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.
Last season, NASCAR introduced the Chase for the Championship in which the top 10 drivers after race No. 26 were slotted into a playoff scenario.
A number of last season's Chase contenders have suffered bad starts to their 2005 season. I thought it would be a good time to take a look back, and ahead, at each of the former Chase contenders.
Last year's champion, Kurt Busch is hanging tough in fourth place, with three top-five finishes in this year's four events. He has won Bristol four times, with six top 10 finishes in his past six events here.
Jimmie Johnson leads the circuit with a win and four top five finishes this season. He is by far the most consistent driver out there. He has two top five finishes at Bristol and three top fives at upcoming Martinsville.
Johnson's Hendrick Motorsports' teammate, Jeff Gordon, has two top fives this season, but he sits outside the top 10 in 12th place. He has started on the front row in the last six Bristol races, although only an average finishing position of only 15th. Gordon also has an incredible 18 top 10 finishes at Martinsville.
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| Matt Kenseth hasn't been in front of many other cars this season. (Getty Images) | |
Mark Martin remains in contention with a current fifth-place standing. He hasn't finished in the top 10 at Bristol in his past eight races there. Also, he is only averaging a 19th-place finish in his past four Martinsville races.
The DEI company is still trying to work the kinks out of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s team. Little E is 26th in the standings and only one top five. Through his career, Earnhardt has averaged only a 15th-place finish at both upcoming tracks.
Tony Stewart remains in contention in seventh place overall. He hasn't had much luck in Bristol (no top 10s in his past six races), but he does have three top fives in his past six races at Martinsville.
Ryan Newman continues to be a little better than average with his current sixth-place standing. He has averaged a fifth-place finish in his last six races between Bristol and Martinsville.
Inexplicably, Matt Kenseth has dropped all the way down to 31st overall with only one top 10 and one DNF this year. Kenseth has six top 10s in his past six races at Bristol, but only one top 10 in his past five Martinsville races.
Elliott Sadler sits in the eighth spot currently, showing last year was no fluke, with two top 10s in four races. He finished fifth at Bristol in 2004, but he wrecked at Martinsville, finishing 32nd.
As predicted, Jeremy Mayfield has not shown the consistency many need in Fantasy NASCAR. He is 21st among drivers right now with only one finish higher than 20th. Bristol (average finishing position of 19th) and Martinsville (22nd) won't make life easier on Mayfield.
Upcoming race: Bristol 500 -- Bristol Motor Speedway -- April 3
| S T O C K C A R M A R K E T W A T C H |
| 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 Sportsline.com Fantasy Racing Challenge: |
| Bargain drivers | Overpriced drivers |
Rusty Wallace, $223,125: Nine wins here has to account for something.
Jeff Gordon, $215,000: Gordon has started on the front row in his past six Bristol races.
Matt Kenseth, $233,750: Despite his struggles, he has six consecutive top 10s at Bristol.
Kevin Harvick, $136,875: Harvick has six career top 10s in eight tries here.
Jamie McMurray, $221,875: In four career Bristol races, McMurray has a seventh-place average finishing position. | Joe Nemechek, $143,125: He has never finished in the top 10 at Bristol in 20 tries.
Robby Gordon, $62,500: No top 10s in nine tries at Bristol.
Greg Biffle, $268,750: Biffle has averaged only a 15th-place finish in his past three Bristol efforts.
Mike Bliss, $212,500: Don't invest so much on an unproven at this track.
Jeremy Mayfield, $181,250: Mayfield hasn't registered anything higher than a 10th-place finish at Bristol in seven races. |
| H A P P Y H O U R |
One last look at the news and notes that might affect your Fantasy Racing lineup decisions:- The following drivers are not on the entry list at NASCAR's official website: Andy Belmont, Johnny Benson, Geoff Bodine, Todd Bodine, Ward Burton, Derrike Cope, Ricky Craven, Kerry Earnhardt, Larry Foyt, Brendan Gaughan, Larry Gunselman, P.J. Jones, Terry Labonte, Tony Raines, Boris Said, Johnny Sauter, Mike Skinner, Martin Truex Jr. and Kenny Wallace.
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| 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 2004 CBS Sportsline.com Fantasy Racing Challenge, here are my picks for this week's best lineup for the money: |
| Driver | Car and manufacturer | Salary |
| Jimmie Johnson | No. 48, Chevrolet | $275,625 |
| Jeff Gordon | No. 24, Chevrolet | $215,000 |
| Kevin Harvick | No. 29, Chevrolet | $233,750 |
| Matt Kenseth | No. 17, Ford | $136,875 |
| Bobby Labonte | No. 18, Chevrolet | $81,250 |
| Total salaries | $942,500 |
Next race: Martinsville 500 -- Martinsville Speedway -- April 10
You can e-mail your questions to David Gonos at inthepits@commissioner.com. Be sure to put Attn: Spotter Blotter in the subject field. Please be aware, due to the large volume of submissions received, we cannot guarantee personal responses or answers to all questions.
