RACE PREVIEW

AAA 500

TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

NOVEMBER 6th, 2PM EST NBC TV

1.5 Miles, 24 Degrees of Banking

Seven races into the Chase and there are a lot of simmering tensions in the garage. Each race seems to bring more to the surface. There are just three races left for these drivers to settle this. Jimmie Johnson is locked into the final Championship race with his win at Martinsville. This track is another that may as well hang a sign that says “House of Roush”. In the 31 Cup races that have been run here, nine of them have been won by the Roush Fenway team of drivers; the first in the inaugural race in 1997 (Jeff Burton) and the last in April of 2012 (Greg Biffle).  Hendrick Motorsports is challenging Roush, they have eight wins since 1997. But in the last ten years Roush has four wins and Hendrick has seven. Also in the last ten years we have seen Joe Gibbs Racing get five wins. Those are the three dominate teams. Team Penske has been winning just about everywhere this year so they can’t be skipped. Who will dominate?  We’ll see on Sunday.

Tuesday look for our Top 10 drivers on Intermediate tracks in advance of the AAA 500 from Texas Motor Speedway.

TOP FIVE DRIVERS

Tum’s Fast Relief 500 from MARTINSVILLE

My #5 driver is a Virginia native, #11 Denny Hamlin. Denny has 21 starts, five wins and 11 Top 5’s. His last win was in the spring of last year. He was 3^rd in this race last year. He is #7 hottest over the last six weeks. He just barely made the cut in the field of eight and knows he needs to get after at tracks like this so he doesn’t get eliminated from the field of four.

 

My #4 driver has never been strong here, #20 Matt Kenseth. Matt has 33 starts, no wins, and just five Top 5’s. But Matt has just gotten better here in his time with team Joe Gibbs Racing and he is #3 hottest over the last six weeks.

 

My #3 driver to watch is the defending champion of this race, #24 Jeff Gordon. Jeff won here last year in what was intended to be the last race here of his career. Filling in for Dale Earnhardt Jr., he is the winning-est driver in the field and has the #1 average finish. Seventeen of Jeff’s last 22 starts here were all Top 5’s. Jeff has 46 starts, nine wins and 29 Top 5’s. Jeff is also my #1 rated short track driver. Not a bad for a fill-in driver!

 

My #2 pick is coming off a big win at Talladega, #22 Joey Logano. Here at Martinsville Joey has 15 starts, no wins and four Top 5’s. He is my #3 ranked short track driver and is #4 hottest over the last six races.

 

My #1 pick is the most recent winner here, #18 Kyle Busch. Kyle has 21 starts, that win earlier in the year and nine Top 5’s. Kyle is #2 hottest over the last six weeks. He is also #4 for me in average finish.

 

Monday look for our preview of the AAA 500 from Texas.

TOP FIVE DRIVERS

Tum’s Fast Relief 500 from MARTINSVILLE

My #5 driver is a Virginia native, #11 Denny Hamlin. Denny has 21 starts, five wins and 11 Top 5’s. His last win was in the spring of last year. He was 3^rd in this race last year. He is #7 hottest over the last six weeks. He just barely made the cut in the field of eight and knows he needs to get after at tracks like this so he doesn’t get eliminated from the field of four.

 

My #4 driver has never been strong here, #20 Matt Kenseth. Matt has 33 starts, no wins, and just five Top 5’s. But Matt has just gotten better here in his time with team Joe Gibbs Racing and he is #3 hottest over the last six weeks.

 

My #3 driver to watch is the defending champion of this race, #24 Jeff Gordon. Jeff won here last year in what was intended to be the last race here of his career. Filling in for Dale Earnhardt Jr., he is the winning-est driver in the field and has the #1 average finish. Seventeen of Jeff’s last 22 starts here were all Top 5’s. Jeff has 46 starts, nine wins and 29 Top 5’s. Jeff is also my #1 rated short track driver. Not a bad for a fill-in driver!

 

My #2 pick is coming off a big win at Talladega, #22 Joey Logano. Here at Martinsville Joey has 15 starts, no wins and four Top 5’s. He is my #3 ranked short track driver and is #4 hottest over the last six races.

 

My #1 pick is the most recent winner here, #18 Kyle Busch. Kyle has 21 starts, that win earlier in the year and nine Top 5’s. Kyle is #2 hottest over the last six weeks. He is also #4 for me in average finish.

 

Monday look for our preview of the AAA 500 from Texas.

TOP 30 DRIVERS

TOP 30 POWER RANKINGS

TUMS FAST RELIEF 500-MARTINSVILLE

 

1. KYLE BUSCH #18
2. JOEY LOGANO #22
3. JEFF GORDON #88
4. MATT KENSETH #20
5. DENNY HAMLIN #11
6. KEVIN HARVICK #4
7. CARL EDWARDS #19
8. JIMMIE JOHNSON #48
9. BRAD KESELOWSKI #2
10. MARTIN TRUEX #78
11. KURT BUSCH #41
12. RYAN NEWMAN #31
13. TONY STEWART #14
14. AUSTIN DILLION #3
15. A. J. ALLMENDINGER #47
16. JAMIE MCMURRAY #1
17. PAUL MENARD #27
18. GREG BIFFLE #16
19. KASEY KAHNE #5
20. CLINT BOWYER #15
21. CHASE ELLIOTT #24
22. RYAN BLANEY #21
23. ARIC ALMIROLA #43
24. KYLE LARSON #42
25. DANICA PATRICK #10
26. TREVOR BAYNE #6
27. DAVID RAGAN #23
28. LANDON CASSILL #38
29. CASEY MEARS #13
30. BRIAN SCOTT #44

 

 

These are the Top 30 drivers for the Tums Fast Relief 500 at MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY, Friday we break down the Top 5 Drivers to watch.

TOP TEN TEAMS

TOP 10 TEAMS POST TALLADEGA

1. FURNITURE ROW RACING (LW #1)
2. TEAM PENSKE (LW #2)
3. JOE GIBBS RACING (LW #3)
4. STEWART HAAS RACING (LW #5)
5. HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS (LW #4)
6. RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING (LW #7)
7. CHIP GANASSI RACING (LW #6)
8. JTG RACING (LW #8)
9. WOOD BROTHERS RACING (LW #10)
10. ROUSH FENWAY RACING (LW #9)

 

Another win from #22 Joey Logano was not enough for Team Penske to retake the top spot from  Furniture Row Racing. Furniture Row Racing keep #1 for the fourth week in a row. Joe Gibbs Racing remain at #3. Hendrick Motorsports and Stewart Haas Racing swap places. Richard Childress Racing and Chip Ganassi Racing also swap places. JTG Racing hold steady in the #8 place. Wood Brothers Racing take the #9 spot and Roush Fenway stay in the Top 10 at #10.

 

These are the Top 10 Teams, Thursday look for our Top 30 drivers at Martinsville Speedway.

TOP DRIVERS by TRACK TYPE

TOP 10: SHORT TRACK

1. JEFF GORDON #24
2. KEVIN HARVICK #4
3. JOEY LOGANO #22
4. JIMMIE JOHNSON #48
5. CARL EDWARDS #19
6. JAMIE McMURRAY #1
7. DENNY HAMLIN #11
8. BRAD KESELOWSKI #2
9. RYAN NEWMAN #31
10. KURT BUSCH #41

Top 10 drivers on Short tracks, Wednesday look for our Top 10 teams, Thursday look for our Top 30 rankings for Sunday’s GOODY’S FAST RELIEF 500 from Martinsville Speedway.

RACE PREVIEW

GOODY’S FAST RELIEF 500

Martinsville Speedway

October 30th, 1:00 PM ET, NBCSN TV

.526 Mile, 12 Degrees of Banking

We are six races through the ten race Chase for the Cup. Drivers #3 Austin Dilion, #78 Martin Truex Jr., #2 Brad Keselowski, and #24 Chase Elliott have been eliminated from the Chase. Eight drivers move forward into the round of eight and are looking for a win that will lock them in to the championship race in Homestead. This is the last of the season’s six short track races. We know that short tracks bring on short tempers and with just four 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. Chevy has won 70% of the races here in the last 10 years. In those 20 races over the last ten years Hendrick Motorsports accounts for 50% of those wins and their engine shop 65%. Jeff Gordon is the defending champion of this race, he won here last year in what was supposed to be his final race here. Kyle Busch won here earlier in the year in a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. Will Hendrick Motorsports and Chevy return to Victory Lane? Or will we see Toyota continue to chip away at team Hendrick’s dominance. We’ll find out on Sunday.

Tuesday look for our Top 10 short track drivers.

TOP FIVE DRIVERS

ALABAMA 500:TALLADEGA

My #5 driver to watch has never won here, #41 Kurt Busch.  Kurt has 31 starts and six Top 5’s. He is my #6 ranked plate track driver and he finished 8th here earlier in the year. 

My #4 pick is the winning-est current driver, #2 Brad Keselowski. Brad has a pack leading four wins in just 15 starts, along with six Top 5’s. He could be nowhere better than here where he is the most recent winner with a big win in May.  He also sits #5 hottest over the last six weeks.

My #3 driver to watch has shaky stats here, #78 Martin Truex Jr. In 23 starts Martin has only two Top 5’s, but he is the #1 hottest driver over the last six weeks. He has that Toyota power and he did finish 7^th here last year.

My #2 driver to watch is fired up about the last couple of laps at Kansas, #18 Kyle Busch. Kyle might have had something for the winner Kevin Harvick but racing with his teammate slowed him down. Nevertheless Kyle is #2 hottest over the last six weeks he finished #2 here in May. Kyle has 22 starts, one win and five Top 5’s.

The #1 driver to watch is coming off a big win in Kansas, #4 Kevin Harvick. Kevin has been freaky fast just about everywhere this year, he is the #2 points-getter so far this year. On plate tracks I have him ranked #1. He has 31 starts, one win and six Top 5’s.

Monday look for our preview of the Goodys Headache Relief Shot 500 from Martinsville Speedway.

TOP 30 DRIVERS

ALABAMA 500 from TALLADEGA

 

1. KEVIN HARVICK #4
2. KYLE BUSCH #18
3. MARTIN TRUEX #78
4. KURT BUSCH #41
5. BRAD KESELOWSKI #2
6. RYAN NEWMAN #31
7. JIMMIE JOHNSON #48
8. CLINT BOWYER #15
9. JOEY LOGANO #22
10. RICKY STENHOUSE #17
11. AUSTIN DILION #3
12. CHASE ELLIOTT #24
13. PAUL MENARD #27
14. DENNY HAMLIN #11
15. MATT KENSETH #20
16. A. J. ALLMENDINGER #47
17. JAMIE MCMURRAY #1
18. CARL EDWARDS #19
19. RYAN BLANEY #21
20. GREG BIFFLE #16
21. KASEY KAHNE #5
22. KYLE LARSON #42
23. ARIC ALMIROLA #43
24. DANICA PATRICK #10
25. TONY STEWART #14
26. CASEY MEARS #13
27. LANDON CASSILL #38
28. COLE WHITT #98
29. TREVOR BAYNE #6
30. ALEX BOWMAN #88

 

 

 

The Top 30 drivers for Talladega Superspeedway, Friday look for our breakdown of the Top 5 drivers to watch.

TOP TEN TEAMS

TOP 10 TEAMS POST KANSAS

1. FURNITURE ROW RACING (LW #1)
2. TEAM PENSKE (LW #2)
3. JOE GIBBS RACING (LW #3)
4. HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS (LW #4)
5. STEWART HAAS RACING (LW #5)
6. CHIP GANASSI RACING (LW #6)
7. RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING (LW #7)
8. JTG RACING (LW #8)
9. ROUSH FENWAY RACING (#10)
10. WOOD BROTHERS RACING (LW #9)

 

With another win from #4 Kevin Harvick that takes a driver who was on the ropes and locks him into the round of 8 we have no change in the Top eight teams! Dramatic win but very change in the team ranks this week. The only change is a swap of positions for Roush Fenway Racing and Wood Brothers Racing. Very impressive that the Wood Brothers have been in the Top 10 all season long after running part time last year. After a day of racing at Talladega I’m sure we’ll see a shake up next week.

 

These are the Top 10 Teams, Thursday look for our Top30 drivers at Talladega.