By Dan Beaver
Senior Editor
July 21, 2007
After the Daytona 500, most drivers say that if they could only win one race, the Brickyard 400 would be it.
As a country, we all grew up watching the Indy 500?which ran for the 91st time this year?and drivers dreamed of racing on its hallowed ground when they were children. Open wheel racers traditionally had the only map to Indy, until NASCAR came to town in 1994.
Expect a large field for one of the most prestigious races of the season, but you can also expect the cream to rise to the top because there are very few dark horse winners on this track. Ever since Jeff Gordon took the inaugural race as his second NASCAR Nextel Cup trophy, the Brickyard 400 has been won by drivers at the top of their game.
Buy
This particular race can be hard to win, but fantasy owners with a long view will notice that another flat track event immediately follows at Pocono Raceway. NASCAR then makes a pilgrimage to New York to Watkins Glen International before heading to the two-mile tracks of Michigan International Speedway and California Speedway as well as a couple of short tracks at Bristol Motor Speedway and Richmond International Raceway before the playoffs begin. Fantasy owners who like to place and hold drivers for a few weeks want a well-rounded selection.
Clint Bowyer fits that criteria. In his last 10 attempts, the driver of the No. 07 has recorded seven top-10s and they have come on a variety of course types including the short track of Richmond, the flat track of Pocono and the similarly-configured, 1.5-mile track of Chicagoland Speedway. He even finished fourth on the road course of Infineon Raceway, which makes him worth a second look at the Glen in a couple of weeks. In his last 18 attempts, Bowyer has improved his average race result for 4.4 positions to run about 15th, which makes him a good value in almost every game.
Sell
The most obvious drivers to sell this week are the former veterans of Bobby Ginn Racing, since both Joe Nemechek and Sterling Marlin have been released from their rides for not being cute and cuddly enough to attract sponsors. In the last few years, driving talent has taken a back seat to dimples, and now it's being pushed out of a speeding car.
Of course, Fate turned her back on the veterans some time ago, so very few fantasy owners probably had them on the roster in any event, so a more conventional pick to sell this week would be Dale Earnhardt Jr. It appears that the "A" equipment is going to teammate Martin Truex Jr. since he is the future of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI), and the driver of the No. 8 has been struggling recently. When Truex took his first NASCAR Nextel Cup victory at Dover International Speedway seven race weekends ago, Earnhardt finished 22nd in that race and has managed to record only two top-10s since. In that span, his average finish is only 15.8, and we are betting that is a trend that continues downhill.
Hold
Tony Stewart thrives on controversy. After wrecking his teammate Denny Hamlin in the Pepsi 400 and then getting called to the woodshed by car owner Joe Gibbs during the first half of Happy Hour at Chicagoland, Stewart went out and ran a dominant race to score his first victory of the 2007 season. Last year, his victory at Kansas Speedway during the Chase for the Nextel Cup sparked a winning streak during which he took three of the final eight trophies, and he's hoping that his reversal of fortune will come earlier this year.
Stewart is traditionally a strong closer to the season. Since 1999, his average improvement in the second half of the season has been three positions greater than the first half. In 2003, he improved by more than five positions in the final races. In 2005, that improvement was 6.3 positions and last year he improved by four spots, which means that now is the time to climb onto his bandwagon.
Senior Editor
July 21, 2007
After the Daytona 500, most drivers say that if they could only win one race, the Brickyard 400 would be it.
As a country, we all grew up watching the Indy 500?which ran for the 91st time this year?and drivers dreamed of racing on its hallowed ground when they were children. Open wheel racers traditionally had the only map to Indy, until NASCAR came to town in 1994.
Expect a large field for one of the most prestigious races of the season, but you can also expect the cream to rise to the top because there are very few dark horse winners on this track. Ever since Jeff Gordon took the inaugural race as his second NASCAR Nextel Cup trophy, the Brickyard 400 has been won by drivers at the top of their game.
Buy
This particular race can be hard to win, but fantasy owners with a long view will notice that another flat track event immediately follows at Pocono Raceway. NASCAR then makes a pilgrimage to New York to Watkins Glen International before heading to the two-mile tracks of Michigan International Speedway and California Speedway as well as a couple of short tracks at Bristol Motor Speedway and Richmond International Raceway before the playoffs begin. Fantasy owners who like to place and hold drivers for a few weeks want a well-rounded selection.
Clint Bowyer fits that criteria. In his last 10 attempts, the driver of the No. 07 has recorded seven top-10s and they have come on a variety of course types including the short track of Richmond, the flat track of Pocono and the similarly-configured, 1.5-mile track of Chicagoland Speedway. He even finished fourth on the road course of Infineon Raceway, which makes him worth a second look at the Glen in a couple of weeks. In his last 18 attempts, Bowyer has improved his average race result for 4.4 positions to run about 15th, which makes him a good value in almost every game.
Sell
The most obvious drivers to sell this week are the former veterans of Bobby Ginn Racing, since both Joe Nemechek and Sterling Marlin have been released from their rides for not being cute and cuddly enough to attract sponsors. In the last few years, driving talent has taken a back seat to dimples, and now it's being pushed out of a speeding car.
Of course, Fate turned her back on the veterans some time ago, so very few fantasy owners probably had them on the roster in any event, so a more conventional pick to sell this week would be Dale Earnhardt Jr. It appears that the "A" equipment is going to teammate Martin Truex Jr. since he is the future of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI), and the driver of the No. 8 has been struggling recently. When Truex took his first NASCAR Nextel Cup victory at Dover International Speedway seven race weekends ago, Earnhardt finished 22nd in that race and has managed to record only two top-10s since. In that span, his average finish is only 15.8, and we are betting that is a trend that continues downhill.
Hold
Tony Stewart thrives on controversy. After wrecking his teammate Denny Hamlin in the Pepsi 400 and then getting called to the woodshed by car owner Joe Gibbs during the first half of Happy Hour at Chicagoland, Stewart went out and ran a dominant race to score his first victory of the 2007 season. Last year, his victory at Kansas Speedway during the Chase for the Nextel Cup sparked a winning streak during which he took three of the final eight trophies, and he's hoping that his reversal of fortune will come earlier this year.
Stewart is traditionally a strong closer to the season. Since 1999, his average improvement in the second half of the season has been three positions greater than the first half. In 2003, he improved by more than five positions in the final races. In 2005, that improvement was 6.3 positions and last year he improved by four spots, which means that now is the time to climb onto his bandwagon.
