Johnson posts single fast lap in Chicagoland practice 2

Rain held off long enough to allow NASCAR to get a 35 minute practice session in the books and Jimmie Johnson posted the fastest single lap of 177.200.

Our View: His average speed wasn't bad either. With a 171.700 during 23 circuits, he was second on this grid.

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Yahoo! Qualification Story – Chicagoland

For the first time in nearly a month, Mother Nature allowed NASCAR to get qualification in the books, and Red Bull Racing couldn't be happier. Check out this week's Yahoo! story (.pdf) of who's going to be hot at in the LifeLock.com 400.

All Red Bull front row

It will be an all Red Bull front row to start Saturday's race. Brian Vickers earned his fifth pole of the season with a lap of 184.162. His teammate Scott Speed is on the outside pole with a lap of 182.958.

Our View: Toyota has always done well on these similarly-configured, 1.5- and two-mile tracks. Vickers is a dark horse—and Speed just might be also.

F1: Hamilton close to figuring out problems

Even though this has been an abysmal season and Lewis Hamilton's hopes for a championship are gone, the team is close to determining what their problems have been all year, according to Autosport.com.

Our View: Statements like this from drivers are easy to make, but watch this team closely. If they can improve in the final races of the season, fantasy owners will not car if Hamilton can win the championship so long as he earns points in each individual race.

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Speed notably fast

Scott Speed was the fastest "go-or-go-home" driver in Chicagoland's first practice session by a wide margin. His lap of 180.060 was third best overall, which reinforces his teammate Brian Vickers's fastest lap of 180.234.

Our View: Toyota has been strong on this style of track, so while Speed lacks the experience and history to make him even a dark horse, fantasy owners should watch him closely all weekend and take notes. He could have a strong run.

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Complete Results

Bean, Raines, Wallace slowest "go-or-go-homers"

Dexter Bean (172.678), Tony Raines (174.109) and Mike Wallace (175.154) were the three slowest "go-or-go-home" drivers and are the most likely to miss the show.

Our View: Wallace and Raines are running "start and park" car, so it's hard to muster much sympathy for them, but it would be nice to see Bean pick up the pace and make the show.

Of course, that is practically impossible since he needs to pick up more than three miles per hour.

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Complete Results

Vickers fastest in Chicagoland practice 1

Brian Vickers posted the fastest single lap in the first practice session at Chicagoland, posting a speed of 180.234 mph.

Our View: This practice is typically used to work on qualification trim. If he can back it up on Thursday evening, he could win his fifth pole of the season.

His previous four have come at Auto Club, Richmond, Michigan and Infineon.

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Complete Results

Gilliland gets back out in Chicagoland practice 1

David Gilliland only got a lap or two at the end of the first practice session, but at least the team got back on course.

Our View: That could mean the difference between making the show and going home. His speed of 175.439 was only 42nd best, but it was better than three of the other "go-or-go-homers," and that is his only goal for
today.

Three drivers will fail to qualify this week.

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N'Wide: Logano leads Chicagoland practice 1

Joey Logano posted the fastest single lap in the first Nationwide Series practice, with a speed of 173.947 mph.

Our View: This session was dominated by Claim Jumpers, but Nationwide Regulars including Steve Wallace in fourth and Justin Allgaier in fifth.

Complete Results

Busch thinks Stewart dumped him at Daytona

Tony Stewart called Kyle Busch this week and asked about his health. That was nice, Busch say, but he still lays the responsibility of the crash on Stewart's shoulders according to multiple reports from the track.

Of course, he's pretty much alone in that assessment. Jeff Gordon and Kasey Kahne said in their press conferences that the move was not Stewart's responsibility.

Our View: When Busch gets overly emotional, he's prone to making mistakes. If he truly harbors hard feelings, he might be best left on the sidelines for a week or two.

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Gilliland blows in practice 1

David Gilliland blew an engine in the first practice session at the 30 minute mark. He will have to change the powerplant and start at the back of the grid—if he qualifies.

Our View: As one of the "go-or-go-home" drivers, he is in serious jeopardy of missing the race, however. His first laps with this engine could very well be in time trials later on Thursday.

F1: Button cannot slow down

Despite a commanding lead in the points, Jenson Button says he cannot afford to ease off, according to Autosports.com.

Our View: Momentum can be gained and lost in an instant. In the British Grand Prix, Button was caught in traffic and could never find the front of the field. Still, Formula 1 is much more prone to streaks—especially in terms of podium finishes—than any other series.

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IRL: Moraes best surprise, Kanaan biggest disappointment

Mario Moraes has been the biggest surprise and Tony Kanaan has been the biggest disappointment so far this year, according to a survey conducted by IndyCar.com. Check out all the categories.

Our View: One of the best ways to determine a drivers strength is to listen to his opponents.

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F1: FOTA still considering breakaway series

The Formula One Teams' Association (FOTA) is still considering the possibility of a breakaway series after they were told they could not have any input on future rules, according to Autosport.com.

Our View: The rift between teams and the sanctioning body continues to be wide. It is unlikely that enough support exists to make two sanctions successful. Formula 1 really should take notice of the open wheel battle in the US that left both CART and IRL battered and bruised.

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Top-10 laps prove un-predictive

Running at the front of the pack is supposed to be a good thing, and as one part of the formula that accounts for our Fantasy Power Ranking, it is typically a good predictor. Unfortunately, it falls a little short on the six "cookie-cutter" tracks of Atlanta Motor Speedway, Lowe's Motor Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kansas Speedway and Chicagoland Speedway.

In the last five years, Tony Stewart has spent more time in the top 10 than any other driver. With 1,079 laps at the front of the pack, he's circled the track with the leaders more than 80 percent of the time and yet his average finish of 14.27 during the past five years on the "cookie-cutter" tracks is only seventh best.

To make this even more curious, he has not been plagued with too much bad luck. In the 44 races that have occurred since this part of the schedule in 2004, Stewart has only failed to finish four races. He was slowed by crash damage on two other occasions, but for the most part, he's been running at the end of the day. His old Joe Gibbs Racing team seemed to simply miss the setup in the closing laps.

On the other hand, Jimmie Johnson has the second most laps in the top 10 during the last five rolling years and he's been able to convert those into top-10 finishes. With 1,062 laps in the top 10, he's spent 79 percent of his time with the leaders on the six "cookie-cutter" tracks.

Chad Knaus has been able to help him close the deal, however, and he's earned an average finish of 8.7 in the last five years—nearly five positions better than his closest competitor. Johnson also has four DNFs during that time frame, but he's earned 25 top-fives and 31 top-10s in those 44 races compared to only 23 top-10s for Stewart.

The second-most productive driver in terms of their five-year average finish is Jeff Burton with a 13.23. Notably, he has scored the exact same number of top-10 finishes in the last year as Stewart with 23. The key to his success, however, seems to be consistency. Even though he's been significantly off the pace in three of the last 44 "cookie-cutter" races, he hasn't recorded a single DNF.

Kyle Busch is another great example of how strength and success are not always the same thing. This all or nothing driver has spent the majority of his time at the front of the pack. He was not yet competing in July 2004 and so has run in one less race during the past five years than his competitors. That means that his 855 laps spent in the top 10 is 80 percent of his personal total.

Busch's "hell for leather" style of racing, however, has seen him hit the showers early four times because of crash damage and once for a broken timing chain. On two other occasions, he was significantly slowed by crash damage and that has left him with only the 12th-best five-year average finish of 16.49.

For a fantasy owner that means that even though it's great when your driver dominates a race, it's not the only factor that goes into winning. Ultimately only the finishing position counts for points, so take drivers with a long history of success this week instead of those who have impressed you with their strength.

Laps in the top 10, sorted by five-year average finish

Laps' Rank	Driver	Top-10 laps	Possible	%	5 Yr Avg.
2	Jimmie Johnson	1,062	1,338	79%	8.70
10	Jeff Burton	420	1,338	31%	13.23
4	Matt Kenseth	966	1,338	72%	13.43
14	Carl Edwards	380	1,071	35%	13.56
6	Jeff Gordon	723	1,338	54%	14.00
1	Tony Stewart	1,079	1,338	81%	14.27
9	Greg Biffle	563	1,338	42%	14.52
12	Mark Martin	380	1,338	28%	15.16
20	Clint Bowyer	159	804	20%	15.55
23	Denny Hamlin	146	804	18%	15.86
8	Dale Earnhardt Jr	577	1,338	43%	15.91
5	Kyle Busch	855	1,071	80%	16.49
3	Kevin Harvick	1,040	1,338	78%	17.50
11	Casey Mears	407	1,338	30%	17.73
24	Jamie McMurray	119	1,338	9%	19.18
13	Kurt Busch	380	1,338	28%	19.45
19	Kasey Kahne	226	1,338	17%	19.91
18	Martin Truex Jr	288	804	36%	20.91
7	Brian Vickers	585	1,071	55%	21.32
15	Ryan Newman	339	1,338	25%	21.98
22	Bobby Labonte	153	1,338	11%	22.07
16	Elliott Sadler	297	1,338	22%	22.89
34	Juan Montoya	2	534	0%	23.36
29	David Stremme	30	804	4%	23.83
21	David Ragan	157	534	29%	24.65
17	Reed Sorenson	289	804	36%	25.67
26	Joe Nemechek	95	1,338	7%	26.30
39	David Gilliland	0	534	0%	27.04
30	Dave Blaney	21	1,338	2%	27.38
38	Paul Menard	0	534	0%	27.38
37	David Reutimann	0	534	0%	27.64
27	Robby Gordon	43	1,338	3%	27.84
40	Sam Hornish Jr	0	267	0%	28.60
31	Michael Waltrip	16	1,338	1%	29.36
28	Mike Bliss	32	534	6%	29.50
25	A J Allmendinger	118	267	44%	31.10
35	Bill Elliott	0	804	0%	31.20
36	Tony Raines	0	537	0%	31.41
33	John Andretti	5	534	1%	33.89
32	Mike Wallace	6	267	2%	35.77

Ganassi in no hurry to replace Truex

Chip Ganassi is in no hurry to replace Martin Truex Jr. now that he's been signed by MWR, according to Autosport.com. Ganassi said, "Martin made a business decision that he felt was in his best interest and we can't fault him for that."

Our View: The comment sounds eerily similar to ones he used with Jamie McMurray and Casey Mears left the Ganassi fold. One has to wonder how long this owner can keep losing talent without being seen only as a feeder for the superteams instead of a contender himself.

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IRL: Camping World Grand Prix at the Glen Results, with avg. finish

Justin Wilson gave car owner Dale Coyne his first victory in open wheel racing and he ran away from some heavy hitters in doing so. Roger Penske's Ryan Briscoe was bidding for sole possession of the honor of being the winningest driver, but he was busy trying to keep Chip Ganassi's Scott Dixon and his Penske teammate Helio Castroneves at bay.

Danica Patrick is not known as a particularly strong road racer and she didn't disappoint that prediction. She finished 11th, which snapped a seven-race streak of top-10s.

Results, with average finish

Finish	Start	Driver	Laps	Status	Avg Fin
1	2	Justin Wilson	60	Running	13.00
2	1	Ryan Briscoe	60	Running	5.67
3	3	Scott Dixon	60	Running	3.40
4	14	Helio Castroneves	60	Running	11.40
5	9	Marco Andretti	60	Running	7.75
6	7	Mike Conway	60	Running	6.00
7	11	E J Viso	60	Running	8.50
8	10	Tony Kanaan	60	Running	5.60
9	17	Robert Doornbos	60	Running	9.00
10	12	Dan Wheldon	60	Running	12.20
11	8	Danica Patrick	60	Running	12.00
12	18	Raphael Matos	60	Running	12.00
13	5	Graham Rahal	60	Running	10.50
14	4	Mario Moraes	60	Running	10.50
15	6	Dario Franchitti	59	Running	8.75
16	21	Ed Carpenter	59	Running	13.00
17	19	Milka Duno	58	Running	18.50
18	13	Hideki Mutoh	51	Accident	13.50
19	20	Richard Antinucci	47	Running	19.00
20	15	Paul Tracy	29	Accident	20.00
21	16	Ryan Hunter-Reay	0	Accident	11.00

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Chicagoland Yahoo! preview

This is the only "cookie-cutter" race in 12 events during the last spring and summer. That's good news for fans of diversity, but it's also good news for fantasy owners. A full 25 percent of the races are run on this style track, which gives you a lot of data to mine. Check out this week's Yahoo! Fantasy Preview (.pdf) for a sneak peak at who'll be strong.

It's official: Truex will race for MWR in 2010

One of the worst kept secrets of the silly season was made official on Tuesday. Martin Truex Jr. will join Michael Waltrip Racing in 2010 and race the No. 56 with sponsorship from NAPA, according to a tweet from the press conference by @DustinLong.

Our View: MWR has been steadily improving all year with Marcos Ambrose and David Reutimann in the second and third cars, but Michael Waltrip himself has struggled. This move will only enhance their value to fantasy owners next year, as Waltrip will run a limited schedule in a fourth car.

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Daytona post-race inspection complete

According to a tweet from @NASCARSays, post-race engine inspection is complete and there were no issues.

Our View: While penalties don't affect most fantasy games, the residual effect can be tough on a team, so this is information you want to consider.

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Coke Zero 400 Results with avg. finish

The debut of double-file restarts on a restrictor-plate superspeedway was dramatic. For the most part, it added action to the race without significantly altering the results, the same as with the first road course race at Infineon Raceway. Still, with a victory on the line, the drivers found a way to get into trouble.

With a finish eerily similar to Talladega's Aaron's 499, one driver tried to block on the way to the checkered flag and another was not intimidated. Kyle Busch ran a cautious race until the end, but no one can play it safe with the checkered flag in the air. So, he passed Tony Stewart on the white flag lap and tried to make his Toyota as wide as possible on the front stretch. Clipping Stewart's nose and spinning into the wall, he experienced one of the more dramatic crashes his season, but Busch managed to skid past the finish line. The ensuing pileup was impressive, but since most of the contact occurred after the finish line, the results were largely unaffected by the last-lap catastrophe.

Stewart won his second race of the season and now has a six-race streak of finishes seventh or better. He's a place-and-hold driver until further notice.

Jimmie Johnson was second, which was a bit of a surprise given his bad luck on plate tracks recently and the rest of the top five went to drivers who needed strong runs to reverse their fortune as well. Denny Hamlin was third, Carl Edwards finished fourth and Kurt Busch came home fifth.

Marcos Ambrose in sixth and Juan Montoya in ninth were the best dark horses of the weekend, and both of them should be able to carry that momentum on to Chicago next week.

Results with average finish

Finish	Start	Driver	Laps	Laps Led	Status	Avg. Fin
1	1	Tony Stewart	160	86	Running	16.50
2	3	Jimmie Johnson	160		Running	14.19
3	6	Denny Hamlin	160	63	Running	23.75
4	5	Carl Edwards	160		Running	19.70
5	4	Kurt Busch	160	1	Running	17.17
6	18	Marcos Ambrose	160		Running	11.50
7	17	Brian Vickers	160		Running w/ crash damage	20.09
8	10	Matt Kenseth	160	3	Running	17.90
9	12	Juan Montoya	160		Running	24.00
10	23	Elliott Sadler	160		Running	17.00
11	22	Jamie McMurray	160		Running w/ crash damage	25.57
12	43	Regan Smith	160		Running	23.50
13	31	David Ragan	160		Running	13.83
14	8	Kyle Busch	160	1	Running	18.00
15	13	Kasey Kahne	160		Running w/ crash damage	17.83
16	16	Jeff Burton	160	2	Running	17.75
17	30	A J Allmendinger	160		Running	20.67
18	9	Greg Biffle	160		Running	22.14
19	21	Joey Logano	160		Running	31.00
20	7	Ryan Newman	160	1	Running w/ crash damage	20.94
21	28	Bobby Labonte	160		Running	22.44
22	34	Robby Gordon	160	1	Running	20.30
23	33	Paul Menard	160		Running	23.80
24	36	Brad Keselowski	160		Running w/ crash damage	24.00
25	24	Martin Truex Jr	160		Running	21.56
26	27	Kevin Harvick	160		Running w/ crash damage	15.71
27	35	John Andretti	160	1	Running	27.35
28	2	Jeff Gordon	160	1	Running w/ crash damage	15.50
29	15	Clint Bowyer	159		Running w/ crash damage	13.38
30	42	Tony Raines	158		Running	31.20
31	37	Scott Speed	152		Accident	33.00
32	25	Sam Hornish Jr	152		Running	27.00
33	26	Reed Sorenson	146		Running w/ crash damage	23.38
34	20	Casey Mears	144		Running	22.29
35	32	David Stremme	129		Running w/ crash damage	24.17
36	14	David Reutimann	127		Running w/ crash damage	25.50
37	29	Michael Waltrip	124		Running w/ crash damage	20.80
38	11	Mark Martin	79		Running	18.14
39	19	Dale Earnhardt Jr	76		Accident	15.55
40	38	David Gilliland	76		Accident	25.40
41	39	Joe Nemechek	25		Start and Park	26.13
42	41	Patrick Carpentier	18		Start and Park	28.00
43	40	Dave Blaney	2		Start and Park	26.47

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N'Wide: Subway Jalapeno 250 results, with avg. finish

An incredibly frustrating season came to an end Friday night when Clint Bowyer won the Subway Jalapeno 250 after earning the pole earlier that day.

This was the debut of double-file restarts in the Nationwide Series and it worked as most would have predicted. A green-white-checkered finish was made even more dramatic by the new procedure and it kept the result in question. With the race on the line and the pack bunched up, however, the second series drivers were unable to keep it clean all the way to the checkered flag and a frozen field left the top-five packed with Cup Regulars.

Kyle Busch finished second, Carl Edwards was third, Joey Logano credited in fourth and Kasey Kahne finished fifth. As usual, Brad Keselowski was the best of the Nationwide Regulars and managed a sixth.

Results, with average finish

Finish	Start	Driver	Laps	Laps Led	Status	Avg Fin
1	1	Clint Bowyer	102	48	Running	6.80
2	19	Kyle Busch	102	2	Running	15.25
3	11	Carl Edwards	102		Running	13.00
4	23	Joey Logano	102		Running	12.00
5	15	Kasey Kahne	102		Running	22.21
6	4	Brad Keselowski	102		Running	12.25
7	30	Brian Vickers	102		Running	18.10
8	31	Justin Allgaier	102		Running	24.00
9	2	David Ragan	102	7	Running	18.67
10	3	Kevin Harvick	102		Running	6.07
11	34	Michael Waltrip	102	4	Running	21.13
12	26	Steve Wallace	102		Running	28.83
13	39	Michael McDowell	102		Running	18.00
14	6	Matt Kenseth	102	24	Running	5.91
15	37	Matt Carter	102		Running	15.00
16	36	Kenny Wallace	102	1	Running	15.74
17	41	Brendan Gaughan	102		Running	16.00
18	38	Scott Lagasse Jr	102		Running	30.50
19	24	Jason Leffler	102		Running	16.58
20	12	Bobby Gerhart	102		Running	22.00
21	42	Scott Wimmer	102		Running	19.75
22	16	Jason Keller	102		Running	19.00
23	28	Tony Raines	102	1	Running	24.11
24	14	Joe Nemechek	102		Running	20.95
25	43	Johnny Borneman III	101		Accident	25.00
26	32	Robert Richardson	101		Accident	29.50
27	5	David Gilliland	101		Accident	24.25
28	33	Eric McClure	101	1	Running	32.71
29	29	Mike Bliss	100		Accident	25.55
30	40	Danny O'Quinn Jr	99		Running	28.00
31	20	Mike Harmon	97		Running	28.00
32	10	Morgan Shepherd	95		Accident	20.08
33	18	Kertus Davis	94		Accident	34.38
34	13	Jeff Green	94		Accident	22.46
35	9	Michael Annett	84		Brakes	35.00
36	22	John Wes Townley	81	1	Running	28.50
37	35	Chase Austin	76	1	Accident	37.00
38	8	Kerry Earnhardt	76		Accident	29.89
39	21	Mark Green	62		Accident	23.09
40	7	Dale Earnhardt Jr	58		Accident	12.18
41	27	Patrick Sheltra	57		Accident	41.00
42	17	Donnie Neuenberger	9		Accident	33.56
43	25	Johnny Chapman	2		Quit	29.75
44		Terry Cook	0		DNQ
45		Brian Keselowski	0		DNQ	25.00
46		Mike Wallace	0		DNQ	17.58

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Stewart wins a wild one at Daytona

Tony Stewart refused to be blocked by Kyle Busch on the run to the checkers and won the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona.

Our View: You knew the finish would be wild with only a handful of laps at the end and double file restarts. Fans weren't disappointed.

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Newman fixes broken shock mount

The No. 39 team found and repaired a broken shock mount on Ryan Newman's car, according to a television report. That fixed a problem they have been struggling with all week.

Our View: This should send Newman to the back of the grid to start, but he is a better value now with his suspension intact.

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Biffle, Hornish will have to go to the back

Greg Biffle and Sam Hornish Jr. will have to go to the back of the grid, according to NASCAR.com, because their backup cars did not turn any laps in practice or qualification.

Our View: Just another casualty of the qualification rain-out. Starting position is not overly important at Daytona, however.

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N'Wide: Bowyer wins Coke Zero 400

In the debut of the Nationwide series double file restarts, fans got their money's worth. Clint Bowyer held off Carl Edwards on a green-white-checkered finish to win his first race at Daytona.

Our View: Kyle Busch finished second, but NASCAR will have to determine the remainder of the field since an accident at the white flag caused this race to ultimately end under caution.

Yahoo! Qualification Story – Daytona

Rain may have canceled qualification, but that doesn't mean we don't have an opinion about the lineup. Check out this week's Yahoo! story (.pdf) of who's going to be hot at in the Coke Zero 400.

Daytona qualification canceled

For the second week in a row and the fourth time this year, weather forced the cancelation of qualification. The field will be set by the rule book, which means the top-12 drivers in the standings will all start up front.

Our View: Mother Nature must be a Tony Stewart fan. It really doesn't matter on a plate track, however. Drivers can win from anywhere.

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Reutimann changes engines

David Reutimann's No. 00 has an engine problem, according to a tweet from @mw55, and will have to change it. That will send him to the back of the grid, no matter where he qualifies.

Our View: Front or back doesn't make much difference at Daytona. Anyone can win from anywhere, but Reutimann's record on this track is not stellar. Save him for another week.

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Biffle, Hornish to backups at Daytona

Following a crash in Happy Hour, both Greg Biffle and Sam Hornish Jr. will have to roll out backup cars.

Our View: Biffle might have the highest hurdle to clear; his backup is a brand new car that will have only two qualification laps under its hood before the race begins.

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Reutimann fastest in Happy Hour

David Reutimann posted the fastest lap in Happy Hour, with a speed of 192.135.

Our View: Reutimann should have the horsepower and the setup to run up front, but so far he's been unsuccessful on the plate tracks. In 10 previous attempts, he's failed to crack the top 10 a single time.

Ragan posts single fast lap in Daytona afternoon practice

David Ragan posted the single fastest lap in Daytona's first practice session with a speed of 190.714 mph.

Our View: Of course all that means is that he was in a fast draft at the time, but one would prefer to at the top of the grid than at the bottom.

Week 27 Unified Power Rankings

Jenson Button and Tony Stewart kept their positions atop the Unified Power Rankings. Button's number one spot is unchanged because Formula 1 had the week off, but Stewart only enhanced his second-place position with a solid fifth-place finish at New Hampshire—his fifth consecutive result of seventh or better. These two drivers have redefined the concept of place-and-hold.

Mark Webber also jumped up the grid, improving his rank from 10th to third. How is that possible with the series going idle? The Power Ranking formula looks at the last 90 days for a snapshot of how drivers are performing right now, and that means that Webber's 12th-place finish in the ING Australian Grand Prix is no longer held against him. Since that race, he has posted five top-fives in seven races—including three runner-up results.

Dario Franchitti also climbed the charts from eighth to fourth on the strength of his solid second-place run on the short track in Richmond. In his last four Indy short track starts, that's his worst result after winning the other three. Chip Ganassi fans should be quite proud of the organization; last week they finished 1-2, and Scott Dixon—the winner of the SunTrust Indy Challenge—settled in right behind Franchitti in fifth.

It was a great weekend for Brad Keselowski. He competed in the Nationwide and Cup series and earned accolades in both. A third-place finish in the Camping World RV Sales 200 was his fifth consecutive top-five, which easily makes him the best Nationwide Regular in the game. He also finished sixth in Cup competition and while that may have been aided by rain, the points pay the same to fantasy owners.

Ron Hornaday Jr. is slowly making his way back up the grid. With back-to-back victories at Milwaukee and Memphis, he's improved 10 positions and lands 32nd on our chart. That may not seem like much, but only two weeks ago he was in danger of falling out of the top 50. Better still, he is in striking distance of the highest ranked Camping World Truck Series driver—Matt Crafton. In the last three months, Crafton has finished worse than seventh only once, and consistency is often more important than raw strength in fantasy games.

Unified Power Rankings
Top 50

Rank	Driver	Points	Last week	+/-
1	Jenson Button	106.71	1	0
2	Tony Stewart	99.62	2	0
3	Mark Webber	93.14	10	7
4	Dario Franchitti	92.63	8	4
5	Scott Dixon	88.13	12	7
6	Kurt Busch	86.75	13	7
7	Brad Keselowski	86.39	14	7
8	Rubens Barrichello	86.29	9	1
9	Jimmie Johnson	86.25	7	-2
10	Erik Darnell	84.83	16	6
11	Joey Logano	83.36	27	16
12	Helio Castroneves	82.57	3	-9
13	Ryan Briscoe	82.50	4	-9
14	Greg Biffle	82.50	22	8
15	Kyle Busch	82.44	18	3
16	Jeff Gordon	82.25	17	1
17	Mark Martin	82.15	5	-12
18	Jason Leffler	81.77	6	-12
19	Danica Patrick	81.75	15	-4
20	Sebastian Vettel	81.43	32	12
21	Carl Edwards	80.96	21	0
22	Ryan Newman	80.13	11	-11
23	Matt Kenseth	79.25	25	2
24	Juan Montoya	78.17	26	2
25	Dan Wheldon	78.00	24	-1
26	Denny Hamlin	77.08	19	-7
27	Matt Crafton	76.86	20	-7
28	Kasey Kahne	74.92	31	3
29	Timo Glock	74.43	23	-6
30	Nico Rosberg	73.29	30	0
31	Stephen Leicht	73.00		NR
32	Ron Hornaday Jr	72.38	40	8
33	Jeff Burton	70.88	28	-5
34	Steve Wallace	70.33	37	3
35	David Reutimann	70.29	33	-2
36	Brian Vickers	69.18	42	6
37	Felipe Massa	68.86	63	26
38	Marco Andretti	68.38	34	-4
39	Justin Allgaier	68.00	36	-3
40	Jason Keller	67.92	38	-2
41	Tayler Malsam	67.71	41	0
42	Tony Kanaan	67.63	35	-7
43	Fernando Alonso	67.00	29	-14
44	Sam Hornish Jr	67.00	52	8
45	Kimi Raikkonen	66.71	57	12
46	Johnny Sauter	66.57	59	13
47	Jamie McMurray	66.50	44	-3
48	Colin Braun	65.71	76	28
49	Tomas Scheckter	65.40		NR
50	Dale Earnhardt Jr	65.13	39	-11

Previous Unified Power Rankings:

Week 26
Week 25
Week 24
Week 23
Week 22
Week 21
Week 20

Mayfield wins injunction

Jeremy Mayfield has prevailed in his request for a temporary injunction against NASCAR's indefinite suspension, according to a tweet from @DustinLong. He plans to try and qualify at Daytona for the Coke Zero 400.

Our View: If he makes the show, expect him to try and run as long as he can. Anything can happen on a restrictor-plate superspeedway, which means he has as great a chance to finish in the top 20 as anyone else.

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Newman a busy man at Bristol

When the NASCAR Cup series rolls into Bristol Motor Speedway this August, Ryan Newman is going to be a very busy man.

During the wildly popular August race week at the World's Fastest Half-Mile, Newman will start his marathon with the UNOH Perfect Storm 150 Whelen Modified race and the O'Reilly 200 Camping World Truck Series event Wednesday, Aug. 19. On Friday, Aug. 21 he will compete in the Food City 250 Nationwide Series event and run the final leg, the Sharpie 500 Sprint Cup Series race, Saturday, Aug. 22, according to his Website.

Our View: Apparently his crash in the Modifieds last week at New Hampshire has not dulled his enthusiasm any. Those pocket rockets on the high banks should put on one heck of a show.

Petty weighs in on Patrick

Richard Petty has added his two cents on Danica Patrick's potential move to NASCAR, saying this is no sport for a woman, according to Don Coble. He's quoted as saying, "It's good for them to come in. It gives us a lot of publicity. It gives them publicity. But as far as being a real true racer, making a living out of it, it's kind of tough."

Our View: On second thought, that opinion is not worth two cents. It's another form of bigotry that is not needed in NASCAR.

More Cup Series Newsbreakers
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Kenseth 2nd, Stewart 5th at Madison

With a few days off, Matt Kenseth and Tony Stewart traveled to Madison, Wis. And took on the local stock car drivers. Kenseth led until lap 90, but ultimately fell to Chris Wimmer. Stewart finished fifth.

Our View: With so few short tracks on the NASCAR circuit, it's nice to see these guys keep their skills sharp.

Complete story and results

More Cup Series Newsbreakers

Logano making ground

Joey Logano is making huge strides in the Cup series, according to SceneDaily.com.

Our View: Last week's victory in the rain-shortened Lenox Industrial Tools 301 may have been a gift, but he is perhaps the most improved driver in NASCAR. His first eight races this season netted an average finish of 29.1; his last nine races have improved to 14.3—an advance of 14.8 positions.

More Cup Series Newsbreakers

Chevy at Daytona International Speedway

Highlights from a GM Press Release

Team Chevy drivers have won 37 of the 124 points-paying races at Daytona International Speedway (DIS)-more than any other manufacturer

Jeff Gordon, No. 24 DuPont Impala SS, leads all active drivers with six (6) Daytona wins;

Dale Earnhardt, Jr., No. 88 National Guard “Serving America”/AMP Energy Impala SS, has two (2) DIS victories

Tony Stewart, No. 14 Burger King Impala SS has two (2) DIS wins

Jeff Burton, No. 31 Caterpillar Impala SS, has one (1) DIS victory

Kevin Harvick, No. 29 Pennzoil Platinum Impala SS, has won once (1) at DIS

Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Lowe’s/KOBALT Tools Impala SS, has one (1) DIS win

Ryan Newman, No. 39 US Army/Haas Automation Impala SS, has won once (1) at DIS

Dodge at Daytona International Speedway

Highlights from a Dodge Press Release

• Dodge Motorsports has 15 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series wins at Daytona International Speedway.

• Dodge placed four drivers inside the top 10 at this year’s Daytona 500. AJ Allmendinger (third), Elliott Sadler (fifth), Reed Sorenson (ninth) and Kurt Busch (10th).

• Dodge Motorsports finished 1-2 at the 2008 Daytona 500 – Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch.

• Dodge returned to NASCAR’s premier series in 2001 after an absence of more than 20 years (Dodge exited after the 1978 season). Bill Elliott and Evernham Motorsports made it an impressive return by claiming the pole for the season-opening Daytona 500.

• Dodge has five wins in the July race (A.J. Foyt, Sam McQuagg, Bobby Isaac and Richard Petty-2) at Daytona.

Mayfield sample independently tested

NASCAR sent Jeremy Mayfield's urine sample to an independent lab in Minnesota, according to Court documents. They reportedly confirm the conclusion reached by NASCAR's "in-house" lab.

Our View: Mayfield continues to insist that a combination of prescription and over the counter drugs created a false positive. We'll just have to wait and see how this plays out, but Mayfield is seeking an injunction from the court that would allow him to compete at Daytona.

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Dysfunction at Red Bull Racing

Heading into Daytona this week, Brian Vickers and Scott Speed have issues to work out after an incident on the final lap of the Nationwide race, according to SceneDaily.com.

Our View: Vickers took the first shot immediately following the Saturday race, saying that Speed was frustrated because he was running so badly in the Cup series. Speed responded by suggesting that someone paid Vickers to wreck him on Sunday.Teammates don't have to get along, but if they are going to share notes, it certainly helps. More importantly on the restrictor-plate superspeedways, Speed needs a drafting partner and those are hard to come by for rookies.

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Busch, Speed test Daytona prototype

In advance of this week's Brumos Porsche 250 road course race at Daytona International Speedway, Kyle Busch and Scott Speed tested their Chip Ganassi Lexus at Putnam Park in Indiana, according to Grand-Am.com.

Our View: This is going to be a grueling schedule with the road course race wedged between the NASCAR Cup and Nationwide activity—particularly for Busch, who will participate in both stock car races.

Extra seat time on the twisty tracks is always beneficial for the Cup drivers, which slightly improves their odds at Watkins Glen in a couple of weeks.

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IRL: Changes at the top

On Tuesday, the Board of Directors of Hulman and Company announced a change in leadership, according to a Press Release from the organization. Effectively this ends Tony George's reign and puts two executives in his place.

Our View: In a tough economy with attendance at all top level motorsports shrinking, something had to give.

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Daytona Yahoo! preview

Rattle them bones folks because winning or losing on a plate track is a simple roll of the dice. Even with the multitude of "Big One" crashes, the cream rises to the top at Daytona and Talladega. Check out this week's Yahoo! Fantasy Preview (.pdf) for a sneak peak at who'll be their toughest competitors.