Hotlanta Drivers

Bristol Shuffle... We have a new leader... Kenseth is top pick

Lots of movement in the standings again this week... Logano was able to grab the win this week, but no one picked him.  We have a new leader, but it is a familiar team at the top...  10 teams still locked in.  3 not locked in teams still occupy top 7 spots... 4 teams remain desperate... one of those must overcome 71 points in 2 races as they cannot qualify on wins.  Lets get to it...

TOP PICKS:

3rd Place Matt Kenseth - Picked by Rusty and Rowdy.  Rusty wanted that win, but this was a great week for the Truck.  He jumps up 2 spots, but more importantly he is only 21 points out of 7th.  This gives Rusty another option to make it into the Chase.  Rowdy is still back in the pack, but will have a chance to win this thing.  Simple Game!

5th Place Kurt Busch - Picked by Graziano and Skidmarks.  Graziano bounces out of the oven as I predicted and retakes the lead.  He has a nice 10 point lead over 2nd and a 60 point lead over 8th.  Skidmarks jumps 2 spots and is back in the top 7.  These teams will be battling to hang on to these valuable bonus points over the next 2 races I am sure.  A very nice week fellas!

7th Place Carl Edwards - Picked by Ideal, Chonk and Rasta.  Ideal jumps up a spot to 2nd and 50 points away from 8th.  Chonk gains a spot and is now in 3rd.  Rasta needed the win, but technically is not eliminated.  With 0 wins and only two races left, Rasta will need to gain 71 points and jump 6 teams to get into the Chase.

10th Place Greg Biffle - Picked by Empty.  Empty is just chillin' at the back of the pack and waiting on the Chase.

Eh:

12th Place Kyle Larson - Picked by Kiss.  Kiss jumps up to 5th and is 22 points clear of 6th place.  4 wins and in a qualifying spot, Kiss is looking strong.

13th Place Ryan Newman - Picked by Beef.  Beef is locked in and 41 points out of 7th.  Most likely he will coast into the Chase.

21st Place Brian Vickers - Picked by Pursuit.  Pursuit is only 31 points out of 7th and still has a decision to make on which strategy to use for the next 2 races.

DOOTW:

28th Place Austin Dillon - Picked by Piston.  Team Piston drops 3 spots to 4th, but is only 14 points out of 1st.  They are locked in, but would love to bounce back and grab some more bonus points for sure.

BSOTW:

34th Place Marcos Ambrose - Picked by Asleep.  Asleep drops a spot to 8th... with 4 wins and only 8 points out of 7th, you can bet that Asleep will be trying to get back into one of the qualifying spots in order to capitalize on the extra points.

35th Place Kasey Kahne - Picked by Dust.  Dust drops 2 spots to 10th and is now 26 points away from 7th.  Will he try to make up the points or just coast the rest of the way??? We shall see...

36th Place Kyle Busch - Picked by Shepard, Penguin, and A-Game.  Shepard drops to 6th but there is a large gap between him and 5th.  Shepard has 2 wins, but is only 9 points clear of 8th.  The next 2 races will be critical for this team.  Penguin and A-Game needed Kyle to win this race.  With no chance to qualify on points, they are now dormy for the next 2 races.

Other Ramblings:

2 Races to go before the Chase!

Atlanta on Sunday.

We still have 10 teams locked into the Chase and 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 continues  We have a new leader and it's Piston. The battle for the top spot... Graziano is back on top, but 14 points separate the top 4 spots.
• Battle for 3rd through 7th positions - 8th place too... 33 points separate the teams and valuable points are up for grabs.  All of the top 7 spots are up for grabs now!!!  The top 4 spots are the battle to watch at the moment.
• Strategies for the 3+ win teams as we near the Chase - 3 3+win teams occupy positions 8-10... will they get into the top 7? We have a few teams outside the top 7 by several points... will they coast into the Chase or try their best to crack the top 7 over the next 3 races???
• Strategies for the 2 win teams in the top 7 - Shepard drops to 6th spot and only 9 points away from 8th.  Will he get that 3rd win and hang on???
• Strategies for the 1 win teams in the top 7 - Graz and Ideal have some breathing room, but are still not locked in... let's see how Atlanta goes.
• Will the not-locked in teams make a move, or will we see some eliminations before the 3 races are completed???... Rasta, Penguin and A-Game are all pretty much dormy.. Rusty needs a win or to make up 21 points over 2 races.

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

• Graziano is back in 1st and is still looking strong to make it in on qualifying alone... 60 points ahead of 8th, he can probably recover from a DOOTW and a BSOTW  CHASE HEALTH
• Ideal has another solid race and is now 50 points away from 8th (10 points away from 1st).  He still probably needs to continue this run over the next 2 races to grab as many bonus points as possible, but is looking like a lock to make the chase.  CHASE HEALTH
• Shepard hit a speed bump this week and falls back to 6th.  He needs to rebound this week and have a nice points week or grab that 3rd win.  Nervous times for this team I'm sure... but it could be worse.  Trust me.  CHASE HEALTH
• Rusty is now 21 points away (Yellow) from a qualifying spot, and only 1 win away (YELLOW) from making the Chase.   CHASE HEALTH
• Rasta can only qualify on points and is 71 points away from 7th.  Not out yet, but not looking good.  CHASE HEALTH
• Penguin needs 2 more wins in the last 2 races.  CHASE HEALTH
• A-Game will need 2 more wins in the last 3 races. CHASE HEALTH

Cheers!

Bristol Drivers

Just started watching... I'm sure it ends in a Kyle Busch fiery crash... 

Michigan Results - Gordon Locks Piston in the Chase - Piston Takes Over the Lead!!!

Lots of movement at the top of the standings this week... Logano was strong all race, but Gordon was fast all week and prevailed.  One team gets locked in, we have a new leader... they happen to be the same team. A new team joins the top 7 while another team pitfalls out of the top 7.  10 teams now locked in.  3 not locked in teams occupy top 7 spots... 4 teams remain desperate.  Lets get to it...

TOP PICKS:

1st Place Jeff Gordon - Picked by Piston.  Team Piston gets that 3rd win and locks in to the Chase!  They jump up 2 spots into the lead and are looking like a top contender for the Crown.  They still have plenty of top drivers left... look out for this team during the Chase!  Well done guys!

2nd Place Kevin Harvick - Picked by A-Game.  Harvick gave it the ol college try, but A-Game needed a win here...

3rd Place Joey Logano - Picked by Rusty.  Logano was the dominant car, but Rusty needed him to close the deal.  Rusty could still qualify on points, but needs to get that 3rd win to be sure.

4th Place Paul Menard - Picked by Ideal, Shepard, Asleep and Beef.  Ideal moves up one and is still looking strong.  Shepard gets a little more breathing room (5th) and 28 points clear of 8th.  Asleep grabs the 7th spot and is 18 points clear of 8th.  Beef logs another solid points day, but will need a miracle to grab a qualifying spot.

10th Place Greg Biffle - Picked by Kiss, Dust, Penguin and Rasta.  Kiss stays in 6th, but moves from 51 points out of 1st to 31 points out of 1st.  Dust jumps up a spot but is 18 points out of 7th.  Penguin and Rasta are still in a lot of trouble...

Eh:

22nd Place Austin Dillon - Picked by Empty.  Good strategy by locked in Chaser Empty.

23rd Place Carl Edwards - Picked by Pursuit and Rowdy.  Both teams are locked in and looking like they will be starting the Chase with 1000 points.

DOOTW:

39th Place Kyle Busch - Picked by Graziano.  Graziano drops out of the top spot but is still in 2nd and only 9 points out.  Look for Graziano to bounce out of the oven next race.

BSOTW:

43rd Place Kyle Larson - Picked by Chonk and Skid.  He's still my favorite Rookie of the the Year pick, but what a brutal day that ended in a fiery crash into the wall for Chonk and Skid.  Chonk drops 2 spots down to 4th while Skid is on the outside looking in.  Skidmarks is now 9th and 21 points away from the 7th place spot.

Other Ramblings:

3 Races to go before the Chase!

Bristol on Saturday.

We now have 10 teams locked into the Chase and now 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 continues  We have a new leader and it's Piston.
• Battle for 3rd through 7th positions - 8th place too... 33 points separate the teams and valuable points are up for grabs.  All of the top 7 spots are up for grabs now!!!
• Strategies for the 3+ win teams as we near the Chase - 3 3+win teams occupy positions 8-10... will they get into the top 7? We have a few teams outside the top 7 by several points... will they coast into the Chase or try their best to crack the top 7 over the next 3 races???
• Strategies for the 2 win teams in the top 7 - Shepard moves to the 5th spot and 28 points away from 8th.
• Strategies for the 1 win teams in the top 7
• Will the not-locked in teams make a move, or will we see some eliminations before the 3 races are completed???... Piston joins the Haves and is out of the scenarios discussion below.

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

• Graziano drops to 2nd but is still looking strong to make it in on qualifying alone... 49 points ahead of 8th, he can probably recover from a DOOTW or a BSOTW  CHASE HEALTH
• Ideal has another solid and is now 41 points away from 8th (17 points away from 1st).  He still needs to continue this run over the next 3 races or grab 2 more wins, but he is now able to breathe a little easier. CHASE HEALTH
• Shepard has another good week and jumps up 2 spots to 5th.  He still needs to continue the trend or grab 1 more win (GREEN).  Now 28 points clear of 8th (YELLOW).  CHASE HEALTH
• Rusty is still 45 points away (Red) from a qualifying spot, but only 1 win away (YELLOW) from making the Chase.   CHASE HEALTH
• Penguin needs 2 more wins in the last 3 races (RED).  CHASE HEALTH
• Rasta is now dormy and will need to win 3 races of 3 to make the Chase.  CHASE HEALTH
• A-Game will need 2 more wins in the last 3 races. CHASE HEALTH

Cheers!

Michigan Drivers

Fucktins Glen... An awesome race really... AJ gets into the Chase (I think) and a win for 2 teams

This week will be easy to recap...  Even though my guy shit the bed, this was my favorite race of the season thus far.  What an exciting race!  Deep down I was hoping AJ and Ambrose would wreck each other with enough laps for Gordon to finish a couple of points better than the rest of you fools.  But that was not meant to be, and I loved seeing the excitement that AJ's team showed including owner Brad Daugherty... and AJ's reaction was heartwarming.  I love it when a NASCAR driver is too excited to thank every sponsor on their car...  Here we go!

TOP PICKS:

1st Place AJ Allmendinger - Picked by Chonk and Kiss.  Chonk gets win #5 and inches a little closer to the top spot.  Kiss gets win #4, but is only 16 points up on 8th place Asleep.  Those 4 wins will be great if he can hang on to one of the qualifying spots... but I think Asleep will have something to say about that.  Nice pick fellas!

2nd Place Marcos Ambrose - Everyone... except for Chonk and Kiss and Penguin.  This pick was supposed to lock Piston, Shepard and Rusty in the Chase... and get A-Game another win and Rasta on the board... The rest of the Ambrose teams basically held serve for another race.  An Ambrose win could have been huge for many teams.  Ambrose was awesome, but AJ was deserving of this one.

BSOTW:

34th Place Jeff Gordon - Picked by Penguin.  Nobody told me that Gordon was not going to plug in his hybrid the night before the race.  Of course he lost power when he was leading the most laps... why the f*#% wouldn't he??? It's been that kind of second half before the Chase for me, but I'm not going to cry about it.  I'm going honey badger for the next 4 races and doing everything I can to get those last 2 wins.  I think Rusty, Rasta and A-Game will as well...

Other Ramblings:

4 Races to go before the Chase!

Michigan on Sunday.

The Tony Stewart/Kevin Ward tragedy dominated the headlines (along with the Robin Williams suicide) this week.  In the heat of the moment it is unpredictable what can happen... I haven't been able to follow everything this week, but I guess the big question is will Tony get charged in the incident?  Did he mean to do it?  Does it even matter?  I definitely can understand the reaction that Ward's father had, but these guys that get out of their car to confront another driver still in their car has got to stop.  It's 1 million times worse that  a football player who tries to punch another football player in the face when they're still wearing their helmet.  A tough situation for everyone involved for sure...

We still have 9 teams locked into the Chase and now 4 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 continues
• Battle for 3rd through 7th positions - 8th place too... 33 points separate the teams and valuable points are up for grabs.
• Strategies for the 3+ win teams as we near the Chase - 3 3+win teams occupy positions 8-10... will they get into the top 7?
• Strategies for the 2 win teams in the top 7 - Shepard is still hanging on to the 7th spot by 10 points.
• Strategies for the 1 win teams in the top 7
• Will the not-locked in teams make a move, or will we see some eliminations before the 4 races are completed???... none this week.

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

• Graziano is looking strong to make it in on qualifying alone... still 66 points ahead of 8th, he can probably recover from a DOOTW and a BSOTW  CHASE HEALTH
• Team Piston continues to perform at a high level.  33 points away from 8th.  They need 4 solid points weeks or only 1 more win. CHASE HEALTH
• Ideal has another solid and is still 23 points away from 8th.  He still needs to continue this run over the next 4 races or grab 2 more wins, but he is close to being able to breathe easily. CHASE HEALTH
• Shepard has another good week and stays in the top 7.  He still needs to continue the trend or grab 1 more win (GREEN).  Only 10 points clear of 8th (YELLOW).  CHASE HEALTH
• Rusty is still 58 points away (RED) from a qualifying spot, but only 1 win away (YELLOW) from making the Chase.   CHASE HEALTH
• Penguin needs 2 more wins in the last 4 races (RED).  CHASE HEALTH
• Rasta and  will need to win 3 races of 4 to make the Chase.  CHASE HEALTH
• A-Game will need 2 more wins in the last 4 races. CHASE HEALTH

Cheers!

Shocking News... Ambrose Fest at the Glen...

It is not shocking that everyone picked Ambrose... almost everyone that is.  The Tony Stewart situation is crazy... I'll keep my opinion to myself.

I'm hoping for an AJ/Ambrose crash around lap 60, as Gordon cruises on to take the checkered flag...

But in reality, I didn't choose Ambrose as I didn't want to take the rest of you down with me.  You're welcome.

Pocono Results - Jr Wins the race - Kiss and Shepard Crack the Top 7

Jr won, but nobody picked him.  Graziano extends his lead.  4th-9th places are shuffled... 2 new teams are in the top 7, 2 locked in Chasers fall out of the top 7.  Several teams are still running out of time... Let's get to it...  

TOP PICKS:

6th Place Jeff Gordon - Picked by Rasta.  Rasta was obviously going for the win with the Gordon pick, but it wasn't meant to be this week.  A nice points day, but he now needs to win 3 of 5.  I'm pulling for you!

7th Place Jamie McMurray - Picked by Kiss.  Kiss jumps up 3 spots and moves from 9th to 6th.  It will be close for sure, but a very nice week for Kiss!

9th Place Denny Hamlin.  Picked by Graziano and Shepard.  Graziano holds on to the top spot with yet another solid week.  Shepard continues his ascent to the top and continues to impress... now sitting in that 7th place qualifying spot.  However, with only a 10 point cushion between he and 8th... he'll have to keep it up over the next 5 races.

EH:

11th Place Kyle Larson.  Picked by Ideal, Skidmarks, Pursuit, Beef and Empty.  Ideal has another solid week and now has a 23 point cushion from 8th place.  Skid picks up a spot and stays in a great position to start the Chase.  Pursuit, Beef, and Empty keep their position and are looking to cruise into the Chase with their top drivers available... Pursuit is still in reach of 7th, so we'll see how he plays it over the next 5 races.

13th Place Kurt Busch.  Picked by Chonk, Piston, and Rowdy.  Chonk stays in 2nd drafting off of Graziano. Did he have some debris on his grill and just needed to slide in behind Graz to get it off, or will he just sit back and wait for the Green, White, Checkered?  Piston stays in 3rd and is now 33 points clear of 8th.  Rowdy is still chillin' at the back of the pack and waiting to pounce come Chase-time.

DOOTW:

23rd Place Brad Keselowski.  Picked by Penguin, Rusty and A-Game.  Really Keselowski???  Do you think Penguin, Rusty and A-Game needed you to finish 23rd???  Okay, so it wasn't his fault, but Keselowski never even teased us into thinking he could win this race... not what we needed.  Rusty still needs that last win; while Penguin and A-Game need to win 2 of the last 5.  Get out of the oven boys and get onto Victory Lane!!!

BSOTW:

36th Place Tony Stewart.  Picked by Dust and Asleep.  Tony ended up on top of another race car, so that's not good.  These guys fall out of the top 7 this week, but are locked in.  Both teams are within striking distance of the top 7, so it will be fun to watch their approach as we near the Chase.

Other Ramblings:

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

Watkins Glen on Sunday.

We still have 9 teams locked into the Chase and now 4 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 continues
• Battle for 3rd through 7th positions - It is spreading out a bit, but now 2 new teams (Kiss and Shepard) are in and 2 teams (Asleep and Dust) fall out
• Strategies for the 3+ win teams as we near the Chase
• Strategies for the 2 win teams in the top 7
• Strategies for the 1 win teams in the top 7
• Will the not-locked in teams make a move, or will we see some eliminations before the 5 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 5 solid points weeks or 2 more wins or both... 66 points ahead of 8th, he can probably recover from a DOOTW and a BSOTW  CHASE HEALTH
• Team Piston continues to perform at a high level.  They need 5 solid points weeks or only 1 more win. CHASE HEALTH
• Ideal stays solid again this week but is now 23 points away from 8th.  He still needs to continue this run over the next 5 races or grab 2 more wins. CHASE HEALTH
• Shepard has another good week and is now in the top 7.  He still needs to continue the trend or grab 1 more win (GREEN).  Only 10 points clear of 8th (YELLOW).  CHASE HEALTH
• Penguin is still in a shitload of trouble.  46 points away from 7th (RED) and needs 2 more wins in the last 5 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
• Rasta and  will need to win 3 races of 5 to make the Chase.  CHASE HEALTH
• A-Game will need 2 more wins in the last 5 races. CHASE HEALTH

Cheers!

Pocono Drivers