Phoenix Fantasy Preview

This week, we have the 3rd COT (Car of Over Time) race as NASCAR travels to Phoenix International Speedway. Last week the drivers I picked, did very well

Gordon got 4th, McMurray 5th, Truex 7th, and Kahne 20th. I hope you took my advice and went with some of these drivers. Now onto this weeks picks.

Phoenix International Speedway

Top 10 positions-

Denny Hamlin

In the last race at Phoenix in 2006, Hamlin brought home a 3rd place finish. This week he qualified 3rd and has averaged a 6th place finish over the last two races. Put him in your lineup this week and expect a top 5 finish from him.

Positions 11-20
Kurt Busch
Kurt Busch has had a win at Phoenix when he was driving for Roush racing. He hasn't repeated that success since 2005. Over the last four races, he has posted a top 12 finish in three of them. Will he challenge for the win? Perhaps. Will he get a top 10 finish? Yes. This team is getting better, it must be the new ears.

Postions 21-30

Reed Sorenson
Has anyone notice the performance this team has been showing on the track? Has anyone noticed the bad luck that keeps following them? They had a top 5 car most of the race at Texas before a blown engine. This has been the story of his Nextel cup career. Look for him to get the bad luck behind him as he gets you a good finish when others in your league aren't even considering him.

Positions 31st-99th

Kasey Kahne

Two weeks in a row that I am picking him here. With him sitting in 33rd place, this may be the last week that he falls into this category. Two of their last 3 races have been top 20 runs. Can you believe that is actually good for this team this year? Because he is the best of this group, you have to choose him again. Next week we will contemplate Dale Jarrett v Kyle Petty.

Texas Fantasy Preview

Each week, we will preview some of the drivers that you may wish to take in your fantasy racing leagues. I will break it down into 4 categories. Top 10 in points, 11-20 in points, 21-30 in points, 31-43rd+ in points. This will cover the stars and the lesser known drivers.

Texas Motor Speedway

The thing that jumps out for this track is that there have been 10 races and not a single repeat winner.
1997-Jeff Burton
1998-Mark Martin
1999-Terry Labonte
2000-Dale Earnhardt, Jr
2001-Dale Jarrett
2002-Matt Kenseth
2003-Ryan Newman
2004-Elliot Sadler
2005-Greg Biffle
2005-Carl Edwards
2006-Kasey Kahne
2006-Tony Stewart

Will this streak continue?

Top 10 in Points-Jeff Gordon
This is one of the few tracks that Gordon has never won on and because qualifying was rained out, he gets to start on the front row. He has had a 2nd place finish and two 3rd place finishes, so he does know how to get around the track. He only averaged 15th place in 2006 but has been running much stronger this year. Put Gordon down as a driver you want in your lineup this week.













11th through 20th place in points-Jamie McMurray
Jamie McMurray has been having a very quiet year and has had three straight top 15 finishes after having two 30+ place finishes at the start of the season. Last week was his best with a 9th place finish. This is a much improved team, compared to 2005. Take McMurray now before everyone starts realizing what he is doing.









21st through 30th in points-Martin Truex, Jr
Truex had one of his worst races last week at Martinsville with a 37th place finish. The two races before that he was averaging 10th place in his finishes. Look for him to get back into that as he gets a top 15 this week. Then watch him move into the top 20.





31st through 99th in points
You have to go with Kahne, despite his terrible season. Having him in this group was not expected and he has to break out of the funk that got him here. He won here last year, so he knows how to get around the track. Look for him to contend for a top 5 finish this week.