Harvick, Mears swap pays dividends

The crew swap between Kevin Harvick and Casey Mears is already paying dividends, according to NASCAR.com.

Our View: You couldn't tell by Harvick's result, but he had one of his best runs of the year at Richmond before contact with Sam Hornish Jr. cut his tire and sent him hard into the wall. Mears was doing fine before the swap with several finishes in the teens, but he recorded his first top-10 of the season with a ninth in the Crown Royal 400.

Raines replaces Andretti at Darlington

While John Andretti is in Indy practicing and attempting to qualify for the Indy 500, Tony Raines will climb into the No. 34 this week and race at Darlington, according to this week's entry list.

Our View: The No. 34 remains in the top 35 in points, so Raines is guaranteed to start. He's not the first driver you should select for your Southern 500 roster, but the veteran is strong on short tracks. Measuring less than a mile and half in length, this track takes a lot of experience to navigate. For more on this, see also this story at SceneDaily.com.

Darlington entry list

The Darlington entry list has been posted and it features 46 cars.

Our View: Notable among the part time entries is Brad Keselowski—in the Hendrick No. 25 this week—and rookie Max Papis. Darlington is not usually kind to freshmen, but the new Car of Tomorrow (COT) is much more durable than the old version and Young Guns have been a better value than in the past.

Darlington, Five-year Avg. Finish

Jeff Gordon stands head and shoulders above the rest of the field at Darlington over the last five years with an average result of 2.2. He earned that near perfect number with a perfect sweep of the top-five in that span.

Teammate Jimmie Johnson is second on the list with a 5.6 and three other drivers (Denny Hamlin at 6.3, Dale Earnhardt Jr. at 7.2 and Mark Martin at 8.8) have averages of better than 10th. That is proof that Darlington is indeed a rhythm track where momentum is one of the biggest keys to success.

Darlington, Five-year Avg. Finish

Driver	Avg. Fin	Start	Attempts
Jeff Gordon	2.20	9.20	5
Jimmie Johnson	5.60	10.60	5
Denny Hamlin	6.33	11.00	3
Dale Earnhardt Jr	7.20	17.40	5
Mark Martin	8.80	21.20	5
Carl Edwards	12.40	16.20	5
Matt Kenseth	12.40	27.20	5
Jeff Burton	12.60	24.20	5
Martin Truex Jr	13.00	28.67	3
Tony Stewart	13.20	12.80	5
Kasey Kahne	14.20	12.40	5
Clint Bowyer	15.67	14.00	3
Jamie McMurray	15.80	13.40	5
David Ragan	16.00	19.50	2
Greg Biffle	16.80	6.80	5
Bobby Labonte	17.00	17.00	5
Kyle Busch	17.00	19.25	4
Kurt Busch	17.20	9.00	5
Ryan Newman	17.20	14.40	5
Joe Nemechek	18.80	26.60	5
Juan Montoya	23.00	30.00	2
Dave Blaney	24.25	25.50	4
David Gilliland	25.00	35.50	2
David Reutimann	26.00	22.00	2
Elliott Sadler	27.00	8.40	5
Reed Sorenson	27.67	23.67	3
Kevin Harvick	27.80	14.40	5
Robby Gordon	28.80	30.00	5
Brian Vickers	29.20	16.60	5
David Stremme	29.50	17.00	2
Casey Mears	30.40	19.80	5
A J Allmendinger	31.50	23.00	2
Scott Riggs	31.60	19.25	5
Jeremy Mayfield	33.50	16.00	4
Paul Menard	33.50	32.00	2
Michael Waltrip	34.60	27.50	5
Tony Raines	35.00	37.00	3

Hamlin's bad luck continues

Denny Hamlin continues to sing an old Hee Haw song as he drives in the Cup series; if it weren't for bad luck, he'd have no luck at all, according to SceneDaily.com.

Our View: This has made him a difficult driver to place on your roster with any regularity. Luck is unpredictable. Hamlin is more than capable of earning top-fives, especially on NASCAR's short, flat tracks, but the risk is most often outweighing the reward at this stage of the season.

IRL: Indy 500 entry list

The entry list (.pdf) for the Indy 500 has been posted at IndyCar.com.

Our View: The usual cast of characters is included, but several one-off teams will also make appearances. Notably, three women will attempt to qualify for the biggest race of the year, including Danica Patrick, Sarah Fisher and Milka Duno.

IRL: Barrett transitions

Stanton Barrett's transition to IndyCar has been steady as he's layered open wheel experience on top of his stock car skill, according to IndyCar.com.

Our View: Barrett showed great promise in NASCAR, but could never seem to get into a competitive ride. With smaller fields in IndyCar, he may well earn a few top-10s, and that will make him more marketable in either series.

Week 20 Unified Power Rankings

Jenson Button has come out the gates faster than any other driver in 2009. In his first four Formula 1 starts of the year, he's recorded three victories and swept the top five in a series that is hotly contested at the front of the pack. Rubens Barrichello has also swept the top five in his first four Formula 1 starts of the season to be his chief rival as the series gets ready to head to Catalunya for the Spanish Grand Prix.

Among NASCAR drivers, Tony Stewart stands at the top of the charts. A victory in the Nationwide Series and six top-fives in 14 combined starts among NASCAR's Big Three has removed all doubt about his success now that he is an owner/driver.

The IRL has not yet run four races, so there is insufficient data to include their drivers in this formula.

Here are the remaining top-50 drivers.

Rank	Driver	Primary Series	Points
1	Jenson Button	Formula 1	107.25
2	Rubens Barrichello	Formula 1	93.75
3	Tony Stewart	NASCAR Winston Cup	91.92
4	Kurt Busch	NASCAR Winston Cup	91.20
5	Jeff Gordon	NASCAR Winston Cup	89.90
6	Timo Glock	Formula 1	86.75
7	Denny Hamlin	NASCAR Winston Cup	82.64
8	Kyle Busch	NASCAR Winston Cup	81.26
9	Ron Hornaday Jr	NASCAR Trucks	80.80
10	Jason Leffler	NASCAR Busch	80.44
11	Carl Edwards	NASCAR Winston Cup	79.79
12	Jimmie Johnson	NASCAR Winston Cup	79.10
13	Ryan Newman	NASCAR Winston Cup	78.82
14	Jeff Burton	NASCAR Winston Cup	78.33
15	Clint Bowyer	NASCAR Winston Cup	77.08
16	Greg Biffle	NASCAR Winston Cup	76.29
17	Juan Montoya	NASCAR Winston Cup	75.40
18	Jarno Trulli	Formula 1	74.50
19	Matt Kenseth	NASCAR Winston Cup	74.47
20	Brian Vickers	NASCAR Winston Cup	74.43
21	Dale Earnhardt Jr	NASCAR Winston Cup	73.64
22	David Reutimann	NASCAR Winston Cup	73.50
23	Mark Webber	Formula 1	73.25
24	Sebastian Vettel	Formula 1	73.00
25	Matt Crafton	NASCAR Trucks	71.80
26	Kasey Kahne	NASCAR Winston Cup	71.40
27	Kevin Harvick	NASCAR Winston Cup	71.22
28	Brad Keselowski	NASCAR Busch	70.69
29	Mark Martin	NASCAR Winston Cup	70.55
30	Fernando Alonso	Formula 1	70.25
31	Jason Keller	NASCAR Busch	69.89
32	David Ragan	NASCAR Winston Cup	69.61
33	Marcos Ambrose	NASCAR Winston Cup	69.60
34	Joey Logano	NASCAR Winston Cup	68.11
35	Casey Mears	NASCAR Winston Cup	67.90
36	Mike Skinner	NASCAR Trucks	67.33
37	Johnny Benson Jr	NASCAR Trucks	67.00
38	Scott Lagasse Jr	NASCAR Busch	65.11
39	Lewis Hamilton	Formula 1	65.00
40	Nico Rosberg	Formula 1	63.50
41	Reed Sorenson	NASCAR Winston Cup	63.50
42	Regan Smith	NASCAR Winston Cup	63.40
43	Steve Wallace	NASCAR Busch	62.89
44	Jamie McMurray	NASCAR Winston Cup	61.80
45	Martin Truex Jr	NASCAR Winston Cup	61.40
46	Brendan Gaughan	NASCAR Busch	61.22
47	Chad McCumbee	NASCAR Busch	61.20
48	Michael McDowell	NASCAR Busch	60.50
49	David Stremme	NASCAR Winston Cup	59.90
50	A J Allmendinger	NASCAR Winston Cup	59.80

The combined Power Rankings are based on a formula called percentage points. In a 50-car field (based on entries attempting to qualify) in the Nationwide Series, a driver earns 100 points for a victory, 98 points for a second-place and so on until the 50-th best car (slowest qualifier) is assigned two points. Because the competition level for the NASCAR Cup, Indy Racing League and Formula 1 series is greater, the starting point is 110 points. The Craftsman Truck Series starts with 90 points for a victory. Some marquee races, such as the Daytona 500, Indy 500, World 600 and the Monaco Grand Prix command a starting point of 125 points.

F1: FIA publishes McLaren report

FIA has published a complete report of the Lewis Hamilton incident in the Australian Grand Prix and the ensuing three-race suspended penalty. The transcript can be views at Formula1.com.

Our View: And you thought decisions by NASCAR could be confusing. At least, FIA has tried to completely clarify their stance, which should reduce frustration among fans.

F1: Uncertainty breeds excitement in Spain

Most Formula 1 teams tested in Spain during the off-season, but with four point-paying races under their belt, uncertainty reigns among teams. That also makes this an exciting race, however.

Our View: "The schedule for the first four races was very tough for everyone, so going back to Europe almost feels like a fresh start," Lewis Hamilton said. Check out Formula1.com for more quotes and comments about the Circuit de Catalunya.

IRL: Tagliani on Indy 500 entry list

Alex Tagliani has a ton of experience, but he will be happy to receive the designation of a rookie for this year's Indy 500, according to IndyCar.com.

Our View: Tagliani has made 121 CART and five IRL races, but this will be his first trip to the Brickyard. In one previous oval track race in this series last year at Chicagoland, he managed only a 12th-place finish, so you may want to concentrate on drivers with more experience on this track type.

F1: Spanish GP Avg. Finishes

The Spanish Grand Prix is just around the corner and here is a little help to set your roster.

Lewis Hamilton tops the average finish charts for the Spanish Grand Prix, although he has yet to win and started only two previous races. He finished second in 2007 and third in 2008. Las year's winner Kimi Raikkonen might not be your best choice this week since he has only the seventh best average result.

Spanish Grand Prix Average Finish
Last Five Years

Driver	5 Yr Avg Finish	Avg Start	Attempts
Lewis Hamilton	2.50	4.50	2
Robert Kubica	4.00	4.50	2
Fernando Alonso	5.00	3.20	5
Felipe Massa	5.40	7.00	5
Michael Schumacher	6.00	4.00	3
Giancarlo Fisichella	6.80	9.80	5
Kimi Raikkonen	7.40	5.40	5
Mark Webber	7.67	6.00	3
Jenson Button	8.00	12.25	4
Jarno Trulli	8.80	6.00	5
Rubens Barrichello	8.80	9.80	5
David Coulthard	9.80	13.20	5
Nico Rosberg	10.33	13.00	3
Takuma Sato	10.75	14.25	4
Ralf Schumacher	11.50	8.25	4
Heikki Kovalainen	12.00	7.00	2
Nick Heidfeld	12.00	11.60	5
Tiago Monteiro	14.00	17.50	2
Juan Montoya	14.33	7.00	3
Christian Klien	14.50	15.00	2
Anthony Davidson	14.50	18.00	2
Mark Weber	15.00	15.00	2
Christijan Albers	16.00	17.67	3
Vitantonio Liuzzi	16.67	13.33	3
Adrian Sutil	17.00	20.00	2
Scott Speed	18.50	19.00	2

Spinning key to Richmond success

Apparently one key to success at Richmond in the Crown Royal 400 was spinning, according to NASCAR.com. Jeff Burton, Mark Martin, Jamie McMurray and Marcos Ambrose each scored top-15 finishes after spinning in separate events.

Our View: Add to that list sixth-place Sam Hornish Jr., who didn't spin himself, but was responsible for wrecking Ambrose and Kevin Harvick, and a clear pattern developed from Richmond. The new car is incredibly durable, which is going to make handicapping short tracks a lot easier.

F1: Nakajima looks forward to Spain

Kazuki Nakajima is looking forward to running the Spanish Grand Prix, according to a press release by the team.

Our View: Last year, he nearly broke into a point paying position when he finished seventh in this same race, but so far this year his best result has been only 12th in April's Malaysian Grand Prix.

IRL: Matos tries to be perfect

Raphael Matos will try to keep Luczo Dragon's perfect record intact of qualifying on pole day for the Indy 500 intact, according to a press release from the team. Ryan Briscoe qualified seventh for them in 2007 and Tomas Scheckter took the 11th and final slot in 2008.

Our View: Briscoe could manage only a 23rd-place finish in his start, however, and Scheckter was 24th, so Matos might not be your best option regardless of how he qualifies.

Crown Royal 400 Results

Kyle Busch became only the second driver in NASCAR history to win a race on his birthday. It was his 15th Cup win and his 49th in NASCAR's combined Big Three series.

Crown Royal 400 Results

Finish	Start	Driver	Team	Laps	Status
1	14	Kyle Busch	18 Joe Gibbs	400	Running
2	16	Tony Stewart	14 Stewart Haas Racing	400	Running
3	5	Jeff Burton	31 Richard Childress	400	Running
4	10	Ryan Newman	39 Stewart Haas Racing	400	Running
5	7	Mark Martin	5 Rick Hendrick	400	Running
6	28	Sam Hornish Jr	77 Roger Penske	400	Running
7	27	Jamie McMurray	26 Roush-Fenway	400	Running
8	2	Jeff Gordon	24 Hendrick - Gordon	400	Running
9	41	Casey Mears	07 Richard Childress	400	Running
10	29	Juan Montoya	42 Earnhardt - Ganassi	400	Running
11	21	Marcos Ambrose	47 Michael Waltrip	400	Running
12	17	Kurt Busch	2 Roger Penske	400	Running
13	35	Matt Kenseth	17 Roush-Fenway	400	Running
14	3	Denny Hamlin	11 Joe Gibbs	400	Running
15	1	Brian Vickers	83 Red Bull Racing NASCAR	400	Running
16	36	Robby Gordon	7 Robby Gordon	400	Running
17	20	Greg Biffle	16 Roush-Fenway	400	Running
18	12	Clint Bowyer	33 Richard Childress	400	Running
19	13	Joey Logano	20 Joe Gibbs	400	Running
20	23	Reed Sorenson	43 Richard Petty Motorsports	400	Running
21	31	A J Allmendinger	44 Richard Petty Motorsports	400	Running
22	4	Martin Truex Jr	1 Earnhardt - Ganassi	400	Running
23	22	David Ragan	6 Roush-Fenway	400	Running
24	30	Michael Waltrip	55 Michael Waltrip	400	Running
25	32	Elliott Sadler	19 Richard Petty Motorsports	400	Running
26	37	Carl Edwards	99 Roush-Fenway	400	Running
27	25	Dale Earnhardt Jr	88 Rick Hendrick	399	Running
28	9	David Reutimann	00 Michael Waltrip	399	Running
29	18	Kasey Kahne	9 Richard Petty Motorsports	399	Running
30	33	Paul Menard	98 Yates Racing	398	Running
31	40	Bobby Labonte	96 Yates / Hall of Fame	398	Running
32	42	John Andretti	34 Front Row Motorsports	397	Running
33	8	Scott Speed	82 Red Bull Racing NASCAR	396	Running
34	19	Kevin Harvick	29 Richard Childress	394	Running
35	38	Jeremy Mayfield	41 Jeremy Mayfield	371	Running
36	15	Jimmie Johnson	48 Hendrick - Gordon	368	Running
37	6	Mike Bliss	09 James Finch	368	Running
38	11	David Stremme	12 Roger Penske	324	Accident
39	34	David Gilliland	71 Racers Group	92	Electrical
40	24	Joe Nemechek	87 Joe Nemechek	90	Brakes
41	43	Tony Raines	37 Front Row Motorsports	74	Brakes
42	39	Scott Riggs	36 Tommy Baldwin	54	Electrical
43	26	Dave Blaney	66 Phil Parsons	8	Accident
44		Todd Bodine	64 Larry Gunselman	0	Did Not Qualify
45		Trevor Boys	06 Trevor Boys	0	Did Not Qualify

Stewart still close to victory

Tony Stewart finished second in the Crown Royal 400 to earn his fourth top-five in the last five races. He remains poised on the cusp of his first victory as an owner/driver. Notably, Ryan Newman finished fourth to join him in the top five.

Our View: This was also Stewart's fourth second-place finish at Richmond in the last six races. You will want to make a note to yourself to have him on your roster there in the fall.

Hornish posts career best finish

Sam Hornish Jr. earned a career-best finish of sixth in the Crown Royal 400 at Richmond. His previous best was notched only two weeks ago at Phoenix.

Our View: It wasn't a clean run, but NASCAR pays points for finishes and not style. Along the way, Hornish crashed Kevin Harvick and Marcos Ambrose while both of those drivers were running in the top 15.

Kyle Busch sweeps weekend

Kyle Busch was perfect this weekend. He won Friday night's Nationwide race and the Crown Royal 400 on Saturday.

Our View: Busch is a perfect example of putting your personal feelings aside when setting your fantasy lineup. Love him or hate him, Busch is earning a ton of points.

Kahne on the cusp

Kasey Kahne is on the cusp of the top 12, but he needs more consistency to maintain a spot in the Chase, according to SceneDaily.com.

Our View: The next few races are not only pivotal for the sixth-year driver, this season is key. Richard Petty Motorsports seems to be making a lot of positive moves, and marquee rides are hard to come by, but Kahne's long term reputation is on the line. Like all NASCAR drivers, he wants to achieve double digit wins in a season, and that is not going to happen at RPM anytime soon.

Kenseth frustrated

Matt Kenseth is frustrated with his performance so far in 2009, according to SceneDaily.com. He says that his victories in the first two weeks of this season are a long way in the past.

Our View: To put his season in perspective, however, Kenseth is ahead of where he was at this stage last year. In the first nine races of 2008, he earned one top-five with an average finish of 21.8. This year, he has three top-fives and an average finish of 18.0. Still, his inconsistency has made him a difficult pick on most tracks.

It's raining in Richmond

Rain threatens to delay Saturday's race at Richmond, and it will give the drivers a green track on which to compete.

Our View: Whenever the unexpected occurs, it is generally easier to concentrate on veteran drivers.

IRL: Vision Racing flies high

Vision Racing's next top-five could be their biggest. In 140 combined starts in the IRL Series with Ed Carpenter, Ryan Hunter-Reay and seven more drivers, they have amassed 11 such finishes, but one more at Indy would be incredibly special. Car owner Tony George also owns Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Our View: They are headed in the right direction. The current high-water mark for Vision Racing came in the April 5th season opener at St Petersburg. For more on this story, check out IndyCar.com.

Pit stall selections

Jayski has posted the pit stall selections on his site. As expected, pole sitter Brian Vickers has the first stall before leaving pit road.

Our View: Races are won and lost in the pits, so if you have a close choice to make, Vickers, Jeff Gordon, and Mike Bliss have the best slots with an opening in front of them.

IRL: Indianapolis Avg. Finishes

Want to dominate your IndyCar league? It never hurts to plan ahead and here is a list of the average finishes at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the IRL during the last five years. Dario Franchitti, with an average of 7.0 and Scott Dixon at 8.2, but Vitor Meira cannot be counted out of posting his first top-five of the season. He tops this list with an average finish of 6.0 in his last five starts and he came up one position short last year behind Dixon.

Indianapolis Average Finish
Last Five Years

Driver	Avg. Fin	Avg Start	Attempts
Vitor Meira	6.00	9.40	5
Dario Franchitti	7.00	7.25	4
Michael Andretti	8.00	12.00	2
Scott Dixon	8.20	7.00	5
Dan Wheldon	8.40	5.80	5
Scott Sharp	8.75	10.75	4
Bryan Herta	9.00	19.00	3
Marco Andretti	9.67	14.00	3
Helio Castroneves	10.00	4.00	5
Danica Patrick	10.50	6.75	4
Adrian Fernandez	10.50	10.00	2
Tony Kanaan	11.20	3.80	5
Davey Hamilton	11.50	19.00	2
Ryan Briscoe	12.67	11.33	3
Alex Barron	13.33	24.00	3
Sam Hornish Jr	13.50	4.75	4
Kosuke Matsuura	14.75	10.25	4
Buddy Rice	15.00	12.00	4
Ed Carpenter	15.00	15.60	5
Buddy Lazier	15.20	23.20	5
Townsend Bell	16.00	13.50	2
Roger Yasukawa	16.25	20.00	4
Felipe Giaffone	17.00	26.33	3
Anthony Foyt IV	17.50	24.50	2
Bruno Junqueira	18.33	10.33	3
Tomas Scheckter	19.20	10.60	5
Jeff Simmons	19.50	23.00	4
Jaques Lazier	20.00	26.33	3
Darren Manning	20.75	15.75	4
Al Unser Jr	22.33	23.00	3
Richie Hearn	22.67	27.33	3
Sarah Fisher	23.00	20.67	3
John Andretti	23.00	22.50	2
P J Jones	23.50	31.50	2
Milka Duno	25.00	28.00	2
Jeff Bucknam	27.00	21.50	2
Marty Roth	28.75	31.00	4
A J Foyt IV	30.50	24.50	2
Larry Foyt	31.67	25.00	3

Martin found something in Nationwide race

Mark Martin thinks he found something. Immediately following Friday's Nationwide Series Lipton 250 (in which he finished seventh), Martin called to crew chief Alan Gustafson to tell him he found something that could be used in Saturday's Cup race.

Our View: The cars are very dissimilar, but when a veteran like Martin says he learned something, fantasy owners should take note. If he wasn't on your radar before this, he should be now.

Kyle Busch wins Richmond Nationwide race

Kyle Busch won the Lipton Tea 250 to take his 24th Nationwide Series win.

Our View: He back in top form and fantasy owners can realistically expect him to carry that momentum into Saturday's Cup race. Join us for a cell phone fantasy game at Event Day Games.

Yahoo! Qualification Story

Brian Vickers backed up a strong practice with a pole winning run in qualification. It shouldn't have come as much of a surprise, but this team may be one of the best sleepers at Richmond nevertheless. Check out the Yahoo! qualification story for more information.

Martin quickest in Happy Hour

Mark Martin posted the quickest average speed in Happy Hour practice, with a speed of 121.995 mph during 11 laps.

Our View: That speed is respectable, but we would have liked to see him sustain it during a longer run. Still, Martin is capable of winning again this week, just like he did two weeks ago at Phoenix.

Johnson fastest in Happy Hour

Jimmie Johnson posted the fastest single lap in Happy Hour practice at Richmond with a speed of 124.636 mph.

Our View: His average speed of 119.745 mph during 24 laps was not bad either, and it placed him fourth on that chart. He could be poised to win his fourth race on this track in his last five starts.

Stremme scrapes wall in Happy Hour

David Stremme scraped the wall just past the one hour mark of Happy Hour and scratched the Star Trek decals off the right side of his Dodge.

Our View: Stremme was probably on a qualification practice run at the time, because his early speed was not great in terms of the fastest single lap. He was, however, 15th quickest at the time based on average speed with a 118.324 during 18 laps.

IRL: Ganassi has Dynamic Duo

Chip Ganassi will enter the last two champions of the Indy 500 (Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti) in this year's edition of that race, according to IndyCar.com.

Our View: That is certainly a dream team that makes him hard to overlook for your IndyCar fantasy team.

Truex wins Richmond practice 1

Martin Truex Jr. posted the single fastest lap in the first practice session at Richmond for the Crown Royal 400 at 123.046 mph.

Our View: His average speed was not bad either, with an average of 119.407 mph during 39 laps. He should be watched closely in Happy Hour and could be a solid dark horse. The only two drivers who beat his mark in terms of average speed were "go-or-go-homers" Joe Nemechek (120.196 during 12 laps) and Dave Blaney (119.595 during 17 laps), but they were not working on race trim.

Junior Will Not Roll out a Backup

Dale Earnhardt Jr. did not do enough damage to necessitate rolling out a backup car during his early crash at Richmond. He got back on track and logged more than 20 laps in the first hour of practice.

Our View: At that time, he was fairly competitive. He had the ninth quickest average speed at 119.206 mph during 23 laps. Unfortunately, his fastest single lap was only 27th best at 120.595.

Bliss replaces Keselowski at Richmond

Mike Bliss will replace Brad Keselowski in the No. 09 this week. Tuesday's preliminary roster had the younger driver listed.

Our View: While we have been cautioning Keselowski all week about jumping series too soon, there is such a thing as momentum and the Young Gun had it. Bliss should not be as highly regarded in terms of his chances to finish among the top 15.

Biffle also spins in Richmond Practice 1

Greg Biffle followed Dale Earnhardt Jr. into the spin cycle at Richmond only moments after the series went back to business at Richmond. Unlike Earnhardt, however, he did not make significant contact with the wall.

Our View: The drivers are hitting the track on "full kill," and it's biting them. Now that these two incidents are in the books, hopefully they will calm down.

Junior crashes in Richmond Practice 1

Dale Earnhardt Jr. crashed barely one minute into the first practice session at Richmond after making contact with Juan Montoya. The damage may be enough to necessitate a backup car for the No. 88 team.

Our View: Junior was hoping to capitalize on some of the momentum he gained with last week's strong Talladega run, but it seems like Fate may have a different idea altogether. Regardless of whether he is forced into a backup, this hurts his Richmond odds.

Harvick has Most Top-10 Laps

Kevin Harvick has spent more time in the top 10 than any other driver during the last five years. He's logged 2,807 laps among the leaders and this has paid dividends in the form of eight top-10s in 10 starts and an average finish of 8.5.

He may not have been the strongest overall at Richmond, however. With two fewer seasons under his belt, Denny Hamlin has logged 2,162 laps with the leaders, which equates to 89.7% of the time compared to Harvick's 70.0. Kyle Busch has raced at Richmond only four seasons, and he also has been stronger than Harvick with a top-10 percentage of 73.1% and an average result of 6.75.

Driver	Laps in Top-10	Possible Laps	%
Kevin Harvick	2,807	4,010	70.0%
Tony Stewart	2,571	4,010	64.1%
Dale Earnhardt Jr	2,371	4,010	59.1%
Kyle Busch	2,347	3,210	73.1%
Denny Hamlin	2,162	2,410	89.7%
Ryan Newman	2,157	4,010	53.8%
Jeff Gordon	2,014	4,010	50.2%
Greg Biffle	1,870	4,010	46.6%
Kurt Busch	1,852	4,010	46.2%
Mark Martin	1,787	4,010	44.6%
Kasey Kahne	1,732	4,010	43.2%
Jimmie Johnson	1,729	4,010	43.1%
Jeff Burton	1,687	4,010	42.1%
Matt Kenseth	1,574	4,010	39.3%
Jeremy Mayfield	1,102	2,000	55.1%
Clint Bowyer	1,094	2,410	45.4%
Martin Truex Jr	938	2,410	38.9%
Carl Edwards	715	3,610	19.8%
Jamie McMurray	577	4,010	14.4%
Bobby Labonte	573	4,010	14.3%
Brian Vickers	522	3,610	14.5%
Dave Blaney	518	3,610	14.3%
Elliott Sadler	473	4,010	11.8%
Casey Mears	382	4,010	9.5%
Michael Waltrip	319	2,810	11.4%
Joe Nemechek	204	4,010	5.1%
David Ragan	181	1,610	11.2%
David Reutimann	171	1,610	10.6%
Reed Sorenson	160	2,410	6.6%
Scott Riggs	123	4,010	3.1%
Juan Montoya	95	1,610	5.9%
Tony Raines	91	2,400	3.8%
David Stremme	23	2,000	1.2%
David Gilliland	17	2,010	0.8%
Robby Gordon	14	4,010	0.3%
Paul Menard	1	1,610	0.1%
A J Allmendinger	1	1,610	0.1%
Sam Hornish Jr	1	810	0.1%
Todd Bodine	0	800	0.0%
John Andretti	0	400	0.0%

Keselowski gets back to business

Winning a Cup race was nice, but this week Brad Keselowski's focus returns to running strong in the Nationwide Series at Richmond, according to NASCAR.com.

Our View: It is easy to lose perspective, but drivers like Joey Logano and Scott Speed are proof of how difficult it can be to jump series without enough seat time to perfect their craft.

Richmond Drama

If last year was any indication, fantasy owners will need to wait for the checkered flag to count their points, according to the Sporting News Wire Service, because Richmond has also had their share of wild finishes. Last year, Kyle Busch spun Dale Earnhardt Jr. with two laps remaining and handed the lead to Clint Bowyer.

Our View: Richmond also had a 12-car, "Big One" crash on lap 230 in this race last year that necessitated a red flag. There may still be a couple of wild cards in the deck.

Event Day Games: Richmond

Last week was wild and wooly at Talladega; the action at Richmond will be just as action-packed.

Richmond is known as the action track for a reason. It's a short course that thinks it's a superspeedway and 43 cars are able to race side by side in 3/4ths of a mile. The leaders are clear of traffic only moments after a green flag waves and the fans in the stands have a hard time deciding which battle to follow.

Somehow, however, the cream continues to rise to the top. Six drivers enter the weekend with at least three top-10s in their last four attempts, and one of these racers—Kevin Harvick—has an eight-race top-10s streak to his credit.

Join us at http://www.eventdaygames.com/ this week to play along with our unique fantasy game.

Stewart has longest Richmond Top-5 streak

Kevin Harvick may have the longest top-10 streak, but Tony Stewart has come closest to finding victory lane in recent Richmond events. He enters the weekend with three consecutive top-fives on this track.

Our View: Fantasy owners are probably getting tired of hearing this, but it seems that the "next" race continues to be the best opportunity for Stewart to get his first win as an owner/driver. And regardless of whether he wins, he will still earn a lot of fantasy points.

Close, but no cigar at Richmond

Joe Gibbs Racing racers Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch are the two drivers with the best average finish at Richmond without a victory, according to NASCAR.com. Busch's average finish is 6.8; Hamlin's is 8.8.

Our View: Handicapping races and selecting a winner can be difficult, but guaranteed top-10s can be worth their in fantasy gold.

Short Tracks, Three-year Avg. Finish

All signs are pointing to this being a good week for Denny Hamlin. Not only does he have the second-best average finish at Richmond (behind teammate Kyle Busch), he has also been the best on the three combined short tracks of Richmond, Martinsville and Bristol. His average finish is 8.11 in 18 races.

Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson are the only two other drivers with an average finish better than 10th.

Driver	Avg Finish	Attempts
Denny Hamlin	8.11	18
Jeff Gordon	9.06	18
Jimmie Johnson	9.89	18
Kevin Harvick	10.56	18
Clint Bowyer	10.83	18
Kyle Busch	10.83	18
Tony Stewart	11.00	18
Dale Earnhardt Jr	11.00	18
Marcos Ambrose	12.00	2
Mark Martin	12.70	10
Carl Edwards	13.67	18
Ryan Newman	14.50	18
Jeff Burton	15.06	18
Greg Biffle	17.50	18
Kasey Kahne	17.50	18
Matt Kenseth	18.72	18
Juan Montoya	20.29	14
Casey Mears	20.44	18
David Ragan	20.93	15
Kurt Busch	21.61	18
Bobby Labonte	21.83	18
Martin Truex Jr	23.83	18
Scott Riggs	24.22	18
David Reutimann	25.14	14
David Stremme	25.50	12
Jamie McMurray	25.50	18
Tony Raines	26.62	13
Reed Sorenson	27.44	18
Elliott Sadler	27.50	18
Paul Menard	27.86	14
Dave Blaney	28.06	18
A J Allmendinger	29.92	12
David Gilliland	30.65	17
Brian Vickers	30.72	18
Michael Waltrip	31.33	18
Scott Speed	32.33	3
Robby Gordon	32.78	18
Sam Hornish Jr	33.11	9
Joey Logano	35.00	2
Joe Nemechek	35.59	17
John Andretti	38.71	7
Jeremy Mayfield	38.82	11
Todd Bodine	42.50	2

Harvick has longest Richmond Top-10 streak

Kevin Harvick enters the weekend with the longest top-10 streak among active drivers. He's finished that well in eight consecutive races and garnered an average finish of sixth.

Our View: If RCR's crew swap between him and Casey Mears is going to work, it should start to show dividends right away. And if Harvick cannot be successful this weekend at Richmond, there is very little hope for the immediate future. It is probably safe to start him this week, but if he stumbles, then approach the No. 29 with caution for the next few weeks.