TOP 30 DRIVERS

FOLDS OF HONOR QUIK TRIP 500 from ATLANTA

1. KEVIN HARVICK #4
2. BRAD KESELOWSKI #2
3. KYLE BUSCH #18
4. MARTIN TRUEX #19
5. JOEY LOGANO #22
6. CHASE ELLIOTT #9
7. KURT BUSCH #1
8. JIMMIE JOHNSON #48
9. KYLE LARSON #42
10. ALEX BOWMAN #88
11. ERIK JONES #20
12. CLINT BOWYER #14
13. DENNY HAMLIN #11
14. ARIC ALMIROLA #10
15. RYAN BLANEY #12
16. RICKY STENHOUSE #47
17. WILLIAM BYRON #24
18. AUSTIN DILLON #3
19. CHRIS BUESCHER #17
20. DANIEL SUAREZ #96
21. TY DILLON #13
22. MATT DIBENNEDETTO #21
23. JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK #38
24. BUBBA WALLACE #43
25. COLE CUSTER #41
26. ROSS CHASTAIN #6
27. COREY LAJOIE #32
28. TYLER REDDICK #8
29. MICHAEL MCDOWELL #34
30. RYAN PREECE #37

Friday we break down the Top 5 driver’s to watch.

TOP TEN TEAMS

TOP TEN TEAMS

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

Team Penske got second win of the year from #22 Joey Logano. That winhelps keep Team Penske at #1 again this week. Hendrick Motorsports holds on to the #2 spot this week. Stewart Haas Racing almost gets a win from #4 Kevin Harvick and great Top 10 finish from rookie #41 Cole Custer. That goes a long way to keeping them at #3. Joe Gibbs Racing were #1 35 out of 36 weeks last year so it comes as kind of a surprise to still see them at #4 for the second week. Wood Brothers Racing surprise many by staying at #5. Chip Ganassi Racing stay outbof the Top 5 again this week at #6. Roush Fenway Racing stay in place this week at #7 with a pretty good finish from #6 fill in driver Ross Chastain driving. The last three positions are taken by three teams that many argue are essentially one team. While they have three separate owners the cars all come out of one shop. Richard Petty Motorsports stay at #8, Richard Childress Racing stay at #9. Lastly we find the other RCR family team at Top 10 at #10.

Thursday look for our Top 30 drivers for the Fold’s of Honor Quik Trip 500 and Friday we break down the Top 5 driver’s.

TOP TEN DRIVERS BY TRACK TYPE

TOP 10: INTERMEDIATE TRACKS

1. KEVIN HARVICK #4
2. MARTIN TRUEX #19
3. KYLE BUSCH #18
4. KURT BUSCH #1
5. ERIK JONES #20
6. CHASE ELLIOTT #9
7. JOEY LOGANO #22
8. KYLE LARSON #42
9. DENNY HAMLIN #11
10.  BRAD KESELOWSKI #2

Top 10 drivers on Intermediate tracks, Thursday look for our Top 30 drivers for Sunday’s Fold’s of Honor 500 from Atlanta Motor Speedway.

RACE PREVIEW

FOLDS OF HONOR 500

ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY

February 24th, 2:00PM ET on FOX TV

1.54 Miles 24 Degrees of Banking

Stages end after laps
105/210/325

Atlanta is one the fastest and probably the #1 favorite track amongst the drivers to drive on. Great sweeping turns and a smooth surface are two of the main reasons. At 1.54 miles, it is a tad bigger than the many other “cookie cutter tracks.” But the date for this race has seen many changes over the years. After five years of being second race of the year it is now the fifth. Four teams have dominated here in the last ten years or 11 races. Hendrick Motorsports has the most wins with four. Team Penske has three wins in that time. Joe Gibbs Racing and Stewart Haas Racing have two wins each.  These four teams and seven different drivers account for all the wins in the last ten years. Ford teams Stewart Haas Racing and Team Penske have won the last three straight races. Will the Ford streak continue? We’ll find out on Sunday.

Tuesday look for our Top 10 drivers on intermediate tracks.  Thursday we rank the top 30 drivers for the QUIK TRIP 500.

TOP FIVE DRIVERS

FAN SHIELD 500 from PHOENIX

The #5 driver to watch has been much better here since they repaved and rebanked the track in the middle of 2011, #2 Brad Keselowski. Brad is my #5 rated flat track driver and he has had six Top 5’s in his 21 starts including a 2^nd place finish two years ago in the Playoffs.

My #4 driver to watch finished 2^nd in this race last year, #19 Martin Truex Jr.  That is about the best stat he has here. Martin has 28 starts, no wins and just 4 Top 5’s. But he is my #4 ranked Flat Track driver and has three Top 5’s in his last five starts.

My #3 pick is the most recent winner here, #11 Denny Hamlin. Denny got a win in the Playoffs to guarantee a shot at the Championship. Denny has 29 starts, 2 wins and 13 Top 5’s 45%. Three of his last four races were Top 5’s. Denny is ranked #3 on flat tracks. He is #7 in points and sits #5 hottest over the last six races.

My #2 driver to watch this week is the driverwho has the highest average finish in Phoenix, #4 Kevin Harvick. In total Kevin has 34 starts, nine wins and 17 Top 5’s 50%. In the last 13 straight races Kevin has finished 9^th or better, six of those were wins. He has the  #1 Average finish, sits #2 hottest, is ranked #1 on flat tracks and is #4 points after the first three races.

My #1 driver is the defending champion of this race, #18 Kyle Busch. Kyle not only won here in this race last year but also won on the old configuration. Kyle won here in his second visit in the fall of 2005. In total Kyle has 29 starts, three wins and 11 Top 5’s.  He is the #4 hottest driver over the last six races and sits #20 in points so far in the first three races of the year. Most importantly he is ranked #2 on Flat tracks.

Monday look for our preview of the Folds of Freedom 500 from Atlanta Motor Speedway.

TOP 30 DRIVERS

TOP 30 DRIVERS

FAN SHIELD 500:PHOENIX

1. KYLE BUSCH #18
2. KEVIN HARVICK #4
3. DENNY HAMLIN #11
4. MARTIN TRUEX #19
5. BRAD KESELOWSKI #2
6. RYAN BLANEY #12
7. KYLE LARSON #42
8. ARIC ALMIROLA #10
9. CHASE ELLIOTT #9
10. JIMMIE JOHNSON #48
11. ERIK JONES #20
12. CLINT BOWYER #14
13. JOEY LOGANO #22
14. WILLIAM BYRON #24
15. KURT BUSCH #1
16. ALEX BOWMAN #88
17. AUSTIN DILLON #3
18. RICKY STENHOUSE #47
19. DANIEL SUAREZ #96
20. TY DILLON #13
21. MATT DIBENEDETTO #21
22. BUBBA WALLACE #43
23. CHRIS BUESCHER #17
24. COLE CUSTER #41
25. ROSS CHASTAIN #6
26. JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK #38
27. TYLER REDDICK #8
28. MICHAEL MCDOWELL #34
29. RYAN PREECE #37
30. CHRISTOPHER BELL #95

Friday we break down the Top 5 drivers to watch in Sunday’s FAN SHIELD 500.

TOP TEN TEAMS

TOP TEN TEAMS

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

Team Penske almost had a second place finish from #12 Ryan Blaney but a late pit stop ended, for the third week, a possible huge week for Ryan. But they did have all three drivers in the Top 20 and we find Team Penske at #1 again this week. Hendrick Motorsports get the win and see speed in all four cars and they go from #5 to #2. Stewart Haas Racing has few rough spots and loses a place and goes to #3. Joe Gibbs Racing were #1 35 out of 36 weeks last year so it comes as kind of a surprise to see them drop another place this week to go to #4. Wood Brothers Racing started the year at #7 and last week at #4 and this week go to #5. Chip Ganassi Racing stay at #6. Roush Fenway Racing stay in place this week with #17 Chris Buescher driving his third race for the team and #6 fill in driver Ross Chastain driving his second race. That is a big statement about how strong the team is. Richard Petty Motorsports stay at #8 and sister/parent team Richard Childress Racing stay at #9. Lastly we find another RCR family team join the Top 10 at #10. We see GoFas Racing drop out this week from the Top 10.

Thursday look for our Top 30 drivers for the Fan Shield 500 and Friday we break down the Top 5 driver’s.

TOP TEN DRIVERS BY TRACK TYPE

TOP 10:FLAT TRACKS

1. KEVIN HARVICK #4
2. KYLE BUSCH #18
3. DENNY HAMLIN #11
4. MARTIN TRUEX #19
5. BRAD KESELOWSKI #2
6. RYAN BLANEY #12
7. ERIK JONES #20
8. WILLIAM BYRON #24
9. ALEX BOWMAN #88
10. DANIEL SUAREZ #96

Top Ten on Flat tracks, Thursday look for our Top 30 rankings for Sunday’s Fan Shield 500 from Phoenix Raceway.

RACE PREVIEW

FAN SHIELD 500

PHOENIX RACEWAY

March 8th, 3:30 PM CHARLOTTE TIME FOX TV

1 MILE, TURNS 1&2 12 DEGREES, TURNS 3&4 10 DEGREES of BANKING

STAGES END AFTER 75/190/312 LAPS

What a place to be for the first flat-track race of the year: a one mile flat-track where every turn is slightly different. There is no such thing as “get your car right and cruise around.” Most drivers have a good set-up for turns 1 & 2 or for turns 3 & 4. Some try to get a compromise in between both, and some drivers are simply trying to find any set-up that gets them fast and keeps them off the wall. No matter what your strategy is, this track can be very, very tough. Rookies typically struggle here. In the last ten years no one has more wins than #4 Kevin Harvick. Kevin has seven wins, the next closest are three drivers who have two wins each; #6 Ryan Newman, #11 Denny Hamlin and #18 Kyle Busch. Those three drivers combined don’t have as many wins

as Kevin has in the last ten years. But the last three races were won by Joe Gibbs Racing drivers, Denny Hamlin last November and Kyle Busch the two before. Chevrolet has 10 wins in the last 10 years or 20 races the most of any manufacturer but Toyota has six including the last three straight. Who will dominate? We’ll know on Sunday.

Tuesday look for our Top 10 Drivers on a flat track.