TOP 5 DRIVERS TO WATCH:MARTINSVILLE

Tum’s Fast Relief 500 from MARTINSVILLE

The #5 pick is my wildcard pick of the week, #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Dale is a very good driver on the short tracks; I have him ranked in the Top 10. Dale is 22th in the points but they have a shot to finish in the Top 20.

My #4 pick is a former winner here, #14 Tony Stewart. Tony is a two-time former winner at Martinsville. Tony has 21 starts here, 2 wins, and 8 top 5’s. More importantly, 5 of his last 8 starts here were top 5 finishes. Tony is just hanging in the chase by a thread, he NEEDS a Top 5 finish just to stay in the hunt.

My #3 driver won here in 2008, #11 Denny Hamlin. Denny has that one win and 5 total top 5’s in his 8 starts. In fact 6 of his 7 starts have been top 10 finishes. Denny is very happy to be at a short track as he is rated #2 for me on these tracks.

10 of the last 13 winners have been either #24 Jeff Gordon or #48 Jimmie Johnson, so my #2 driver to watch is #24 Jeff Gordon. Jeff is a 7-time former winner here, the winning-est current driver at this track. His last 9 starts here were all top 5’s; his last 13 were all top 10’s. Jeff has 33 starts 7 wins and 21 Top 5’s, it would seem like Jeff can’t miss at this track. But he needs to get past….

……My #1 driver, #48 Jimmie Johnson. Jimmie has 15 starts and 14 of those were top 10’s, 11 of those were top 5’s. His last 8 races were all top 5’s. 5 of his last 6 races ended in Victory Lane. Jimmie has 6 wins in just 15 starts! I think this is the race ties him up for most wins with Gordon. Monday look for our preview of the AMP Energy 500 from Talladega.

TOP 30 DRIVERS:MARTINSVILLE

TOP 30 POWER RANKINGS
TUMS FAST RELIEF 500-MARTINSVILLE

1. JIMMIE JOHNSON #48
2. JEFF GORDON #24
3. DENNY HAMLIN #11
4. TONY STEWART #14
5. MARK MARTIN #5
6. CLINT BOWYER #33
7. RYAN NEWMAN #39
8. JUAN PABLO MONTOYA #42
9. CARL EDWARDS #99
10. DALE EARNHARDT JR #88
11. MARCOS AMBROSE #47
12. MATT KENSETH #17
13. KEVIN HARVICK #29
14. KYLE BUSCH #18
15. JEFF BURTON #31
16. CASEY MEARS #07
17. KASEY KAHNE #9
18. GREG BIFFLE #16
19. KURT BUSCH #2
20. BRIAN VICKERS #83
21. JAMIE MCMURRAY #26
22. DAVID RAGAN #6
23. MARTIN TRUEX #1
24. JOEY LOGANO #20
25. DAVID REUTIMANN #00
26. A.J. ALLMENDINGER #44
27. PAUL MENARD #98
28. BOBBY LABONTE #96
29. DAVID STREMME #12
30. MICHAEL WALTRIP #55

*STILL MUST QUALIFY

ABOVE THE TOP 30 DRIVERS FOR MARTINSVILLE RACEWAY, FRIDAY LOOK FOR OUR TOP 5 DRIVERS TO WATCH.

TOP 10:SHORT TRACK

TOP 10: SHORT TRACK
1. JEFF GORDON #24
2. DENNY HAMLIN #11
3. JIMMIE JOHNSON #48
4. KYLE BUSCH #18
5. CLINT BOWYER #33
6. MARK MARTIN #5
7. TONY STEWART #14
8. DALE EARNHARDT JR. #88
9. MARCOS AMBROSE #47
10. RYAN NEWMAN #39
Top 10 on Short tracks, Thursday look for our Top 30 rankings for Sunday’s TUM FAST RELIEF 500 from Martinsville Speedway.

TOP 10 OWNER/TEAMS:MARTINSVILLE

TOP 10 TEAMS POST CHARLOTTE
1. HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS
2. STEWART HAAS RACING
3. EARNHARDT GANASSI RACING
4. JOE GIBBS RACING
5. ROUSH/FENWAY RACING

6. RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING
7. PENSKE MOTORSPORTS
8. RICHARD PETTY MOTORSPORTS
9. MICHAEL WALTRIP RACING
10. RED BULL RACING

The Top 2 spots stay the same this week. E/G jumps up 2 spots to #3.Roush/Fenway and JGR both lose a spot this week. RCR moves up 1 spot to #6. Scuderia Penske moves up to the #7 spot. RPM slips 2 spots to #8. MWR and Red Bull stay the same.

These are the Top 10 Owner/Teams, Wednesday look for our Top10 drivers on short tracks.

RACE PREVIEW:MARTINSVILLE

TUMS FAST RELIEF 500
Martinsville Speedway
October 25, 1:30 PM EDT, ABC TV
.526 Mile, 12 Degrees of Banking
We are halfway through the 10 race Chase for the Cup. #48 Jimmie Johnson, #5 Mark Martin, and #24 Jeff Gordon are showing themselves as the cars the beat. Jimmie Johnson has won 5 of the last 6 races here. Jimmie and his teammate Jeff Gordon have won 10 of the last 13 races here, so you know they feel good starting on Sunday. There are three 1.5 mile tracks to go, but before we get there we have to get through the last of the six short track races. We know that short tracks bring on short tempers and with just 5 races to go in the season, the drivers are doing what they must to gather enough points to claim a successful season. We probably won’t see a lot of patience on the track – bump and run could be the phrase of the day, or worse yet, dump and run. This year we have a new twist-the double file restart and that adds excitement and subtracts patience.

Tuesday look for our Top 10 Owner/Teams.

TOP 5 DRIVERS:CHARLOTTE

BANK of AMERICA 500:Charlotte Top 5 Drivers

The #5 pick my wildcard pick of the week, #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. is a very good driver on the high banked intermediate tracks. He finished here 5th in May of 2008. That was one of his 5 top 5 finishes. Also add a win in the 2000 All Star Challenge and Jr. has a good track record here. It looks like Dale Jr. is going to finish the season in a better way than he started it.

My #4 driver is a 3 time former winner here, #9 Kasey Kahne. Kasey has 3 wins in just 11 starts! Try to stick a fork in him if you want but I believe Kasey is still in the hunt – and he’s not done!  Even Kasey has anything left it is time to GO!

My #3 is another chase driver who is on the move, #24 Jeff Gordon. Jeff is a five-time former winner here and ranked #1 for me on these mile and a half tracks. He has had 15 top 5’s in his 33 races here. Jeff is also 3rd hottest over the last 6 weeks.

My #2 driver to watch is yet another former winner here, #14 Tony Stewart. Tony is fixed in on the Chase and at 4th in points he is very much in the hunt. Tony needs to outperform his averages here and I think he will. Tony has had only 6 Top 5’s in 21 starts, he should add to that Saturday night.

My #1 pick has the highest average finish here, #48 Jimmie Johnson. Jimmie is a former winner: a 5 time former winner! 5 wins in 16 starts plus 8 of those were top 5’s. Jimmie is the mile and a half ace and he will start on the pole.

TOP 30 POWER RANKING:CHARLOTTE

NASCAR BANKING 500:CHARLOTTE

1. JIMMIE JOHNSON #48

2. TONY STEWART #14

3. JEFF GORDON #24

4. KASEY KAHNE #9

5. JUAN PABLO MONTOYA #42

6. CARL EDWARDS #99

7. MARK MARTIN #5

8. JEFF BURTON #31

9. DENNY HAMLIN #11

10. BRIAN VICKERS #83

11. KYLE BUSCH #18

12. MATT KENSETH #17

13. JOEY LOGANO #20

14. DAVID REUTIMANN #00

15. BOBBY LABONTE #96

16. GREG BIFFLE #16

17. CLINT BOWYER #33

18. DALE EARNHARDT JR #88

19. KURT BUSCH #2

20. RYAN NEWMAN #39

21. DAVID STREMME #12

22. CASEY MEARS #07

23. SAM HORNISH #77

24. KEVIN HARVICK #29

25. JAMIE MCMURRAY #26

26. MARTIN TRUEX #1

27. MARCOS AMBROSE #47

28. DAVID RAGAN #6

29. REED SORENSON #43

30. DAVE BLANEY #66*

*STILL MUST QUALIFY

Here are our 30 strongest drivers in order for Saturday’s race. Tomorrow we’ll break down the Top 5.

TOP TEN INTERMEDIATE TRACKS:CHARLOTTE

TOP 10 INTERMEDIATE TRACKS:CHARLOTTE
1. JEFF GORDON #24
2. MATT KENSETH #17
3. JIMMIE JOHNSON #48
4. CARL EDWARDS #99
5. JEFF BURTON #31
6. TONY STEWART #14
7. MARK MARTIN #5
8. KYLE BUSCH #18
9. CLINT BOWYER #33
10. MARTIN TRUEX #1
Top 10 on Intermediate tracks, tomorrow look for our Top 30 rankings for Saturday’s NASCAR BANKING 500 from Charlotte.

TOP 10 OWNER/TEAMS:PRE CHARLOTTE

TOP 10 TEAMS POST CALIFORNIA
1. HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS
2. STEWART HAAS RACING
3. JOE GIBBS RACING
4. ROUSH/FENWAY RACING
5. EARNHARDT GANASSI RACING

6. RICHARD PETTY MOTORSPORTS
7. RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING
8. PENSKE MOTORSPORTS
9. MICHAEL WALTRIP RACING
10. RED BULL RACING

The Top 3 spots stay the same this week. Roush/Fenway and E/G swap their positions. RCR moves up 1 spot to #6. Scuderia Penske moves up to the #7 spot. RPM slips 2 spots to #8. MWR and Red Bull stay the same.

These are the Top 10 Owner/Teams, Wednesday look for our Top10 drivers on  intermediate tracks.

RACE PREVIEW:CHARLOTTE

NASCAR BANKING 500
LOWE’S MOTOR SPEEDWAY
October 17th, 7PM EDT ABC TV
1.5 miles 24 Degrees of banking
Only 6 races remain in the 10 race Chase for the Sprint Cup. 5 of the 12 drivers in the Chase have won Cup races here. #14 Tony Stewart once, #9 Kasey Kahne 3 times, #5 Mark Martin four times, #24 Jeff Gordon and #48 Jimmie Johnson won an incredible 5 times. In addition #39 Ryan Newman has won here in a non points All Star race. That makes six Chase drivers who will start this race knowing what it is like to visit Victory Lane. Drivers are more familiar with this track than any other they race on as they race a total of 1100 miles a year here:  two Sprint Cup races and the All-Star race. Jimmie Johnson will start the night 1st in points, with a 12 point advantage over the 2nd place driver Mark Martin. 3rd place Juan Montoya is 58 points back and in 4th we find Tony Stewart 84 points back from the leader, not an impossible place for Tony to reach. Will Jimmie still be #1 after 500 miles in Charlotte? We’ll know late Saturday night.