Fantasy Nascar

Dodge Challenger 500 Preview

            Well, It looks like Bobby Labonte has signed a contract extension with Petty Enterprises, which means he will not be going to Richard Childress Racing next year. This is probably going to be one of the better open rides next season so let me just throw this out there. This is in no way a rumor but just something that I think could possibly happen. Greg Biffle goes to RCR and Danica Patrick steps into the #16 for Roush/Fenway Racing. Let me know what you think.

            This week we head to the Lady in Black or the track that is Too Tough to Tame, Darlington Raceway. My pick to win this weekend is Jeff Gordon. Jeff has finished 3^rd, 2^nd, 2^nd, and 1^st in the last 4 races at Darlington and will repeat this year and catapult himself back into the top 12 in the point standings.

            Jimmie Johnson will be one of the top contenders this weekend also as he is coming in with a streak of 6 straight top 10 finishes at Darlington including a sweep of the races in 2004. Jimmie will be looking to bounce back from an early crash last weekend that relegated him to a 30^th place finish at Richmond.

            Greg Biffle will also be looking to get back to the form he was in earlier this year when he was consistently placing in the top 10 and coming close to the win. Greg won back-to-back races here in 2005 and 2006 before fading a bit last year when he finished 15^th.

            Denny Hamlin has only raced at Darlington twice in his short career and has finished 10^th and 2^nd in those starts. Denny wants to turn things around this week after a disappointing race last Saturday at Richmond where he lead virtually the whole race before having a tire go down on him with less than 20 laps remaining.

            Ryan Newman has never won at Darlington but is having a very good year so far and could steal a victory at any time. Ryan has 5 top 5 finishes in only 9 races at Darlington. I won’t be surprised to see him vying for the win next weekend.

            Tony Stewart has finished worse than 17^th only once in 15 starts at Darlington. However, his best finish is just 4^th. This is another guy who can win on any given weekend if everything goes right in the pits for him.

            Jeff Burton lost the points lead last weekend as I predicted he would but he could get it back this week at Darlington. Jeff is probably the most consistent driver at Darlington in the whole field. Jeff had 6 straight top 5 finishes from 1998 through 2000 including 2 wins while he was at Roush Racing. He has dropped off a little bit at Childress but is still usually in the top 10 at the end of the race.

            Mark Martin has been having a quiet year with his part-time schedule but when he races he shows up to win. This will not be a surprise if he gets the win this weekend. He has been so close lately and this is one of his favorite tracks. Mark has 5 top 10 finishes in his last 7 starts at Darlington and should do it again this weekend.

            Dale Earnhardt Jr. knows how to get around the Lady in Black too. His best finish is 4^th here but with a little help from his teammates he could improve on that this weekend. Dale wants a little redemption this week after what happened to him late in the race at Richmond when Kyle Busch got into him and sent him into the wall.

            Yahoo Picks for Darlington

            Group A

            Jeff Gordon (starter)

            Jimmie Johnson

            Group B

            Greg Biffle (starter)

            Mark Martin (starter)

            Ryan Newman

            Kasey Kahne

            Group C

            Scott Riggs (starter)

            Brian Vickers

            Top 5 Overall at Darlington

1.      Jeff Gordon

2.      Jimmie Johnson

3.      Denny Hamlin

4.      Mark Martin

5.      Greg Biffle

Dark Horse: Ryan Newman

Stay Away From: Casey Mears

As always you can Email me with any questions, comments or suggestions at gutsamaniac@hotmail.com. Good luck once again this week.