Pit Picks – Food City 500 (Bristol)
Is it just me, or does a weekend off make it seem like there is about a month between races? Plus it seems like a pretty silly time to take a weekend off. I could understand if Easter fell on this weekend, but to throw a break in before the top 35 rule begins to go by this season’s owner points
seems somewhat counter productive to keeping a captive audience. But what do I know? I’m just a fan.
The series is off to Bristol for some short track madness this weekend. Bristol Motor Speedway is just over a half mile in length and features some relatively high banking, and until the resurfacing a couple years ago, used to promote lots of bumpin and banging all over the track. The resurfacing allowed more side by side racing and now you don’t have to push someone out of the way, you can actually pass without a ‘friendly’ nudge.
**The numbers beside the drivers names are how many races I have them available for (9 starts per driver)
Group 1 – Jeff Gordon(9) & Kyle Busch(8)
Jeff Gordon has won the Bristol spring race 4 times in his career, taking the checkers 4 straight years (’95 – ’98), and the fall race once. He has 5 pole awards to go with those 5 wins as well, and I’ll take all of the bonus points I can get. Plus he leads the series heading into the race, so you know he’s performing. I won’t be overly surprised if he wins either here or next weekend at Martinsville. Kyle Busch has one victory at the track, but is third overall in average short track finish over the past 3 seasons to Gordon, and another solid choice in this spot, Kevin Harvick.
Group 2 - Kurt Busch(7), Denny Hamlin(9), Kasey Kahne(8), Tony Stewart(7)
Like Gordon, the elder Busch has 4 spring race victories at Bristol, and one in the fall. He hasn’t been quite as successful in qualifying though, but does have one pole to show for his efforts. Denny Hamlin’s background is short tracks, and I usually like to use him for most of the races under a mile. He’s better on the flatter tracks at Martinsville and Richmond, but still a solid performer here. Tony is having a terrific start to his ownership endeavor. He sits 6th in points and has 3 top 10′s so far. I’ve already burned 2 of his starts, so I’m more apt to save him to when he traditionally gets hot, the summer. Kasey has had a solid start to the season. He has only one top 10 finish (7th last race at Atlanta), but sits inside the top 10 in the driver standings. That usually means consistancy, and that’s exactly what you want out of your drivers in a fantasy set up like this.
Group 3 – Aric Almirola(9), Bobby Labonte(9)
I’m giving Allmendinger a one week hiatus, as he has not been very good at short tracks in his short career. Almirola on the other hand has been decent for a guy that’s been given limited seat time. He has an average finish of 19th at the track and was inside the top 15 for both races last season. That’d be gold for a group 3 driver. Labonte is the class of this group no matter how you look at it, and should get a long look each week. Personally I’d like to save him for a little later in the season, once most of my competitors have burned his starts and are stuck with guys outside the top 35 and spot starters. Having an advantage like that down the stretch can be huge, and easily the difference between winning and losing.
Good luck with your picks and have a great weekend!
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