In the Pits 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. Tony Stewart comes to Lowe's Motor Speedway for this Saturday night's race after snapping his 43-race winless streak at Talladega last Sunday. The usual big crash, which happened on lap 175, shuffled the points standings a bit.
Interestingly enough, it was Carl Edwards who got in the back of Greg Biffle battling for the lead. That contact got Biffle off line and that was all it took for a chain reaction from there. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Dave Blaney, Travis Kvapil and Juan Pablo Montoya were all involved in the wreck.
Jimmie Johnson, who managed to avoid the accident, finished ninth and with that stretched his lead in the Chase to 72 points over Edwards and 77 over Biffle. Jeff Burton is 99 points behind Johnson, so don't count Burton out of the championship picture just yet. The next closest is Clint Bowyer, who is 152 points out of first place.
Stewart would like nothing more than to follow his win at Talladega with another one at Lowe's, where he had one of the best cars back in the May race, if not the best car. But with three laps to run in the 600-mile race, one of his tires exploded and forced him back to an 18th place finish and also basically handed the win to Kasey Kahne.
Now, a sweep has occurred at Lowe's eight times, including three of the last four years. That also includes Kahne, who turned the trick in 2006. Can he do it again this year? Hard to say considering he hasn't performed well since May when he also won the All-Star race. However, no driver has completed the trifecta at Lowe's -- winning both races and the All-Star race -- just something to keep in mind. But for Fantasy purposes, that doesn't mean Kahne cannot produce a quality result again.
Johnson should be up for the task -- as he usually is at Lowe's -- if for nothing else, because the tracks' sponsor Lowe's is on the hood of his car. Johnson also is a five-time winner at the track that also features sweeps by him in 2004 and 2005. Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon also has five wins and is the defending champion of this race. It was Gordon's last victory some 35 races ago. Hendrick Motorsports has won seven of the last 11 races at Lowe's.
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
Jimmie Johnson, $279,500: With his main sponsor carrying the track name, Johnson should be up for a good race. Besides, he is a five-time winner and loves to perform at the track where he has swept both races twice in his career. Johnson did get in trouble in the May race and finished 39th, but a repeat of that is highly unlikely. He was 14th in this event last fall and has not finished lower than that in 11 previous races at Lowe's.
Carl Edwards, $288,916: The driver with the best average finish (7.6) at Lowe's, but it's true that comes only over a seven-race span. Nonetheless, the fact that he has not finished lower than 15th in those seven races says a lot about his capabilities at the track. Edwards has not won here, but has finished third two times, fifth, eighth, ninth and 10th.
Tony Stewart, $241,666: He should be able to follow the win at Talladega with another good effort at Lowe's. Stewart averages a respectable 13.2 average finish in 20 races at the track. He has won in 2003, but also has finished second, third, fourth, sixth and seventh in his career. Last year he placed seventh in this race.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., $253,916: Junior has had up-and-down results in his career at Lowe's, but given results in the last four or five races, give him some consideration for Fantasy lineups. Junior was fifth in May, 19th in this race last season, eighth, fourth and 11th in the last five races. He averages a 16.3 finish in 18 career races at the track.
Kasey Kahne, $219,916: Although his season has been nothing much to talk about, the first stop at Lowe's in May was good. Kahne won the Coca-Cola 600 and also the All-Star race here. He has been very good in four of the last five races at the track, winning three and finishing eighth in this event last season. It's something to think about for lineups even though he has been mediocre this season.
Bobby Labonte, $173,583: Here is a driver with a good Fantasy price for this week at a track where he tends to do pretty well. Labonte has not finished worst than 18th in the last 20 races at Lowe's. Folks, that's pretty good by anyone's standard and this is a driver that at least for this week deserves some serious consideration to be included in lineups. He won the fall race in 2000 after finishing runner-up the previous three straight times.
Dave Blaney, $128,103: Not impressive results in his career at Lowe's, but for the last three races. He finished a strong sixth in this race last year, was 17th in May and also 18th in the 2007 May race. Looking at the results indicates that he and his team have figured out the right set-up for some good runs. At this low price, Blaney might be worth a shot for this week.
Overpriced value
Kevin Harvick, $244,166: He started his career quite well at Lowe's, with a second and eighth in his first two starts. But it has been down hill ever since, with just one other top 10 finish. Harvick has had a bunch of finishes in the 20s and 30s, including the 33rd last fall. He did improve to a 14th result in May. But his price is too high for moderate to poor results like he has at the track.
Kurt Busch, $175,916: Nothing outstanding throughout his career at Lowe's. The 21.9 average finish in some 16 races indicates just that. Kurt's best finish was a second in 2005, but since then he has not broken into the top 15. Finishing 16th in May was his best recent result. Other than that, he was 26th last October, 32nd, 32nd and 39th in three prior races to that.
Ryan Newman, $192,166: Unable to find a rhythm at Lowe's in the last five races, where he's placed 21st, 28th, 39th, 27th and 35th. Newman's best finish was a third back in 2003. He averages a modest finish of 22nd in 15 starts at Lowe's.
Juan Pablo Montoya, $161,750: Yes, it's a short span of just three career races at Lowe's, but Montoya is not a driver to spend money on for this week. Not until he is able to adjust and come up with a much better showing then he has to this point. Montoya has finishes of 30th, 37th and 28th. That's an average finish of a lowly 31.7.
David Gilliland, $145,833: Another driver who has performed poorly at this track. Frankly, let the results speak for themselves -- 40th in May, 25th last fall, 35th and 33rd in his two other starts.
Brian Vickers, $189,000: His 42nd finish in the May race is not positive news coming back for the fall stop. Vickers only averages a finish of 25th in nine races at the track.
| 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 Lowe's finish | Salary |
| Tony Stewart (No. 20, Toyota) | 7th | $241,666 |
| Jeff Gordon (No. 24, Chevrolet) | 1st | $233,916 |
| Kasey Kahne (No. 9, Dodge) | 8th | $210,166 |
| Bobby Labonte (No. 43, Dodge) | 12th | $173,583 |
| Dave Blaney (No. 22, Toyota) | 6th | $128,103 |
| Total salaries | $987,434 |
Next race: Martinsville 500 -- Martinsville Speedway -- October 19
