The Pit Stop is the essential guide to setting your Fantasy Racing lineup for the upcoming week. We provide you with pertinent news and roster management advice during every race week. Jimmie Johnson. Carl Edwards. Greg Biffle. The three drivers that more-or-less are expected to battle for the title in the Chase based on the way things look after the first three races.
The win at Kansas Speedway propelled Johnson to the top of the standings, but only by 10 points over Edwards and 30 more than Biffle.
Don't completely count out Jeff Burton, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon, who are a good ways back of the leader, but still within chance of striking distance. Burton is 121 points behind, Harvick 136 and Gordon 143. It's close enough to make it quite interesting for the remaining seven races.
Next on the calendar is the second stop of the year at Talladega Superspeedway for some restrictor plate racing. The 2.66-mile track where four-wide racing is normal and where speeds exceed 200 miles per hour while going side-by-side or bumper-to-bumper.
While Chevrolet was the manufacturer that dominated at Talladega -- Chevy won every race but one from 1999 to 2007 -- the story has been different in 2008.
Last year, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson finished 1-2 in both races at Talladega, giving Hendrick Motorsports four consecutive wins at the venue. This year Chevy has not won any plate races, including the spring stop at Talladega and the two Daytona events. Toyota has won two of those races and Dodge one. Johnson and Gordon have not even finished among the top 10 in restrictor plate races this season. But Gordon does lead all active drivers with six wins at this track and Hendrick Motorsports has won 10 races, which is more than any team.
But it's Dale Earnhardt Jr. who might find Talladega a good opportunity to make up some of the 190 points that he finds himself out of first place in the standings. Junior has had tremendous success at Talladega in his career with five victories, seven top fives and 10 top 10s. Just as important for Junior is that his main sponsor, AMP Energy, is the one sponsoring this race. This usually is a big incentive for drivers whose sponsor is associated with a given race.
About the track -- Talladega Superspeedway was first known as the Alabama International Motor Speedway when it first opened in 1968. It was changed to the current name in 1989. The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race was held on Sept. 14, 1969. The track repaved the surface four times in its history, most recently in Sept. 19, 2006.
Driver Stockwatch
Here's a list of drivers expected to produce better or worse than their salaries indicate on the coming track. Prices are derived from the
CBS Sports.com Fantasy Racing Challenge:Best value
Dale Earnhardt Jr., $258,017: Although some of his more recent results at Talladega do not reflect dominance, Junior is one to always consider very strongly for Fantasy lineups at this track. Junior was 40th in this race last year, 10th in the April race. He also has finished 23rd, 31st and 40th in three of the last six races, but with a string of four consecutive wins earlier in his career here, two runners-up and another win following that, it's hard not to give him a very close look this week.
Kurt Busch, $175,517: Owns the best average finish among active drivers at 11.9. Kurt has not visited Victory Lane at Talladega yet, but has finished third four times. He also has finishes of fourth, fifth, seventh (three times) and eighth. He had a bit of a setback in the spring race when he placed 39th after an accident.
Jeff Gordon, $239,913: Winner of both races at Talladega last year and was 19th in the first race this season. Gordon has definitely had more success than not at this speedway throughout his career. He averages a finish of 15th in 31 starts and has six wins to show along with 13 top fives and 16 top 10s. Look for him to have a decent run and perhaps try to get closer to the leaders in the Chase.
Tony Stewart, $235,775: He is a distant 255 points behind the leaders in the Chase, but that doesn't mean Stewart cannot be efficient for Fantasy purposes. Stewart finished second at Talladega six times in his career. Now, he has no wins, but this can only make him more determined to get that monkey off his back as the driver with that many runners-up and no wins. He was eighth in the fall race last year and was just 38th in April.
Jimmie Johnson, $279,396: While he was just average and perhaps even struggling in the early part of his career at Talladega, Johnson has been able to step up and perform a lot better in recent years. He was second to his teammate Jeff Gordon in both races last year and finished 13th in the spring. He also won the spring event in 2006. Johnson should be able to come up with a good strategy and possibly widen the points lead in the Chase over his competitors.
Casey Mears, $160,344: Even though his average finish (22nd) at Talladega is nothing too impressive, Mears might be worth a look this week thanks to an inexpensive value and mostly based on his last two results of sixth and seventh at the track. He's also finished eighth on two other occassions.
David Gilliland, $149,741: This is one week Fantasy owners should give Gilliland some consideration for lineups. First, he's a reasonable value. Second, his average finish in four races at Talladega is 15th, with a best result of fourth last year. Perhaps he'll be able to come up with a fairly good run during Sunday's race.
Brian Vickers, $192,672: He's been quite impressive in four of his last five starts at Talladega. Vickers won the race in the fall of 2006, also has a third and a sixth, and was fifth this April. Those are pretty good finishes to go by when it comes to Vickers for this race.
Overpriced value
Jeff Burton, $255,000: Call this price way too much for a driver who has only one top 10 finish in the last six races at Talladega. That was a fourth in the spring of 2006. The others will not impress anyone -- 43rd, 34th, 27th and 35th. Burton did finish a more respectable 12th in the April race.
Carl Edwards, $294,482: Even more expensive than J. Burton and with even more disappointing results at Talladega. While Edwards is involved in the run for the title, this track has not been too kind to him. He has three finishes of 40th or lower and also a result of 32nd. We will give him credit for three finishes in the top 10. Edwards' average finish at Talladega in eight starts is 24th.
Kyle Busch, $275,172: With all his struggles in the first three races in the Chase and basically pretty much conceding there is no chance to make any ground up in the run for the title, Kyle might not be a good pick for Fantasy lineups the rest of the way. Although he won the race at Talladega in April when he was the hottest driver on the circuit, Kyle has never finished in the top 10 in six previous races at the track. An 11th-place score is the best to talk about, while finishes of 32nd, 33rd, 36th, 37th and 41st speak for themselves.
Martin Truex Jr., $205,689: Results like 37th and 42nd are never good news for a driver at any given track. Those are the last two finishes Truex Jr. has recorded at Talladega. He only averages a 25.6 finish over eight starts at the track.
Greg Biffle, $254,741: Despite his fantastic start to the Chase -- two wins and a third -- Biffle has not figured how to perform well, or better at Talladega. This is one race Fantasy owners might want to spend an amount like this on a different driver. Biffle has never finished better than 13th in 11 races at Talladega, and that 13th was back in 2004. Since that respectable 13th finish, his results in order are 27th, 38th, 41st, 29th, 23rd and 18th in April. Overall, Biffle averages less than a modest 25th finish.
Bobby Labonte, $169,224: After some positive results some 10 years ago at Talladega, Labonte has been nothing but average at the track in more recent seasons. He averages a finish of about 20th and has placed 34th and 35th in the last two races here.
| T H E P I T S T O P S T A R T I N G F I V E |
| Beat the Expert! Staying within the $1,000,000 parameters set in the 2008 CBS Sports.com Fantasy Racing Challenge, here are the picks for this week's best lineup for the money: |
| Driver | 2007 Talladega finish | Salary |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88, Chevrolet) | 40th | $258,017 |
| Denny Hamlin (No. 11, Toyota) | 4th | $231,637 |
| Jeff Gordon (No. 24, Chevrolet) | 1st | $239,913 |
| David Gilliland (No. 38, Ford) | 27th | $149,741 |
| Robby Gordon (No. 7, Dodge) | 29th | $113,103 |
| Total salaries | $992,411 |
Next race: Bank of America 500 -- Lowe's Motor Speedway -- October 11
