FantasyDope.com NASCAR Blog

Another aging veteran of the NASCAR circuit seems to be “fading” out of his longtime ride. At the beginning of the week it was announced that Kyle Petty thought it was best if he stepped out of the #45 Petty Enterprises Dodge to allow talented newcomer Chad McCumbee to run at Texas, a track he has had success on in the NTS. Well, this was all new to Kyle who stated that he never would step out of the car voluntarily and that the decision may have been made by Robbie Loomis or “The King” himself. Knowing that Kyle Petty has utilized his success and name to do miraculous things with children through the Victory Junction Gang, convinces me that it was NOT his decision and that Robbie Loomis needs to communicate with Kyle before making a statement.

Unfortunately Kyle did not make the race at Martinsville, which turned out to be a solid race for a couple of teams. RCR managed to get 3 drivers in the top 12(Burton-3rd, Bowyer-10th, Harvick-12th), Gibbs got 2 in(Hamlin-1st and Stewart-5th), and the big winner for the week from a team standpoint was Hendrick Racing. Hendrick placed 4 drivers in the top 7(Gordon-2nd, Johnson-4th, Junior-6th, and Mears-7th) to lead to one of the most dominating performances this year. Denny Hamlin finally was able to overcome the Toyota “fuel” issues to seal the deal and win his first 08’ race. Junior had the fastest lap of the race and led the most laps but was unable to get his first win in his #88 Hendrick Chevy.

With Denny Hamlin’s victory, he jumps 7 spots in the standings to 8th in the points while Kyle Busch’s issues slide him back to 5th  and move Jeff Burton into the top spot. Jeff Gordon and JJ move into the top 12(9th and 10th respectively) with their solid finishes. Ryan Newman has consistently moved backwards after his big win at Daytona and slides to 11th.

This week we move to the 1.5 quad oval of Texas Motor Speedway where Jeff Burton has been the only 2 time winner in 14 races. That will change this week when Matt Kenseth crosses the finish line. He has been one of the most dominating drivers at TMS and should break his streak of 2nd place finishes.

Here are my top 3 can’t miss picks for Texas:
1.    Matt Kenseth
2.    Tony Stewart
3.    Jimmie Johnson

Here are my 3 sleeper picks:
1.    Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2.    Kurt Busch
3.    Martin Truex Jr.

In the arena of “things that almost make your brain implode”, RCR is adding another car(#33) to their already solid team. So, who will it be? The word on the street is Scott Wimmer who is familiar with RCR due to his Nationwide series ride or possibly the  solid veteran driver, Bobby Labonte. I have heard Martin Truex Jr or Greg Biffle as a possibility.  However; in my opinion, the best fit would be Tony Stewart. He is out of his contract after this season, loves driving Chevy’s, and would round off what would be the most talented team in NASCAR. And, he has driven the #33 previously in the Busch series making for good karma. Maybe it would make for a kinder and gentler Tony Stewart……………….yeah right.

On March 16^th, 2008, the gods decided to intervene in our little universe by giving DW a timely case of laryngitis, prior to the start of this weeks race in Bristol. However, I was deeply touched by the generous gift that Darrell had received from the folks at Mountain Dew. Great car for one of the better drivers the sport has ever seen. 

Also, we have to bid a fond farewell to Dale Jarrett, who in my opinion, has to be one of the classiest drivers ever to sit behind the wheel of a stock car. He will be remembered for his One Sprint(Winston in 99’) Cup trophy, multiple Daytona 500 victories and a legion of loyal fans. I personally would love to hear more of DJ’s commentary during Cup events. 

This week provided one of the most bizarre finishes we have seen in some time…….even for Bristol. My pick for this week was Kyle Busch, who along with teammates Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin, looked formidable in certain parts of the race. The young Busch fought his way from 22^nd to 1^st and looked like he would be the man to beat, only to have a steering issue, which sent him into the wall. In the meantime, Tony Stewart was quietly dominating, leading more than 220 laps. Denny Hamlin was stalking him from the back of the pack, caught him, passed him, and it looked like it would be a 1-2 finish for the Gibbs Toyotas again. With 2 laps remaining, Kevin Harvick decided to introduce his right front fender to Tony’s driver side door, spinning Stewart to bring out the caution. On the restart, Hamlin had a fuel line issue and could not get up to speed, relinquishing the lead to Jeff Burton, who took the checkers. Harvick finished 2^nd and Clint Bowyer 3^rd. So, what should have been a monster day for Gibbs, turned out to be an unbelievable day for RCR.  That has to go down as one of the most unpredictable endings I have seen since Earnhardt Sr won the 2000 Winston 500, coming from 17^th place with 5 laps to go.

Since this weekend will be the first break of the season for the cup drivers due to the Easter Holiday, I will throw out my picks for Martinsville now, and then watch as my  NCAA tournament brackets go up in flames. Speaking of flames, I am going with the flames of the No. 24 Dupont Chevrolet as my No. 1 pick. Expect Gordon to get into the top 12 after a win at Martinsville.

Top 3 picks for Martinsville:

1. Jeff Gordon
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Tony Stewart

 3 sleepers:

      1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
      2. Kyle Busch
      3. Denny Hamlin

After blasting Tony Stewart last week, I have to give him the credit he deserves for not blasting Kevin Harvick after Harvick punted him with 2 laps to go. However, I know they are very good friends and wouldn’t expect that from Tony in his position.

1. Kyle Busch
2. Kurt Busch
3. Jeff Gordon

1. Matt Kenseth
2. Greg Biffle
3. Kasey Kahne