Pocono Yahoo! preview

Pocono is not the most exciting race to watch, but it may be one of the trickiest track to master. It's so difficult, however, that handicapping it is typically straightforward. Check out this week's Yahoo! Fantasy Preview (.pdf) for a our best bets.

Brad Coleman Back On Track at Nashville

From the team press release:

Charlotte, NC (June 2, 2009) – The last time Brad Coleman was in a NASCAR Nationwide Series race was August of 2008 when he brought home a Top 10 finish at Watkins Glen. Ten months later, the 21 year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver is looking to regain momentum when he gets back on track at Nashville in the No. 20 Rudys.com JGR Toyota Camry at the Federated Auto Parts 300.

Considered by many to be one of the top NASCAR Sprint Cup prospects coming off his 2007 rookie NASCAR Nationwide Series season with Joe Gibbs Racing, Brad Coleman endured a tough sophomore year. With JGR unable to obtain sponsorship for a full 2008 Nationwide Series run, Coleman was faced with the prospect of driving a handful of races or moving to another team to get a full season under his belt. After conferring with JGR President J.D. Gibbs and VP of Nationwide Series Operations Steve DeSouza, the trio agreed he needed the full season of seat time and experience at all of the tracks on the circuit.Joe

Within the week, the 19 year-old signed a full season deal with two newly purchased race teams. He signed with Baker Curb Racing in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Hall of Fame Racing in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

“I may be the only guy ever to sign with a Ford team in one series and a Toyota team in another series at the same time,” smiles Coleman. “It was a move everyone agreed to at the time and it promised me a lot of seat time in both the Nationwide and COT cars which is what I needed.”
It proved to be a valuable but difficult learning experience. Both teams faced new ownership complications and the financial challenges that came with the downfall of the U.S. economy in 2008.

“I wouldn’t trade that learning opportunity for the world, nor would I ever want to go through it again,” stated Coleman. “I got a lot of seat time in both cars and developed a level of patience, maturity and appreciation that I know will serve me well for years to come.”

Pocono's last five races

Last week Jeff Gordon had one of his worst races of the year. He never found the handle on his Chevy and was consistently one of the slowest drivers in traffic. Even if he fails to win this week, however, Gordon should have a strong run since he enters the week with the best average finish during the last five races.

If not for an unsuccessful pit gamble last fall, that honor would almost certainly go to Denny Hamlin who had a victory in fall 2006, a sixth and two thirds prior to his team's miscalculation. Those are the only two drivers with an average better than 10th.

Kevin Harvick nearly made the list. He settles into third on the list with an average of 10.0, which could make this one his best opportunities to break out of his funk in quite some time.

Average finish, last five races

Driver	Avg Finish	2008.2	2008.1	2007.2	2007.1	2006.2
Jeff Gordon	6.40	10	14	4	1	3
Denny Hamlin	7.20	23	3	3	6	1
Kevin Harvick	10.00	4	13	17	11	5
Mark Martin	10.60	8	10	9	7	19
Tony Stewart	11.00	2	35	6	5	7
Matt Kenseth	11.00	11	7	14	9	14
Ryan Newman	11.80	14	18	7	2	18
Jeff Burton	11.80	21	5	11	13	9
Jimmie Johnson	12.40	3	6	5	42	6
Kurt Busch	13.00	38	8	1	16	2
Martin Truex Jr	13.40	15	17	22	3	10
Dale Earnhardt Jr	14.60	12	4	2	12	43
Carl Edwards	16.80	1	9	21	14	39
Casey Mears	17.00	22	26	10	4	23
Kasey Kahne	17.60	7	1	27	22	31
Brian Vickers	19.60	28	2	29	35	4
Bobby Labonte	20.20	33	11	30	19	8
Clint Bowyer	20.80	6	39	8	10	41
Greg Biffle	21.00	13	15	23	30	24
David Ragan	22.00	5	24	33	26
Kyle Busch	22.20	36	43	12	8	12
Tony Raines	22.50	18		15	36	21
Jamie McMurray	23.60	9	20	40	29	20
Joe Nemechek	25.50	41	29		15	17
David Stremme	25.67			25	23	29
Dave Blaney	26.40	31	22	20	43	16
Regan Smith	26.50	25	28
Juan Montoya	28.50	40	38	16	20
A J Allmendinger	28.75	19	12	45	39
Elliott Sadler	29.20	27	34	32	21	32
Reed Sorenson	29.20	35	33	28	24	26
J J Yeley	29.20	39	44	35	17	11
Paul Menard	30.25	42	25	26	28
David Gilliland	30.75	34	16	39	34
Robby Gordon	31.75	37	36		41	13
David Reutimann	32.00	30	19	41	38
Sam Hornish Jr	34.00	26	42
Michael Waltrip	40.40	43	37	38	44	40
Derrike Cope	44.00					44
Mike Bliss	46.50			44	49

IRL: Patrick's joke not so funny

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency is not laughing about what Danica Patrick insists was a joke, according to Foxsports.com. When asked if she would take performance enhancing drugs, Patrick responded, "Yeah, it would be like finding a gray area. In motorsports, we work in the gray areas a lot. You're trying to find where the holes are in the rule book."

Our View: That certainly doesn't sound like a joke—but then again that's one problem with print. It doesn't catch the inflection of a driver's voice and we are willing to give her the benefit of the doubt on this one.

N'Wide: Bayne to driver for MWR

Trevor Bayne has signed an eight-race deal to drive for Michael Waltrip Racing, beginning this week at Nashville Superspeedway, according to NASCAR.com.

Our View: Youth continues to flood into NASCAR; Bayne is 18—and he made his debut at Bristol this spring driving a lightly-funded entry for Jimmy Mean to a 23rd-place finish.

Other races for MWR will be at Kentucky, the Milwaukee Mile, Gateway, O'Reilly Raceway Park, Iowa, Bristol and Phoenix.

Dover Cup Results

A slow pit stop for four tires late in the race appeared to be the unmaking of the No. 48 team. Jimmie Johnson restarted the Autism Speaks 400 ninth on lap 368 and with only a few laps laps he needed to pass a lot of cars. He slipped past David Stremme when that driver crashed and then had to sweat out four more laps under caution—watching precious time slip away.

Once the green waved again on lap 375, he steadily climbed toward the lead and passed Tony Stewart on the high side with only three laps remaining.

Finishing second, Stewart took the point lead from Jeff Gordon, who had a miserable day and fell two laps off the pace to finish 26th.

At the beginning of the week, we said Roush-Fenway would be strong. Greg Biffle finished third with Matt Kenseth on his back bumper. Biffle and Carl Edwards got to banging in the middle stages of the race, but the No. 99 was able to hold onto a top-10 finish in seventh. Jamie McMurray also finished on the lead lap in 14th.

Joey Logano kept his streak of top-15s alive at three with a 15th. That was also his fifth straight top-20.

Results, with career avg. finish

Finish	Start	Driver	Laps	Laps Led	Status	Avg Fin
1	8	Jimmie Johnson	400	298	Running	10.40
2	31	Tony Stewart	400	6	Running	11.67
3	5	Greg Biffle	400	41	Running	10.64
4	14	Matt Kenseth	400	7	Running	13.62
5	19	Kurt Busch	400		Running	20.50
6	2	Kasey Kahne	400		Running	24.09
7	13	Carl Edwards	400	12	Running	7.60
8	11	Ryan Newman	400		Running	10.33
9	17	Casey Mears	400		Running	20.38
10	28	Mark Martin	400	1	Running	12.70
11	25	Clint Bowyer	400		Running	14.29
12	22	Dale Earnhardt Jr	400		Running	17.05
13	12	Sam Hornish Jr	400		Running	24.33
14	18	Jamie McMurray	400		Running	16.00
15	21	Joey Logano	400		Running	15.00
16	32	Jeff Burton	400		Running	16.32
17	35	Kevin Harvick	400		Running	18.35
18	1	David Reutimann	400	25	Running	20.00
19	4	Reed Sorenson	400	4	Running	23.14
20	20	Marcos Ambrose	400		Running	26.00
21	15	Martin Truex Jr	399		Running	12.71
22	33	Regan Smith	399		Running	26.67
23	6	Kyle Busch	399		Running	15.33
24	26	David Ragan	399		Running	23.00
25	9	Brian Vickers	399		Running	21.55
26	42	Jeff Gordon	398		Running	12.36
27	10	Elliott Sadler	398	2	Running	21.38
28	27	Bobby Labonte	397		Running	16.76
29	7	A J Allmendinger	396		Running	31.60
30	3	Juan Montoya	395	3	Running	24.40
31	30	David Stremme	370		Accident	33.00
32	36	Paul Menard	363		Running	24.00
33	40	Robby Gordon	282		Accident	23.88
34	41	John Andretti	253		Accident	25.64
35	29	Michael Waltrip	250		Engine	21.43
36	16	Denny Hamlin	232		Accident	25.57
37	23	Scott Speed	118		Engine	37.00
38	38	Joe Nemechek	67		Drive Shaft	25.00
39	39	Dave Blaney	66		Transmission	25.44
40	37	Mike Bliss	56		Electrical	33.20
41	34	Mike Skinner	51		Engine	22.25
42	43	Tony Raines	42		Accident	31.79
43	24	David Gilliland	38	1	Power Steering	26.33
44		Brad Keselowski	0		DNQ
45		Max Papis	0		DNQ
46		Derrike Cope	0		DNQ	25.04
47		David Starr	0		DNQ

IRL: Milwaukee Results

Scott Dixon improved last year's Milwaukee result by only one position, but it was the one that counted. In this race last year, he finished second, but he was not going to be denied in 2009. He took the lead from Ryan Briscoe on lap 201 and then scooted out to a 2.13 second lead; Briscoe held on for second.

If you chose to do this one by the number, it was an uneven day. Tony Kanaan entered the weekend with the best average finish during the last five Milwaukee races, but he crashed early on lap 12 and finished 20th. On the other hand, Dario Franchitti had the second best average finish during that span and he managed to finish third.

Graham Rahal and Danica Patrick rounded out the top five.

Results, with career avg. finish

Finish	Start	Driver	Laps	Status	Avg Fin
1	4	Scott Dixon	225	Running	6.00
2	1	Ryan Briscoe	225	Running	7.00
3	8	Dario Franchitti	225	Running	2.80
4	2	Graham Rahal	225	Running	14.50
5	7	Danica Patrick	225	Running	9.00
6	9	Raphael Matos	225	Running	6.00
7	13	Marco Andretti	225	Running	12.00
8	6	Hideki Mutoh	224	Running	10.00
9	5	Mario Moraes	224	Running	16.00
10	14	Dan Wheldon	224	Running	8.00
11	20	Helio Castroneves	222	Running	12.33
12	18	Ryan Hunter-Reay	222	Running	13.50
13	10	Tomas Scheckter	222	Running	11.40
14	12	Robert Doornbos	220	Running	14.00
15	15	Justin Wilson	219	Running	11.00
16	19	Ed Carpenter	219	Running	13.67
17	16	Paul Tracy	219	Running	17.00
18	17	E J Viso	175	Mechanical	13.00
19	11	Mike Conway	55	Mechanical	20.00
20	3	Tony Kanaan	12	Accident	5.50
21	21	Stanton Barrett	0	DNQ

Johnson wins Dover thriller

Jimmie Johnson restarted the Autism Speaks 400 eighth on lap 375 and rapidly charged through the field. In the final laps, he passed Tony Stewart on the high side to win a race he dominated most of the afternoon.

Our View: While most of the race was a "snoozer," along with Greg Biffle, there was a spirited battle at the end.

IRL: Dixon wins Milwaukee

Scott Dixon scooted past Ryan Briscoe on lap 201 and then stretched his advantage to 2.13 seconds before the end of the ABC Supply 225, according to IndyCar.com.

Our View: Briscoe held onto second, while Dario Franchitti and Graham Rahal finished third and fourth respectively.

Gordon, Andretti to the back

Jeff Gordon (with a backup car) and John Andretti (transmission) will drop to the back of the field to start the Autism Speaks 400.

Our View: This won't matter a bit. Gordon was scheduled to start 42nd after crashing in qualification and Andretti qualified 41st.

Earnhardt, McGrew unite early

Lance McGrew will be on top of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s pit box one week early, according to ESPN.com, since Brad Keselowski failed to qualify for Sunday's Autism Speaks 400. Brian Whitesell will actually be making the setup calls, however, according to a tweet from @BobPockrass.

Our View: This allows Earnhardt and McGrew to start developing chemistry. That will pay dividends in the next couple of weeks, but fantasy owners shouldn't think about starting him at Dover. Once they have a full race under their belt, however, Earnhardt should be watched in Pocono prelims.

Weather or not?

A brief rain shower moved through, but has given way to bright blue skies, according to a tweet from @NASCARSays—the official news site of NASCAR PR.

Our View: Let's hope the sun stays out. Another rainy week would play havoc with your fantasy roster.

Trucks: Scott follows Loop Data

One of the biggest tools we use at FantasyRacingGames.com is the loop data report. Apparently Brian Scott does as well.

Competition caution coming

After last night's tire killing Camping World Truck Series race, NASCAR has decided to throw a competition caution at lap 30 of the Cup race, according to a tweet from @BobPockrass.

Our View: We can't remember the last time they had to do this during all three races during the weekend. Dover has been concrete for a long while, but for some reason it is not taking to the current tire compound. As with Nationwide, this will allow teams to make a final adjustment - and expect Jeff Gordon to jump up 10 - 15 spots during it.

Dover pit stall selections

The pit stall selections have been published at Jayski.com.

Our View: As expected, David Reutimann has the first stall at the turn one end of pit road. Jimmie Johnson took the last stall in turn four and it will be interesting to see if this provides a benefit.

Trucks: Dover Results

It's always great to see a first time winner. Brian Scott rolled the dice and stayed out on old rubber while those around him cut their tires and slammed the wall. Dennis Setzer also stayed out on old tires, but could not quite make the pass for the lead.

Two of the drivers snake bit by a blown tire were Kyle Busch and Colin Braun, who were running first and second at the time and who slapped the wall within seconds of one another. Braun would not recover and he retired 16 laps from the end of the race. Busch charged from 15th to ninth, but was unable to crack the top-five again.

It was a rough day for the point leader Ron Hornaday Jr. After starting from the pole, he cut a tire early and did major damage to his truck. The No. 33 crew made a valiant effort to get back on track, but Hornaday retired with crash damage after completing only 43 laps. About the only good news is that he managed to retain the point lead by a mere 27 markers over Mike Skinner and 29 points over Matt Crafton.

Results, with Avg. finish

Finish	Start	Driver	Laps	Laps Led	Status	Avg Fin
1	3	Brian Scott	200	14	Running	16.50
2	25	Dennis Setzer	200		Running	13.20
3	14	David Starr	200	3	Running	8.50
4	13	Jason White	200		Running	23.00
5	4	Johnny Sauter	200		Running	5.00
6	23	Matt Crafton	200		Running	16.44
7	5	Chad McCumbee	200		Running	13.75
8	11	Mike Skinner	200	5	Running	9.67
9	10	Kyle Busch	200	133	Running	11.80
10	6	Terry Cook	200		Running	12.50
11	16	J R Fitzpatrick	200		Running	11.00
12	20	Tayler Malsam	200		Running	12.00
13	12	Stacy Compton	200		Running	11.00
14	26	Chris Fontaine	200	5	Running	14.00
15	36	Tim Bainey Jr	200	1	Running	15.00
16	22	Max Papis	199		Running	16.00
17	19	Timothy Peters	198		Running	12.33
18	8	Todd Bodine	197		Running	17.80
19	18	Rick Crawford	197		Running	10.00
20	7	Johnny Benson Jr	195	23	Engine	14.80
21	24	Scott Wimmer	192		Running	21.00
22	2	Colin Braun	184	4	Accident	15.00
23	15	T J Bell	171		Running	21.67
24	17	James Buescher	160		Running	24.00
25	9	Brian Ickler	65		Accident	25.00
26	1	Ron Hornaday Jr	43	12	Accident	8.20
27	27	Dexter Bean	38		Handling	27.00
28	29	Andy Ponstein	31		Alternator	28.00
29	21	Ryan Hackett	26		Engine	29.00
30	33	Norm Benning	26		Vibration	30.00
31	28	Johnny Chapman	23		Overheating	32.50
32	35	Wayne Edwards	18		Oil	29.33
33	31	Kevin Lepage	15		Brakes	26.67
34	34	Brandon Knupp	12		Transmission	34.00
35	32	Brent Raymer	10		Vibration	35.00
36	30	Mario Gosselin	7		Accident	36.00

N'Wide: Dover Results

Once again, Kyle Busch led the most laps at a race and failed to win. This time his disappointment was intensified by the fact that it was his teammate Joey Logano who helped ruin his day. Busch may have had a tire going down on the final restart, but he failed to get up to speed quickly enough to keep from being run into from behind by the No. 20. One way or the other, Logano proved that he is hungry for victory. He wound up second.

Brad Keselowski was in the right place to take advantage of the contact, and he won his third Nationwide Series race. The No. 88 has been a consistently strong contender in the second series, so chances are good that you were rooting for him at the end.

Clint Bowyer, Brian Vickers and Carl Edwards round out the top 10.

Results, with career average finish

Finish	Start	Driver	Laps	Laps Led	Status	Avg Fin
1	12	Brad Keselowski	200	2	Running	8.40
2	1	Joey Logano	200	87	Running	7.33
3	17	Clint Bowyer	200		Running	6.86
4	7	Brian Vickers	200		Running	6.20
5	8	Carl Edwards	200		Running	9.67
6	10	Paul Menard	200		Running	21.71
7	4	Scott Speed	200		Running	7.00
8	23	Jason Leffler	200		Running	15.08
9	13	Jason Keller	200		Running	13.17
10	21	Justin Allgaier	200		Running	10.00
11	29	Michael McDowell	200		Running	11.00
12	9	Brendan Gaughan	200		Running	12.00
13	5	Kevin Harvick	200		Running	12.57
14	16	Mike Bliss	200		Running	10.89
15	30	Bobby Hamilton Jr	200		Running	14.87
16	39	Brian Keselowski	200		Running	16.00
17	3	Kyle Busch	200	108	Running	16.10
18	14	Scott Wimmer	199		Running	11.15
19	40	Michael Annett	198	1	Running	19.00
20	31	Brandon Whitt	198		Running	21.50
21	38	Danny O'Quinn Jr	196		Running	22.50
22	34	Morgan Shepherd	196		Running	24.00
23	18	Eric McClure	196		Running	25.40
24	41	Kevin Conway	194		Running	27.00
25	11	Greg Biffle	191		Running	9.60
26	42	Mike Harmon	175		Black Flagged Too Slow	36.56
27	33	Scott Lagasse Jr	158		Accident	33.33
28	37	Tony Raines	151		Running	17.38
29	20	Steve Wallace	145		Accident	23.00
30	2	David Ragan	145		Accident	25.00
31	25	Peyton Sellers	128		Running	31.00
32	6	Ryan Newman	126		Accident	18.00
33	28	Kenny Wallace	97	2	Engine	14.85
34	22	Marc Davis	83		Accident	34.00
35	35	Kevin Lepage	65		Accident	24.86
36	43	Kertus Davis	43		Overheating	33.20
37	36	Ken Butler III	26		Accident	37.00
38	27	John Wes Townley	26		Accident	34.00
39	19	Mark Green	14		Quit	26.00
40	26	Johnny Chapman	13		Quit	38.00
41	15	Terry Cook	11		Quit	41.00
42	24	Dennis Setzer	8		Quit	26.89
43	32	Casey Atwood	8		Quit	22.00
44		Jeffrey Earnhardt	0		Did Not Qualify

IRL: Milwaukee Lineup

The lineup is set for Sunday's ABC Supply Co. 225 and Ryan Briscoe is picking up where he left off last year—at the front of the pack. This track has not always been kind to him with a 22nd in 2005 and an 18th in 2006, but after taking 2007 off, he won last year.

Graham Rahal will start to his outside, which is the same position he started last year. Unfortunately, he ran into trouble in that race and finished 25th.

The driver with the best five-year average finish will start in third. Tony Kanaan has won twice and finished fourth or better at Milwaukee since 2004, so he has to be considered a favorite for your fantasy roster.

Lineup

Start	Driver	Avg. Fin	Avg. Start	Attempts
1	Ryan Briscoe	9.50	14.00	2
2	Graham Rahal	25.00	2.00	1
3	Tony Kanaan	2.60	4.80	5
4	Scott Dixon	7.25	8.00	4
5	Mario Moraes	23.00	23.00	1
6	Hideki Mutoh	12.00	14.00	1
7	Danica Patrick	10.00	12.50	4
8	Dario Franchitti	2.75	9.25	4
9	Raphael Matos
10	Tomas Scheckter	11.00	8.00	4
11	Mike Conway
12	Robert Doornbos
13	Marco Andretti	13.67	6.00	3
14	Dan Wheldon	7.60	9.40	5
15	Justin Wilson	7.00	22.00	1
16	Paul Tracy
17	E J Viso	8.00	10.00	1
18	Ryan Hunter-Reay	15.00	12.00	1
19	Ed Carpenter	13.20	12.40	5
20	Helio Castroneves	12.60	2.80	5
DNQ	Stanton Barrett

Trucks: Scott records first win at Dover

Brian Scott and crew chief Jeff Hensley made a gutsy call to stay out on old tires and held off Dennis Setzer and the field to win his career first Camping World Truck Series race.

Our View: This race has been full of surprises—and it's been hard on Truck regulars. Ron Hornaday and Todd Bodine had big problems early, which made this anyone's race.

IRL: Briscoe on Milwaukee pole

Ryan Briscoe will lead the field to green at the Milwaukee Mile after posting a four-lap average speed of 168.394.

Our View: In three previous starts, Briscoe has an average finish of only 13.7, but fantasy owners should be more concerned with the fact that he's the defending winner of this race.

Complete Lineup

N'Wide: Keselowski wins after Logano (nearly) spins Busch

Brad Keselowski inherited the lead of the Heluva Good! 200 at Dover after first-place Kyle Busch got nudge by second-place Joey Logano.

Our View: Busch had a flat, but it is unclear if that came before or after the contact. One thing is certain; the teenager showed he was hungry for the win. In typical fashion, Busch stormed off without comment, so we are left to speculate.

Indy Lights: Romancini on Milwaukee pole

Mario Romancini won the pole for the Husar's House of Fine Diamonds 100, according to a tweet from @IndyCarPR. He broke Pablo Donoso's qualifying record set last year.

Our View: The advancement from Indy Lights to IRL (and the crossover) is a little slower than Nationwide to Cup, but this is still the most likely road to the major leagues.

N'Wide: Four drivers do double duty

Four drivers in the Nationwide Heluva Good! 200 will also run in the AAA Insurance 200. They are Mike Bliss, Kyle Busch, Terry Cook and Scott Wimmer.

Our View: Practice makes perfect—and Busch will actually run the triple header with Sunday's Cup Autism Speaks 400.

Kasey Kahne on Dover

Here are some excerpts from an interview after Saturday's practice sessions for the Autism Speaks 400.

YOU WERE SECOND IN PRACTICE TODAY, HOW WAS YOUR CAR? “So far, so good. Our Budweiser Dodge feels really strong again today. Kenny (Francis, crew-chief) really seems happy with the car, so we just tried to fine-tune our package a bit to stay with the race track. It’s a long race tomorrow and our (race) package has to be right when we get the green flag to go racing. We’re fairly close, but we’re really fast too.”

HAVE YOU BEEN ABLE TO RUN IN TRAFFIC ENOUGH TO GET A FEEL FOR HOW THE R6 ENGINE PERFORMS WITH OTHER CARS AROUND YOU? “Not really. I was pretty much by myself all practice. It’s kind of how practice is at Dover. Everybody is heading into the pits to make changes and you don’t really have the traffic you look for in practice.”

DOVER HASN’T BEEN TOO FRIENDLY TO YOU IN RECENT YEARS. HOW NICE IS IT TO START UP FRONT TOMORROW? “No kidding. I’ve been in a lot of little deals (wrecks) that were never really our fault. When you hit oil or get involved in wrecks just driving down the straighaways and get collected, it’s tough to swallow sometimes. Dover’s been a rough place for us recently, but I think we have as good a race car as we’ve brought here in recent years. I’m excited for tomorrow.”

HOW PHYSICALLY DEMANDING OF A RACE WILL TOMORROW BE? “It certainly gets your attention. You can run pretty hard here and the track is pretty rough. The concrete is pretty rough and you get bouncing around like you’re on really, really hard tires. It’s a little bit physical compared to some of the other tracks, but nothing too out of control.”

THIRTY-SEVEN RACES HAVE BEEN WON INSIDE THE TOP-THREE STARTING SPOTS. YOU START IN SECOND POSITION, HOW MUCH CONFIDENCE DOES THAT GIVE YOU HEADING INTO TOMORROW? “Qualifying is a big part of your race day success at Dover. We’ve got a great starting position and a great pit stall, so that’s a nice advantage. Just as important is the fact that our race car was strong in race trim all day today. We unloaded fast and have been fast all weekend.”

IRL: Barrett going home

According to a tweet from @IndyCarPR, Stanton Barrett has loaded up and is going home from Milwaukee after crashing in practice.

Our View: That certainly won't help his campaign to win rookie honors, but the team says they will be ready for the next race at Texas Motor Speedway

Hamlin post single fast lap in Dover Happy Hour

Denny Hamlin posted the single fastest lap in Dover's Happy Hour with a speed of 151.286 mph.

Our View: His average speed of 146.188 mph during 71 laps was among the worst, however. Given his recent struggles at Dover, we recommend parking him until next week's Pocono race.

Kahne wins Dover Happy Hour

Kasey Kahne posted the quickest average speed in Dover Happy Hour at 147.875 mph during 27 laps.

Our View: Kahne had one of the strongest cars last week at Lowe's, and he has something to prove this week. Start him with confidence.

N'Wide: Competition caution coming

According to a tweet from @BobPockrass, NASCAR will throw a competition caution at lap 35 to allow drivers to assess their tire wear.

Our View: Safety should come first, but this also allows veteran teams to make a final adjustment before the race truly gets underway.

Ky Busch fastest in Dover practice 2

Kyle Busch posted the fastest single lap in the Saturday morning practice session with a speed of 153.512 mph.

Our View: His average speed of 148.829 mph was only eighth best, but that is still a great combination of top end speed and durability.

Reutimann wins Dover practice 2

David Reutimann continues to hold the hot hand in NASCAR. He posted the quickest average speed of 149.618 during 27 laps.

Our View: His fastest single lap wasn't bad either. With a speed of 152.983 mph, he was third best behind Kyle Busch and Kasey Kahne.

USAC racer dies in crash

Chad McDaniel died Friday night due to injuries sustained in a crash at Knoxville Raceway in Iowa, according to ThatsRacin.com.

Our View: Dirt and short track racing is where the major league stars cut their teeth, but most importantly, they do this because they love it. Fans of auto racing send their sympathies and appreciate the passion of drivers like McDaniel.

N'Wide: Logano wins Dover pole

On the one-year anniversary of his first Nationwide start, Joey Logano won the pole for the Heluva Good 200 at Dover with a speed of 155.959 mph.

Our View: Nine of the top-10 qualifiers are Cup regulars. Only Brendan Gaughan in ninth does not have a fulltime ride.

Complete Lineup

Yahoo! Qualification Story

Starting up front is important on a rhythm track. Check out this five-page summary (.pdf) of who's hot at Dover after qualification for the Autism Speaks 400.

N'Wide: Dover's last five races

If you're wondering why Roush-Fenway Racing has been so strong on Sundays lately, it's because they've been warming up on Saturday. Matt Kenseth didn't run either race last year, but his position atop the last five races average grid is significant nonetheless because it highlights the strength of the organization. Look a little further down the list and you will find Carl Edwards, who despite a 26th in fall 2006, still has a better than 10th-place average finish on the strength of one victory, a runner-up finish and four consecutive results of sixth or better. Cross reference that with his five consecutive top-fives in Cup, and you have found your favorite this week.

Clint Bowyer also swept the top-10 in Nationwide competition last year, and will be one of the strongest Cup "Claim Jumpers" in the field.

Mike Bliss was in the right place at the right time last week to win the rain-shortened Carquest Auto Parts 300, but he's been hovering around the head of the pack on a weekly basis. And he's likely to do so again with a second last fall and three top-10s in his last four starts at Dover. If he does not take top honors among the Nationwide regulars, chances are good that Brad Keselowski will. He's finished seventh or better in his last three starts on the concrete high banks in Delaware.

Results, last five years

Driver	Avg Finish	2008.2	2008.1	2007.2	2007.1	2006.2
Matt Kenseth	3.33			3	5	2
Casey Mears	4.00				4
Clint Bowyer	6.67	10	9			1
David Stremme	7.00	11	3
Carl Edwards	8.00	5	2	6	1	26
Mike Bliss	8.25	2	18	4	9
Denny Hamlin	10.00	6	1	1	2	40
Joey Logano	10.00	14	6
Greg Biffle	10.00		5	9	18	8
Michael Waltrip	10.00					10
Brad Keselowski	10.25	3	7	7	24
Kasey Kahne	11.00		10		12
Bobby Labonte	11.00			11
David Reutimann	11.50	17	4	10	15
Scott Wimmer	11.80	4	12	29	3	11
Kyle Busch	12.00	1	28			7
Scott Riggs	12.00					12
Reed Sorenson	12.67			5	27	6
Bobby Hamilton Jr	12.75	15	14	12	10
Todd Kluever	13.00					13
Kevin Harvick	13.75	28	17		7	3
Jason Keller	14.00	19	16	8	13
Juan Montoya	14.00				14
Dario Franchitti	15.00		15
Ken Schrader	15.00					15
Sterling Marlin	15.00			15
Jason Leffler	16.00	7	27	30	11	5
Josh Wise	16.00	13	19
Martin Truex Jr	16.00			2		30
Martin Truex Jr	16.00			2		30
Chase Miller	16.00			16
Ward Burton	17.00				17
J J Yeley	17.00				25	9
Mike Wallace	17.60	12	8	13	33	22
Jamie McMurray	18.00	8		40	20	4
Marcos Ambrose	18.00	16	30	20	6
Dave Blaney	18.33			23	16	16
Steve Wallace	18.80	18	11	22	22	21
Jeff Burton	19.00				19
John Andretti	19.00					19
Patrick Carpentier	20.00	20
Stacy Compton	20.00					20
Kevin Hamlin	21.00	21
Kenny Wallace	21.00	29	20			14
A J Allmendinger	21.00			21
Tony Raines	21.50			35	8
Casey Atwood	21.50			14		29
Regan Smith	21.50				26	17
Kelly Bires	22.00	34	13	19
Landon Cassill	22.67	25	25	18
Brandon Whitt	23.00	23
Sam Hornish Jr	23.00		23
D J Kennington	23.00				23
David Ragan	24.00	9	29	32	32	18
Tim McCreadie	24.00			24
Stanton Barrett	24.25	27	21	17		32
Ashton Lewis	25.00					25
Eric McClure	26.00	24	26	26	28
Auggie Vidovich	27.00					27
Kyle Krisiloff	27.50			34	21
Richard Johns	28.00			28
Tim Sauter	28.00					28
David Gilliland	29.00				29
Derrike Cope	29.67	32	24			33
Morgan Shepherd	30.00	22	22	38	38
John Wes Townley	30.00	30
Kevin Conway	30.00				30
Danny Efland	31.00	26		36
Scott Lagasse Jr	31.00	31
Jay Sauter	31.00					31
Travis Kvapil	31.00				31
Robby Gordon	31.00			31
Robert Richardson	31.50			27	36
Bryan Clauson	32.00	33	31
Johnny Sauter	32.00	40				24
Stephen Leicht	32.67			41	34	23
Brett Rowe	33.00		33
Carl Long	33.00			33
Donnie Neuenberger	35.00	43	34	25	39	34
Shane Hall	35.00					35
Larry Gunselman	36.00	36
Shane Huffman	36.50				37	36
Brad Coleman	37.00		32	42
Paul Menard	37.00					37
Marc Mitchell	37.00			37
Kertus Davis	38.00	37	36			41
Kevin Lepage	38.00	39	35		40
J C Stout	38.00		38
Jon Wood	38.00					38
Johnny Chapman	38.50	38	39
Burney Lamar	38.67	35	42			39
Brent Sherman	39.00			43	35
Brad Teague	39.50		37		42
Kenny Hendrick	40.50	41	40
Terry Cook	41.00		41
Mike Harmon	41.00		43	39
Jerick Johnson	41.00				41
Justin Hobgood	42.00	42
Sean Caisse	42.00					42
Chris Wimmer	43.00					43
Randy MacDonald	43.00				43
Dominick Casola	44.00		44

Four go home from Dover

Four drivers failed to qualify at Dover for the Autism Speaks 400. They are Brad Keselowski, Max Papis, Derrike Cope and David Starr.

Our View: That's a bit of a shocker were Keselowski and Papis are concerned. This is the first race in 2009 that the No. 13 has failed to make.

Reutimann on Dover Cup pole

David Reutimann picked up where he left off last week—at the head of the field. The No. 00 won the pole with a speed of 156.794 mph.

Our View: No one can say that he backed into this result. Starting up front is crucial at Dover, so this gives him good odds to finish in the top 10.

Gordon crashes in quals

Jeff Gordon has crashed in qualification and will likely have to roll out a backup car.

Our View: Last year, Jimmie Johnson overcame a crash in practice, so it can be done. In fact, with the new pit road – it should be slightly easier.

Charlotte was final straw for Hendrick/Jr.

According Brian Whitesell, Charlotte's disappointing result was the final straw for Rick Hendrick in his decision to replace Tony Eury Jr. In a press conference this week, he said: “The race at Charlotte [was the final straw], we did not get the result there that we were looking for. The decision was made by Mr. Hendrick that it was time for a change and that’s the reason it happened this week."

Our View: His 40th-place finish was bad enough, but worse still, the No. 88 was never in contention.

N'Wide: McDowell admits "monster" is scary

Heading into the weekend's Nationwide race, Michael McDowell admits that Dover International Speedway can be a little intimidating, saying "“The ‘Monster Mile’ is a bit more scary than the monster statue out front, for sure. I was a little intimidated the first time I came here in the Cup car. We ran decent, but most importantly, I learned a lot about racing the track and being comfortable in the seat. Dover is most like a high speed rollercoaster ride.”

Our View: This will be McDowell's first Nationwide start and he hasn't been overly impressive in Cup with a best of 29th in two starts.

Trucks: Hornaday on Dover pole

Ron Hornaday Jr. bettered a field of 36 cars to win the pole for the AAA Insurance 200. His top speed was 155.541 mph.

Our View: Hornaday was already considered a favorite this week, but you may want to take a look at the outside of the front row. Colin Braun in a Roush-Fenway Ford F-150 starts there and this organization is strong in all divisions.

Starting Lineup (on Fox Sports)
Avg. Finish, last five races

Digger not to blame for Fox decline

According to Fox Sports chairman David Hill, "Digger" is not to blame for the declining ratings for NASCAR.

Our View: Perhaps it's a combination of things: Fox's broadcast style that that features "entertainment" over reporting the race, an overabundance of commercials and refusal to implement the same kind of side by coverage that IRL fans love—and yes, that stupid gopher is the face of their frivolousness.

N'Wide: Leffler to make 200th start

Jason Leffler is scheduled to make his 200th career Nationwide start this week at Dover, according to NASCAR.com.

Our View: In his first 199 starts, Leffler has 57 top-10s, 29 top-fives and two victories. With the way he's run in this series this year, he could start his third hundred run with a third victory.

Reutimann fastest in Dover's first practice

David Reutimann posted the fastest single lap in Friday's practice session, with a speed of 157.467 mph.

Our View: Drivers typically work on qualification trim in this session, so Reutimann is a good bet to start up front for Sunday's race.

IRL: Scheckter to run at Milwaukee

Tomas Scheckter will race for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing this week, according to IndyCar.com.

Our View: Scheckter has some strong runs there with third-place finishes in 2005 and 2006, but his last attempt was a little more what fantasy owners can expect this week. In his most recent outing in 2007, he finished 17th.

Last Five Races Average Finish

Mayfield also withdrawn

Jeremy Mayfield has withdrawn his entry for J.J. Yeley from the Dover race, according to ESPN.com.

Our View: Along with Todd Bodine's withdrawal, this makes the entry list 47 cars. That should make it a little easier for your favorite "go-or-go-home" driver make the show.