Brickyard 400 Bash... Empty is locked in... A-Game shows signs of Life... and oh yeah.. Graz takes the lead!!

2 teams get a win... 1 of those is now locked in the Chase.  We have a new League Leader.  The top 7 spread out a bit, but stay in the top 7.  A couple of teams are knocking on the top 7's door... Several teams are running out of time... Let's get to it...    

TOP PICKS:

1st Place Jeff Gordon - Picked by Empty and A-Game.  Gordon had a solid weekend in practice and qualifying... and when it meant the most he took home the checkered flag.  Empty gets locked in and is now out of the Chase Health analysis category below... trust me, he's happy.  A-Game gets on the board with his 1st win of the season.  He still needs 2 more wins to make the Chase, but I now hear a pulse from our League's newest team.  Well done guys!

4th Place Matt Kenseth - Picked by Graziano and Kiss.  Graziano takes the lead; thus ending Chonk's 15 race run at the top.  With only one win, these are valuable points for Graziano to gain as we enter the Chase... can he maintain the lead???  Locked in Chaser Kiss gets a little closer to 7th and those valuable Bonus Points.

8th Place Kevin Harvick.  Picked by Piston, Penguin, and Rasta.  Piston holds on to 3rd and gets a little breathing room from the 4-9 pack, but this battle is still going to be interesting to watch.  Penguin gains a little of his lost ground back (now 37 points back from 7th), but needed Harvick to win the race from the pole for sure.  Rasta needed this win as well.  8th feels like a Dutch Oven for Penguin and Rasta this week...

EH:

11th Place Ryan Newman.  Picked by Asleep, Ideal and Shepard.  All 3 teams are in that pack of teams from 3rd -9th who are fighting for those valuable Bonus points they would receive if they begin the Chase as one of the Top 7 teams.  Asleep stays in 4th with his 4 wins.   Ideal jumps up 2 spots to 5th (still 15 points clear of 8th).  With only one win, he, like Graziano, needs to stay strong and grab as many qualifying bonus points as possible.  Shepard is now only 5 points away from 7th... and has 2 wins.  Will he get that final win and lock in or will he qualify on points... or both???

12th Place Brad Keselowski.  Picked by Rusty.  The Truck needs a win and he has 6 races left to do it.  Keselowski was a solid pre-race pick.  I thought if Harvick didn't do it... the red hot Keselowski would.  That show you what I know... 49 points away from 7th... Rusty is still in the "I need to get a win in the last 6 races" mode.  I know he will get it.*

*I don't really know that he will, but I'm hoping.

DOOTW (Honey Badger Edition):

17th Place Tony Stewart.  Picked by Chonk, Skid, and Rowdy.  They don't give a shit...*

*Okay maybe they do...  Rowdy will start the Chase with 1000 points, but Skid and Chonk are in the hunt to get anywhere from 2-14 Bonus points... It hurts to keep reminding you guys that last year's Championship was decided by 1 f*cking point... 1 f*cking point.  <window opens... penguin leaps out>

BSOTW (Honey Badger Edition):

23rd Place Juan Pablo Montoya.  Picked by Dust, Pursuit and Beef.  They also don't give a shit...*

*Okay maybe they do... Beef will most likely start the Chase with 1000 points as well... Dust has the 7th place spot and Pursuit is only 30 points out... 1 F*cking point.... <gun cocks... loud Bang>

Other Ramblings:

6 Races to go before the Chase; just in case you still aren't paying attention.

Pocono on Sunday.

Another awesome race for the Nascar fan in me... I love seeing Gordon's success this year.  As a player in this league, well... that's a different story.
As we wait to see how the last several races will play out before the Chase, I'm finding it tough to navigate these waters.  The old reliables and locked in Chase drivers seem to be playing around with different things and not really fighting to finish well...
Maybe that's not exactly true, but it seems to me this year that if a driver doesn't have the goods when the Green flag drops, they don't really strive to get a decent points day like they used to.
Having said that, a few of us poor suckers will still have to use our stuff up, so to speak, and come up with a good pit strategy to get in contention... and if successful, we'll then need to have enough left to vie for the Crown.  

We now have 9 teams locked into the Chase and still only 3 teams with less than 3 wins occupy a top 7 qualifying spot.  Things to keep an eye on over the next 6 races:

• Battle for 1st between Graziano and Chonk
• Battle for 3rd through 7th positions - Piston, Dust, Asleep, Skidmarks, and Ideal... valuable Bonus points are up for grabs.  1 f*cking point... <Penguin flies to Jonestown... Drinks the Kool-Aide>
• Battle for a qualifying spot between Ideal and Shepard.
• Strategies for the 2 win teams both inside and outside the top 7
• Strategies for the 1 win teams both inside and outside the top 7
• Will the 0 win teams make a move, or will we see some eliminations before the 6 races are completed???

So here are the scenarios I have in my small brain right now for those of us not locked into the Chase:

• Graziano needs 6 solid points weeks or 2 more wins or both... 56 points ahead of 8th, he can probably recover from a DOOTW or BSOTW.  CHASE HEALTH
• Team Piston continues to perform at a high level.  They need 6 solid points weeks or only 1 more win. CHASE HEALTH
• Ideal stays solid again this week but is only 15 points away from 8th.  He needs to continue this run over the next 6 races or grab 2 more wins. CHASE HEALTH
• Shepard has another good week and needs to continue the trend or grab 1 more win (GREEN).  6 more solid weeks may also grab one of the qualifying spots... only 5 points out (YELLOW).  CHASE HEALTH
• Penguin finally got out of the stinky sheets, but is still in a shitload of trouble.  He made up a little ground and is now 37 points away from 7th (RED).  Needs 2 more wins in the last 6 races (RED).  CHASE HEALTH
• Rusty is now 49 points away (RED) from a qualifying spot, but only 1 win away (GREEN) from making the Chase.   CHASE HEALTH
• Rasta and  will need to win 3 races of 6 to make the Chase.  CHASE HEALTH
• A-Game gets a win but will need 2 more in the last 6 races. CHASE HEALTH

Good luck to all... especially Fat Penguin!

Cheers!

Brickyard Drivers

New Hampshire Results - Brad K Rules the Day - Asleep gets Win # 4!

Wow!  What a week for the League!  A lot of diversity in this week's selections (13 different drivers selected this week) have produced a great deal of diversity in the results.  For the most part, this week was a week for the Haves... the Have Nots took a huge kick in the balls.  I am writing to you guys today with teary eyes and an ice pack on my stones.

TOP PICKS:

1st Place Brad Keselowski - Picked by Asleep.  There were a few moments during the race where it looked like another team could win the race, but mostly it was a dominate performance by the #2 car.  More importantly, Asleep gets his 4th win and jumps up 4 spots from 8th to the 4th place qualifying spot.  Now for Asleep, it will be important to hold firm in the top 7 so that he can cash in on those valuable bonus points.  Congratulations Asleep!

2nd Place Kyle Busch - Picked by Piston, Pursuit, Rusty.  Our most popular pick this week, the Pole Sitter just didn't have enough for the #2 car, but a nice points day nonetheless.  Piston jumps up 2 spots to 3rd and is looking strong as we near the Chase..  Locked in Chaser, Pursuit, gets a little closer to 7th and will need to keep having strong showings over the next 7 races if he wants to cash in on the bonus points.  Rusty needs one more win to qualify for the Chase.  I do not think that 58 points is impossible to make up and qualify on points alone... but a win is what he wanted from his Kyle Busch pick.

4th Place Matt Kenseth.  Picked by Beef.  It was a solid day for locked in Chaser, Beef.  He inches a couple of points closer to 7th, but either way the next 7 races should be pretty relaxing for this team.

6th Place Clint Bowyer.  Picked by Ideal.  Ideal continues to perform at a high level.  He stays in 7th this week, but is only 7 points away from 3rd.  With only one win, Ideal will need to continue performing at a high level over the next 7 races in order to be around for the Postseason.

7th Place Tony Stewart.  Picked by Shepard.  Shepard moves up a spot to 8th and is only 15 points away from a qualifying spot.  One more win and he will be locked in, but he is also in the hunt to grab a few Bonus points to boot.  Shepard and Ideal have been neck and neck this season... Will they both make it to the Chase?  Will one team's dream come to an end while the other moves on?  Will they both fall???  I am excited to see how this battle plays out.

8th Place Denny Hamlin.  Picked by Dust and Rowdy.  These 2 locked in Chasers have different needs over the next 7 races.  4th place Team Dust is fighting for position in the top 7 and is eligible to receive Bonus points if he stays up there.  While Rowdy "Honey Badger" Wreckers is chillin' in the back of the pack 106 points out of 7th, and just waiting to bring the pain when the Chase begins.  She jumps up 2 spots to 14th this week, BTW.

EH:

11th Place Kasey Kahne.  Picked by A-Game.  Not the result our last place team expected or needed.  0 wins with 7 races to go... this must feel like a BSOTW for this team.  I'm pulling for A-Game to make it interesting and somehow grab a win or two in the next few weeks.

13th Place Carl Edwards.  Picked by Graziano.  A good day for Graziano overall, but it could have been even better.  Graz is now only 4 points away from the top spot and the valuable Bonus points for the Chase, but a better finish in this race would have meant he would have taken that spot.  We will settle this over the next 7 races... and I cannot wait to see how this battle plays out as well.

16th Place Jamie McMurray.  Picked by Chonk.  Top team Chonk did not get the finish he was hoping for this week, but he still maintains his grip on the #1 spot.  15 weeks in a row now he has led.  4 wins under his belt, and looks to be a lock for the #1 or #2 qualifying spot when we enter the Chase... plus he still has his top drivers available... I don't want to gay this thing up or anything... not that there is anything wrong with that, but Chonk is looking hot!

21st Brian Vickers.  Picked by Skidmarks.  Skid took last year's winner who had a disappointing finish.  Skid slides back 3 spots to 6th and is in that 5 team fray battling for positions 3rd through 7th.  Awesome stuff!

DOOTW:

30th Place Kevin Harvick.  Picked by Kiss.  Locked in Chaser Kiss slides out of the top 7 this week to 9th, but is only 23 points away from getting back in.  If he stays out of the oven and the shitty sheets over the next 7 races, will he end the hopes of one of our not locked in teams???

BSOTW:

40th Place Joey Logano.  Picked by Empty.  Now we get to the true Have Nots this week.  Logano was strong this race, but a late wreck gave Empty the shared BSOTW Award.  Empty still has 2 wins, but absolutely needs a win over the next 7 races to move on.

42nd Place Jimmie Johnson.  Picked by Penguin, Rasta.  It could be worse Empty... just look at these 2 teams.  JJ starts 2nd and finishes 42nd... Are you f*cking kidding me?!?!?!?!?!  Penguin and his 1 win drops even further away from 7th; 51 points out, but it feels like 1000 at the moment.  2 wins in 7 races are what is needed... since I have been trying to get a win pretty much every week for the last 12 races + or -, it is not looking good for the Fat Penguin.  Rasta is in worse condition as this needed to be his 1st win of the season... 3 wins in 7 races are a must for our defending Champ.

Other Ramblings:

7 Races to go before the Chase; just in case you aren't paying attention.

Indy this week.

I have enjoyed and needed the week off to try to regroup from my bad luck.  4 races ago, I was sitting in 2nd and knocking on Chonk's door (1 point away from 1st).  Now I'm in 11th; 51 points away from 7th and only 1 win to my credit.  I did say that this could happen a few weeks ago, but I was talking about one of you guys.  I honestly did not even think about it happening to me... but it did.  3 BSOTWs in a row must be some sort of record.

We still have 8 teams locked into the Chase at the moment and only 3 teams with less than 3 wins occupy a top 7 qualifying spot.  Things to keep an eye on over the next 7 races:

• Battle for 1st between Chonk and Graziano
• Battle for 3rd through 7th positions - Piston, Dust, Asleep, Skidmarks, and Ideal... valuable Bonus points are up for grabs.  1 point was the difference last year...
• Battle for 7th between Ideal and Shepard.
• Strategies for the 2 win teams both inside and outside the top 7
• Strategies for the 1 win teams both inside and outside the top 7
• Will the 0 win teams make a move, or will we see some eliminations before the 7 races are completed???

So here are the scenarios I have in my small brain right now for those of us not locked into the Chase:

• Graziano needs 7 solid points weeks or 2 more wins or both... can probably recover from a DOOTW or BSOTW.  CHASE HEALTH
• Piston continues to perform at a high level.  They need 7 solid points weeks or only 1 more win. CHASE HEALTH
• Ideal has been solid the last several weeks but needs to continue this run over the next 7 races or grab 2 more wins. CHASE HEALTH
• Shepard continues to climb and needs to continue or grab 1 more win (GREEN).  7 more solid weeks may also grab one of the qualifying spots... only 15 points out (YELLOW).  CHASE HEALTH
• Penguin did not recover from last week's BSOTW or the BSOTW the week before and had another BSOTW... 3 BSOTW's in a row!?!?!  F*ck me... now 51 points away from 7th (RED).  Needs 2 more wins in the last 7 races (RED).  CHASE HEALTH
• Rusty is now 58 points away (RED) from a qualifying spot, but only 1 win away (GREEN) from making the Chase.   CHASE HEALTH
• Empty is now 109 points out (RED), but 1 more win (Green) and he can sleep easy.  CHASE HEALTH
• Rasta and A-Game will need to win 3 races of 7 to make the Chase.  CHASE HEALTH

Good luck to all... especially Fat Penguin!

Cheers!

New Hampshire Drivers

Got Kiss's pick...

However, I have seen JJ smack the wall... Me and Rasta are hosed for another week.  Maybe they'll cancel the race or something... We need a mulligan.

Daytona (F*$% Me) Results - Rain win for Almirola

I was hoping that the second big wreck would mean Edwards would pick up a few more spots, but that Biatch Mother Nature gave us the big weenie... but enough about mine and Empty's bad luck...

Top Picks:

5th Austin Dillon - Picked by Graziano.  Graz continues to hold strong in 2nd and is only 7 points back from taking the top qualifying spot.  With 8 weeks to go, Graziano is looking like a serious contender for the Championship this year.  Well done Graz!!!!  Keep it up amigo!

6th Hamlin - Picked by Asleep.  Locked in Chaser Asleep jumps up to 8th and is a great position to earn a few more Bonus points for the Chase.  7 points away from that goal...

Eh...:

14th Dale Jr. - Picked by Skid, Shepard, Rowdy, A-Game.  Our most popular selection this week, Jr. had a good week... in comparison.  Skidmarks moves up to 3rd and continues his bounce back to the top.  Shepard jumps up a spot to 9th with his 2 wins, and is now only 13 points out of a qualifying spot.  A-Game was looking for a win from Jr. but it was not meant to be.  A-Game will need to continue to try for 3 wins in the next 8 races or it will be a short season for him.  Locked in Chaser Rowdy gets a decent points day, but just like the Honey Badger... she doesn't give a shit... she's locked in.  

16th Menard - Picked by Chonk.  Chonk's gap has been shortened, but if I know him... he likes a small gap.  He's been in the top spot for 14 of the 18 weeks this year and the 14 weeks have been in a row.  Chonk has led since Fontana... I don't even f-ing remember Fontana.  He may be like the Honey Badger as well... 

17th Logano - Picked by Kiss.  Locked in Chaser Kiss gave himself a little breathing room and moves up into the 6th qualifying spot.  3 wins + the qualifying spot bonus will be a nice position in which to be come Chase time.  Well done Kiss!

20th Kenseth - Picked by Ideal and Rasta.  Ideal hangs on to the 7th place spot, but was looking for a bit more with the Kenseth pick.  Rasta was looking for a win from one of the pre-race favorites and now needs 3 wins of the next 8 races or it will be a short season for our defending Champ.  

22nd Ragan - Picked by Piston.  Raga had a strong race and looked to be a genius pick by our 5th place team.  In the end, it was not a great day for Piston, but they stay in 5th and are looking like a solid lock for the post season.  

DOOTW:

29th Biffle - Picked by Beef.  Beef is smelling a little musty, but they are going to be just fine... Honey Badger.

30th McMurray - Picked by Dust.  A loud sound rumbles beneath the sheets that are being pulled over Dust's head... He drops from 3rd to 4th, but the Oven will not hurt him this week.  He's locked in the Chase and holds onto a qualifying spot.  Life is good for Dust... even in the Dutch Oven.

BSOTW:

37th Edwards - Picked by Penguin and Empty.  I (Penguin) am in a shitload of trouble... 3 races ago I was in 2nd place.  Larson in Kenfucky = BSOTW (-4 spots).. BAM!  Edwards in Dayfucktona = BSOTW (-4 spots)... BOOM!  2nd to 10th in 2 races... Only 14 points out of 7th, but only 1 win... I don't usually like to make a big deal of my position in the league, but JC... I'm sucking it up.  Empty was hoping Edwards would have delivered the goods this week and got him his 3rd win, but it wasn't meant to be.  Empty will need 1 win in the next 8 races most likely to be a factor in the postseason.  

40th Stewart  - Picked by Pursuit.  Locked in Chaser Pursuit got shitty this week, but is locked in and still only 32 points out of making it to a qualifying spot.  No worries here...

Most Poo in Bed 41st Danicky - Picked by Rusty.  Stenhouse looked strong, but got shuffled back in the pack and was collected in one of the big wrecks.  More importantly, it puts Rusty in the: "I need 1 win in the next 8 weeks mode."  

Other Ramblings:

New Hampshire this Sunday.  Hopefully back to some normalcy.  

Daytona seems to be a lot like the crapshoot that is Talladega... but in the past I have felt it a much more consistent race that its' restrictor plated sister.  That is until this race... just look at all of us that had a shitty race.  Stewart, Edwards, Kenseth, Johnson...  WTF????

So here are the scenarios I have in my small brain right now for those of us not locked into the Chase:

• Graziano needs 8 solid points weeks or 2 more wins or both... can probably recover from a DOOTW or BSOTW.  CHASE HEALTH
• Piston needs 8 solid points weeks or only 1 more win. CHASE HEALTH
• Ideal has been solid the last several weeks but needs to continue this run over the next 9 races or grab 2 more wins. CHASE HEALTH
• Shepard continues to climb and needs to continue or grab 1 more win (GREEN).  8 more solid weeks may also grab one of the qualifying spots... only 13 points out (YELLOW).  CHASE HEALTH
• Penguin did not recover from last week's BSOTW and had another BSOTW... only 14 points away from 7th (YELLOW), but needs 8 solid points weeks or 2 more wins (RED).  CHASE HEALTH
• Rusty is now 62 points away (RED) from a qualifying spot, but only 1 win away (GREEN) from making the Chase.   CHASE HEALTH
• Empty is now 75 points out (RED), but 1 more win (Green) and he can sleep easy.  CHASE HEALTH
• Rasta and A-Game will need to win 3 races of 9 to make the Chase.  CHASE HEALTH

GayTony... Why does that enter my mind when I think of Daytona???? Drivers right here...

Keselowski Kicks Ass in Kentucky

Hola Mfers!  Happy pre-4th of July to everyone!  I hope you have a nice long weekend and safe travels if you are heading anywhere...

Keselowski dominated in Kentucky and was the class of the field pretty much all day... but there were some other interesting developments last Saturday.  Let's get to it...

Top Picks:

1st Keselowski - Picked by Dust, Kiss, Pursuit, and Empty.  Dust jumps up 4 spots to 3rd and gets his 3rd win!  Kiss jumps up 2 spots to 7th and gets his 3rd win!  Pursuit jumps up 2 spots to 9th and gets his 3rd win!  Empty jumps up 2 spots to 13th and get his 2nd win.  3 more teams are now locked into the Chase and another got a lot closer.  Nice job guys!

3rd Newman - Picked by Graziano.  Nice Newman pick!  Graziano moves back to 2nd and is only 18 points off the lead.  One win to his credit, but he is only 9 more solid picks from making the Chase.

4th Kenseth - Picked by Chonk, Shepard and Rusty.  Chonk continues his domination, Shepard and his 2 wins inch closer to the 7th spot (18 points away), and Rusty gains a position (12th) and he and his 2 wins are 40 points out of the 7th place spot.

6th Gordon - Picked by Ideal.  Ideal continues his climb up the leaderboard.  He is now tied for 7th, but with only 1 win I deal will need to keep up the good work over the next 9 races.

9th Logano - Picked by Skidmarks.  Locked in team Skid gains another spot back and moves to 4th.  Logano hung on to finish 9th and gave one of our top contenders another solid race!

Eh: 

11th Stewart - Picked by A-Game.  Another disappointing week for our 17th place team.  A-Game will most likely be a spectator for the Chase this year... unless he can drum up 3 WINS in the next 9 races.  Time to dust off your top drivers I would think...

21st Patrick - Picked by Piston.  Fresh off of last week's win, Piston drops a spot to 5th with 2 wins.   

DOOTW: 

37th McMurray - Picked by Beef and Rowdy.  McMurray was a victim of a rookie spin out and got collected in the carnage.  2 of our locked in Chase Teams get the Dutch Oven this week... no worries at all I can only imagine.

BSOTW:

40th Larson - Picked by Penguin, Asleep and Rasta.  Obviously, I thought my favorite Rookie was lock to get his 1st win here, but it was not meant to be.  Penguin drops 4 spots from 2nd to 6th and only 5 points away from being outside the top 7... with only 1 win.  Asleep is locked in the Chase with 3 wins, but drops out of 6th to 11th... if the Chase started tomorrow these would be valuable points lost to start the postseason.  Rasta drops one spot to 15th and is now 81 points away from 7th with 0 wins.  Our 2013 Champion Rasta will most likely be a spectator for the Chase this year... unless he can drum up 3 WINS in the next 9 races.  Time to dust off your top drivers I would think...

Other Ramblings:

Daytona this Saturday.

8 of 17 teams are now locked into the Chase!  4 of them occupy qualifying spots.  Of the other 4 (currently a tie for 7th)  currently occupied qualifying spots only Piston has 2 wins.  The other 3 teams each have 1 win.  Of the 5 teams outside the Top 7 who have not qualified for the postseason, 3 have 2 wins and 2 have 0 wins.

So here are the scenarios I have in my small brain right now for those of us not locked into the Chase:

• Graziano needs 9 solid points weeks or 2 more wins or both... can probably recover from a DOOTW or BSOTW.  CHASE HEALTH
• Piston needs 9 solid points weeks or only 1 more win. CHASE HEALTH
• Penguin needs to recover from this week's BSOTW with 9 solid points weeks or 2 more wins.  CHASE HEALTH
• Ideal has been solid the last several weeks but needs to continue this run over the next 9 races or grab 2 more wins. CHASE HEALTH
• Shepard has also been solid the last several weeks and would need to continue or grab 1 more win.  9 more solid weeks may also grab one of the qualifying spots.  CHASE HEALTH
• Rusty is only 40 points away from a qualifying spot, but only 1 win away from making the Chase. CHASE HEALTH
• Empty is 57 points out, but 1 more win and he can sleep easy.  CHASE HEALTH
• Rasta and A-Game will need to win 3 races of 9 to make the Chase.  CHASE HEALTH