Pit Picks Review – Carfax 400 (Michigan)

2009_CARFAX_400Another Michigan race, another fuel mileage snafu by the #48 team with Jimmie Johnson at the helm.  You gotta think that after they gave away a race in June, they’d know better than to gamble in August.  Especially when they had the best car in the field, and with all of the room to pass at this track.  This time it wasn’t a team mate that took the checkers…it was former team mate Brian Vickers getting the first ever win for the Red Bull team. 

The numbers in parentheses are how many starts I have remaining for each driver for the season.
 
Group 1 – Greg Biffle(8), Carl Edwards(6)
 
I made a last minute change before I took off for the day on Sunday morning, from Edwards to Biffle, and as usual it comes back to bite me in the ass.  Edwards nailed down a top 5 (4th) and led a lap, whereas Biffle finished 20th and picked up no bonus points.  It would have been another monster week for me, had I not made the swap.  Ah well…that’s what tends to happen when I second guess myself.

Group 2 – Dale Earnhardt Jr(6), Brian Vickers(4), Sliced Bread(9), Kasey Kahne(4)

Vickers had one heck of a weekend.  Second in the Nationwide race, a Coors Light Pole Award, and to top it off, the first Sprint Cup series victory for the Red Bull Toyota team.  Mind you, he had a little help from a couple teams and their fuel mileage calculations, but still a great weekend.  Junior’s squad was sure not to gamble on fuel and it paid off with a 3rd place finish.  It was his first top 10 since the Talladega race in April.  It had to feel good for a team that’s been reeling for a while now.  Logano nailed down his 5th top 10 of the season with a 7th place finish, and still looks like a good option down the stretch, especially if you’ve run out of starts on your big guns.  Kahne rounded out a solid week by all of my picks in this group with an 11th place finish.

Group 3 – Brad Keselowski(7), AJ Allmendinger(4)

Both Keselowsking and Allmendinger finished just outside the top 20, and neither woulda hurt the squad for the week.  I’m glad I tabbed the Michigan native and saved a ‘Dinger start for down the stretch, and it didn’t cost me anything.

Recap

  • Points for this race: 302 (Biffle, Earnhardt Jr, Vickers, Keselowski)
  • Most Possible Points: 394 (Gordon (Martin qual), Vickers, Earnhardt Jr (Montoya qual), Hornish Jr)
  • Season Points : 6567
  • Current Place : 1st
  • Lead over 2nd : 692
  • Overall Percentile : 99th (2365 overall) 

Photo Credit: Jason Smith/Getty Images

Filed under: Intermediates, Pit Picks by Site Admin - Thursday, August 20th, 2009

Leave a Reply

« »