3,267 – Mike W – Leader (Can anyone catch him?)

2nd – 3,397 – Louie +130

3rd – 3,404 – Sheila +139

4th – 3,413 – Bobby +146 UP 1

5th – 3,421 – Rick +154 Down 1

6th – 3,475 – Scott +208 UP 1

7th – 3,478 – Larry +211 Down 1

8th – 3,594 – Jordan +327

9th – 3,885 – Mike C +618

10th – 4,100 – Philip +833

Official Driver Results

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Bye-bye: Sorry to see Kirk Shelmerdine selling his toys and retiring from Cup, but it certainly was an uphill battle all the way. Under financed, but with a big heart and desire to seek fame and fortune in a sport he loves, Kirk goes the way of many of his compatriots. Very few ‘owner/drivers’ get to the level of even breaking even, let alone becoming successful.

??: Speaking of owner/drivers, we wonder what RoboGordo’s game plan is. Looks like he may be drawing away from driving in his Cup car, cuz he hired Kevin Conway to run it the rest of 2010. Maybe Robo’s got more interest in running the off road tracks, which are probably a lot more fun from a driver’s standpoint. But the Conway move smells like he needed a sponsor, and had to hire Conway to get one. Having ExtenZe as a sponsor brings back visions of SirMark running around in the Viagra car. An embarrassment, but it pays the bills.

Walmart: This mega company recently made an announcement that it was not going to sponsor Gordo’s 24 car. But in the process, it got a lot of press and a lot of free advertisement. What a sneaky (and smart) way of cashing in on NA$CAR…..

RPM: Petty Motorsports just might make some big improvements in 2011. By reducing from 4 to 2 cars, and having Dinger and Ambrose as their drivers, expect RPM to be much more competitive than they have been in the past several years.

Da Race: It almost looked like the race was gonna be run without a plethora of Yellows, but after Lap 135 they started dropping out to the sky with regularity. The big news early on was the loss of a cylinder in the 20 car and complete failure of the engine in the 11 car, which sorta put a damper on SassyKyle’s night. After all, when 2 of the 3 engines crap out with just a third of the race being run, well, it doesn’t give one a bunch of confidence about the remaining engine.

Not so Happy: Harvick was tooling around, gaining a bunch of ground on the leaders (per usual), then about 3/4^ths through the race he blew his LF and shredded his fender. So, instead of sneaking up on the leaders he was relegated to the rear and that was pretty much the last we saw of him.

Down the stretch: With about 40 laps to go, the 9, 24 and 99 cars got real scrappy. This was perhaps the best racing of the night. The funny thing about this is that of the three drivers, only da Flipster was sniffin’ the lead at the end. Kasey started a rumble a few laps later, and took the 2 car along with him. Gordo lost his edge and faded to 13^th.

Hendrick: Although JJ saw a small glimmer of hope during the night, and Gordo had one flash of brilliance, all in all the Hendrick teams seems to have lost their luster. They no longer are the top dogs in Cup, and seemingly can be beaten on any given night. However, their “associate” teams (Stewart and Newman) seem to have found what the others have lost.

The Cat’s back: With da Flipster finishing 2^nd and MattyBoy in 11^th, the Roush teams are gradually gaining ground. All they need now are some solid finishes……and a W.

RCR: Aside from Happy’s bad luck, his teammates pulled through in 4^th and 7^th place, and all three are almost assured of getting into the Playoffs. Not a bad turnaround from a year ago……

Kudos: To Smoke, da Flipster, and Jburton for their unexpected finishes. I could say the same for FlyinRyan, Pablo and Marcos for their Top 10 finishes.

Heaps of 3’s (and Old Spice) all over yer local Office Depot,

Racing Maniac #3

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ATLANTA  2 RACE PICKS

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These rankings are based solely on my opinion, past numbers and current performance. If you don’t see your name here, don’t get offended,  I’m just running down the top 5 as I see them.

Honorable Mention

Bobby – I was torn between Bobby and Larry. Bobby is ahead of Larry in the standings, but just by 11 points. Bobby has had some HOT moments, but in the last 6 races, 5.67 is his average finish. His last 4 races, he has placed (in this order) – 5th, 6th, 8th & 7th. Larry has not done much better in the last 6 races, 5.34 being his average finish. His last 4 were – 8th, 4th, 3rd & 8th.

Looking back, Bobby had a good run, from race 9 to race 12, placing 4th, 1st, 1st & 4th. If he can repeat that, he could get into the power rankings. I mainly tipped my hat to “Mr. Crappy Picks” because, I know he has it in him. I have no idea what his schedule is, he could start making more time to research and actually win this thing. Put 2 & 2 together. Last year, he researched more. If he starts again, he will rocket to the top!

Larry – As much as I hate to do this to my old friend, he just made the top 5 by the splitter. Something is amiss with “The Train” this season. It could be lack of research since he has been busier with work and all. Makes sense, knowledge is power and knowing is half the battle. The less you research, the lower your chances are of doing well and it shows.

Larry needs to put out the flames and get it back on track!

Had you asked me at race 1 this season, I would have placed Larry #2 or even #1 easily. Last year, he took the challenge by storm and was the only player that could hang with the leader. This season, it’s just not there. He’s not the dominating factor that he once was. He’s running  in the middle of some hungry rookies with a hot dog wrapper on the grill this season. He needs some fresh air!  Whether out of steam or off track, “The Train” needs to start chugga-luggin’ and fast! He placed 3rd earlier this year at Atlanta and 3rd this time last year there too. He needs to start putting together some solid finishes.

Don’t count last year’s runner up out just yet! He is +174 points out of it, but all he needs to gain, is 15.82 points per race and he is bumper to bumper back with Champ. That’s one driver per race folks! There’s a lot of racing left to do.

Larry By The Numbers / Rank

Top 15 Picks – 154 @64.17% (2nd)

Top 10 Picks – 116 (4th)

Top 5 Picks – 65 (6th)

Wins – 2 (4th)

Winning Drivers – 4 (3rd)

Points Dropped – 139 (3rd)

Top 3 Finishes – 8 (3rd)

Best Score – 66 (1st)

Average Winner Season – 15.13 (8th)

Average Weekly Score – 137.96

Always a Bridesmaid but never a bride, Sheila has what it takes to be the belle of the ball (track) in this case. I have written before where she stepped up at the end of the season and won 5 of 10 Chase races. She has always done okay, but never been an actual contender. She always seems to step up her game too late in the season. I can’t say that now, she has the oven and all of the eyes of the stove on already! She’s – A – Smokin’ boys.

Girls are strong players too!

Sitting pretty, cozy in 3rd place having a glass of sweet tea. It’s just business as usual. Being just +114 back, all she needs, is to gain 10.37 points per race, to run down the leader. First thing’s first! Louie better be checking his mirror and YELLING at his spotters “Where is she, where is she?”  Being  just 28 points back, she could be in 2nd place for the first time this season after Atlanta! FYI – Her last 5 races – 3rd, 2nd, 1st, 4th & 6th. What shoots her into the power rankings (besides being #3), is her ability to pick the winner. She has done it more than any other player and dropped the most points this season. The winner is key to winning here.

Sheila By The Numbers / Rank

Top 15 Picks – 147  (6th)

Top 10 Picks – 108 (7th)

Top 5 Picks – 65 (6th)

Wins – 2 (4th)

Winning Drivers – 6 (1st)

Points Dropped – 183 (1st)

Top 3 Finishes – 10 (1st)

Best Score – 75 (3rd)

Average Winner Season – 12.05 (4th)

Average Weekly Score – 135.46

I don’t even know where to begin with “Little Ricky”! He started out strong, right from the drop of the green. He lingered in 3rd from the start, then started falling back.

As of late, he’s running like “Ricky Bobby” needin’ some SHAKE & BAKE!

His last 6 races have almost given him a Start & Park average finish of 5.34 – 7th, 5th, 7th, 7th, 2nd & 4th. I sure didn’t rank him 3rd for those numbers. I think Rick has potential, we have all seen it. You may not remember, but Rick went on a rampage from race 7 to race 13 carrying a 2.86 average finish for those 7 races in a row! By the way, two of those were wins.

It’s easy to see that he has what it takes, he just needs to get his head back in the game. His last 2 races were – 2nd and 4th, maybe he’s back.

Rick  By The Numbers / Rank

Top 15 Picks – 153  (3rd)

Top 10 Picks – 121 (2nd)

Top 5 Picks – 67 (4th)

Wins – 2 (4th)

Winning Drivers – 2 (5th)

Points Dropped – 49 (7th)

Top 3 Finishes – 8 (3rd)

Best Score – 68 (2nd)

Average Winner Season – 10.59 (2nd)

Average Weekly Score – 135.75

Louie squeezed into the 2nd position. In my opinion, it was close between him and Rick for the this spot. After raking the coals and sifting through the statistical ashes, he gets the position. Louie started out a bit sluggish, from race 4 through 8, he placed 7th, 6th, 7th, 9th and 7th. He did recover and place 1st, 7th, 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 8th, 3rd and 1st, race 9 through 16. He has been a little bit of a “hit and miss” player lately, placing 6th, 4th, 2nd, 6th and 5th.

Just missing the mark!

If there ever was a time to be hit and miss, it’s the same time the leader is having trouble too. That is the saving grace, that has kept Louie in the leader’s draft. There are 2 problems with this. One, our leader is heating up and two, the players behind Louie are coming fast! Sheila is just back +28 and Rick +35. That’s just one bad driver different. We’re coming up to Atlanta again, it’s very possible, they could zip around him.

He plays a similar game as Mike does. It’s like they read stats in a similar way. They pick close to the same picks each week and the same winner most of the time. It mimics the Larry vs Mike days, where they drafted the entire season together until the end. They picked similar a lot also. In the last race, 6 points back, Mike had to play a different game and went 6 drivers different. That’s how he got by to win the 4th Title. Louie may have to do this too.

Louie By The Numbers / Rank

Top 15 Picks – 153  (3rd)

Top 10 Picks – 122 (1st)

Top 5 Picks – 72 (1st)

Wins – 3 (3rd)

Winning Drivers – 2 (5th)

Points Dropped – 56 (6th)

Top 3 Finishes – 8 (3rd)

Best Score – 66 (1st)

Average Winner Season – 12.09 (5th)

Average Weekly Score – 134.30

Well, what can we say about Mr. Greedy with #1? If ya think about it, he’s like the Jimmie Johnson of the challenge. The similarities are the multiple titles here recently and how he heats up more at the end of the season. If he gets any hotter, he won’t be stopped.

4 of 5 Championships!

STAT BLAST

Half of his last 12 races have come by the way of top 3 finishes! In the last 10 races, he picked up 4 wins! That’s winning 40% of the last 10 races. Statistically speaking, he gets better and better as the year draws to a close, just ask Larry. Some people work good under pressure, so does he.

It can’t be said enough, that you are gonna have to dig deep to beat a player that has been dubbed “The Champ”. Winning 4 of 5 years in nothing to take lightly. Sure, there’s a chink in the armor, or he wouldn’t of lost in 2008. Now keep in mind, he still placed 2nd. He has never had a bad year, nor is he having one now in the cat bird seat. It’s time to step it up folks, before ya know it, we’ll be @ Homestead!

So, #1 why? Past performance, current performance and the numbers below. Almost each one below is 1st or 2nd. Hard to bet against it.

Mike W  By The Numbers / Rank

Top 15 Picks – 158 @ 65.9%  (1st)

Top 10 Picks – 122 (1st)

Top 5 Picks – 70 (2nd)

Wins – 6 (1st)

Winning Drivers – 5 (2nd)

Points Dropped – 142 (2nd)

Top 3 Finishes – 10 (1st)

Best Score – 82 (6th)

Average Winner Season – 8.17 (1st)

Average Weekly Score – 130.71 (1st)

Check Out The Player Stat Page

to see where you rank!

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Track Trash – It’s a Bristol thang

8/21/10

Longitude 43: More info on that ne’er-do-well racing outfit called Latitude 43. Last week we indicated that Boris Said bailed out because he was owed a bunch of money. That was followed by David Stremme bailing out because he didn’t get respect from the owner, Bill Jenkins. In order to fill the seat, Longitude 43 just hired Patrick Carpentier for Atlanta. It’s a good opportunity for Patty, but the odds seem to be against this being a long term relationship……

Jr.: Several articles have recently been written about how long it’s gonna be before Jr. either gets axed, or just moves on to another organization, even though he has 2 more years on his contract. One article accurately depicts how historically one of the HMS teams runs really bad…..year in and year out. Rickie has waited long enough for Lance McGrew to inject some pizzazz into this team and needs to make another change in the very near future. This team is going South, and needs a new band leader. NOW.

The Hex: JJ tried to put the whammy on Happy. He indicated that Happy was the favorite to win the Championship. So what did Happy do? He put the whammy right back on JJ by indicating that he thought JJ would win it. In this day and age, the hex is nothin’ to mess with, so if you get hexed, you’ve gotta unload it ASAP. It’s bad mojo to be the last one with a hex on your head……

Wins: Not winning in 2010 can have an effect on whether a team can get a solid spot in the 2011 All Star race in Charlotte. Thus far not included are notable drivers like Jburton, Jr., and da Flipster. They can always race their way into it via the preliminary race, or get voted in. Odds are that if Jr. can’t get a W in the meantime, he’s pretty much assured of getting voted in.

Da Race: Racing at Bristol just might get back to ‘the old days’. Not the type where you could only run the lower line, but it’s getting the adrenalin going again. Maybe part of that is the ‘get it on’ attitude of NA$CAR, which allows the drivers a little bit more leeway on their emotions. But the most important factor of this race was the new tire that Goodyear threw at them. By and large the crew chiefs just couldn’t get the right set-up for this tire, and it caused problems along the way.

JJ: He owned the track…….until he got snookered about half way through the race. On a restart, he led the pack at the Green, then shortly found himself as the peanut butter in a sandwich, going three wide and nowhere to go except back. Another 150 laps and he had an altercation with Pablo that sent him into the wall, then behind wall for much needed repairs. So chalk his race up to a big Plus for running out front as much as he did, and a big Minus for having another spell of bad luck. Unfortunately, his bad luck seems to be following him around the country as of late, and will probably ensure his not getting another Championship.

Jr.: A valiant effort…for a while, then it turned into a fading same-old, same-old. No question he wanted to post a good score, but for some reason this team just can’t produce. But perhaps he fared better in the Cup race because he got some seat time in the Busch League race.

Kyle: What a dramatic weekend for the young vomit-mouth. When this kid is ‘on’, he is flat out ON. This weekend’s performance of winning the Truck, Busch and Cup races is unquestionably one of storybook proportions. But in order to attain the highest level of racing (being respected by your fellow drivers), he’s gonna have to do two things. (1) He needs a steady menu of Humble Pie. (2) He needs to get his lips permanently sewn together.

Kudos: To the Rootman for putting his food poisoning on the back burner and concentrating on racing to the line. To JamieMac, who once again put on a stellar performance. To Bowowyer for driving a stake into sirMark’s chances. To Kasey for recovering from penalties, and to FlyinRyan for finally posting a top 10.

Heaps of 3’s all over yer pack of Doublemint,

Racing Maniac #3

HackingEthics

GLORY DAYS – The Boss

The word of the week –

blind-side or blind·side (blīndˈsīdˌ)

1. To hit or attack on or from the blind side.
2. To catch or take unawares, especially with harmful or detrimental results:

Let’s look into this a bit. (Using Key Words Above)

Obstructed – You could say this fits what I did to a T! The other player’s may have been obstructed with the TV and internet hype surrounding Jimmie Johnson and what he did earlier in the year.

Attention – I may have diverted your attention toward Jimmie Johnson with the videos I posted. Yes, Johnson won the last time at Bristol, but Kyle’s numbers were stronger. What better way to divert. It worked when we were kids – “Hey look over there!”, as I steal the candy and run.

Attack - In this game, unlike most on the net, you’re not limited to driver picks per season. You can pick a certain driver each week, even as your winner. The key to my success, is to think like my opponent. I have failed here recently, as we have all seen, picking the same winner as Louie so many times. What I aim for is to think like my opponent and try to guess what they will do, based on their past winners and the current hype. Louie picks Johnson a lot and the hype was all about Johnson. So what do I do? I pick a driver that I think nobody is even thinking of that has a SUPER chance of winning.

Detrimental Results – 4 of 5 years as The Champ, 2nd place the year lost. No guts, NO GLORY!

Enjoy your week off. Regroup, attack and try again!

Bristol Player Results

• Unofficial Results
• Mike W-122,
• Philip-127,
• Jordan-140,
• Rick-146,
• Louie-167,
• Sheila & Scott-168,
• Bobby-171,
• Larry-174,
• Mike C-181

• Unofficial Standings After Bristol -
• MikeW-3137,
• Louie-3223,
• Sheila-3251,
• Rick-3258,
• Bobby-3300,
• Larry-3311,
• Scott-3320,
• Jordan-3440,
• MikeC-3747,
• Philip-3958

Smack Talk by Larry & Banana, you may have missed – Click Here!

After the race comments – Linked above.

Bristol Driver Results

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• Unofficial Results
• Mike W-122,
• Philip-127,
• Jordan-140,
• Rick-146,
• Louie-167,
• Sheila & Scott-168,
• Bobby-171,
• Larry-174,
• Mike C-181

• Unofficial Standings After Bristol -
• MikeW-3137,
• Louie-3223,
• Sheila-3251,
• Rick-3258,
• Bobby-3300,
• Larry-3311,
• Scott-3320,
• Jordan-3440,
• MikeC-3747,
• Philip-3958

Yes, Mike Wells has his neck on the chopping block this weekend, gambling on the winner alone! The 7 players behind him, ALL pick Johnson to win. This could be the slip up that LOUIE has been waiting for. They are only 41 points apart. If Johnson wins, this could be fatal for our LEADER!

Mike & Louie have been picking the same winner a lot and almost the same picks week after week. This week, again, they only differ just a bit. The winner is the biggest difference, but for the remaining 9, they only went 1 different.

Mike – Newman

Louie – J Burton

Perfect Storm For Louie

Newman to place 43rd and Johnson win! Louie would be the new leader.

Out On A Limb Picks This Week

KYLE - Mike Wells as winner!

Kahne – Sheila, Rick & Scott

McMurray - Larry & Jordan

Montoya – Jordan & Philip (YES, Philip changed his picks this week! Guess being at the race inspired him.)

Reutimann - Mike C & Philip

Ambrose – Mike C

Points Battle Watch

The best action on the “competition track” today, is found in the battle with Bobby against Larry. These two are only 8 points apart and went 3 different this week.

Bobby

Kyle Busch

J Gordon

Harvick

Larry

McMurray

J Burton

Kenseth

The difference in point gaps are close from Rick on back to Scott. We could see the standings change again this week, HELL, maybe even a new leader.

(On the road today so short on the write up)

Good Luck and go get your picks!

Bristol Player Picks Race 24

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This time last year, Kyle Busch had to hold off Mark Martin on a four lap sprint to the finish! It wasn’t easy, several restarts and a 15-minute rain delay would slow him down.

>>>Fast Forward – Jimmie Johnson, finally marked Bristol off of his to do list earlier this season with his first victory at the track. He clawed his way to the lead, from 6th place in just three laps. Lady luck? Horseshoe? Kurt Busch led 278 of the 500 laps and had a decent gap on Johnson when his easy drive to victory was clouded by a debris caution with 17 laps remaining. All the leaders headed to pit road, and Busch and Johnson both took four tires on the final stop.

Let’s crunch the numbers and see who’s hot and who’s not.

Bristol Specs

0.533-mile concrete oval
500 laps, 266.5 miles
Degree of banking in corners: 24 to 30 degrees
Degree of banking in straights: 4 to 9 degrees
Straightaways: 650 feet long.
Concrete racing surface: 43 feet wide.
Seating capacity: 160,000 Bristol has two pits roads : 22 pit stalls on the front stretch and 21 on the back stretch
Pit Stall Size: 25.5 feet long, 15.5 feet wide
Pit Road Speed: 30 mph
Pace Car Track Speed: 35mph

Bristol Numbers

71 – Races

34,974 – Laps

2,545 – Cars

518 – Leaders

605 – DNF’s @ 2.79%

Since March 1975

Average Running Position @ Bristol (Last 5 Years)

9.348 – Jeff Gordon

11.050 – Greg Biffle

11.097 – Matt Kenseth

11.314 – Brad Keselowski – 1 race

12.043 – Marcos Ambrose – 3 races

12.870 – Kurt Busch

13.297 – Kyle Busch

13.415 – Kevin Harvick

13.699 – Tony Stewart

14.147 – Mark Martin

Best Average Start @ Bristol (Last 5 Years)

9.3 – Jeff Gordon

10.7 – Joey Logano – 3 races

11.4 – Ryan Newman

13.1 – Jimmie Johnson

13.3 – Mark Martin

13.7 – Tony Stewart

14.1 – Greg Biffle

14.2 – Dave Blaney

14.3 – Scott Speed

14.6 – Matt Kenseth

Average % Of Laps In Top 15 @ Bristol (Last 5 Years)

81.6 – Jeff Gordon

79.9 – Greg Biffle

79.9 – Matt Kenseth

74.5 – Marcos Ambrose

74.4 – Brad Keselowski

67.9 – Kurt Busch

67.0 – Mart Martin

65.6 – Jimmie Johnson

63.4 – Denny Hamlin

63.1 – Kyle Busch

Average Laps Led @ Bristol (Last 5 Years)

85 – Kyle Busch

70 – Tony Stewart

64 – Matt Kenseth

35 – Mark Martin

32 – Kurt Busch

31 – Denny Hamlin

28 – Kasey Kahne

27 – Jimmie Johnson

27 – Greg Biffle

Average Rating @ Bristol (Last 5 Years)

103.0 – Kyle Busch

100.9 – Greg Biffle

99.3 – Jeff Gordon

97.4 – Matt Kenseth

96.1 – Kurt Busch

95.8 – Tony Stewart

95.0 – Denny Hamlin

93.4 – Marcos Ambrose

91.5 – Kevin Harvick

89.5 – Mark Martin

Average Finish Leaders @ Bristol (Last 5 Years)

8.4 – Dale Earnhardt Jr.

10.1 – Kyle Busch

10.5 – Greg Biffle

11.5 – Jeff Gordon

11.6 – Carl Edwards

12.4 – Denny Hamlin

12.5 – Matt Kenseth

13.0 – Brad Keselowski – 1 race

14.2 – Kevin Harvick

14.4 – Tony Stewart

Fastest Early In A Run @ Bristol (Last 5 Years)

116.607 – Greg Biffle

116.545 – Kyle Busch

116.533 – Denny Hamlin

116.511 – Jeff Gordon

116.433 – Tony Stewart

116.383 – Matt Kenseth

116.314 – Kevin Harvick

116.278 – Jimmie Johnson

116.207 – Kurt Busch

116.142 – Mark Martin

Fastest Late In A Run @ Bristol (Last 5 Years)

114.140 – Brad Keselowski – 1 race

113.194 – Tony Stewart

113.125 – Mark Martin

113.110 – Kurt Busch

113.091 – Denny Hamlin

113.070 – Dale Earnhardt Jr.

113.061 – Carl Edwards

113.057 – Kyle Busch

113.043 – Kevin Harvick

112.993 – Jeff Gordon

Fastest Laps Run @ Bristol (Last 5 Years)

401 – Kyle Busch

259 – Tony Stewart

242 – Greg Biffle

238 – Denny Hamlin

231 – Matt Kenseth

224 – Carl Edwards

221 – Jimmie Johnson

217 – Kurt Buisch

215 – Jeff Burton

181 – Kevin Harvick

Fastest On Restarts @ Bristol (Last 5 Years)

114.430 – Matt Kenseth

114.079 – Kyle Busch

114.023 – Denny Hamlin

114.009 – Kurt Busch

113.987 – Jeff Gordon

113.972 – Greg Biffle

113.948 – Carl Edwards

113.908 – Brad Keselowski – 1 race

113.901 – A.J. Allmendinger

113.882 – Jimmie Johnson

113.846 – Tony Stewart

Fastest Green Flag Speed @ Bristol (Last 5 Years)

114.485 – Greg Biffle

114.478 – Kyle Busch

114.460 – Tony Stewart

114.450 – Denny Hamlin

114.383 – Jeff Gordon

114.379 – Kurt Busch

114.351 – Kevin Harvick

114.340 – Matt Kenseth

114.266 – Mark Martin

114.251 – Marcos Ambrose – 3 races

Top Team Average Finishes @ Bristol

12.40 – Joe Gibbs

13.50 – Stewart-Haas

14.95 – Hendrick

15.33 – JTG Daugherty

16.13 – Roush Fenway

16.76 – Richard Childress

Similar Track Stats (Dover, Darlington, Bristol, Las Vegas & Homestead)

Average Starting Position @ Similar Tracks (2008 – Present)

10.6 – Mark Martin

10.8 – Greg Biffle

11.5 – Ryan Newman

12.7 – Jeff Gordon

13.6 – Kurt Busch

13.7 – Kyle Busch

14.2 – Jimmie Johnson

14.3 – David Reutimann

14.6 – Joey Logano

14.6 – Bill Elliott – 5 races

Average Running Position @ Similar Tracks (2008 – Present)

9.3 – Jeff Gordon

10.0 – Kyle Busch

10.4 – Jimmie Johnson

10.9 – Greg Biffle

11.7 – Carl Edwards

12.1 – Mark Martin

13.4 – Matt Kenseth

13.6 – Jeff Burton

14.6 – Kurt Busch

14.8 – Ryan Newman

Average % Laps In Top 15 @ Similar Tracks (2008 – Present)

83.2 – Jeff Gordon

77.4 – Greg Biffle

76.8 – Kyle Busch

75.1 – Jimmie Johnson

71.8 – Mark Martin

70.1 – Carl Edwards

69.3 – Jeff Burton

68.7 – Matt Kenseth

65.2 – Ryan Newman

60.1 – Kevin Harvick

Average Laps Led @ Similar Tracks (2008 – Present)

81 – Kyle Busch

73 – Jimmie Johnson

36 – Greg Biffle

27 – Carl Edwards

25 – Jeff Gordon

24 – Kurt Busch

19 – Tony Stewart

19 – Mark Martin

18 – Matt Kenseth

16 – Denny Hamlin

Average Ratings @ Similar Tracks (2008 – Present)

107.9 – Kyle Busch

106.3 – Jimmie Johnson

104.0 – Jeff Gordon

102.7 – Greg Biffle

98.1 – Carl Edwards

96.6 – Mark Martin

92.5 – Matt Kenseth

92.0 – -Jeff Burton

90.5 – Kurt Busch

89.1 – Denny Hamlin

Average Finish @ Similar Tracks (2008 – Present)

9.6 – Carl Edwards

9.9 – Jeff Gordon

11.8 – Greg Biffle

12.1 – Jimmie Johnson

12.1 – Matt Kenseth

12.3 – Jeff Burton

12.5 – Kyle Busch

13.1 – Mark Martin

13.6 – Kevin Harvick

14.6 – Denny Hamlin

Current Momentum – Who’s Hot In The Last 3 Races For 2010?

Best Average Start (Last 3 Races For 2010)

3.3 – Juan Montoya

3.7 – Tony Stewart

5.7 – Jimmie Johnson

8.3 – Greg Biffle

9.0 – A.J. Allmendinger

10.0 – Jamie McMurray

10.3 – Kurt Busch

13.0 – Boris Said *

13.7 – Jeff Burton

13.7 – Ryan Newman

14.0 – Kevin Harvick

Average Running Position (Last 3 Races For 2010)

6.0 – Tony Stewart

6.7 – Juan Montoya

8.0 – Kevin Harvick

8.3 – Greg Biffle

9.0 – Carl Edwards

10.0 – Jeff Gordon

10.7 – Jeff Burton

11.3 – Denny Hamlin

12.0 – Jimmie Johnson

12.7 – A.J. Allmendinger

Average % Laps In Top 15 (Last 3 Races For 2010)

98.9 – Tony Stewart

92.8 – Carl Edwards

92.1 – Kevin Harvick

90.2 – Juan Montoya

86.1 – Greg Biffle

82.1 – Jeff Gordon

80.4 – Jeff Burton

79.3 – Denny Hamlin

70.3 – Jimmie Johnson

67.6 – Ryan Newman

Average Laps Led (Last 3 Races For 2010)

37 – Jimmie Johnson

31 – Greg Biffle

26 – Juan Montoya

20 – Kevin Harvick

13 – Jeff Gordon

13 – Tony Stewart

10 – Denny Hamlin

Average Rating Leaders (Last 3 Races For 2010)

116.0 – Juan Montoya

113.4 – Kevin Harvick

112.7 – Tony Stewart

108.3 – Greg Biffle

104.5 – Carl Edwards

100.8 – Jimmie Johnson

99.7 – Denny Hamlin

98.5 – Jeff Gordon

95.0 – Jeff Burton

88.8 – A.J. Allmendinger

Average Finish Leaders (Last 3 Races For 2010)

3.7 – Carl Edwards

5.0 – Tony Stewart

5.3 – Kevin Harvick

8.0 – Juan Montoya

9.7 – Greg Biffle

10.7 -Martin Truex Jr.

12.0 – Matt Kenseth

13.7 – Jeff Burton

14.3 – Jeff Burton

14.7 – Denny Hamlin

2010 Season To Date Numbers

Average Start Leaders (2010 Season To Date)

7.5 – Jimmie Johnson

9.1 – Kurt Busch

10.7 – Jeff Gordon

11.3 – Juan Montoya

11.5 – Tony Stewart

11.5 – Ryan Newman

12.1 – Mark Martin

12.6 – Kasey Kahne

13.7 – Jamie McMurray

14.2 – Kyle Busch

Average Finish Leaders (2010 Season To Date)

8.6 – Kevin Harvick

12.0 – Jan Magnussen *

12.1 – Jeff Gordon

12.4 – Carl Edwards

12.7 – Tony Stewart

12.7 – Matt Kenseth

12.9 – Jeff Burton

13.0 – Steve Park *

13.7 – Denny Hamlin

13.8 – Kyle Busch

14.0 – Greg Biffle

14.6 – Jimmie Johnson

14.8 – Kurt Busch

Average Rating (2010 Season To Date)

107.0 – Jimmie Johnson

104.8 – Jeff Gordon

101.1 – Jeff Burton

98.2 – Kevin Harvick

96.4 – Kurt Busch

95.5 – Kyle Busch

93.9 – Juan Montoya

92.9 – Denny Hamlin

91.7 – Tony Stewart

89.6 – Clint Bowyer

2010 Lap Leaders

880 – Jimmie Johnson

811 – Jeff Gordon

807 – Kurt Busch

695 – Kyle Busch

581 – Denny Hamlin

385 – Juan Montoya

379 – Jeff Burton

294 – Kasey Kahne

244 – Kevin Harvick

233 – Jamie McMurray

192 – Greg Biffle

129 – Clint Bowyer

Drivers To Watch

Kyle Busch – He has a 10.1 average finish in his 11 races here. The first 2 times here were a little rocky, placing 28th and 33rd. But, from 2006 to the present( 9 races ) , his average finish is 5.56!  During that span, he picked up 3 wins, two 2nd place finishes and 8 top 10’s. He leads driver ratings as far as similar tracks go, at 107.9. He leads in laps led at Bristol with 81 (Avg Per Race). He also leads 401, fastest laps run here.

Dale Jr. – Although he’s not shown it this year, with the up’s and down’s, he has done fairly well at this track. He is next on the list, with a 10.1 average finish, since 2000. In 2001, he placed 31st, but since then he has 16 top 15’s in 18 races. His last 5 here were – 5th, 18th, 14th, 9th and 7th.

Greg Biffle - In his races here, since 2003, his average finish is 11.0. He had a 2009 finish of 39th, but the other 14 have been 22nd and better. Last 2 races here were 4th and 4th.

Jeff Gordon - Average finish of 11.9, along with 15 top 15’s in the last 20 races makes him a good choice. Being good here, second in points, all the “near miss” wins this season could put J-Go in a position to be a prime pick this weekend. This season, he has  placed 4th- 3 times, 3rd – 4 times and 2nd – twice. It’s only a matter of time. That gives him a 9.34 average finish in the last 9 races.

Denny Hamlin – Earlier this year, he placed 19th at Bristol. The 4 races before it ended as – 6th, 3rd, 2nd and 5th.

Jimmie Johnson – Last 3 races here – 3rd, 8th and 1st.

Ryan Newman – Last 4 races here – 6th, 7th, 6th and 16th.

Track Trouble For Decent Drivers

Joey Logano – 33.0 average finish. His only 3 runs – 38th, 34th and 27th.

A.J. Allmendinger – 40th, 35th, 34th, 16th, 37th and 17th.

Check out the practice speeds to fine tune your selection. Good Luck!

Still need fantasy NASCAR help? Try these on for size.

Bristol Loop Data ebook (pdf)

Bristol Irwin Tools 500 Fantasy NASCAR Preview and Picks

by Ryan Rantz @ ifantasyrace.com

Fantasy NASCAR Contender or Pretender: Bristol 2

by Ryan Rantz @ ifantasyrace.com

HackingEthics

Welcome back, Jack

Papis to Mears: It’s a sorry state of affairs when Smiling Max is replaced by CaseOfMears in the Germain #13 car. OK, Max didn’t set the world on fire, but he’s still on the learning curve with Cup cars. And being with a ‘start & park’ team really isn’t giving him adequate seat time. Not so for Casey. He’s definitely on the downside of his driving career, and like a few other greybeards, ought to consider moving to the trucks or Busch league.

Robo: RoboGordo’s been dissed again. He formally severed his agreement with BAM Racing and will take legal action for lack of payment and breach of contract. What is it with some of these 4^th rated teams? Is there no honor in some of their agreements? I’m beginning to think this sport has been invaded by a bunch of shysters.

Rickster: OK, sign Kasey prematurely, then try to figure out where he should drive in 2011. Unfortunately, the Rickster couldn’t put the puzzle together as he envisioned it. Nooo, SirMark decided to dig in his heals, and force his contract to its conclusion. So Kasey’s with RedBull for a one year stand. Based on the fact that Vickers won’t know if he can physically drive in 2011 until this November, who knows what RedBull’s got up their sleeves. The easiest decision is to cut Speed, and send him back to another RedBull venue, then hope that Vickers will be cleared to race. But this whole thing was rather messy.

Longitude 43: Bill Jenkins’ Latitude 43 Motorsports is a perfect example of how a new owner, without adequate sponsorship, can get into trouble real fast. Last week we indicated that Boris Said was bailing out, saying, “There’s no real polite way to say this, but Bill Jenkins owes me a bunch of money,” This week David Stremme bailed out, saying “ I dealt with (Jenkins) with respect, and was straightforward with him at all times. I didn’t get that in return.” So aside from a financial situation, there also appears that a character flaw might be in the mix…..

Budweezer: Good to hear that Bud’s gonna be on the 29 car starting next year. Now, let’s just see if Miller Lite is gonna challenge the Bud car with a bet, as they have in the past. Good natured betting would spice up the interest level for many fans, including me. I’ve always been in the Bud camp, cuz Lite is perhaps the last beer in the world I’d want to drink. Hey….it’s just a matter of good taste……

Being Labonte: Terry is jumping into a partial ownership role, and…….ohhh nooo….he’s gonna start driving again. His new partner, Bill Stavola said “We’ve got an undisputed competitive edge with Terry Labonte”. What a bunch of B.S. In my book, both of these guys should be carted off to the loony farm, cuz what they’re about to do borders on pure stupidity. But who knows… maybe Terry wants to race Bobby…….for 30^th place.

Saddleburns: You’ve gotta hand it to Sadler. He had the moxie to admit that his 2011 plans are not solid, but that he would rather go to the Busch league or trucks, rather than doing start-and-park, or just run around in a Cup ride. Don’tcha wish a few more drivers would do the same thing? So give heaps of credit to Saddleburns for making this call…….

Da Race: Thank goodness it wasn’t another fuel race. The biggest risk factor came in the last Yellow, when Smoke and Happy stayed out, and everyone else came in for tires. Of the two, Smoke was the biggest loser, but still managed a 6^th. Nonetheless, it’s always good to see a race at this track, because of the many racing lanes.

Bouncing back: The Roushketeers are gradually getting back into form, what with their 3^rd, 4^th, 5^th and 11^th place finishes. And it couldn’t have happened at a better time. Again, welcome back, Jack.

Southward bound: Who woulda thunk that Rickie’s bandits would slide this much? The best they could muster were 12^th, 19^th, 27^th and 28^th, and this was on what might be considered as a cookie cutter track (which used to be their bread and butter). They’re gonna need to take a serious look at how this happened. And the biggest magnifying glass might be held over das Knaus’ head, cuz he was supposed to be the guru of all crew chiefs.

More South: Penske took a big hit today, with the Blue Deuce blowing an engine with only about 15% of the race underway. Bradski finished in 34^th, and 3 laps down, and Sam didn’t fare much better, with a 32^nd and the last one on the lead lap.

Kudos: To Happy, whose stout engine overcame some tread bare tires. To DennyHambone for a late arrival in the front. And to Pablo, Trueaxle and Saddleburns for great top 10 finishes.

Heaps of 3’s all over yer next Penzoil oil change,

Racing Maniac #3

HackingEthics

Jordan gets another win folks! It makes his 2nd win in 3 races. He has turned up the heat in what he calls “A New System”. Can it really be working? It looks that way.

Jordan collected 9 top 15 drivers, the best of all players this week. The runner up players had 7. His worst driver was Kurt Busch, placing 40th. His remaining 9 drivers were 14th and better.

Let’s Run The Numbers

Top 3 This Week

103 – Jordan

117 – Rick

129 – Larry

Top 15 Pick Leaders This Week

9 – Jordan

7 – Mike W, Sheila, Rick & Larry

Top 10 Pick Leaders This Week

6 – Jordan & Larry

5 – Mike W, Louie, Sheila & Rick

Top 5 Pick Leaders This Week

4 – Mike W, Louie, Sheila, Larry & Jordan

Best Winning Picks This Week

3rd – Edwards – Sheila

4th – Biffle – Jordan & Larry

Worst Winning Picks This Week

27th -J Gordon – Mike C

24th – J Burton – Bobby

Hottest Winning Driver Picks – Last 3 Races (Avg)

A winning driver is key to winning the week. The winner this week could have dropped 40 points (Kurt Busch). That’s a ton of ground. Focus & and go get it!

5.00 – Larry (4th, 7th & 4th)

5.34 – Sheila (6th, 7th & 3rd)

5.67 – Jordan (10th, 3rd & 4th)

Movers & Shakers This Week

Rick – UP 2 to 4th

Larry – UP 1 to 6th

Scott – DOWN 2 to 7th

Bobby – DOWN 1 to 5th

Breaking 2010 Down – By The Numbers

Top 15 Driver Leaders

151 – Mike Wells @ 65.7%

149 – Larry B @ 64.8%

Top 10 Driver Leaders

119 – Louie

118 – Mike Wells

Top 5 Driver Leaders

71 – Louie

69 – Mike Wells & Bobby

Top Winners

5 – Mike Wells

4 – Bobby

Top 3 Finish Leaders

10 – Sheila & Scott

9 – Mike Wells & Bobby

For more stats or to see where you rank, click here.

HackingEthics