Labonte may yet return to Yates in 2010

Yates Racing is still in negotiation with Ask.com to sponsor Bobby Labonte for 2010 and it is likely that their relationship with Roush-Fenway Racing will not comtinue next year, according to SceneDaily.com.

Our View Not sure how that effects Erik Darnell for 2010, so fantasy owners will need to stay tuned for further details.

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Darnell to race No. 96

Erik Darnell will race seven of the last 12 races in the No. 96 Ford beginning this weekend at Atlanta, according to a press release from Yates Racing. Bobby Labonte will fill the seat for the other five races. He also is scheduled to race at New Hampshire, Kansas, Talladega, Texas, Phoenix and Homestead.

Our View The young gun is the first official rookie to toss his hat into next year's ring, but this might also have other implications. It has been rumored that Roush Racing and Yates have been talking about making the smaller entity a satellite team and this could be the first step toward securing a ride for Jamie McMurray in 2010 as well.

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Keselowski / Papis will not exchange Christmas cards

It doesn't appear that Max Papis and Brad Keselowski will be exchanging Christmas cards this year after the No. 88 spun Papis' No. 01 late in the Montreal road race. For Papis' view, check out the tweets @MaxPapis.

Our View This budding rivalty is probably not going to be very impactful unless Papis gets a full-season ride next year.

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Edwards wins a wild one in Montreal

Marcos Ambrose dominated the NAPA Auto Parts 200 and ran a near-perfect race, but on the final lap, with pressure from behind, he jumped the final curve and lost the lead in the final 200 yards to Carl Edwards.

Our View This is why you never leave the track until the end.

Further drama was provided by NASCAR's decision to run the final segment of the race with rain tires in wet conditions, which caused a series of spins and off-road excursions in the race for the checkers.

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F1: Raikkonen wins Belgian GP

Kimi Raikkonen became the sixth different winner in the last six races, according to Formula1.com. This snapped a 25-race winless streak and was Ferrari's first win of the season.

Our View After Jenson Button won six of the first seven races, it is wonderful to see this kind of parity.

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IRL: Briscoe wins Chicagoland nail biter

Ryan Briscoe narrowly edged Scott Dixon in a chase for the checkers to win the Peak Antifreeze 300. The margin of victory was slight; in fact, this was the fourth closest race in IRL history. Last year's edition of this race boasted the second closest victory and now Chicagoland has three of the top four margins.

Our View After winning the pole and posting consistently fast practice speeds, we told fantasy players to make him the anchor of their roster, and the Penske pilot proved us correct.

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N'Wide: Ambrose on Montreal pole

Marcos Ambrose posted the fastest lap in qualification under wet conditions and will lead the field to green on Sunday.

Our View Ambrose led a contingent of road racers at the top of the grid including Ron Fellows in third, Boris Said in fourth and Jacques Villeneuve in sixth, but the surprise of the session had to be Carl Edwards. After crashing on the warm-up lap for the Gran Am race earlier today, he posted the second fastest time.

The qualification session was marred by rain, however, so some of the faster drivers in practice like Max Papis and Patrick Carpentier will have to come from the back of the pack. That won't hurt them, however, and fantasy owners should load up on road ringers.

Complete Results

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N'Wide to run COT in four races in 2010

The Nationwide Series will debut their version of the Car of Tomorrow (COT) in four races next year, beginning at Daytona International Speedway, according to SceneDaily.com.

Our View The Cup version of the car has laid such a huge egg with fans that it is surprising they will indeed roll out a similar car in the Nationwide Series. So far as competition is concerned, however, the spec body style has tightened the field, which makes fantasy owners' task ever more challenging.

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Grand Am: Gaughan second at Montreal

Brendan Gaughan and Andy Lally finished second in the GT division of the Rolex Grand Am series and carried the banner for the NASCAR contingent.

Our View Now Gaughan will switch gears and race in the Nationwide Series on Sunday. This improves his odds in the heavier cars, but with so many road racing veterans in the field, he might still be considered only as filler.

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Yeley injured in sprint car race

J.J. Yeley suffered three broken vertebrae in an American Sprint Car Series Bandits race at Lakeside Speedway Saturday night after flipping his car in turn one, according to AutoRacingDaily.com.

Our View The flip did not appear to be severe, but with several incidents in the race, it blurred into the background. Running short track races keep the drivers sharp, but they also run the risk of injuries such as this.

Complete Results

Grand Am: Edwards crashes at Montreal

Before the Grand Am race even started, Carl Edwards crashed his Doran Daytona Prototype in wet conditions and destroyed the car.

Our View Edwards was scheduled to run this companion race with the Nationwide Series along with Marcos Ambrose, but the conditions proved too much for the oval stock car racer.

Nationwide newsbreakers

N'Wide: Papis leads Montreal's first practice

Road racing ace Max Papis led the first practice session at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve with a lap of 85.632 mph under mostly wet conditions.

Our View The list was headed by road racing specialists. Including Papis, Patrick Carpentier posted the third fastest lap, NASCAR Canada driver Andrew Ranger was fourth fastest and Michael McDowell was fifth.

Complete Results

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F1: Fisichella wins Spa pole

Giancarlo Fisichella shocked the Formula 1 field by winning the pole for the Belgian Grand Prix in the Force India entry.

Our View As surprising as this is, Fisichella should not be on your roster. His best finish so far in 2009 was ninth in the Monaco Grand Prix.

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IRL: Briscoe wins Chicagoland pole

Ryan Briscoe proved that his fast speed in practice was no fluke. He posted the fastest speed in time trials as well with a lap of 215.364 and will lead the field to green Saturday night.

Our View Briscoe should anchor your fantasy lineup this week. Helio Castroneves will start on the outside of the front row and he was also quick all day Friday.

Lineup

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IRL: Briscoe tops Happy Hour

After posting the second fastest time in the first practice session for the Peak Antifreeze Indy 300, Ryan Briscoe jumped to the top of the charts with a lap of 217.553.

Our View The other fast drivers from that session failed to back up their morning speeds. Helio Castroneves was only 12th fastest and Danica Patrick was 15th fastest. The leader of the first session, Scott Dixon was fourth fastest in Happy Hour, but that gives the edge to Briscoe nonetheless.

Complete Results

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IRL: Dixon tops Chicagoland practice 1

Scott Dixon posted the fastest time in Friday's practice for the Peak Antifreeze Indy 300 at Chicagoland Speedway with a lap of 217.460.

Our View Ryan Briscoe was second fastest and Helio Castroneves came in third, but fantasy owners might be particularly interested in the fourt-place driver. After struggling on the road courses, it appears that Danica Patrick is back in top form with a lap of 216.284.

Complete Speeds

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Post-race inspection is completed

Post-race inspection is completed for the Sharpie 500 and all is clear.

Ky Busch wins Bristol

Kyle Busch held off a hungry Mark Martin and won the Sharpie 500. It was his third victory on this track in his last six starts and completes a sweep of the season.

Our View Busch was our favorite to win in both the Yahoo! preview and on the cheat sheets at NASCAR.com/Rotowire. We also predicted Brian Vickers would win last week at Michigan and that Tony Stewart would take the checkers at Watkins Glen International.

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IRL Practice crash

Will Powers, Nelson Philippe and E.J. Viso all sustained damage in a practice crash at Infineon Raceway. Philippe first spun and then was collected by the other two drivers. Powers and Philippe were hospitalized after the crash, according to IndyCar.com.

Our View On the heels of the vicious Cup crash at Watkins Glen International a few weeks back, this underscores the danger of road courses.

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Bristol pit stalls

Jayski has published the pit stall selections for the Bristol race.

Our View There are really only four good stalls at either end of the front and back pits. Pole sitter Mark Martin took the final pit stall before turn one, Greg Biffle has the final stall before turn three while Matt Kenseth and Scott Speed have the first stalls entering the pits. However, Clint Bowyer also is in a nice position; he is in pit stall four with the start and park Dave Blaney immediately ahead of him.

For a complete list of the stalls, visit Jayski.com.

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Yahoo! Qualification Story – Bristol

Bristol is one of the tracks on which qualification is critical; 35 percent of the races there have been won by a driver who started on the front row. Who are this week's favorites? Find out in the Yahoo! qualification .pdf story.

Martin wins another pole at Bristol

With a scary fast lap, Mark Martin earned his fifth pole of the season and will lead the field to green on Saturday night. Martin also won pole this spring at Bristol en route to a sixth-place finish.

Our View Martin and Brian Vickers have become the rocketmen of 2009. Martin's five poles is surpassed only by Vickers' six and no other driver has more than two. David Reutimann won poles at Texas and Dover.

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Haters Beware

At the beginning of the year, I stumbled across a Yahoo! league named the "I Hate Dan Beaver" league, sponsored by Black Flagged Online. Never one to shy away from a challenge, I joined them – not from a sense of self-loathing, since it was after all the "I Hate Dan Beaver" league – but as a way to silence the critics.

One by one, the members of this league have been vanquished. I currently sit second in their standings, only 59 points behind the leader. In all my years as an expert at Yahoo! Games, I have never failed to improve from here till the end of the year, so let's just say I'm not overly worried about being in second…

Are the folks at Black Flagged Online worried? Check out "Leave It To Beaver or Beaver? Damn!" and judge for yourself.

More options for Keselowski

When Tony Stewart reported he was not interested in Brad Keselowski, it appeared that driver's options were dwindling. Now it appears there may be more in the offing, according to Jayski.com. Keselowski was seen entering the Penske shops this week and further speculation surrounds the expansion of Furniture Row Racing.

Our View One way or the other, expect to see Keselowski in a Cup car in 2010. And Stewart-Haas has proven that satellite teams can be incredibly strong.

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Vickers wins Michigan

Brian Vickers won Michigan by running hard in the closing laps, which caused Jimmie Johnson to run short of fuel for the second time in two races there.

Our View Vickers was our dark horse to win, and he proved us correct.

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Crashed Video

Let's keep 'em upright today:

N'Wide: Hometown hero Keselowski wins Michigan

Brad Keselowski lurked behind Brian Vickers and Kyle Busch and swept around the outside when Vickers got loose on the final lap and slowed both his and Busch's momentum.

Our View This is what fans love about Michigan. A three-wide battle on the last lap for the victory is worth the price of admission.

All three of these racers will be in contention for top-10s on Sunday. Well… maybe a top-15 for Keselowski.

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Michigan pit stall selections

Jayski has posted the pit stall selections.

Our View As expected, pole winner Brian Vickers has chosen the final pit stall before the end of pit road. Other drivers with openings in front of them are Mark Martin, Juan Montoya, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr. and Jimmie Johnson.

For the complete list, visit Jayski.

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Chassis selection for Michigan

Micah Roberts has posted the chassis selections on his Blog. Tony Stewart will race the same car in which he finished fourth at Chicagoland a few weeks back.

Our View Jimmie Johnson is also racing his Chicagoland car since both of these tracks a relatively flat and fast.

For a complete list, check out the right hand navigation bar at NASCAR Notes.

Martin fastest in Michigan HH

Mark Martin posted the fastest single lap in Michigan's Happy Hour with a speed of 181.717 mph. Pole sitter Brian Vickers was second fastest with a speed of 181.621.

Our View This is significant because Martin is on the outside of the front row. Vickers and Martin underscored their Friday speed and should be considered threats on Sunday.

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Update: Allmendinger not going to backup

The No. 44 team has decided not to roll out a backup car for the Carfax 400. A.J. Allmendinger likes this car and does not want to give up his 13th-place spot on the grid.

Our View That's the good news, but Allmendinger is not going to get very much track time, which will hamper him during the opening segments of the race.

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Mears quickest in Michigan Practice 2

Casey Mears posted the quickest average speed in Michigan's first Saturday session with a speed of 179.764 during five laps.

Our View Don't get overly excited about that position, however. Since he only ran five laps, there was not much opportunity for his speed to fall off.

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Vickers fastest in Michigan practice 2

After sweeping the poles in Cup and Nationwide competition, Brian Vickers posted the fastest single lap in Michigan's first practice session on Saturday. His top speed was 184.909.

Our View He will need some good luck to go along with his speed, but Vickers is certainly positioning himself to be one of the top dark horses this week.

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Allmendinger scrapes wall in Michigan practice 2

A.J. Allmendinger scraped the wall at the 20 minute mark of the first practice session on Saturday.

Our View The damage might be enough to cause him to roll out a backup car and drop to the back of the pack. The right rear quarter panel was pushed back deeper than the tire, which suggests he may have suspension damage.

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N'Wide: Vickers sweeps Michigan poles

Brian Vickers swept the pole at Michigan, taking the top spot in both the Cup and Nationwide Series. This is a feat that has not been accomplished since Kurt Busch did it in 2006 at Watkins Glen International.

Our View Vickers may just be the new "Rocketman." This was his sixth pole of the season, his third consecutive pole at Michigan (dating back to last fall), and his third straight pole on two-mile tracks (he also won at Auto Club Speedway this spring.

After winning his two poles on two-mile tracks this year, he's swept the top 10.

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Crashed Video

Remember: Danger lurks around every corner.

Yahoo! Qualification Story – Michigan

Does qualification matter at Michigan? The answer is both yes and no, which you find in this week's Yahoo! qualification .pdf story.

NASCAR Raines going home from Michigan

When two cars withdrew from the entry list earlier this week, that meant only one driver would head to the house early. That driver is Tony Raines, with a speed of 181.484 mph.

Our View This is a start and park operation, however, so it has no impact on fantasy players whatsoever.

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Vickers wins Michigan pole

Brian Vickers picked up his sixth pole of the season with a speed of 187.242 mph.

Our View He also won the pole in Michigan's first race and at Auto Club Speedway—giving him a sweep of the two-mile tracks so far.

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Logano notably fast in Michigan practice 1

Joey Logano was notably fast in the first practice session at Michigan – posting the second fastest time of 187.169.

Our View That is good news for the rookie, who needs a strong qualification effort in order to run strong start to finish, but it is even better news for Ryan Newman. The No. 39 has a margin of nearly two miles per hour over the rest of the field.

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Newman fastest in Michigan practice 1

Ryan Newman posted the fastest single lap in the first practice session for the Carfax 400 with a speed of 189.155 mph.

Our View Newman is in a little bit of a slump with an average finish of 18.0 in his last eight attempts. He needs a boost to get his rhythm back and a pole would fit that criteria.

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Kahne blows at Michigan

Kasey Kahne blew an engine early in the first practice session. He will need to change the powerplant and go to the back of the pack for the start of the Carfax 400.

Our View Qualification is important at Michigan, but considering how wide this track is, a fast car can get to the front.

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Crashed Video

Just a little something to get your heart pumping this morning.

Crashed Video

Remember folks: always wear your seatbelts

Yahoo! Michigan Preview

The road course race at Watkins Glen is in the rear view mirror and it's time to make a run to the Chase. Who will get off to a good start this week? Check out this week's Yahoo! Preview (.pdf).