Night Race Favorites Emerging as NASCAR Schedule Approaches Atlanta

Small Group of Drivers Performing Exceptionally Well in 2010 Night Races


From: Atlanta PR

HAMPTON, Ga. (July 15, 2010) – Breaking down the numbers from 2010 NASCAR night races reveals a clear class of contenders for Atlanta Motor Speedway’s Labor Day NASCAR night racing weekend.

Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards and David Reutimann have outperformed the field in 2010 night races based on their average finishes. And while the trio has just one combined win in night races – Reutimann’s victory in the most-recent evening race at Chicago – their consistently strong night race finishes may make them instant favorites entering Atlanta’s Sept. 5 race date.

Despite failing to win an event thus far in 2010, Gordon has been near unmatched in the year’s night races, posting an average finish of 3.3 and finishing no worse than sixth in the six evening affairs. With four top-three finishes in 2010 night events and four-career wins in Atlanta, Gordon should enter Atlanta Motor Speedway with high expectations for a race he finished eighth in a year ago.

Like Gordon, Edwards has been held winless in the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, yet has been exceptional in races held at night. Edwards has an average finish at night of 8.5 and has twice finished in the top-five positions, with his best showing a second-place in last weekend’s night contest in Chicago. Also like Gordon, Edwards has a history of success at Atlanta Motor Speedway, further making the Missouri native more likeable on Labor Day Weekend; Edwards has three Sprint Cup Series wins in Atlanta, included his first ever.

Having just claimed his first victory of 2010 in last week’s night race, David Reutimann has had tremendous success in 2010’s evening events. With three top-10 finishes and an average night-time finish of 10.3, Reutimann will likely be among the preferred drivers entering Atlanta on Labor Day weekend, an event he finished fourth in a year ago.

Furthermore for Reutimann, if you remove his worst night-race finish – a 20th-place showing in the year’s first evening event - his average finish increases to 8.4.

When showing similar statistical courtesy to other drivers, an additional pair of contenders emerges for Atlanta’s Labor Day weekend of night racing. By removing Kevin Harvick’s most-recent finish at Chicago, a 34th-place showing, the points leader’s average night race finish jumps to 6.8 from 11.16, besting Edwards and Reutimann. After finishing second at Atlanta last summer and performing well in this year’s night races, Harvick should be a contender again in 2010.

Kyle Busch, statistically hampered by a 40th-place finish in Daytona’s evening event, also has a tremendous average night race finish when removing this outlier; withholding Daytona, Busch has an average result of 7.2 in 2010 night races. With his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory coming at Atlanta and with four additional Camping World Truck Series wins at the track, Busch should also enter Atlanta with high hopes.

While these drivers – Gordon, Edwards, Reutimann, Harvick and Busch – aren’t guaranteed success entering Atlanta on Labor Day weekend, their results in 2010 night races warrant consideration for favor entering Atlanta Motor Speedway’s weekend of NASCAR night racing.

The biggest Labor Day party in the USA is at Atlanta Motor Speedway on Labor Day weekend, as the NASCAR Sprint Cup stars head to the high banks for night racing on Sept. 4 and 5. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (770) 946-4211, (877) 9-AMS-TIX, or visit www.atlantamotorspeedway.com.

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Atlanta Motor Speedway - 1992 Hooters 500 Commemorative Collector's Edition Nov. 15, 1992 Petty Farewell & PATCH!

Gordon posts fastest Phoenix HH lap

Jeff Gordon posted the single fastest lap in Happy Hour with a speed of 131.444 mph.

Our View His average speed of 126.672 mph during 28 laps was way down the list, however. Gordon has some strong runs at Phoenix, but for the most part this has been one of his less successful tracks. Leave him in the garage this week.

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Hamlin wins a Martinsville stunner

Four tires with less than 10 laps remaining gave Denny Hamlin the grip he needed in a green-white-checkered finish as the front of the field was characterized by a lot of bumping and banging to open a lane for the hometown driver.
 
Our View From the second row, Matt Kenseth bumped Jeff Gordon to get him a lane high, Denny Hamlin bumped Ryan Newman to knock him out of the way and then the No. 11 knocked the 17 around.
 
After the smoke cleared, it was a Joe Gibbs Racing one-two finish as Hamlin led Joey Logano across the line. Gordon finished third, Newman was fourth and a surprising Martin Truex Jr. rounded out the top-five.

Kenseth was the biggest loser. He finished 18th.

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Bill France Jr.: The Man Who Made Nascar

Johnson wins two in a row

Jimmie Johnson took four tires while Jeff Gordon took only two on the final pit stop and that made the difference at the end. Johnson won his second race in a row in the Shelby American. In fact, for the second consecutive race, he finished just ahead of Kevin Harvick as that driver also slipped past Gordon.

Our View Johnson has officially regained his title as the "Cookie-cutter" king after struggling at Vegas during the last two races.

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Harvick wins Budweiser Shootout

Kevin Harvick won back-to-back Budweiser Shootouts after leading Kasey Kahne and Jamie McMurray when the final caution waved.

Our View The race ended with a green-white-checkered finish and you just knew that it was going to get hairy. However, no one expected Jeff Gordon to trigger a wreck when he bump-drafted Greg Biffle into a spin in the corner.

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Hendrick Motorsports sweeps the top three for season

Hendrick Motorsports made another piece of history this week when they finished 1-2-3 in the points' standings. In addition to the championship for Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin finished second and Jeff Gordon finished third.

Our View That is how you define dominance; nothing more needs to be said.

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Official tweets from the track

Phoenix pit stall selections

Jayski has posted the pit stall selections, and as expected Martin Truex Jr. took the final slot before pit exit.

Our View Other drivers with an opening in front of them are Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Kasey Kahne, so they should have an easy time exiting after their service. Drivers with openings behind them are Casey Mears, Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch and Mark Martin.

The other driver with a mathematical shot at leaving this race with the points' lead, Jeff Gordon is pitting directly behind Truex and if the No. 1 team has any trouble, he could inherit the best stall.

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Yahoo! Qualification Story – Texas

Texas Motor Speedway is one of the tracks on which starting position is important: 75 percent of the winners have come from the first four rows. See who we like in this week's Yahoo! qualification story (.pdf).

Yahoo! Texas Preview

After last week's lottery in Talladega, it's time to get back to racing this week at Texas. Check out the favorites and dark horses in this week's Yahoo! Preview (.pdf).

Crash-prone Edwards, Hornish already sustain damage at 'Dega

Barely eight minutes into practice, Sam Hornish Jr. and Carl Edwards slammed into one another in an accordion-style accident that was apparently started when Jeff Gordon was forced out of his drafting line.

Our View If you were listening to this morning's fantasy segment on SiriusXM radio, you would have head me predict that Sam Hornish Jr. and Carl Edwards would crash in the Amp Energy 500. It's not race time yet, but both drivers sustained crash damage in less than 10 laps.

Clint Bowyer was also spun off the track in the aftermath.

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Hendrick Motorsports dominates Martinsville practice 1

Thee Hendrick Motorsports drivers sat atop the speed chart in practice for the Tums Fast Relief 500. Mark Martin posted a lap of 96.156, Jeff Gordon went 96.122 mph and Dale Earnhardt Jr. went 96.015 mph.

Our View Martin and Gordon come as no surprise—and if you read this week's Yahoo! fantasy preview, Earnhardt would not have been either.

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Lowe's Pit stall selections

Jayski has posted the pit stall selections for the NASCAR Banking 500 at Lowe's Motor Speedway and, as expected pole sitter Jimmie Johnson has the last box exiting pit road.

Our View Mark Martin, Kasey Kahne and Matt Kenseth are the other drivers with an opening in front of them. Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman, Jeff Gordon and Mike Bliss in the No. 71 this week have openings behind them.

As well as he qualified and as strong as he ran in the Nationwide race, Bliss should try to run the distance. If he "starts and parks," however, Bobby Labonte inherits an opening as he is immediately ahead.

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Auto Club Pit Stalls

Jayski has posted the pit stall selections, and as expected pole sitter Denny Hamlin has the first piece of real estate leaving pit road.

Our View Greg Biffle and Juan Montoya are the only other drivers with an opening in front of them, but the pits at Auto Club are wide enough so that there should not be any issues.

Notably, immediately in front of Biffle is Joey Logano. Those two drivers exchanged paint during the Nationwide race in a move that appeared to be a deliberate attempt to cripple Logano's car. The teenage sensation came back to win the race, while Biffle ultimately suffered more damage in a second tangle with Logano's teammate Denny Hamlin.

In addition to Logano, other drivers with openings behind them are Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon.

Since David Reutimann's speed was disallowed in qualification for illegal shocks, he lost the right to pick a stall early and finds himself in one of the center pits.

Complete Pit Stall Selection

Stewart Smokes Kansas

Tony Stewart held off a late-race charge by Jeff Gordon and won his second race at Kansas Speedway.

Our View In the end, it was a battle between two tires (Stewart) and four (Gordon) and the winning decision was less than a second on the track. At the start of the week, we predicted the race would be won in the pits.

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Kansas using Auto Club tires

Goodyear has brought the same tire to Kansas Speedway they used at Auto Club Speedway earlier this year.

Our View That might favor drivers who were fast there: Matt Kenseth and Jeff Gordon were the class of the field in the Auto Club 500. The California track is slightly longer at two miles in length, but it bears a lot of similarities in shape to the 1.5-miler in Kansas.

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Richmond pit stalls

Jayski has posted the pit stall selections, and as expected Mighty Mark Martin has taken the best spot after winning the pole for the Chevy Rock & Roll 400.

Our View Martin Truex Jr and Kasey Kahne have the only other two spots with an opening in front of them, but Brian Vickers, Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski chose stalls with openings behind them.

This could be especially positive for Keselowski, who is bound to be cheap in cap games and under-utilized in allocation games.

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Crown Royal Russ Friedman 400

Heluva Good! Dips at the Glen Lineup with Avg. Start / Fin

In a topsy turvey qualification session for the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen, Jimmie Johnson won the pole and Jeff Gordon was forced to settle for 31st; Tony Stewart is mid-pack in 13th and another traditionally strong road racer Robby Gordon is even further back in 22nd. The race is going to be characterized by comers and goers.

Kurt Busch posted the fastest time in Friday's practice and he backed that up with the second fastest lap in time trials, while a pair of strong road racers fills up row two. Denny Hamlin isn't the first name that comes to mind on the road courses, but he's never finished outside the top 10 at the Glen in three starts.

Marcos Ambrose simply hopes he can hold onto his spot in fourth after he crashed in practice at Infineon this June and went to the back in a backup car. Still, he climbed from dead last for the second consecutive road course race and finished third for the second consecutive time.

Lineup

Start	Driver	Avg. Fin	Avg. Start	Attempts
1	Jimmie Johnson	13.14	7.29	7
2	Kurt Busch	21.38	11.25	8
3	Denny Hamlin	6.67	7.33	3
4	Marcos Ambrose	3.00	43.00	1
5	David Stremme	21.00	25.00	1
6	Ryan Newman	16.29	9.86	7
7	Greg Biffle	28.67	15.17	6
8	Kyle Busch	12.50	9.50	4
9	Boris Said	21.75	24.50	8
10	Juan Montoya	21.50	21.50	2
11	Casey Mears	21.33	18.67	6
12	Kasey Kahne	18.60	13.80	5
13	Tony Stewart	5.70	5.50	10
14	Paul Menard	26.40	35.40	5
15	Andy Lally
16	Max Papis	43.00	42.00	1
17	Patrick Carpentier	21.00	39.50	2
18	A J Allmendinger	11.00	37.00	1
19	Elliott Sadler	20.00	22.90	10
20	Brian Vickers	22.60	23.20	5
21	Kevin Harvick	11.25	9.50	8
22	Robby Gordon	10.60	20.50	10
23	Martin Truex Jr	13.00	21.67	3
24	Jamie McMurray	16.83	19.17	6
25	David Reutimann	33.00	28.00	1
26	Scott Speed
27	Bobby Labonte	18.44	18.13	16
28	Mark Martin	6.95	8.11	19
29	Reed Sorenson	23.67	31.33	3
30	Jeff Burton	21.00	19.47	15
31	Jeff Gordon	13.44	6.94	16
32	Dale Earnhardt Jr	20.78	12.67	9
33	Carl Edwards	10.25	10.00	4
34	John Andretti	19.00	19.33	9
35	Joey Logano
36	Sam Hornish Jr	32.00	34.00	1
37	Ron Fellows	25.27	24.09	11
38	Clint Bowyer	17.67	12.33	3
39	P J Jones	24.50	31.88	8
40	David Ragan	31.00	18.00	2
41	Dave Blaney	31.11	27.78	9
42	Matt Kenseth	16.22	14.56	9
43	Tony Ave	31.00	42.00	1
DNQ	Joe Nemechek	21.87	21.53	15
DNQ	David Gilliland	36.50	28.00	2
DNQ	Brian Simo	39.00	42.50	2

Road Kill

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Road Kill

Each year when the road courses roll around on the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule, hopeful owners trot out road ringers—specialists who spent the majority of their careers turning both left and right in sports cars or open wheel cars—and for a while, these drivers were great bargains for fantasy players.

Now, the question is: are these drivers still and good value?

And the answer is a qualified "maybe."

Some exceedingly good road racers have made their way into the regular ranks of NASCAR's elite with Juan Montoya and Marcos Ambrose getting stronger by the week on oval courses. They join the likes of Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon to give owners a small pool of drivers guaranteed to run up front, and with those racers dominating the top five along with some other solid but lesser considered drivers such as Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson capable of running in the top 10 each road race, the impact of the road ringers is minimized.

In the Watkins Glen media center on Friday, Ambrose made that same point and with back-to-back third-place finishes after starting dead last in his last two road course starts, he knows what he's talking about.

In fact, among the drivers entered this week, only Ron Fellows has earned a top-10 in Cup competition on the road courses in the last eight races. We italicize the word entered, because the No. 08 John Carter team this week intends to swap Boris Said for the officially entered Terry Labonte unless rain cancels qualification—in that case, they will use Labonte's past champion's provisional to quite frankly steal a position on the grid.

However, the qualified "maybe" means these road ringers might be a good value under the right circumstances. This June, Patrick Carpentier climbed into the Michael Waltrip Racing No. 55 and nearly broke into the top 10 with an 11th-place finish. Max Papis is attempting to make several oval races this year, but for the moment he also should be considered a ringer and he finished 12th in that same race.

In fact, if not for the frenetic nature of the closing laps of the Toyota / SaveMart 350k when a myriad of cautions turned the end of the race into a slugfest, both drivers were inside the top 10 late in the going. Double-file restarts shuffled the field considerably and these two racers lost a bit of ground at the end.

Top-15s can make the road ringers a good value because in most salary cap games they are cheap enough to stretch your budget. In check box games with a maximum number of allocations allowed for each driver, a top-15 can also make them an acceptable proposition in order to save an allocation for one of your marquee drivers in a future race.

But, if a top-15 is the best they can hope for, and if they miss the mark by a little bit, then you are staring at a top-20 result instead, which is far less attractive.
Moreover, only Carpentier is in equipment that is regularly run on the Cup schedule. Papis' No. 13 proved to be strong at Infineon, but is otherwise largely untested. Fellows will drive the No. 09 James Finch entry, which already has a victory under its belt on the wild card Talladega SuperSpeedway this year. These three drivers represent your best chance to score points this week, but the safe money says to pick only one.

Top-15s by road ringers, last five years

Race	Driver	Finish
2005 Watkins Glen	Boris Said	3
2008 Watkins Glen	Ron Fellows	4
2005 Watkins Glen	Scott Pruett	4
2006 Watkins Glen	Scott Pruett	6
2005 Infineon	Ron Fellows	8
2007 Infineon	Boris Said	9
2006 Infineon	Boris Said	9
2005 Infineon	Brian Simo	10
2009 Infineon	Patrick Carpentier	11
2009 Infineon	Max Papis	12
2007 Infineon	P.J. Jones	12
2008 Watkins Glen	Ron Fellows	13
2008 Watkins Glen	Boris Said	14
2007 Infineon	Ron Fellows	15

Pocono pit stall selection

Jayski.com has posted the pit stall selections and as expected Tony Stewart chose the final pit before the end of pit road.

Our View Even though his crash will cause him to drop to the back of the pack, he gets to keep his pit selection. Jeff Gordon—who inherits the inside of the front row—has the second best pit stall with one of only three openings in front of him.

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Pocono practice 1 canceled, Martin fastest

The remainder of the first practice session at Pocono has been canceled and it featured Mark Martin at the top of the charts with a speed of 169.354 mph. In fact, all four Hendrick Motorsports cars were the class of the field with Jimmie Johnson second (167.604), Dale Earnhardt Jr. third (167.470) and Jeff Gordon fourth (166.799).

Our View Affiliates Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman were sixth and seventh on the chart. This is a pretty clear sign that Hendrick should dominate your fantasy roster.

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