Fantasy Nascar

Camping World RV 400 Dover Preview

            One week into the Chase and a mechanical problem has knocked Kyle Busch back to 8^th in the standings. Carl Edwards and Jimmie Johnson are now tied for the lead followed by race winner, Greg Biffle in 3^rd. Matt Kenseth is the only driver more than 100 points out of first as the result of a late race wreck that he got collected up in.

            This week we head back to Dover, DE for week 2 of the Chase and once again I like the Roush drivers. I’m going to pick Carl Edwards to win this week and take sole possession of first place for now. Carl has finished in the top 3 in the last 4 races run at Dover including a win last fall.

            Greg Biffle might have just had the breakout that he needs and could be a serious contender for the title this season. Greg has finished in the top 10 in 6 of the last 7 races he has run at Dover including a win also. If he can come away with another strong run this weekend the rest of the drivers had better take notice.

            Matt Kenseth had some really terrible luck last week and needs to redeem himself right now and try to claw his way back into contention. Matt has finished in the top 10 at Dover in 5 of his last 7 starts and also has a victory during that time.

            Kyle Busch won here in the spring and will be very hungry this weekend as he tries to make his way back to the number one spot in the standings that he held for the majority of the season. In only 7 starts at Dover, Kyle has amassed 5 top 5 finishes including his spring win.

            Jimmie Johnson hasn’t finished in the top 5 here since he won in the spring of 2005. However, Jimmie hasn’t finished worse than 15^th during that stretch either. This is probably one of Jimmie’s worst tracks on the Chase schedule and he still runs rather well here.

            Jeff Burton had an impressive run last week at Loudon as he ran in the top 10 all day. Jeff won here in the fall of 2006, which broke a long string of not visiting victory lane for him. Jeff also won the spring race at Bristol this year and people like to say that Dover is like Bristol on steroids.

            Dale Earnhardt Jr. once again had the car to beat in the middle portion of the race last weekend and then a set of tires or an adjustment that was made in the pits took the wind out of his sails once again. Dale has really struggled at Dover recently posting only 2 top 10 finishes in his last 7 starts.

            Tony Stewart used to be one of the best at Dover. His best finish in his last 7 starts here is only 9^th though. This team denies that they are fighting among themselves but I think that everyone is just waiting to get this season over with and move on next year when Tony has his own team and Joey Logano becomes the full time driver of the #20 car.

            Two drivers who are not in the Chase that have a real legitimate shot at winning this weekend come from DEI. Martin Truex Jr. and Mark Martin should both be contenders this weekend. Martin won his first race here last spring and has finished in the top 6 three times in 5 starts. Mark has always been good at Dover and the DEI cars have what it takes for him to get a win here.

            Yahoo Picks for Dover

            Group A

            Carl Edwards (starter)

            Jimmie Johnson

            Group B

            Greg Biffle (starter)

            Martin Truex Jr. (starter)

            Ryan Newman

            Kyle Busch

            Group C

            Travis Kvapil (starter)

            Brian Vickers

            Top 5 Overall at Dover

1.      Carl Edwards

2.      Greg Biffle

3.      Kyle Busch

4.      Martin Truex Jr.

5.      Matt Kenseth

Dark Horse: Ryan Newman

Stay Away From: Kasey Kahne

As always you can Email me with any questions, comments or suggestions at gutsamaniac@hotmail.com. Good luck once again this weekend!