IRL: Wheldon paces Texas' first practice

Dan Wheldon posted the fastest practice time in Texas' first session, with a lap of 215.783 mph. Danica Patrick was second best at 214.884.

Our View: That is hauling the mail. By comparison, Dale Earnhardt Jr. won last spring's pole with a speed of 190.907 in the heavier NASCAR Sprint Cup cars. Patrick has been incredibly strong on oval tracks, so her chance of extending the top-five streak to five is real.

Complete Practice Times

IRL: Patrick unscathed by rumors

Danica Patrick is not allowing persistent rumors of her joining NASCAR to interfere with he focus on the track, according to the Associated Press.

Our View: Patrick is riding a four-race streak of top-fives—including a third in the Indy 500—which means she is in a great position to negotiate.

IRL: Scheckter in for eight more

Tomas Scheckter will compete with Dreyer & Reinbold Racing for eight more races, including this week at Texas Motor Speedway, according to IndyCar.com.

Our View: In two races this year, Scheckter has been consistent but not overly strong. He finished 12th in the Indy 500 and was 13th last week at Milwaukee. Fantasy owners can expect similar results at Texas.

Trucks: Texas lineup, with avg. start / finish

Making only his second start at Texas Motor Speedway and his first since 2005, Johnny Sauter won the pole for Friday night's WinStar World Casino 400k at a speed of 178.485 mph. He beat Ron Hornaday Jr. be a mere 0.09 seconds and that driver is looking to overcome an early-race crash last week at Dover International Speedway.

This race is a companion event with the Indy Racing League, and as such there are no Truckstopper Cup regulars. The accompanying bad news is only 33 trucks showed up—which is three less than a full field—and the slowest driver in the field is nearly six seconds slower than the pole sitter. Nick Tucker will almost certainly start and park his Silverado, but under green flag conditions, he would likely be lapped within six circuits.

Lineup

Start	Driver	Avg. Fin	Avg. Start	Attempts
1	Johnny Sauter	11.00	33.00	1
2	Ron Hornaday Jr	10.67	9.50	12
3	Matt Crafton	12.38	20.31	16
4	Brian Ickler
5	Dennis Setzer	10.86	11.57	21
6	Rick Crawford	11.64	10.59	22
7	Chad McCumbee	12.80	13.80	5
8	Ricky Carmichael
9	Todd Bodine	8.11	13.22	9
10	Timothy Peters	26.00	24.50	2
11	Mike Skinner	5.50	3.70	10
12	Aric Almirola	25.75	14.25	4
13	David Starr	13.33	13.33	21
14	Colin Braun	13.50	14.50	2
15	Johnny Benson Jr	12.78	8.33	9
16	T J Bell	26.00	20.00	5
17	Brian Scott	14.33	24.00	3
18	Jason White	26.40	31.40	5
19	Stacy Compton	13.67	16.50	6
20	James Buescher
21	Mario Gosselin
22	Terry Cook	15.36	14.55	22
23	J J Yeley
24	Tayler Malsam
25	Ryan Matthews	27.00	23.50	2
26	Marc Mitchell	12.00	23.00	1
27	Butch Miller	23.60	26.80	5
28	Ryan Hackett
29	John Jackson
30	Norm Benning	28.00	32.00	1
31	Brandon Knupp	34.00	35.00	1
32	Wayne Edwards	31.00	31.00	5
33	Nick Tucker	33.00	34.00	1

Week 23 Unified Power Rankings

With Formula 1 taking last week off, the two strongest drivers in auto sports remain at the top of our grid. Jenson Button and teammate Rubens Barrichello continue to be nearly unassailable with their strong showings on the international stage.

NASCAR driver Tony Stewart keeps hovering around the front of the field and last week's second-place finish in the Autism Speaks 400 kept him solidly in third on this grid. If Button and Barrichello stumble in this week's Turkish Grand Prix, "Smoke" could take the lead in the Unified Power Rankings just as he's done in the NASCAR point system. He hasn't been perfect, but then again with seven top-five finishes in his last nine attempts in Cup and Nationwide competition combined, he's about as close as you're going to get.

Dario Franchitti was last week's top Indy Racing League driver on our grid and he actually improved two positions from 11th overall to ninth on the strength of his third-place finish in the ABC Supply Co. / A.J. Foyt 225 at the Milwaukee Mile—and yet, he's no longer the king of his crowd.

The IRL honor goes to Helio Castroneves, who settles into fourth on the overall grid despite an 11th in that same race. He didn't actually leap frog Franchitti, however; Castroneves was not included in last week's grid because he had not yet run four races in 2009. His victory in the Indy 500 and a second in the Road Runner Turbo Indy 300 at Kansas Speedway was enough to place Castroneves fourth on the overall grid.

Mark Martin was the biggest mover in the top 10—or at least, he's in the top 10 now, after jumping eight spots from 18th with a 10th-place finish at Dover International Speedway. The biggest loser was Camping World Truck Series Ron Hornaday Jr., who dropped 19 positions from 10th to 29th after crashing early last week. He has a chance to snap back this week, however, since he starts from the outside pole for Friday night's companion race at Texas Motor Speedway with the IRL.

Hornaday's hardship can't compare to Tony Kanaan. His early-race crash at Milwaukee caused him to drop 21 positions from 14th to 35th.

Unified Power Rankings

Rank	Driver	Points	Last week	+/-
1	Jenson Button	110.67	1	0
2	Rubens Barrichello	99.83	2	0
3	Tony Stewart	96.00	3	0
4	Helio Castroneves	92.25	NR
5	Kurt Busch	91.91	5	0
6	Jimmie Johnson	90.45	7	1
7	Ryan Briscoe	87.80	12	5
8	Jason Leffler	87.56	4	-4
9	Dario Franchitti	86.80	11	2
10	Mark Martin	85.00	18	8
11	Ryan Newman	84.60	6	-5
12	Denny Hamlin	84.27	9	-3
13	Danica Patrick	82.60	15	2
14	Brad Keselowski	82.14	21	7
15	Mark Webber	82.00	13	-2
16	Scott Dixon	81.20	28	12
17	Jeff Gordon	81.09	8	-9
18	Kyle Busch	79.63	19	1
19	Timo Glock	79.50	20	1
20	Matt Kenseth	79.44	27	7
21	Carl Edwards	78.30	22	1
22	Jeff Burton	78.00	17	-5
23	Dan Wheldon	77.20	16	-7
24	Joey Logano	76.55	25	1
25	Fernando Alonso	76.17	24	-1
26	Kasey Kahne	75.27	26	0
27	Matt Crafton	74.60	29	2
28	Greg Biffle	73.29	23	-5
29	Ron Hornaday Jr	72.60	10	-19
30	Jason Keller	72.11	36	6
31	Juan Montoya	71.73	30	-1
32	Dale Earnhardt Jr	70.21	31	-1
33	Nico Rosberg	70.00	32	-1
34	Brian Vickers	68.20	33	-1
35	Tony Kanaan	68.20	14	-21
36	Sebastian Vettel	67.50	39	3
37	Kevin Harvick	67.28	41	4
38	Steve Wallace	67.11	40	2
39	Justin Allgaier	67.00	42	3
40	Clint Bowyer	66.50	43	3
41	Graham Rahal	66.40	59	18
42	Martin Truex Jr	65.82	45	3
43	David Reutimann	65.62	38	-5
44	Marco Andretti	64.80	52	8
45	Jamie McMurray	64.73	44	-1
46	Lewis Hamilton	63.67	47	1
47	Johnny Benson Jr	63.60	35	-12
48	David Ragan	63.17	55	7
49	Brian Scott	63.00	57	8
50	Paul Menard	62.63	54	4

Previous Unified Power Rankings:

Week 22
Week 21
Week 20

It's official: double-file restarts

"We've heard the fans loud and clear: 'double-file restarts -- shootout style' are coming to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series," said NASCAR chairman and CEO Brian France. "This addition to the race format is good for competition and good for the fans."

Our View: If the driver of a lead lap car chooses to pit a second time, however, he will have to start behind the lap down cars. This should make the race for the lead more competitive. The change goes into effect at Pocono Raceway in the Pocono 500.

IRL: Patrick has best top-five streak

Danica Patrick heads to Texas Motor Speedway as the only IndyCar Series driver riding a streak of four consecutive top-five finishes, according to AutoRacingDaily.com.

Our View: At the start of the season, who would have thought that Patrick would be one of the best values in the Indy fantasy games. There is no reason to believe she is going to slow down anytime soon.

Pocono "go-or-go-homers"

This week's entry list features 46 cars. In the event that qualification is canceled, the following drivers would make the show: Sterling Marlin, Scott Speed, David Gilliland, Joe Nemechek, Patrick Carpentier, Dave Blaney, Mike Wallace and Regan Smith.

Our View: That means Trevor Boys, Dexter Bean and Derrike Cope would be going home—and those are also the drivers most likely to be the slowest on speed as well.

Double file restarts at Pocono?

Double file restarts at the Cup level could be coming as soon as this weekend at Pocono, according to FoxSports.com.

Our View: This is going to significantly alter lead changes at the front of the pack and it's going to benefit drivers with an aggressive streak—such as Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick—when they are near the front.

Dodge withholds support

The bankruptcy proceedings of Dodge/Chrsyler have put factory support on hold for the moment, according to NASCAR.com.

Our View: In this economy, with sponsorship at a premium, this support was extremely important. This impacts Richard Petty Motorsports' four teams and Penske's three teams. The effect won't be immediate, but without some additional support, money will eventually be tight.

Prelude to the Dream postponed

It looks like Jeff Gordon isn't the only driver who'll miss the Prelude to the Dream tonight. It has been postponed until September 9th due to persistent rain.

Flat tracks, three-year avg. fin

With its three dissimilar corners, Pocono Raceway is one of the most unique tracks on the circuit, but that doesn't mean that it is without comparatives.

Flat tracks require a distinctive set of skills. Drivers have to show patience entering the corners and be prepared to drive like a maniac from the center outward. To help make this week's decision on who to start at Pocono, fantasy owners will find a ton of inspiration from NASCAR's four other flat tracks of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Phoenix International Raceway and Martinsville Speedway.

The proof of how well these tracks compare to one another can be found in a driver's consistency. Last year, one racer swept the top 10 in the nine races held on those tracks and two others failed to finish that well only a single time. Jimmie Johnson was the perfect driver; in his nine attempts, he won four times—once each at Indy and Martinsville, plus a season sweep at Phoenix—and in those races, he averaged a result of 3.1. The No. 48 team carried that momentum forward and won this spring at Martinsville before finishing fourth at Phoenix.

Denny Hamlin was nearly perfect. He finished in the top 10 in all but one flat track race last year, and that exception came because of a miscalculation in the pits. On an alternate pit strategy, he got stranded 23rd in Pocono's fall race, or else he would most likely have been challenging the leaders when the checkers waved. Fantasy owners will be interested in knowing that Hamlin's three-year average finish on this track type is 6.3 compared to Johnson's 7.6 during that same span.

Carl Edwards is the final driver to nearly sweep the top 10. He finished 17th in the first New Hampshire race, but was perfect otherwise. Better still, after that single bobble, he swept the top five in the last five flat track events. This streak was highlighted by a victory in the fall Pocono race, which makes him a driver to watch closely this weekend. Unfortunately, he's been a little more uneven this season and finished 26th at Martinsville earlier in the spring.

Flat track average finish, last three years

Driver	Avg Finish	Attempts
Denny Hamlin	6.30	27
Jimmie Johnson	7.59	27
Jeff Gordon	9.30	27
Mark Martin	9.78	18
Tony Stewart	10.41	27
Jeff Burton	11.56	27
Kevin Harvick	12.15	27
Carl Edwards	13.22	27
Matt Kenseth	14.67	27
Dale Earnhardt Jr	15.74	27
Martin Truex Jr	16.52	27
Clint Bowyer	16.93	27
Greg Biffle	17.00	27
Kurt Busch	17.15	27
Kyle Busch	17.67	27
Ryan Newman	18.04	27
Kasey Kahne	20.15	27
Juan Montoya	20.80	20
Bobby Labonte	21.22	27
Casey Mears	21.26	27
Jamie McMurray	22.33	27
David Ragan	22.33	21
Marcos Ambrose	22.60	5
Reed Sorenson	24.93	27
David Stremme	25.28	18
Brian Vickers	25.56	27
Elliott Sadler	27.48	27
David Reutimann	27.95	20
Paul Menard	28.24	21
Joey Logano	28.33	3
Regan Smith	28.46	13
Sterling Marlin	28.64	14
Dave Blaney	28.96	27
David Gilliland	29.48	23
Patrick Carpentier	29.57	7
Robby Gordon	30.65	27
Sam Hornish Jr	31.07	14
A J Allmendinger	31.83	18
Joe Nemechek	32.85	26
Michael Waltrip	33.58	26
Scott Speed	35.75	4
John Andretti	42.22	9
Derrike Cope	47.00	7

Hylton to make his 700th start

In this week's ARCA race at Pocono, James Hylton will make his 700th major league stock car start, according to the Associated Press.

Our View: That is dedication. At 74 years of age, this racer still wants to compete—and if he leaves his left turn blinker on, well there's always another one coming up at Pocono.

Gordon withdraws from Prelude

Jeff Gordon has withdrawn from the Prelude to the Dream because of back pain, according to ThatsRacin.com. Marcos Ambrose will drive his car.

Our View: This is described a precautionary measure so that he does not further injure his back; he should still be fine for the Pocono 500.

Logano, Said to race CW West Infineon

Joey Logano and Boris Said are on the entry list for the Camping World West Bennett Lane Winery 200 at Infineon Raceway on Saturday, June 20, according to a NASCAR Press Release.

Our View: Said is trying to keep his exposure high among NASCAR owners. Logano needs all the seat time he can get on the road courses. Unfortunately, Said may not have a ride for the Infineon Cup race, and Logano has yet to prove himself in these cars so neither carries a recommendation.

Mayfield case moved to federal court

Jeremy Mayfield's appeal of his drug suspension case will be moved to federal curt, according to NASCAR.com.

Our View: Sympathies lie with Mayfield, so long as he is innocent as he claims. But if not, NASCAR needs to have the ability to police their sport in a responsible way.

Joey Logano, Boris Said among early entries for Infineon.

Big Field Expected For NASCAR Camping World Series West Event At Sonoma

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (June 3, 2009) – NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Raybestos Rookie of the Year candidate Joey Logano and noted road-racing veteran Boris Said are among the early entries for the Bennett Lane Winery 200 Presented by Supercuts at Infineon Raceway on Saturday, June 20.

The annual NASCAR Camping World Series West race is a companion event as part of the big NASCAR weekend with the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at the road course in Sonoma, Calif.
Logano will be pulling double-duty for Joe Gibbs Racing, competing in both events. The Middleton, Conn., driver became the youngest winner in the NASCAR Camping World Series West with a victory in his series debut in the second race of the 2007 season at the age of 16 years and 10 months. Logano competed in the NASCAR Camping World Series West event at Infineon Raceway two years ago, but was sidelined by engine trouble.

Said will be driving a special silver and black DenBeste Motorsports entry honoring the career of Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler. Said of Carlsbad, Calif., raced in the NASCAR Camping World Series West event at Sonoma in 2006 and again in 2007, when he finished third. He has a win at Infineon Raceway in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series in 1998 and four top-10 finishes in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Last year’s NASCAR Camping World Series West race at Sonoma, which attracted a record field of 41 cars, featured a thrilling three-way battle for the win in the closing laps. Jason Bowles held on for the win, with Eric Holmes and Jim Inglebright close behind.

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.