Auto Racing Fantasy League News

I'm sorry if you got this more than once. I felt it is so important, I sent
it to everyone in my contact list. Please think before you vote.

Crozier

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=381gFG4Crr8

Okay, first thing is first.  It's been a while since I've posted here and a lot has happened lately.  I broke my foot, got blood clots and my car blew up.  All of that happened in 3 weeks.  Nice huh?  Yeah....  So, here I am again, like it or not.

Second thing on my plate is the name of the next race track.  The "Auto Club Speedway" is what they are now calling the California Speedway.  Nothing else has really changed, it's still a 2 mile track banking at 14 degrees.  Speaking of degrees, the weather for the race is supposed to be 93 degrees and a chance of thunderstorms.  Yeah.......

Okay, lets talk Bristol Baby!!!  Or maybe we talk about Bristol.  Or maybe we talk about babies.  Heck, let's talk about them all.  First Bristol (don't worry Kyle, we're getting to you.  You'll just have to come second on my blog, but hey, you're used to that.)

Is Bristol Back?  I know since the track got resurfaced the racing here has been, well, racing.  Nothing wrong with that really, it's just when a fan thinks of Bristol we think of crashes and hard racing.  That's been pretty sparse lately but might the Bristol of old be back?  We saw guys getting into the corners three wide, we saw aggressive driving on pit road and we saw aggressive driving on the track.  Not to mention the "he had it coming" from the winner.  That's what Bristol is about.  You bring your crappy car to the track, drive the hell out of it, bang into others and get a little revenge if needed.  At the end of the race, you just might have won.

It's going to be hard to tell, but Bristol just might be back in old form.  Stay tuned.

Okay, Kyle, it's your turn.

First, let me start off by calling you a sniveling, whining, spoiled brat baby.  But hey, the hits don't stop there, let me tell you why.

This season you've enjoyed win after win in series after series.  Quite a few of those times the wins have come at the expense of others.  You have no problem pushing slower cars out of your way for a win, getting back at someone for something they might have done to you, wrecking other cars and then giving the finger to the fans as you go around the track.  Ooops, my bad, they weren't fans, they were Sirius radio broadcasters trying to get your attention.  Every week you drive around the track feeling as if you are above anyone and everyone else out there.  Saturday, you were proven wrong.

You see Kyle, what happened to you was called the "Bump and Run".  Simple little trick really, the car behind you taps you for about 3 or 4 laps to let you know he's faster than you, giving you the chance to get out of the way.  You're an arrogant idiot so you think you can hold him off.  The guy behind you has enough of your crap so he pushes you out of shape.  You get loose and have to slow down to save your car, he flies by.  But hey, why am I explaining this to you?  You do it all the time.  The only difference is, you do it wrong.  You make people so loose they go in the wall.

Carl on the other hand, did it just right and then proved he was faster by kicking your butt.  In Victory Lane, he had the guts to tell it like it is.  He meant to do what he did and added that you had it coming.  I remember that race Kyle, he's right, you had it coming.

I hope others in the NASCAR community are reading this.  Reading that the public is sick and tired of the "Kyle Busch" show and start giving him what he has coming.  A good ol' fashion country ass whooping.  It one thing to have a fast car and winning races.  It's another to (occasionally) put the bumper to a guy.  It yet another to put the bumper to a guy time and time again.

And before I go, another comment.  For those who are comparing Kyle to Earnhardt Sr.  There is no comparison.  Sr. would put his bumper to you if you were holding him up but the difference between him and Kyle is simple.  Kyle is arrogant, flamboyant and proud of it.  Sr. was quiet, humble and honest.

Steve Crozier

Okay, first thing is first.  Congrats to KBR for winning the instant gratification race this last weekend.  The $50 is one its way.

Okay, to the race.  Once again Jr. nation has a right to be disappointed.  The #88 was fast this weekend but due to a blown tire Earnhardt had a poor finish.  Yeah, 5th really sucks.  Who knew?  Frankly though, it has been pretty disappointing to see Jr. so close but so far.  Of course, it is fun to hear Jr. nation put some blame on Kyle Busch.

Speaking of Kyle Busch.  Has anyone else noticed how even his brother avoids speaking about him?  Has anyone else been listening to the driver channels on Sirius or Trackpass?  No one has time for Kyle either on or off the track.  Now don't get me wrong, he's a talented driver, but he's also stupid and does things that put others or himself in danger.  Its a matter of time before he crosses someone who will put him in his place.  Kyle's day is coming.

Okay, back to the race.  Let's run the numbers..

Kasey Kahne was the class of the field.  With 64 of the fastest laps he used them to walk away.  Things were pretty spread out.  David Ragan had a great run and he also scored the highest low position.  He never got below 19th place.  Edwards passed 102 other cars in the race to finish 9th.  And only 17 cars finished on the lead lap.

Alright, let's talk about the Monster.  The Monster Mile that is.  Dover is an exciting track and what matters here are tires.  Since this short track is mostly concrete tires will be very important here. 

Here are my predictions.

Look for Ryan Newman to have a great starting position only to drop off and probably finish outside the top ten.
Biffle will probably be opposite Newman.  Starting outside the top ten and probably having a top 5 finish.
Kenseth will also spend most of his time in the top ten.
Johnson will do a lot of passing and probably have a top ten run.
So who do I think will win?  Hard to say but I think this will be Kenseth and Biffle's race to lose. 

On another note, a personal note.  In the past couple weeks I've managed to break my right heel.  I have surgery on Friday to correct the fracture so the next update might be a little late.  Thanks for having patience with me.

Steve

It's Talladega baby!!!  And it's not all what it seems.

I have a question for you.  Who do you think should have won that race?  There were some great cars running out there, Stewart, Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Earnhardt Jr just to name a few.  But when you talk about speed, passing, fastest laps, only one car stood above the rest.  Denny Hamlin.

Hamlin never got below 24th place.  The best of the race.  He also had the best Average position (5th).  He had the most laps in the top 15 (180 of 188).  His driver rating is 125.0.  The next best rating was Earnhardt with 119.0; then came David Ragan at 114.3; Montoya was next at 102.9; Stewart after that at 102.1, Newman at 100.9.  In fact, when you go down the list Kyle Busch, the winner, was ranked 9th.

Okay, let's talk about Richmond.  All eyes will be watching Gibbs and Hendrick cars and they should.  After all, Earnhardt and Stewart have 3 wins, Gordon and Johnson have two wins.  But the car you need to be watching is the 29.

Now, I don't have a lot of love for Harvick.  In fact, even mentioning him in a positive light is going to put me in the dog house with the wife.  But let's look at some numbers shall we?

In the last 6 races he has the best Average Finish (5.5), the best Average Position (5.6), the most fastest laps (259) and has led the most laps (599).  Kyle Busch also does pretty well here and my dark horse pick is Ryan Newman.

Good luck!!!

Steve

Okay, let's talk about last weeks race.  As far as stats goes, Edwards was the one to beat.  The stats that jump out to me are the fact that he had the most of the fastest laps run (90) and led the most laps (123).  The next closest driver was Johnson who had the highest low position (6th).

Some folks says it was a boring race but let's face it.  Some races are going to be blow outs.  Tracks with long green flag runs aren't generally as exciting as others.  Texas and Michigan are among the worst.  There's plenty of racing going on, just maybe not what YOU want as racing.  Oh well.  What can you do.

Haven't seen the McDowell crash, you know, the one where he rolled the car 8 times.  Click here.

Newman had 25 points taken from him on Tuesday for failing post tech inspection.  NASCAR said the rear of the car was 1/8 of an inch too high.  Our points reflect that penalty.

This week we go to Phoenix.  Like stats?  I got em.

Looks like, according to the last 6 races here, Johnson is the man to beat.
He has the best mid-race position (4.3)
He has the best average finish (6.0)
Most percentage of laps in the top 15 (93.9%)

Here's the list of the top 10 drivers here in the past 6 races:

1. Johnson
2. Harvick
3. Gordon
4. Busch, Kurt
5. Stewart
6. Biffle
7. Edwards
8. Kenseth
9. Truex
10. Martin

Other news.  How many gallons of paint does it take to paint a 1.5 mile wall at a NASCAR track?  About 575.  Look for the new coat of yellow paint at Lowe's.  Yes........I said yellow.

Good luck this week!!!

Steve