Bill Elliott will make his 800th Cup start this weekend when he rolls off the grid in the Coca-Cola 600.
Our View: Experience counts in this race and no one in the field has more than the Georgia native.
May 22, 2009
Persistent back pain could shorten Gordon's career
If last week's procedure to alleviate his back pain is not successful, Jeff Gordon may retire from NASCAR sooner than he hoped, according to SceneDaily.com.
Our View: Gordon has talked about retirement off and on for several years now, so it would seem that any further problem could push him over the edge.
Our View: Gordon has talked about retirement off and on for several years now, so it would seem that any further problem could push him over the edge.
Hendrick has confidence in 2 Juniors
Rick Hendrick has expressed confidence over the pairing of Dale Earnhardt Jr. and crew chief Tony Eury Jr., according to SceneDaily.com.
Our View: The first question is "based on what?" (Obviously something we can't see.) Regardless of whether Hendrick is confident, none of that will matter if Earnhardt continues to make catastrophic mistakes in the pits.
Our View: The first question is "based on what?" (Obviously something we can't see.) Regardless of whether Hendrick is confident, none of that will matter if Earnhardt continues to make catastrophic mistakes in the pits.
IRL: Castroneves free at last
Friday was a good day for Helio Castroneves. In addition to topping the practice chart, it was announced that federal prosecutors dropped the final charge against him in his tax evasion case, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Our View: Stress free, Castroneves can now turn 100% of his attention to winning the Indy 500.
Our View: Stress free, Castroneves can now turn 100% of his attention to winning the Indy 500.
Dominating the front of the pack
A driver's finishing position on a track is certainly important—and in the long run, that is the only way most fantasy games pay points—but it is not always the best indicator of who has been strongest. When handicapping a race, we often find it helpful to look at the number of laps drivers have spent in the top 10.
There are two reasons why this is important. The most obvious of these is that driving in the first quarter of the field means a racer and his car has raw power, but equally important is the fact the further forward a car is in the pack, the less likely the driver is to get into trouble. Top-10 drivers are far less likely to make silly mistakes that could cause your fantasy selection to end the day in the garage.
During the last five years, one driver stands head and shoulders above the competition, and he will come as no surprise to anyone who's played the game for more than a year. Jimmie Johnson remains the master of this track, with five victories and 14 top-15s in 16 starts and his time spent in the top-10 reflects this. Johnson has been that far up on the grid in 79 percent of the laps he's run, boasting 2,588 of a possible 3,275 circuits.
The next driver on the list might be a bigger surprise, however. Despite finishing 25th or worse in five of the last 10 races held at Lowe's, Kyle Busch has managed to log 1,850 laps with the leader, which equals 56.5 percent of the time. More important still, most of these laps came in the last three Lowe's races and he converted those strong runs into three consecutive top-fives.
Kasey Kahne is the only other driver to spend more than half of his time among the top-10 during the last five years. He's run with the leaders 50.8 percent of the time (1,665 laps) and has been even more productive than Busch or Johnson in recent events. In his last six starts on this track, Kahne has won three times and finished second on another occasion. With the new Dodge engine in his car this week, he should be considered a threat once more.
Top-10 Laps, last five years
There are two reasons why this is important. The most obvious of these is that driving in the first quarter of the field means a racer and his car has raw power, but equally important is the fact the further forward a car is in the pack, the less likely the driver is to get into trouble. Top-10 drivers are far less likely to make silly mistakes that could cause your fantasy selection to end the day in the garage.
During the last five years, one driver stands head and shoulders above the competition, and he will come as no surprise to anyone who's played the game for more than a year. Jimmie Johnson remains the master of this track, with five victories and 14 top-15s in 16 starts and his time spent in the top-10 reflects this. Johnson has been that far up on the grid in 79 percent of the laps he's run, boasting 2,588 of a possible 3,275 circuits.
The next driver on the list might be a bigger surprise, however. Despite finishing 25th or worse in five of the last 10 races held at Lowe's, Kyle Busch has managed to log 1,850 laps with the leader, which equals 56.5 percent of the time. More important still, most of these laps came in the last three Lowe's races and he converted those strong runs into three consecutive top-fives.
Kasey Kahne is the only other driver to spend more than half of his time among the top-10 during the last five years. He's run with the leaders 50.8 percent of the time (1,665 laps) and has been even more productive than Busch or Johnson in recent events. In his last six starts on this track, Kahne has won three times and finished second on another occasion. With the new Dodge engine in his car this week, he should be considered a threat once more.
Top-10 Laps, last five years
| Driver | Top-10 Laps | Possible Laps | % |
| Jimmie Johnson | 2,588 | 3,275 | 79.0% |
| Kyle Busch | 1,850 | 3,275 | 56.5% |
| Kasey Kahne | 1,665 | 3,275 | 50.8% |
| Mark Martin | 1,634 | 3,275 | 49.9% |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 1,634 | 3,275 | 49.9% |
| Greg Biffle | 1,625 | 3,275 | 49.6% |
| Jeff Burton | 1,553 | 3,275 | 47.4% |
| David Ragan | 593 | 1,471 | 40.3% |
| Ryan Newman | 1,274 | 3,275 | 38.9% |
| Kurt Busch | 1,227 | 3,275 | 37.5% |
| Jeff Gordon | 1,172 | 3,275 | 35.8% |
| Clint Bowyer | 726 | 2,205 | 32.9% |
| Denny Hamlin | 835 | 2,541 | 32.9% |
| Matt Kenseth | 1,060 | 3,275 | 32.4% |
| Tony Stewart | 1,043 | 3,275 | 31.8% |
| Brian Vickers | 914 | 2,938 | 31.1% |
| Elliott Sadler | 866 | 3,275 | 26.4% |
| Carl Edwards | 816 | 3,275 | 24.9% |
| Casey Mears | 789 | 3,275 | 24.1% |
| Joe Nemechek | 577 | 2,538 | 22.7% |
| Scott Riggs | 726 | 3,275 | 22.2% |
| Jamie McMurray | 682 | 3,275 | 20.8% |
| David Reutimann | 283 | 1,407 | 20.1% |
| Bobby Labonte | 620 | 3,275 | 18.9% |
| Michael Waltrip | 510 | 2,875 | 17.7% |
| Kevin Harvick | 459 | 3,275 | 14.0% |
| Dave Blaney | 444 | 3,275 | 13.6% |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 349 | 2,605 | 13.4% |
| Reed Sorenson | 227 | 2,205 | 10.3% |
| David Gilliland | 174 | 1,805 | 9.6% |
| Tony Raines | 212 | 2,539 | 8.3% |
| Sam Hornish Jr. | 56 | 734 | 7.6% |
| David Stremme | 80 | 1,807 | 4.4% |
| Robby Gordon | 141 | 3,275 | 4.3% |
| Bill Elliott | 43 | 1,471 | 2.9% |
| Mike Bliss | 31 | 1,070 | 2.9% |
| A.J. Allmendinger | 8 | 1,471 | 0.5% |
| Juan Montoya | 5 | 1,471 | 0.3% |
| Paul Menard | 1 | 1,471 | 0.1% |
| Todd Bodine | 0 | 334 | 0.0% |
F1: Ecclestone sees end in sight
"I think everybody is more or less happy with the budget cap," Bernie Ecclestone said in a report at AutoRacingDaily.com, "although just how much? They will go with it higher, maybe it will be lower. It’s just a case of sorting it out. I am confident all the teams will still be racing next year.”
Our View: It appears that teams are willing to participate, so long as the two-tier technical requirements are scrapped. Any kind of salary cap should provide closer competition, which will make fantasy races more interesting.
Our View: It appears that teams are willing to participate, so long as the two-tier technical requirements are scrapped. Any kind of salary cap should provide closer competition, which will make fantasy races more interesting.
IRL: Indy 500 Final Practice
The final practice for the Indy 500 is in the books and only two drivers topped the 223 mph mark. Helio Castroneves posted a single fast lap of 223.920, which was nearly one mile per hour faster than the third quickest driver Mario Moraes. The only racer in the same zip code was Will Power, who clocked in at 223.560.
Practice Times
Practice Times
| Rank | Driver | Speed |
| 1 | Helio Castroneves | 223.920 |
| 2 | Will Power | 223.560 |
| 3 | Mario Moraes | 222.951 |
| 4 | Dan Wheldon | 222.386 |
| 5 | Ryan Briscoe | 222.374 |
| 6 | Dario Franchitti | 222.357 |
| 7 | Scott Dixon | 222.017 |
| 8 | Graham Rahal | 221.771 |
| 9 | Townsend Bell | 221.434 |
| 10 | Davey Hamilton | 221.371 |
| 11 | Tony Kanaan | 221.104 |
| 12 | Paul Tracy | 220.979 |
| 13 | Vitor Meira | 220.607 |
| 14 | Raphael Matos | 220.348 |
| 15 | Marco Andretti | 220.205 |
| 16 | A.J. Foyt IV | 220.119 |
| 17 | Scott Sharp | 219.977 |
| 18 | Tomas Scheckter | 219.887 |
| 19 | Alex Tagliani | 219.833 |
| 20 | Hideki Mutoh | 219.627 |
| 21 | Ed Carpenter | 219.602 |
| 22 | Mike Conway | 219.560 |
| 23 | Danica Patrick | 219.328 |
| 24 | Oriol Servia | 219.317 |
| 25 | Alex Lloyd | 219.262 |
| 26 | Justin Wilson | 218.919 |
| 27 | Ryan Hunter-Reay | 218.593 |
| 28 | Robert Doornbos | 218.164 |
| 29 | E.J. Viso | 217.788 |
| 30 | Milka Duno | 217.599 |
| 31 | Sarah Fisher | 217.315 |
| 32 | John Andretti | 217.296 |
| 33 | Nelson Philippe | 216.631 |
Schrader 13th at Cresco
Ken Schrader finished 13th in an USMTS Modified race at Cresco Speedway in Iowa in a race won by Zack VanderBeek. He was competing in his third consecutive race with that series after finishing 13th at Oskaloosa and 12th in Marshalltown.
Our View: At least he was consistent.
Our View: At least he was consistent.