TOP TEN TEAMS

TOP 10 TEAMS POST MARTINSVILLE

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

 

 

Joe Gibbs Racing gets the win from Kyle Busch and stays at #1. With 33 races in the book and just three races remaining it is getting hard to make move moves on the chart. In fact absolutely no one changes place this week.  Will things change up in Texas? I think they will.

 

These are the Top 10 Teams, Thursday look for our Top30 drivers at Texas Motor Speedway.

TOP TEN DRIVERS by TRACK TYPE

TOP 10: INTERMEDIATE TRACKS

1. MARTIN TRUEX #78
2. KEVIN HARVICK #4
3. BRAD KESELOWSKI #2
4. MATT KENSETH #20
5. JIMMIE JOHNSON #48
6. DALE EARNHARDT JR #88
7. KYLE BUSCH #18
8. JOEY LOGANO #22
9. CHASE ELLIOTT #24
10. JAMIE MCMURRAY #1

Top 10 on Intermediate tracks, Wednesday look for our Top 10 teams and Thursday look for our Top 30 rankings for Sunday’s AAA 500 from Texas.

RACE PREVIEW

AAA 500

TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

NOVEMBER 5th, 2PM EST NBC-SN TV

1.5 Miles, 24 Degrees of Banking

Playoff Race #8

Seven races into the Playoffs 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. Kyle Busch is locked into the final Championship race with his win at Martinsville. This track is another that used to hang a sign that says “House of Roush”. In the 33 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).  But Hendrick Motorsports is tied with Roush in wins, they also have nine wins since 1997. But in the last ten years Roush has four wins and Hendrick has eight. Also in the last ten years we have seen Joe Gibbs Racing get five wins. Those are the three dominate teams. Though Furniture Row and Martin Truex Jr. have 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

First Data 500 from MARTINSVILLE

My #5 pick is my top rated short track driver, #22 Joey Logano. Here at Martinsville Joey has 15 starts, no wins and five Top 5’s. He is my #1 ranked short track driver but he is #11 hottest over the last six races. He finished 4^th here in April.

My #4 driver to watch is the defending champion of this race and the winning-est current driver here, #48 Jimmie Johnson. Jimmie won here last year notching his ninth win. Jimmie has 31 starts, nine wins and 19 Top 5’s- 61%. Jimmie is also my #3 rated short track driver. He is, though, #8 Hottest over the last six weeks and finished 15^th here in April.

My #3 driver is a Virginia native, #11 Denny Hamlin. Denny has 23 starts, five wins and 12 Top 5’s. His last win was in the spring of 2015. He was 3^rd in this race last year. He is #5 hottest over the last six weeks. He made the cut in the field of eight but he isn’t in the Top 4 so knows he needs to get after at, at tracks like this, so he doesn’t get eliminated from the field of four.

My #2 driver is the the most recent winner here, #2 Brad Keselowski. Brad has 15 starts, that win in April, and five Top 5’s. Brad has really, just gotten better here. All of his Top 5’s have come in his last eight starts. He is #3 hottest over the last six weeks.

My #1 pick is on a hot streak here, #18 Kyle Busch. Kyle has finished all of his last four races in the Top 5. Kyle has 23 starts, a win in early 2016 and 11 Top 5’s. Kyle is #4 hottest over the last six weeks. More importantly he is #2 in points. To stay in the Top 4 he is going to need to do well where he has been strong and it starts here.

 

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

 

TOP 30 DRIVERS

TOP 30 POWER RANKINGS

FIRST DATA 500-MARTINSVILLE

 

1. KYLE BUSCH #18
2. BRAD KESELOWSKI #2
3. DENNY HAMLIN #11
4. JIMMIE JOHNSON #48
5. JOEY LOGANO #22
6. MARTIN TRUEX #78
7. MATT KENSETH #20
8. RYAN NEWMAN #31
9. CHASE ELLIOTT #24
10. KEVIN HARVICK #4
11. KYLE LARSON #42
12. JAMIE MCMURRAY #1
13. ERIK JONES #77
14. AUSTIN DILLON #3
15. KASEY KAHNE #5
16. DALE EARNHARDT JR #88
17. A. J. ALLMENDINGER #47
18. RYAN BLANEY #21
19. PAUL MENARD #27
20. CLINT BOWYER #14
21. ARIC ALMIROLA #43
22. TREVOR BAYNE #6
23. KURT BUSCH #41
24. DAVID RAGAN #38
25. TY DILLION #13
26. CHRIS BUESCHER #37
27. DANICA PATRICK #10
28. DANIEL SUAREZ #19
29. MICHAEL MCDOWELL #95
30. RICKY STENHOUSE #17

 

 

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

TOP TEN TEAMS

TOP 10 TEAMS POST KANSAS

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

 

Another win from #78 Martin Truex Jr. #78 was not enough for Furniture Row Racing to retake the top spot from Joe Gibbs Racing. Joe Gibbs Racing keep #1 for the third week in a row. Furniture Row Racing with the win move up a place to #3. Hendrick Motorsports moved up a place to #4. Wood Brothers Racing move up one spot to #5. Chip Ganassi Racing drop three places to #6 after a tough week for both drivers. Stewart Haas Racing remain in place at #7. Roush Fenway Racing stay in position at #8. Richard Childress Racing stay at #9 again. Germain Racing drop off this week as Richard Petty Motorsports rejoins the Top 10.

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

TOP TEN TEAMS

TOP 10 TEAMS POST KANSAS

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

 

Another win from #78 Martin Truex Jr. #78 was not enough for Furniture Row Racing to retake the top spot from Joe Gibbs Racing. Joe Gibbs Racing keep #1 for the third week in a row. Furniture Row Racing with the win move up a place to #3. Hendrick Motorsports moved up a place to #4. Wood Brothers Racing move up one spot to #5. Chip Ganassi Racing drop three places to #6 after a tough week for both drivers. Stewart Haas Racing remain in place at #7. Roush Fenway Racing stay in position at #8. Richard Childress Racing stay at #9 again. Germain Racing drop off this week as Richard Petty Motorsports rejoins the Top 10.

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

TOP TEN DRIVERS by TRACK TYPE

TOP 10: SHORT TRACK

1. JOEY LOGANO #22
2. DENNY HAMLIN #11
3. JIMMIE JOHNSON #48
4. KEVIN HARVICK #4
5. JAMIE McMURRAY #1
6. RYAN NEWMAN #31
7. KYLE BUSCH #18
8. BRAD KESELOWSKI #2
9. CHASE ELLIOTT #24
10. MARTIN TRUEX JR. #78

Top 10 drivers on Short tracks, Wednesday look for our Top 10 teams, Thursday look for our Top 30 rankings for Sunday’s FIRST DATA 500 from Martinsville Speedway.

RACE PREVIEW

FIRST DATA 500

Martinsville Speedway

October 29th, 3:00 PM ET, NBCSN TV

.526 Mile, 12 Degrees of Banking

Playoff Race #7

We are six races through the ten race Playoff for the Monster Cup. Drivers #20 Matt Kenseth, #1 Jamie McMurray, #17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and #42 Kyle Larson have been eliminated from the Playoffs. 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 65% of the races here in the last 10 years. In those 20 races over the last ten years Hendrick Motorsports accounts for 45% of those wins and their engine shop 60%. Jimmie Johnson is the defending champion of this race, he won here last year notching his ninth victory. Brad Keselowski won here earlier in the year in a Team Penske Ford. Will Hendrick Motorsports and Chevy return to Victory Lane? Or will we see Ford or Toyota 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

HOLLYWOOD CASINO 400

My #5 driver has finished Top 5 in half of his starts here, #21 Ryan Blaney. Ryan finished 4^th here in May and had a 5^th place finish last year and he only has four starts. His worst finish was 14^th! Ryan is 7^th in points, nine points above the cut line. Ryan is looking for a big finish and I think he’ll get one.  

My #4 driver is the most recent winner on the circuit, #2 Brad Keselowski. Brad was virtually the last man standing at Talladega. Here he has 14 starts, one win and three Top 5’s. Brad is #3 rated on downforce tracks like Kansas, he #2 hottest over the last six weeks. Also keep in mind he finished 2^nd here in May.

My #3 driver is the most recent winner here in the sunflower state, #78 Martin Truex Jr. Martin has 18 starts that win and five Top 5’s. He is #3 rated on tracks like this and #2 hottest over the last six races.

My #2 driver to watch is the defending champion of this race, #4 Kevin Harvick. Kevin is the #10 hottest driver over the last six weeks, even with a few runs of bad fortune. Kevin has 23 starts, two wins, and seven Top 5’s. Six of those Top 5’s came in the last eight stops here – one reason he has the #1 average finish.

The #1 driver to watch is facing elimination, #18 Kyle Busch. Kyle has 19 starts one win and five Top 5’s. Those stats are not so good but those five Top 5’s came in the last five races. Five straight Top 5’s with a win-he’s just getting better here.  He is seven points behind #48 Jimmie Johnson, he needs to win or at least get a hauler load of points and hope Jimmie is off his game.

 

 

Monday look for our preview of the First Data 500 from Martinsville Speedway.