After an exciting All-Star weekend, it's back to races that count this weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
Tony Stewart earned his first victory as a car owner on Saturday in Charlotte, taking home the $1 million dollar check under the flag of Stewart-Haas racing. Stewart passed Matt Kenseth with only two laps remaining in the thrilling 10-lap shootout to finish the race. Tony Stewart is back, no questions asked.
The Sprint Cup series stays in Charlotte this Sunday for the Coca-Cola 600. Last year, it was Kasey Kahne taking home the checkered flag for the second time in his career. Stewart appeared to have that race under control but cut a tire with two laps to go gave Kahne, who was second place at the time the tire was cut, an easy victory. Kahne had also won the All-Star race the week before winning the Coca-Cola 600. Can Stewart repeat the same feat that Kahne pulled off in 2008? We'll find out on Sunday.
Lowe's Motor Speedway is a superspeedway that features a 1 1/2-mile long quad oval track that seats a whopping 167,000 people. It's considered the home base of NASCAR as most of the teams are located within 50 miles of the track in the Charlotte area. This is typically the longest race of the season and one of the most grueling for its drivers.
With only two weeks remaining in Segment One, Fantasy owners will have to make some tough decisions. Tiers Four and Five will be especially difficult, considering the fact that there are drivers in those tiers without rides.
Tier One Start -- Mark Martin
Martin won his second race of the season two weekends ago back in Darlington. He has six top-10 finishes this season and finished ninth at Lowe's back in the second race at the track in 2008. He's won here before and could move into the top 10 in the point standings with a strong performance on Sunday.
Others to consider: Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Burton
Tier One Sit -- Kevin Harvick
This is the second week in a row that I am advising against using Harvick. He has not made a top-10 finish at Lowe's in five years and has never bested his second place finish in his first go-round at the superspeedway back in 2001.
Others to avoid: Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle
Tier Two Start -- Tony Stewart
Many of you no longer have Stewart available for this race, but get him active if you still have him as an option. He has a win at Charlotte and a plethora of top-10 finishes there. He beat the All-Stars last week, so there's no reason to think he can't beat the entire field this week as well. Kasey Kahne is a solid second choice, considering he is the reigning champion and should still be available to most owners.
Others to consider: Denny Hamlin, Kasey Kahne
Tier Two Sit -- Jeff Gordon
Gordon had an injection in his back to help ease the pain he has had for more than a year. This is a grueling track, which is why Gordon decided to get the injection this week. He was obviously concerned enough about his health to go do something about it this week, which should plant enough doubt in Fantasy owners' minds to steer clear of him this week. I don't expect that he will bow out of the race or won't be competitive, but this is not one of Gordon's better tracks to begin with, so look elsewhere.
Others to avoid: Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex, Jr.
Tier Three Start -- Jamie McMurray
McMurray finished second in the Sprint Showdown and earned one of two spots in the All-Star race. He went on to finish ninth in that race and has hopefully gained some momentum heading into this weekend. He is currently at 24th in the standings with only three top-10 finishes, so he'll be looking to finish strong on Sunday.
Others to consider: Bobby Labonte, Kurt Busch
Tier Three Sit -- Robby Gordon
Gordon qualified 32nd in the Sprint Showdown but went on to finish a respectable ninth. Still, he is yet to finish in the top 10 this season and came in 43rd and 30th in two races at LMS last season.
Others to avoid: Brian Vickers, Ryan Newman
Tier Four Start -- Elliott Sadler
Sadler leads a group of lackluster options in the fourth tier this weekend at Lowe's. His best-ever finish at LMS is fifth and he came away with an eighth place finish in this event last season. He crashed out in the Sprint Showdown, so you know he wants to have a better finish in the race that counts.
Others to consider: A.J. Allmendinger, Paul Menard
Tier Four Sit -- Juan Pablo Montoya
Montoya has four career starts at LMS and his best finish is 28th place. He is having a good season, but this has not been his favorite track on the circuit. His finishing average of 32.3 is the worst of any active driver.
Others to avoid: Aric Almirola, Travis Kvapil
Tier Five Start -- Sam Hornish, Jr.
At this point, any driver remaining in this tier that will be running this weekend is a good option. However, Hornish is by far your best option, having won the Sprint Showdown and finishing 16th in the All-Star race. He has two top-10 finishes this season and Sunday could mark his third.
Others to consider: Joey Logano, Dave Blaney
Tier Five Sit -- Regan Smith
According to Smith's website, his next scheduled race isn't until June 7 at Pocono. He ran in most of the races to start off the season, but the Furniture Row Racing team has scaled their schedule of races back the rest of the way.
Others to avoid: Kenny Wallace, Reed Sorenson
Ian's Starting Five
Tier One -- Mark Martin
Tier Two -- Tony Stewart
Tier Three -- Jamie McMurray
Tier Four -- Elliott Sadler
Tier Five -- Sam Hornish, Jr.
Do you have a Fantasy Racing question or a comment for Ian? Send him your feedback by clicking here and be sure to include your name and hometown!
