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.

Prilosec OTC to sponsor RCR

Prilosec OTC will be the primary sponsor for three races with RCR, according to SceneDaily.com. They will sponsor Jeff Burton this week at Richmond and for the upcoming Brickyard 400. Additionally, they will be the primary sponsor on Clint Bowyer's car in October's race at Auto Club Speedway.

Our View: Money makes the world go round and teams are likely to get a little more bang for the buck with limited-run sponsorships.

Keselowski welcome to stay at JR Motorsports

Brad Keselowski may not know what he's doing in 2010, but he's welcome to stay at JR Motorsports if he desires, according to Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Our View: Keselowski needs to give some serious thought to remaining in a competitive ride, regardless of whether it is in the Nationwide or Cup series. The temptation to capitalize on his momentum is great, but if he is patient, a long term future could be guaranteed by staying with JR and Hendrick Motorsports.

Richmond entry list posted

The entry list for the Crown Royal 400 has been posted and it features 45 cars. Notable among the part time entries is Brad Keselowski in James Finch's Chevrolet.

Our View: It's taken a while, but the entry list is shrinking because of the economic situation. That will allow the more determined teams easier access into the race and give them a chance to improve their performance.

McClure sentenced

In the same week that his son failed to qualify the family car at Talladega, Larry McClure was sentenced to 18 months in prison for federal tax fraud, according to SceneDaily.com.

Our View: Once considered a powerhouse in NASCAR, the sport seemingly passed them by as multi-car owners and high dollar sponsorships edged out the independent owner. Notably, car owner James Finch went to victory lane last week, but no one expects that smaller, lightly-funded teams will make a resurgence any time soon.

Indy Tire woes continue

Goodyear's tire woes that plagued last year's Brickyard 400 are far from fixed. In recent tire tests, drivers were still able to make only 12-15 laps runs before the cords were showing.

Our View: Last year's Brickyard 400 was outright embarrassing and impossible to handicap. Be prepared to throw this race away unless Goodyear comes up with a new compound quickly. For more on the story, check out NASCAR.com.

Yahoo! Richmond Preview

Last week's race gave new meaning to the phrase "wild card." This week should be much more predictable. Check out the Yahoo! Preview.

Six Who Can

Six drivers have dominated the top 10 at Richmond during the last two years. Jimmie Johnson leads the list with three victories in four races and is followed by Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon with four consecutive top-10s. Actually, Harvick has eight such results in the last four years to expand on his streak.

Denny Hamlin and Kurt Busch round out the list of top Richmond performers with three top-10s in their last four efforts. The cream truly rises to the top.

Handicapping Talladega sucks (or, "It's not my fault")

If you got creamed in your fantasy team this week, don't feel too bad. No one would have predicted Brad Keselowski would win or that four "rookies" would finish in the top 10. Marcos Ambrose in fourth, Scott Speed in fifth and Joey Logano in ninth locked up a bunch of top-10 spots that might have been taken by marquee drivers. I have to point out, however, that Ambrose was on my Yahoo! team.