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. Few, if any, gave Jeff Burton much of a chance to be among the contenders in the Chase for the Championship when it started. Oops. Burton is very much in the thick of things, particularly after his savvy win Saturday night at Lowe's Motor Speedway, his second win this season.
Burton and his team used a three fuel-only pit-stop strategy and was out front with 34 laps to go. He never looked back thereafter and captured the checkered flag. Burton is now second in the Chase, only 69 points behind Jimmie Johnson with five races remaining.
Other Chasers found themselves in trouble and ended with bad nights. None more significant than Carl Edwards, who finished 33rd and dropped from second to fourth in the standings. Edwards is now 168 points behind Johnson.
Basically, Burton and Edwards swapped positions in the standings following this race. Perhaps it will be a better idea for Edwards to focus more on the championship than altercations with other drivers like he had with Kevin Harvick last Thursday in the garage area.
After a seventh place result, Greg Biffle remains in third place and still in the running for the title, trailing Johnson by 86 points. Johnson is seeking his third consecutive crown.
As we anticipated leading up to the race at Lowe's, Kasey Kahne was right up there running hard before settling for a runner-up finish. Kahne won both races at the track in May.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth had even worse finishes than Edwards did. Junior finished 36th after a tire exploded shortly before a scheduled pit stop. Kenseth was tangled in an accident and finished 41st. Junior is 10th in the standings, while Kenseth is 11th.
Off to Martinsville, Virginia, for the second race at the flat short track. Banking is limited here, resulting in lots of pedal work between acceleration and brakes. This goes on for 500 laps.
Johnson, a four-time winner at Martinsville, is among the favorites this weekend. He won three races in a row at one point at the track before a fourth-place finish on March 30.
Count native Virginians Jeff Burton and Denny Hamlin among the favorites to perform well at Martinsville. Hamlin won in the spring, while Burton finished third. Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. are also drivers who have a good history at this short track.
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
CBSSports.com Fantasy Racing Challenge:Best value
Jimmie Johnson, $280,967: Excluding the 35th place finish in his rookie year, Johnson has been nothing short of fantastic at Martinsville. Johnson hasn't finished lower than ninth in 12 races since that 35th and has won four times, including three in a row from fall 2006 to sweeps last year. He was fourth in the spring race and averages an incredible finish of 6th in his career at the track. Despite his high price, how can one not pick him or at least strongly consider him for Fantasy lineups?
Jeff Gordon, $235,806: This is a track where he has a very good chance of taking his first checkered flag of 2008. He has not won since Lowe's last season, a long stretch by his standards. Gordon averages a 6.4 finish in his career at Martinsville and has not finished lower than ninth in the last 11 races here. He has five career wins and was runner-up in three of the last five starts. It would be tough not to try and include him in Fantasy lineups for this race.
Jeff Burton, $262,338: A good pick if owners decide to go with Burton in Fantasy lineups for this week. That's because Virginia is his home state and drivers tend to perform well in front of family, friends and home fans. Not to mention that Burton was third in the spring race, 12th in this event last fall and sixth in the previous start. His average finish in his career at the track is 11th.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., $247,741: Not a bad selection for Fantasy lineups when it comes to Martinsville races. Junior finished sixth in the spring and was 23rd last fall. It seems he does a little better in the spring races than the fall stops at Martinsville, but that doesn't mean he should not be given considerations for lineups. He averages a 14.3 finish at the track.
Denny Hamlin, $225,241: The winner of the spring race, doing so in front of his home state fans. It was the right call by his pit crew late in the race to give him the lead over Jeff Gordon and his first win at what he considers his home track. Before the win, Hamlin finished sixth, third and second in the previous three races at Marrtinsville.
Casey Mears, $161,451: Based on his seventh-place finish at Martinsville in March, Mears could be a surprise performer once again. His best finish here was a sixth in the fall 2006 race. Mears might be worth a close look for this week.
Juan Pablo Montoya, $159,032: Given the fact he only has three starts at Martinsville and all have been quality runs, Montoya could be the surprise of the bunch for a good result on Sunday. A strong run last season gave him an eighth-place finish in this race. He also was 13th this spring and 16th in the first race in 2007. That's an average finish of 12.3, which is not too bad.
Overpriced value
Greg Biffle, $253,387: Even though he is in the run for the Chase, Martinsville might not be the best place to pick Biffle for Fantasy lineups. Although he placed seventh in this race last season, that was his only top 10 in 11 career starts at the track. Biffle has finished 20th or lower seven times, including in March.
Martin Truex Jr., $201,370: Too much money to spend on a driver who has not finished better than 19th in five races at Martinsville. One of the 19th finishes was last fall. Truex Jr. averages a 24.8 finish over his five starts at the track.
Brian Vickers, $189,677: Not impressive results for Vickers in his seven races at Martinsville. He only has one top 10 finish, an eighth in 2006. In four of those races he has finished 23rd or lower, giving him an average finish of 22.7.
Kurt Busch, $181,129: He does have one win at Martinsville, but that was way back in 2002. Kurt has not done all that well recently at this track, finishing 33rd in the spring and 31st last autumn. He averages a modest finish of 21 in 16 starts.
Bobby Labonte, $174,596: Past winner at Martinsville, but once again just like Kurt Busch, way back in 2002. Labonte has struggled notably in four of the last five races at Martinsville; with finishes of 25th in the spring, 22nd last fall, 43rd spring of 2007 and 32nd in spring of 2006.
Elliott Sadler, $169,032: In the spring he was a respectable 15th, but overall Sadler cannot claim quality results throughout his career at Martinsville. The 40th finish last year in this race was his worst result. He also has finished 24th or worst in 11 other races which gives him an average finish of 23.8.
David Reutimann, $158,225: Poor results in his three starts at Martinsville, with 17 last fall being his best effort. He also finished 39th this spring and 33rd in the spring of 2007. That gives him an average finish of almost 30th, which is never a good thing when it comes to Fantasy purposes.
| 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 Martinsville finish | Salary |
| Jimmie Johnson (No. 48, Chevrolet) | 1st | $280,957 |
| Juan Pablo Montoya (No. 42, Dodge) | 8th | $159,032 |
| Jeff Gordon (No. 24, Chevrolet) | 3rd | $235,806 |
| Denny Hamlin (No. 11, Toyota) | 6th | $225,241 |
| Joe Nemechek (No. 96, Toyota) | n/a | $ 86,964 |
| Total salaries | $988,010 |
Next race: Pep Boys Auto 500 -- Atlanta Motor Speedway -- October 26
