I sincerely hope that everyone is satisfied with their result in Segment 1 of the Fantasy Racing Challenge. However, if you're like me, you can't wait for Segment 2 to begin.
Segment 1 came to its conclusion on Sunday at Dover's "Monster Mile", with a familiar face taking the checkered flag. Jimmie Johnson won his second race of the season, nipping Tony Stewart's bumper then flying past him in a battle of two Cup champions.
Johnson was dominating the field until a late pit stop dropped him back into traffic. However, Johnson wouldn't be denied, climbing his way back up to the front and earning one of the most dominant wins of his brilliant career. Johnson led a career-high 298 laps in the race, looking like the dominant car in the field the entire time.
It wasn't all bad news for Stewart, however, as he took second place in the race and moved past Jeff Gordon for the top spot in the point standings despite not winning a race that counted in 2009. He became the first owner/driver to lead the Sprint Cup standings since Alan Kulwicki won the Cup title in 1992.
Although I am excited about Segment 2 starting, I can't really say I'm all that excited about this weekend's race. The Sprint Cup Series heads to Lake Pond, Pa., this weekend for the Pocono 500. Pocono is widely regarded as one of the more boring tracks on the circuit and some drivers would prefer it if the series stopped making two yearly trips there.
Pocono is a 2.5-mile triangular tri-oval with three turns that are completely different from each other. That makes it difficult for crews since it is difficult to figure out the correct setup for the car.
It may not be the most thrilling race you'll see this year, but when you're rooting for your Fantasy drivers, it's always worth watching.
The tiers have been realigned for Segment 2, with a handful of new drivers added into the mix and several others switching tiers. Don't assume that because a driver was dead weight in Segment 1 that he won't be a stud in a lower tier. Conversely, don't overvalue a driver that dominated in a lower tier.
The realignment was based on the total number of points accumulated in Segment 1. The top eight drivers in the point standings after the race at Dover make up Tier 1, the next eight make up Tier 2 and so on, with a slight variation in Tier 5. Dave Blaney was chosen over Aric Almirola and Scott Riggs because they don't currently have rides. The game is still the same, but the players are arranged a little bit differently.
Tier 1 Start -- Denny Hamlin
Hamlin earned a sweep at Pocono back in 2006 in his first two attempts at the triangular track. He has finished in the top-10 in three of his four races since and should have no issues accomplishing that feat this Sunday. Hamlin is overdue for a win and will be looking to bounce back from a 36th place finish at Dover last weekend where his tire blew and he crashed into the wall on lap 231.
Others to consider: Jimmie Johnson; Jeff Gordon
Tier 1 Sit -- Kyle Busch
Busch had two horrendous starts at Pocono last year, finishing 43rd and 36th. He has only two top-10 finishes at the track in eight attempts, with an average finish of 22nd. He has proven to be a worthy although sometimes agitating competitor week in and week out, but this has not been one of his better tracks so far in his career.
Others to avoid: Matt Kenseth; Kurt Busch
Tier 2 Start -- Kasey Kahne
Kahne won the Pocono 500 last year from the pole position, then finished seventh in the second race there in 2009. He has finished in the top-10 at Pocono in four of his 10 career starts there with an average finish of 16th. He's finished in the top-10 in each of his last two races this season as well, so get him active at Pocono.
Others to consider: Carl Edwards; Mark Martin
Tier 2 Sit -- David Reutimann
Reutimann is having an impressive season so far, currently sitting just outside of The Chase for the Sprint Cup at 13th place. He got a lucky win in the Coca-Cola 600 when the race was called due to rain after nearly everyone went in for a pit stop, which obviously improved his position in the point standings tremendously. Reutimann has had little to no success at Pocono in his career however, finishing 30th or worse in three of his four starts there.
Others to avoid: Juan Pablo Montoya; Clint Bowyer
Tier 3 Start -- Brian Vickers
Vickers has had tremendous success at Pocono so far in his career, five times finishing in the top-five there. Last year, he took second in this weekend's race behind Carl Edwards. He has only finished outside of the top-15 at Pocono twice in 10 career Sprint Cup starts there, so get him active this week.
Others to consider: Martin Truex, Jr.; Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Tier 3 Sit -- Marcos Ambrose
Ambrose went from not even being an option in Segment 1 all the way to Tier 3 in Segment 2. The Aussie has been very impressive this season, finishing in the top 10 twice. He will be a tough driver to pick most weeks as he has not raced at most of the tracks in Segment 2 and there is some stiff competition in this tier.
Others to avoid: Jamie McMurray; Joey Logano
Tier 4 Start -- A.J. Allmendinger
Allmendinger has racked up two top-20 finishes at Pocono in three career starts, with a top finish of 12th in last season's Pocono 500. He hasn't cracked the top-10 since March 29 at Martinsville, so he's due for a solid finish this weekend.
Others to consider: Elliott Sadler; Bobby Labonte
Tier 4 Sit – Reed Sorenson
Sorenson actually led his first four laps of the season last week at Dover and has shown some signs of life with three top-20 finishes in his last four races. However, he has never finished better than 24th in six career races at Pocono, so don't let his recent momentum fool you.
Others to avoid: David Stremme; Sam Hornish, Jr.
Tier 5 Start – Dave Blaney
Tier 5 has become much more interesting with the new realignment. It contains four drivers that were not included in Segment 1, including rookie Scott Speed. This week I'm going with Blaney for my choice in Tier 5 simply because he has experience at Pocono and had some success there earlier in his career. Speed, John Andretti and Brad Keselowski have never raced there, so they would be a hard sell. Make sure Blaney qualifies for the race before making a final decision on your picks for this week.
Others to consider: Joe Nemechek; Robby Gordon
Tier 5 Sit – David Gilliland
There are plenty of reasons not to start many of the drivers in Tier 5, but I had to pick someone to avoid. Gilliland has finished 34th or worse in three of his four career starts at Pocono, with an average finish of 30.8. The pickings are slim in Tier 5, so just make sure you start someone who will be active for the race.
Others to avoid: John Andretti; Scott Speed
Ian's Starting Five
Tier 1 – Denny Hamlin
Tier 2 – Kasey Kahne
Tier 3 – Brian Vickers
Tier 4 – A.J. Allmendinger
Tier 5 – Dave Blaney
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