The Pit Stall

One thing is becoming quite clear.  Jimmie Johnson and his #48 team have this Chase thing figured out and are going to win their 3rd straight Championship.  Carl Edwards, one of only 3 drivers with a realistic shot at surpassing Johnson won the race, only to have Jimmie come back from going a lap down to finish second.  Edwards picked up only 15 points on the leader, and less than stellar finishes by Greg Biffle and Jeff Burton have extended Johnson’s points lead, and left Edwards in second spot. 

In my fantasy league, this race basically came down to Jimmie Johnson and David Reutimann vs Jeff Burton and Brian Vickers, since Martin and Ragan were on both mine and my only competition’s rosters.  Fortunate for me, the Johnson/Reutimann combo won the day, and I managed to pick up another 28 points over second place, leaving me with a 92 point cushion over the final 3 races. 

Group 1 – Jimmie Johnson(1) & Carl Edwards(2)

Not a bad week to have either of these drivers on the squad.  Johnson, who I started, finished in 2nd place, overcoming a pit road speeding penalty early in the race.  Only 2 drivers fared better this week, one of which was Edwards, who won the race, and Matt Kenseth who finished 4th, but was actually the top driver in this group thanks to the 10 bonus points for leading the most laps.

Group 2 – Kyle Busch(1), David Ragan(2), Dale Earnhardt Jr(2), Mark Martin(1)

As I suggested prior to the race, I’d try to ‘block’ the picks of the team in 2nd place.  Both Mark Martin and David Ragan were listed on their roster, and were likely to get the start, so that’s who I went with.  Ragan finished 8th and Martin rolled across in 22nd.  Busch and Junior would have picked me up more points, with finishes of 5th and 11th respectively, but at this point in the game, with only a prize for first, it’s about holding off the competition.

Group 3 – Travis Kvapil(3), David Reutimann(3)

Neither of these drivers finished in the top 20 as I had hoped, but they fared better than the majority of the group 3 options I was also considering.  Reutimann got the start and finished 28th, while Kvapil ended up 5 spots ahead in 23rd.  AJ Allmendinger continues to impress down the stretch, as he had another top 15 finish in the #10 Gillett-Evernham Dodge, and should find his way into a full-time ride for next season with the vast improvement he’s made this year.

Recap

• Points for this race: 258 (Johnson, Ragan, Ky. Busch, Almirola)
• Most Possible Points: 332 (Kenseth, Ky. Busch, Biffle, Allmendinger)
• Season Points : 8917
• Current Place : 1st
• Lead over 2nd : 92
• Overall Percentile : 96th

Filed under: Intermediates, Pit Picks by Site Admin - Monday, October 27th, 2008