Elliott to make 800th start

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

Yahoo! Qualification Story

Check out this five-page summary (.pdf) of who's hot at Lowe's after qualification for the Coca-Cola 600.

Newman wins 44th pole

Ryan Newman paced Lowe's with a speed of 188.475 mph to earn his 44th pole for the Coca-Cola 600.

Our View: Despite the length of this race, qualification is important and Newman is in great shape to earn his first top-10 at this track since 2005.

IRL: The Granddaddy of Them all

Event Day Games Preview: When NASCAR was just a gleam in Big Bill France's eye, America already had one of the biggest sports events in the World—the Indy 500.

Memorial Day is one of the best days in auto racing. Get up early to watch the Monaco Grand Prix, grab a second cup of coffee, and then fire up your cell phones to play Event Day Games' first-ever IRL contest. We just couldn't help becoming part of the 93rd running of this great American race.

The Indy 500 is so big that the Indy Racing League takes the entire month of May to prepare for it and the drama has already started. Helio Castroneves drew first blood by winning the pole over his Penske teammate Ryan Briscoe. The front row is crowded with Chip Ganassi's Dario Franchitti lined up to the outside of this amazing three-abreast configuration and watching them barrel down into turn one is hair raising.

Further back in the field, equal rights are alive and well as Danica Patrick, Sarah Fisher and Milka Duno locked up more than 25 percent of the field for women drivers. Fisher starts 21st and has the most experience of the group as she competes in her eighth Indy 500, but Patrick has better odds since she rolls off the grid 10th.

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

Qualification order

Jayski.com has posted the qualification order for the Coca-Cola 600.

Our View: Track position is important at Lowe's and the track should get fastest as the temperatures cool. Jimmie Johnson rolls off the grid 19th and most of the fastest cars in practice are earlier than that, which should create an interesting session.

N'Wide: Townley crashes

John Wes Townley became the latest casualty of Nationwide practice. He crashed near the end of practice two.

Our View: Have you noticed how much more exciting Nationwide practice is? That's why these guys need track time.

Martin wins practice

Mark Martin continues to be the hottest driver on the NASCAR circuit and he topped the first practice session with a speed of 185.217 mph. This is a session in which drivers typically work on qualification setups.

Our View: That makes him the favorite to win Thursday night's pole and the way he's run in the last month, he has to be considered a front runner for the Coca-Cola 600 as well.

F1: Ferrari loses round one in budget spat

According to PlanetF1.com Ferrari has lost the first round of the budget gap spat after a French court ruled against their injunction, saying there is no "imminent danger" preceding the May 29th deadline to declare intentions to run 2010.

Our View: Max Mosley needs to become familiar with the term, "win the battle; lose the war," however.

F1: Alonso doesn’t want to race "small teams"

In an article at AutoRacingDaily.com, Fernando Alonso said "If the big teams and the big manufacturers leave Formula One then I don’t want to race with small teams, because it is not any more F1 and there are many other categories.”

Our View: This tempest in the teapot is threatening to become a hurricane due to the heavy handed handling by Max Mosley.

Gordon has Texas car

The No. 24 team has brought their Texas car to Lowe's for Jeff Gordon to drive this weekend.

Our View: That's the car in which Gordon snapped his long winless streak, so he's got to be watched closely in Coca-Cola 600 prelims.

Wallace 9th, Schrader 12th in USMTS

On Wednesday night, Kenny Wallace and Ken Schrader traveled to Marshalltown, Iowa to challenge the USMTS dirt track racers. Wallace finished ninth after starting 20th. Schrader finished 12th after starting ninth.

Our View: There's nothing like a little dirt in the teeth to help identify the real racers.

N'Wide: Bliss changes engine

Mike Bliss missed a shift in the first practice session for the Carquest Auto Parts 300 and will be forced to change an engine. He will join Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski at the back of the pack to start on Saturday.

Our View: Bliss was expected to be one of the top Nationwide Regulars, and this certainly doesn't improve his odds. Look for a solid but unspectacular run now.

N'Wide: Keselowski crashes again

Déjà vu. Brad Keselowski destroyed a second car in the first practice after apparently cutting a right front tire for a second time on Thursday.

Our View: Luckily, the shop is just around the corner, so they can get a third car to the track before Saturday, but that Chevy will start the race with no practice time at all.

N'Wide: Knupp crashes hard

Brandon Knupp has crashed Bob Schacht's unsponsored No. 75 in Nationwide practice. Hopefully, they have a backup car, because that one isn't going anywhere.

Our View: A graduate of the ARCA Truck series, Knupp has made nine Camping World Truck Series starts, but he hopes this will be his first Nationwide race.

Truck: Fitzpatrick joins Harvick

Canadian driver J R Fitzpatrick will join Kevin Harvick, Inc. for eight Camping World Truck Series races beginning at Dover, according to PaddockTalk.com. Ironically, the announcement came the same week as one sending American Cale Gale to Canada in a joint KHI effort.

Our View: Fitzpatrick started the season with a ride in The Racers Group truck until funding dried up. Harvick will be able to provide greater resources.

F1: Rosberg tops P2

On Thursday, Nico Rosberg posted the fastest time in the second practice session for the Monaco Grand Prix, according to PlanetF1.com.

Our View: Rosberg led Lewis Hamilton, Rubens Barichello, Jenson Button and Felipe Massa as the top five drivers. This is a good indication of who will finish up front in the race.

Practice Two Speeds

Rank	Driver	Best Time	Laps
1	Nico Rosberg	1:15.243	45
2	Lewis Hamilton	1:15.445	35
3	Rubens Barrichello	1:15.590	41
4	Jenson Button	1:15.774	36
5	Felipe Massa	1:15.832	42
6	Sebastian Vettel	1:15.847	33
7	Heikki Kovalainen	1:15.984	45
8	Kimi Räikkönen	1:15.985	43
9	Kazuki Nakajima	1:16.260	43
10	Nelson Piquet Jr.	1:16.286	43
11	Fernando Alonso	1:16.552	39
12	Mark Webber	1:16.579	27
13	Adrian Sutil	1:16.675	38
14	Jarno Trulli	1:16.915	43
15	Sebastian Buemi	1:16.983	48
16	Sebastian Bourdais	1:17.052	48
17	Nick Heidfeld	1:17.109	40
18	Timo Glock	1:17.207	45
19	Giancarlo Fisichella	1:17.504	45
20	Robert Kubica	No time	2

Practice One Speeds

N'Wide: Ky Busch has milky oil

Kyle Busch is reporting that his oil is turning "milky," which is an indication that water is getting into it. The team will probably change engines (pending NASCAR's approval) and start at the back of the pack in the Carquest Auto Parts 300.

Our View: It doesn't matter where this kid starts; he'll contend for victory before the night is over.

N'Wide: Keselowski crashes in first practice

Brad Keselowski cut a tire and destroyed his Nationwide Series car only five minutes into Thursday's 90 minute session. A bolt on the suspension was the culprit.

Our View: This happened early enough that the team should be able to recover, but don't commit to the No. 88 until they get on track with their backup car and so you can see how fast it is.

F1: Kovalainen downplays speed

Heikki Kovalainen is downplaying his and teammate Lewis Hamilton's speed in the first practice session that placed them third and fourth on that grid, according to PlanetF1.com.

Our View: He says that while this is a step in the right direction, their speed was nearly a half second slower than leader Rubens Barrichello.

Practice One Speeds

F1: Barrichello draws first blood

Rubens Barrichello drew first blood in practice for the 2009 Monaco Grand Prix according to PlanetF1.com, posting a time of one minute, 17.189 seconds and narrowly beating Felipe Massa.

Our View: Third-best Lewis Hamilton is still hoping to turn his season around, while Heikki Kovalainen and Kimi Raikkonen rounded out the top five.

Practice One Speeds

Rank	Driver	Best Time	Laps
1	Rubens Barrichello	1:17.189	25
2	Felipe Massa	1:17.499	30
3	Lewis Hamilton	1:17.578	25
4	Heikki Kovalainen	1:17.686	29
5	Kimi Räikkönen	1:17.839	29
6	Kazuki Nakajima	1:18.000	29
7	Nico Rosberg	1:18.024	27
8	Jenson Button	1:18.080	27
9	Fernando Alonso	1:18.283	30
10	Mark Webber	1:18.348	22
11	Sebastian Buemi	1:18.695	36
12	Nelson Piquet Jr.	1:19.204	36
13	Sebastian Vettel	1:19.233	16
14	Sebastian Bourdais	1:19.255	31
15	Giancarlo Fisichella	1:19.534	28
16	Robert Kubica	1:19.555	31
17	Nick Heidfeld	1:19.579	23
18	Adrian Sutil	1:19.600	24
19	Timo Glock	1:19.698	24
20	Jarno Trulli	1:19.831	28

F1: BMW undecided about 2010

With a May 29th deadline looming to secure a place on next year's Formula 1 grid, BMW has yet to decide whether they will participate in Max Mosley's proposed two-tier salary cap scheme, according to team principal Mario Thiessen.

Our View: Mosley has threatened that unless people honor the May 29th deadline, there may not be a spot open later. His bigger concern should be whether he is able to fill that grid at all with Ferrari and Sauber threatening to pull out and several other teams in BMW's shoes.

N'Wide: Davis gets sponsor

Marc Davis has signed a sponsor for the Nationwide Carquest Auto Parts 300, according to SceneDaily.com. That sponsor is The Word Network.

Our View: Davis is attempting to become the first fulltime Black driver in a major NASCAR division since Wendell Scott and he's doing it the same way—as an owner/driver. Fans of dark horses have to think of him as a sentimental favorite.

Schrader 13th at Oskaloosa

On Tuesday night, Ken Schrader did not fare very well in his first of three nights competing against the USMTS dirt track stars at Southern Iowa Speedway in Oskaloosa. After starting 15th in the 30-lap A main, he was able to climb to only 13th at the end of the race.

Our View: For Schrader, this is as much about having fun doing what he loves. He would certainly have wanted a better result, but the track time was important nonetheless.

Jason Hughes won the feature.

Kahne gets new engine

Kasey Kahne will run the new Dodge engine in the Coca-Cola 600 according to SceneDaily.com.

Our View: This adds another unknown to the equation. If the engine holds together, Kahne could be a favorite to win this weekend, but fantasy owners have to be willing to roll the dice in case he blows up.

N'Wide: McDowell gets three more races

Michael McDowell and JTG Daugherty Racing has received funding for three more races in the No. 47 car, according to SceneDaily.com.

Our View: McDowell has posted two Nationwide top-10s and several top-20s, so if you caught him on the right week, he's produced for you. Unfortunately, he's been hard to handicap.

Mears wants to return to Lowe's victory lane

Two years after Casey Mears earned a surprising win at Lowe's in the 2007 Coke 600, he would like to contend for another victory, according to SceneDaily.com.

Our View: Hope springs eternal, but that victory is his only top-10 in the last three years at Lowe's and during that span his average finish is only slightly better than 20th.

Petty wants more consistency

Richard Petty wants more consistency from all four of his drivers, according to SceneDaily.com. “They really were a two-car team, and we brought two cars in and kind of got us behind, I think, on some of the stuff,” Petty said. “Hopefully, we’re going to get it together. If it don’t, we'll keep working until we do."

Our View: We all want that Richard… we all do.

IRL: Tracy gets two more races

It's official. According to IndyCar.com, Paul Tracy will run a KV Technology car in the two Canadian IRL races at Toronto and Edmonton.

Our View: In these one-off rides, Tracy could be one of the best values in the game. Put a note in your calendar.

Mayfield retains counsel

According to ESPN.com, Jeremy Mayfield has retained legal counsel to represent him and help clear his name after being suspended by NASCAR for violating their substance abuse policy.

Our View: His lawyer Bill Diehl represented Elliott Sadler earlier this year while he was fighting Richard Petty Motorsports for wrongful termination. This could be a long, drawn out process.

IRL: Fastest rookie Matos gains confidence

Raphael Matos has gained confidence with his qualification run that places him 12th on the grid for his first career Indy 500, according to IndyCar.com.

"It was a big accomplishment for team and for myself," said Matos about setting the fastest time among rookies. "Being the fastest rookie means a lot to me and being the quickest of the second day means a lot to me as well. It gave me a lot of confidence, which allowed me to work on race setup. The car ran flawless all month and we're proud to be here today.

Our View: The Indy 500 starts 33 cars, which is the IRL's biggest field of the year, but that is still relatively small and allows for some great dark horses. Matos could be one of these.

Long Day's Journey into Night

Event Day Games Preview: The Coca-Cola 600 is a long day's journey into night.

By a quirk of the schedule, NASCAR runs two of their toughest races back-to-back. Two weeks ago, points were on the line at the "Track Too Tough to Tame." This week, NASCAR adds 100 miles to a typical race and runs the longest event of the year—the Coca-Cola 600. Those extra trips around the track are no small factor as engines are already stretched to their breaking point during a 500-miler.

Two weeks ago at Darlington, some surprising faces graced the top 10 and that could happen again at Lowe's. Rookies are not supposed to fare well on that tough old track, but Brad Keselowski backed up his victory at Talladega with another top-10. Joey Logano likewise posted his second top-10 of the season on that unforgiving course, and this is a race that could fit his driving style to a "T." So far in 2009, he's shown a tendency to improve as the race progresses and 100 extra miles give him and crew chief Greg Zipadelli plenty of opportunities to adjust.

The usual suspects will dominate the front of the grid, however. Lowe's is the house that Jimmie Johnson built and he once earned five victories and eight top-three finishes in eight consecutive races. "Rowdy" Kyle Busch swept the top-five in his last three starts, but his record in Nationwide is what truly recommends him this week. In the second series, he swept victory lane last year and finished second in fall 2007.

One way or another, the 600 will be one of the most competitive races of the year for fantasy owners, because those extra miles equal 100 Jokers in an already stacked deck.
Join us at http://www.eventdaygames.com/ this week to play along with our unique fantasy game.

Long suspended for 12 weeks

NASCAR handed down one of their toughest penalties ever to a driver few have heard of. Carl Long has been docked 200 points, fined $200,000 and placed suspended for 12 weeks for a rule's violation at Charlotte during the All-Star weekend, according to NASCAR.com.

Our View: The infraction was for an oversized engine and NASCAR seems to be sending a very clear message. Luckily for them (not so much for Long), this did not happen to one of the marquee drivers.

For the record, this gives car owner Danielle Long -153 points.

Week 22 Unified Power Rankings

With all the major series taking last week off from points' paying races, this week's Unified Power Rankings were reorganized by two factors. First, the Camping World Truck Series raced under the lights at Lowe's, which allowed their top contenders to make up a little ground in the standings, and the All-Star race was run the following night.

Secondly, since the Unified Power Rankings looks at only the last three months, the Daytona Speedweek races are aging off this list. Drivers who peaked in the first race of the season are falling by the wayside.

Tony Stewart earned his first victory as an owner/driver and that allowed him to make up some ground on the Formula 1 giants at the top of the standings. However, their advantage is too great, so Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello continue to dominate the first two spots. Each of these drivers should be anchoring your fantasy roster in their respective games.

Kurt Busch's solid third-place—combined with Jeff Gordon's accident in the All-Star race—caused those two drivers to swap positions four and five. Since Busch is a lesser value in most fantasy games, however, his worth on fantasy owners' rosters takes an even greater leap.

Truck driver James Buescher earned his fifth consecutive top-15 in that series to make him a solid mid-range pick while he climbs onto this list for the first time in 2009. Meanwhile, Cup regular Martin Truex Jr. failed to advance from the Sprint Showdown and now hovers on the cusp of falling outside the top 50.

Unified Power Rankings

Rank	Driver	Points	Last week	+/-
1	Jenson Button	107.80	1	0
2	Rubens Barrichello	96.00	2	0
3	Tony Stewart	91.50	3	0
4	Kurt Busch	88.73	5	1
5	Jeff Gordon	87.82	4	-1
6	Jason Leffler	87.44	7	1
7	Denny Hamlin	84.50	6	-1
8	Jimmie Johnson	83.36	8	0
9	Ryan Newman	82.93	10	1
10	Ron Hornaday Jr	82.60	11	1
11	Timo Glock	81.60	9	-2
12	Kyle Busch	80.04	13	1
13	Jeff Burton	78.82	12	-1
14	Mark Webber	78.40	14	0
15	Carl Edwards	77.55	15	0
16	Sebastian Vettel	77.20	17	1
17	Brad Keselowski	76.79	23	6
18	Greg Biffle	74.86	16	-2
19	Matt Kenseth	74.75	18	-1
20	Matt Crafton	74.00	27	7
21	Fernando Alonso	73.80	21	0
22	Mark Martin	73.75	20	-2
23	Joey Logano	72.79	31	8
24	Dale Earnhardt Jr	71.71	26	2
25	Kasey Kahne	71.00	29	4
26	Juan Montoya	69.73	19	-7
27	Scott Lagasse Jr	69.22	42	15
28	Steve Wallace	68.89	43	15
29	Kevin Harvick	68.83	25	-4
30	Mike Skinner	68.80	32	2
31	Brian Vickers	68.67	24	-7
32	Clint Bowyer	68.38	22	-10
33	Jason Keller	68.00	30	-3
34	David Reutimann	67.86	28	-6
35	Johnny Benson Jr	67.60	34	-1
36	Justin Allgaier	67.33	45	9
37	Lewis Hamilton	65.20	36	-1
38	Nico Rosberg	65.20	37	-1
39	Jamie McMurray	65.09	46	7
40	Jarno Trulli	64.00	39	-1
41	Chad McCumbee	62.60	47	6
42	Rick Crawford	62.60	56	14
43	David Ragan	62.56	33	-10
44	Marcos Ambrose	62.45	35	-9
45	James Buescher	61.80	62	17
46	Stacy Compton	61.60	53	7
47	Nick Heidfeld	60.80	50	3
48	Martin Truex Jr	60.55	38	-10
49	David Stremme	59.82	54	5
50	Brendan Gaughan	59.78	48	-2

The Unified Power Rankings are based on "percentage points." Starting with a 100 score for the winner of a Nationwide race, each subsequent position is decremented by a percentage that relates to the number of drivers in the field. In a 50-car field of potential qualifiers, the second-place driver receives 98 points, third-place gets 96 points, the 43rd-place driver gets 16 points (because he beat eight other driver to even get into the field) and so on until the last non-qualifier in 50th-place gets two points.

Only races run in the last three months count in this formula.

The Cup, IRL and Formula 1 series start at 110 points for a victory (since its so difficult to win one of these races) and then decrements 1/50th of 110 points for each subsequent position. It’s an unscientific way to determine who is the best in their series, while simultaneously trying to compare apples to oranges.

Previous Unified Power Rankings:

Week 21
Week 20

Stewart aims for Lowe's sweep

"I like sweeps – it’s happened here a lot," Tony Stewart said following his All-Star win last Saturday night. "That’s a good sign hopefully. We’ll have a good car – we have a great engine and chassis package from Hendrick. I think we learned a lot tonight and we really didn’t get much practice. We got about 40 minutes – we had problems the first half of the practice session and then the next 40 minutes and then the rest of the 40 minutes we were basically undoing what we did after the first run when we found the mistakes. It was kind of like a shot in the dark tonight – we threw a lot of things at it and learned a lot too.”

Our View: Kasey Kahne pulled off the sweep last year and then went on to finish second in the fall, but Kevin Harvick was not as lucky in 2007. That year, he finished 21st in the 600 after winning the All-Star race and was 33rd that fall, so fantasy owners still want to watch Stewart closely in practice.

F1: Last five Monaco races

The Monaco Grand Prix could very well be the biggest test of the new found strength of Jenson Button and the Brawn Racing team, because he's been miserable at Monaco during the last three years, posting consecutive 11th-place results. Rubens Barrichello also needs to bring his "A" game to earn his first top-five since 2006. And these two drivers highlight how unpredictable the start of this season has been.

Conversely, we will see if Lewis Hamilton can reverse his fortunes after winning in 2008 and finishing second in his first attempt in 2007.

Monaco Grand Prix, last five years

Driver	Avg Finish	2008	2007	2006	2005	2004
Lewis Hamilton	1.50	1	2
Robert Kubica	3.50	2	5
Juan Montoya	3.67			2	5	4
Sebastian Vettel	5.00	5
Fernando Alonso	5.60	10	1	1	4	12
Felipe Massa	5.80	3	3	9	9	5
Cristiano da Matta	6.00					6
Rubens Barrichello	6.20	6	10	4	8	3
Alexander Wurz	7.00		7
Kazuki Nakajima	7.00	7
Nick Heidfeld	7.20	14	6	7	2	7
Michael Schumacher	7.67			5	7	11
Mark Webber	7.67	4			3	16
Olivier Panis	8.00					8
Jenson Button	8.75	11	11	11		2
Zsolt Baumgartner	9.00					9
Ralf Schumacher	10.00		16	8	6	10
Kimi Raikkonen	10.20	9	8	20	1	13
Heikki Kovalainen	10.50	8	13
Scott Speed	11.00		9	13
Jarno Trulli	11.20	13	15	17	10	1
Giancarlo Fisichella	11.80	18	4	6	12	19
Timo Glock	12.00	12
Jacques Villeneuve	12.50			14	11
Jacques Villeneuve Jr	12.50			14	11
Tiago Monteiro	14.00			15	13
Gianmaria Bruni	14.00					14
David Coulthard	14.20	19	14	3	17	18
Christijan Albers	15.00		19	12	14
Giorgio Pantano	15.00					15
Vitantonio Liuzzi	15.67		22	10	15
Nico Rosberg	15.67	16	12	19
Franck Montagny	16.00			16
Patrick Friesacher	16.00				16
Nelson Piquet Jr	17.00	17
Adrian Sutil	17.50	15	20
Narain Karthikeyan	18.00				18
Anthony Davidson	18.00		18
Takuma Sato	18.67		17	22		17
Christian Klien	19.00			18		20
Sebastian Bourdais	20.00	20
Mark Weber	21.00		21	21

Gordon undergoes back surgery

Jeff Gordon has undergone minor back surgery, which should alleviate most of his pain, according to NASCAR.com.

Our View: If he has been strong enough eight top-10s so far this year, any improvement in his performance at all will make him a place-and-hold driver.

Yahoo! Lowe's Preview

From the toughest race on the circuit to the longest; it's time to stock up on the snacks and settle in for 600 miles at Lowe's. Read this week's Yahoo! Preview (.pdf) for a list of who's hot.

N'Wide: Last five Lowe's races

Brian Vickers doesn't make every Nationwide race, but he made the most of his efforts last year by sweeping the top five. Those are his only two starts in the last five races, which gives him an average finish of 4.0.

On the surface, that seems impressive, until you look one position further down the grid and notice that Kyle Busch won both events last year. He also finished second in fall 2007, eighth in spring of that year and 12th in fall 2006—giving him a slightly worse average result of 4.8 in his last five starts, but after finishing second in the Camping World Truck Series race last Friday night, fantasy owners know that "Shrub" cannot be discounted in any series on any track.

Especially at this level, Lowe's is all about consistency and Clint Bowyer is another driver who not only swept the top-10 last year, but has also finished that well in each of his last five starts. His five-race average finish is a more than respectable 5.6.

The next active driver on the grid appears to be much further back with an average finish of 10.0 during his last five races, but that number is skewed by a 35th in fall 2006. Burton's last four attempts have all been in the top 10 and he was perfect one year later by winning the fall 2007 event.

Average Finish
Last five races

Driver	Avg Finish	2008.2	2008.1	2007.2	2007.1	2006.2
Michael Waltrip	2.00					2
Stacy Compton	3.00					3
Dale Earnhardt Jr	3.50		4	3
Brian Vickers	4.00	3	5
Kyle Busch	4.80	1	1	2	8	12
Clint Bowyer	5.60	4	6	8	3	7
Jeff Burton	10.00	2	8	1	4	35
Mike Skinner	10.00					10
Aric Almirola	11.00			4	14	15
Ashton Lewis	11.00					11
Kevin Harvick	11.20	6	19	10	12	9
Denny Hamlin	12.25		2	5	34	8
Scott Lagasse Jr	13.00	13
Paul Menard	13.00					13
Joey Logano	14.00	14
Casey Mears	14.00				2	26
Stephen Leicht	14.00			18	10	14
Matt Kenseth	14.00			31	7	4
Scott Wimmer	14.33			13	9	21
Tony Stewart	16.00					16
Dave Blaney	16.25	17		36	11	1
Kelly Bires	16.33	7	33	9
Todd Kluever	16.50				15	18
Kasey Kahne	17.60	11	16	17	1	43
David Ragan	17.60	12	9	6	25	36
Jon Wood	18.00				13	23
Brad Keselowski	18.60	8	3	11	37	34
Carl Edwards	19.00	5	13	33	17	27
Ward Burton	19.00				19
Kenny Wallace	19.33	16	23			19
Bobby Labonte	19.33			14	22	22
Casey Atwood	19.50			22		17
Robby Gordon	19.50			7	32
David Stremme	19.67	31	12		16
Mike Wallace	19.80	10	22	15	23	29
Andrew Ranger	20.00	20
Brandon Whitt	21.00	21
Brad Coleman	21.00		21
Regan Smith	21.00				5	37
David Reutimann	22.00	24	11	12	43	20
Marcos Ambrose	22.25	15	14	40	20
Danny O'Quinn Jr	22.50	40				5
Jeremy Clements	23.00			23
Jamie McMurray	24.00	9		38	18	31
Ted Musgrave Sr	24.00					24
Jimmie Johnson	24.60	33	10	32	6	42
Greg Biffle	24.75		7	30	21	41
John Andretti	25.00					25
Mike Bliss	25.50	19	15	29	39
Jason Leffler	25.60	18	32	19	31	28
Tony Raines	26.00	26
Bobby Hamilton Jr	26.00	37	18	16	33
A J Allmendinger	26.00			26
Jason Keller	26.67	29	17	34
John Wes Townley	27.00	27
Bryan Clauson	27.00	30	31	20
Richard Johns	27.00			27
David Gilliland	27.00				27
Steve Wallace	27.33	32	20		30
Brad Teague	28.00		28
David Green	28.00				28
Brad Baker	28.33		27	28		30
Stanton Barrett	29.00	28	35	24	29
Kyle Krisiloff	29.50			21	38
Cale Gale	30.00		30
Johnny Sauter	30.33	49			36	6
Shane Huffman	31.50				24	39
J J Yeley	31.67			37	26	32
J J Yeley	31.67			37	26	32
Danny Efland	33.00	23	43
Auggie Vidovich	33.00					33
Justin Allgaier	34.00	34
D J Kennington	35.00	25		45
Jeff Green	35.00	35
Brent Sherman	35.00				35
Reed Sorenson	35.00			25	42	38
Blake Bjorkland	35.00			35
Chase Miller	36.00	36	36
Kevin Lepage	36.67	39	26		45
Josh Wise	37.00	50	24
Eric McClure	37.20	22	29	44	44	47
Sam Hornish Jr	39.00		39
Bobby Santos III	39.00			39
Kertus Davis	39.25	45	25	42		45
Jay Sauter	40.00					40
Juan Montoya	40.00				40
Burney Lamar	41.00	38	44
Kurt Busch	41.00				41
Carl Long	41.50		42	41
Derrike Cope	41.67	43	34			48
Terry Cook	42.00	42
Morgan Shepherd	42.67	48	37	43
Johnny Chapman	43.50	41	46
Kenny Hendrick	43.50	46	41
Andy Ponstein	43.50	47	40
Mark Green	44.00	44
Tim Sauter	44.00					44
Robert Richardson	45.33	52	38			46
Brett Rowe	46.00		46
Bill Elliott	46.00				46
Travis Kittleson	46.00			46
Blake Feese	47.00				47
Larry Gunselman	50.00	50
Justin Marks	52.00	52