Fantasy Racing

NASCAR: 2008 Season In Review

richardginn — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 13:55:00 GMT

I am giving all of you readers a full blown out look at my 2008 season picks, which also includes one big Excel spreadsheet to look at. This article also compares data from previous seasons to see if any trend does exist. The added spreadsheet includes some trends that could even be used for the 2009 season.

The included .zip file includes both the Excel spreadsheet and a copy of this article.

Here are my stats from the Yahoo.com Auto Racing '08 fantasy game.

First half: Rank of 201,444 with total points of 4,252
Second Half: Rank of 44,804 with total points of 4,489
Full season: Rank of 111,213 with total points of 9,101

That data shows that I had a bad start to the season with a much more solid finish to the year ... even if the points racked up are close. The Excel spreadsheet shows the same thing, but in way better detail.

The included Excel spreadsheet has:

Color coded driver names.
All start and finish data for each driver for every race used in the fantasy game.
Macros to calculate some data.
Every single pick I made.
Legend explaining some of my calculations.
Lots of extra calculated data.
OVER 5000 cells with data in it.

A first look at the spreadsheet showcases a wild swing at the start of the season in the amount of A list, B list, and C list drivers I used. Over the start of the season I was coming up a standard amount of picks that was 2 A list drivers, 3 B list drivers, and 2 C list drivers.

A grand total of 71 drivers started at least one race this season, but:

Only 11 drivers won a race
Only 28 drivers scored a top 5
Only 36 drivers score a top 10
Only 15 drivers scored a poll

Comparing winners and poll data over the past few years:

Comparing winner's data over the past few years:

2008 - 11
2007 - 15
2006 - 14
2005 - 15
2004 - 13
2003 - 17

I say the 2008 data is lower than usual and that the COT has some roll in this along with being on a better-funded team as well.

Comparing poll winners data over the past few years

2008 - 15
2007 - 18
2006 - 15
2005 - 17
2004 - 12
2003 - 15

Comparing 2008 data with previous years yields nothing. Around the same amount of drivers winning the poll each year.

A look at the winners starting average data:

Winners starting average over past few years.

2008 - 8
2007 - 11.83
2006 - 8.47
2005 - 10
2004 - 10.89
2003 - 8.97

The 2008 data is the lowest of the bunch, but not too far out of the way from normal levels.

Winners from the poll over the past few years

2008 - 9
2007 - 4
2006 - 6
2005 - 4
2004 - 4
2003 - 5

The 2008 data is higher than normal over the past few years, using nothing but COT car could have something to do with it. A few of these wins had no qualifying which could have also been a factor.

A list drivers with 22 wins did have the edge this year over the B list drivers with 14 wins this year. The B list group only got really hot one part of the year while the A list drivers got hot in three other parts of the season.

No C list driver was able to win a race this year, but Brian Vickers at Pocono in race 14 finished in second place and Marcos Ambrose in race 22 finished third at Watkins Glen. I did pick both of them though.

Over the past year I gave you 253 picks and almost 40% of them wound up being in the top ten. Not bad, but we know we can be better. Between the first half and second half of the year I was able to double the amount of winners which was really great.

First half average of total drivers picked: 18.62

Second half average of total drivers picked: 16.94

That is a massive improvement

The first half had the best week that was week 2 and the worst week that was week 5.

The first half had 9 days over a 20 average, the second half had only 5.

Only 2 weeks had an average under 11.

If we look at just the percentage of drivers making the top three fantasy for their list I made some good gains as well from the first half to the half.

Jimmie Johnson won the championship this year with an 11.03 average while Carl Edwards was the lone driver to have an average under 10.0 with a 9.5 average.

Best average finish over the past few years by season:

2008 - 9.5 - Carl Edwards
2007 - 7.3 - Jeff Gordon
2006 - 9.7 - Jimmie Johnson
2005 - 9.9 - Tony Stewart
2004 - 11.4 - Jeff Gordon
2003 - 10.2 - Matt Kenseth

The 2008 data is in range so nothing special there. Only in 2006 did we have two drivers under a 10.0 average for a full season of racing. The chase does have an effect on who has the best average finish though. In 2008, 2007 and 2004 the driver with the best average finish did not win the championship.

Qualifying data calculated only looked at the drivers who qualified in the top four since they got bonus points.

Almost 56% of those drivers made a top ten finish. I would say that is really good.

Around 42% of those drivers made into the fantasy top three for the list they were in. Not above 50%, but still solid data.

If we go back just one year around 48.5% of the drivers qualifying in the top 4 made it into the top 10. I would say that is much lower than last year and could mean that getting used to the COT car is to blame.

This is it from me until January where I will have up some pre-season articles.

NASCAR's 10 Hottest Drivers - Season Finale

richardginn — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:09:00 GMT

My Final list for the 2008 season

1) Jimmie Johnson (Previous Position: 1^st) - Winning his third championship in a row put him at the top of my rankings for the final time in 2008. He battled back from his poor 30^th starting spot to lead some laps, having to pit late put him back in 15^th spot.

2) Carl Edwards (Previous Position: 2^nd) - He won the final race of the season, but did not win the championship. He was the most dominate car at the track, but did struggle a bit while in traffic.

3) Kevin Harvick (Previous Position: 3^rd) - In the end he wound up finishing the race in second place. He was a top of the line car for most of the race and proper pit strategy helped him out big time.

4) Clint Bowyer (Previous Position: 5^th) - Bowyer was not special all day, but with some proper pit strategy was able finish the race in fifth spot.

5) Greg Biffle (Previous Position: 4^th) - Getting a pit road penalty hurt his chances of a great finish. Was able to battle back with an 18^th place finish though.

6) David Ragan (Previous Position: 8^th) - Poor gas mileage killed a top three finish for this driver. He was solid all day long, but in the end finished in 24^th spot

7) Denny Hamlin (Previous Position: 10^th) - Hamlin was up front for a part of the race, but never could keep it. He wound up getting a thirteenth place finish.

8) Matt Kenseth (Previous Position: 9^th) - Another driver that was doing really well, but gas problems caused him to finish 25^th.

9) Jeff Burton (Previous Position: 6^th) - Burton was not special all day long and then he spun his car out causing him to finish 40^th.

10) Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Previous Position: 7^th) - At one point in the race he was moving up the field nicely, then wound with car problems late in the race putting him in 41^st spot.

Biggest gainer: Denny Hamlin - 3

Biggest losers: Jeff Burton and Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 3

Off List: N/A

New to list: N/A

NASCAR: Examining the Ford 400 Expert Picks

richardginn — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:45:00 GMT

Three weeks in a row, I managed to pick the winner of the race. My guess is with the way the chase was going it was a bit easier to pick the winner of this race. Great way to end the season. Carl Edwards just flat out dominated on the day and won another race on fuel. In traffic though he was not all that hot though.

Jimmie Johnson did pit late, but he was playing it safe and I can't blame him. He finished the day in 15^th spot which is not bad. He did lead some laps to help out his scoring though.

David Ragan just did not have the fuel mileage Carl did. He was right up in the top three at the end of the race before his gas ran out Really stunk. He was a top five car for a good portion of the race.

Jamie McMurray got lucky with a long green flag run late to him back up to his third place standing. He stayed in the top ten for most of the race.

Greg Biffle just did not have it after he wound up getting a pit road speed violation during his first pit stop. He battled back to an 18^th place spot which is not bad. Could have had a top ten finish, in my opinion, without the penalty.

A.J. Allmendinger started in the back, but he was able to move up and stay on the lead lap. He had good pit strategy on the day which helped him get an 11^th place finish. He did very well with the fantasy scoring for a C list driver though.

Aric Almirola started in the back that was not good for him and then bringing out the first caution of the day put him into an even bigger mess. I really thought the #8 car would continue to have great finishes in the 2008 season, but it did not happen in the final race.

Up sometime next week will be my biggest and final piece of the 2008 NASCAR season.

NASCAR's 10 Hottest Drivers - Week 37

richardginn — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 13:16:00 GMT

1) Jimmie Johnson (Previous Position: 2^nd) - Winning that race at Phoenix and almost clinching his third championship in a row puts him back on top of my rankings.

2) Carl Edwards (Previous Position: 1^st) - Edwards kept slim hopes of winning the championship after Phoenix finishing fourth. He did not really have that great of a car, but picked off some spots on pit road during his final pit stop.

3) Kevin Harvick (Previous Position: 3^rd) - It was another top finish for this guy. Just mostly hanged out around the 8^th place spot all race long.

4) Greg Biffle (Previous Position: 5th) - Biffle moves up one spot with solid 11^th place finish at Phoenix. Went to the back of the field early and then climbed all the back up into the top ten.

5) Clint Bowyer (Previous Position: 4^th) - Bowyer did not have the best of cars all day, but finished 12^th. Went down a lap and spent a good time trying to get it back.

6) Jeff Burton (Previous Position: 6^th) - Burton hung around the 13^th place spot for a long time before moving up a few spots late in the race. Did not have a special car all race long.

7) Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Previous Position: 9^th) - Having a better finish than David Ragan And Matt Kenseth moves him up a couple of spots. Had nothing for Jimmie, but was around the 7^th place all race long.

8) David Ragan (Previous Position: 7^th) - It was another solid week for this driver. Another driver this week that needed a final pit stop in order to gain some positions on the track.

9) Matt Kenseth (Previous Position: 8^th) - Kenseth got some positions really late in the race, but was able to finish in the 15^th spot. Was not that special all day long in the race.

10) Denny Hamlin (Previous Position: N/A) - With his top five finish at Phoenix he moves back onto this list. His Sprint Cup finishes have been solid as of late as well.

Biggest gainer: Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 2

Biggest losers: Carl Edwards, Clint Bowyer, David Ragan and Matt Kenseth - 1

Off List: Tony Stewart

New to list: Denny Hamlin

NASCAR Ford 400 Expert Picks

richardginn — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 12:10:00 GMT

For the second straight week, I picked the winner of the race. Jimmie Johnson was just too dominating in the race. Clint Bowyer was able to battle back from going a lap down to have a solid finish.

Kyle Busch, Greg Biffle, and Mark Martin all had solid finishes at the end of the race.

My C list picks did not do that bad, but a couple of C list drivers were better than my picks. Without much data for A.J. Allmendinger for Phoenix caused me to skip picking him, but was the most solid C list driver of the day.

A list driver:

Carl Edwards - Sixth time on this list for Edwards. He has some of the best average finish data of the whole bunch with his last three finishes all in the top ten. He is doing all that he can to keep his championship hopes alive.

B list drivers:

David Ragan - Eighth time on this list for Ragan. He is a bit of a gamble with his limited data at this track, but he has been pulling in nothing but solid Sprint Cup finishes as of late.

Greg Biffle - Seventh time on this list for Biffle. This driver has three wins at this track over his past six attempts at this track which is great. He has also been pulling in solid Sprint Cup finishes as well.

C list Driver:

A.J. Allmendinger - Fifth time on this list for AJA. This driver has been super hot as of late, but he does have no data at this track. He had no data on him last week and was the best C list driver.

Sleeper Picks:

Jimmie Johnson - Johnson is not that much of a sleeper pick at this point of the season, but I do not feel him slowing down much from his win at Phoenix last week.

Jamie McMurray- W ith Roush drivers just dominating at this track I am going to with yet one more driver. He is a bit of a gamble with only two top ten finishes in his past six races, but he has been really solid as of late in the finish department.

Aric Almirola - Another C list driver with no data for this track, but I do not think it is going to matter much. The #8 car has been solid as of late no matter who is in it.

NASCAR Ford 400 Racer/Track Trends

richardginn — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 12:05:00 GMT

Track: Homestead-Miami Speedway

Dimensions: 1.5 mile Oval

Wins list:

11/14/1999 - Tony Stewart - Pontiac
11/12/2000 - Tony Stewart - Pontiac
11/11/2001 - Bill Elliott - Dodge
11/17/2002 - Kurt Busch - Ford
11/16/2003 - Bobby Labonte - Chevrolet
11/21/2004 - Greg Biffle - Ford
11/20/2005 - Greg Biffle - Ford
11/19/2006 - Greg Biffle - Ford
11/18/2007 - Matt Kenseth - Ford

Multiple Wins list:

Greg Biffle - 3
Tony Stewart - 2

	Homestead Top Tens By Team Or Owner
Team Or Owner	Date Of Race
	Nov.17 2002	Nov. 16 2003	Nov. 21 2004	Nov.20 2005	Nov. 19 2006	Nov.18 2007	Total
Jack Roush	3	0	2	4	3	3	15
Rick Hendrick	3	2	2	2	1	1	11
GEM & James Rocco	1	3	0	1	2	0	7
Richard Childress	0	1	1	2	2	1	7
Joe Gibbs	0	2	1	0	1	1	5
Rodger Penske	1	0	1	0	0	2	4
Chip Gannasi	0	2	1	1	0	0	4
Wood Brothers	1	0	1	0	0	0	2
DEI	0	0	0	0	1	1	2
Andre Petree	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
Doug Bawel	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
Ginn Racing	0	0	0	0	0	1	1
Homestead-Miami Finishes By Driver Over Past Six Races
Driver	Race Date and Finish
	Nov.17 2002	Nov. 16 2003	Nov. 21 2004	Nov.20 2005	Nov. 19 2006	Nov.18 2007	Avg.
Carl Edwards			14	4	8	5	7.75
Jeff Gordon	5	5	3	9	24	4	8.33
David Ragan						10	10.00
Kevin Harvick	20	2	10	8	5	19	10.67
Jimmie Johnson	8	3	2	40	9	7	11.50
Greg Biffle	25	35	1	1	1	13	12.67
Denny Hamlin				33	3	3	13.00
Martin Truex Jr.			32		2	6	13.33
Tony Stewart	18	7	4	15	15	30	14.83
Joe Nemechek	2	17	27	24	13		16.60
Jeff Burton	3	14	36	25	14	8	16.67
Bill Elliott	7	8			25	28	17.00
Kurt Busch	1	36	5		43	2	17.40
Jamie McMurray	22	9	7	18	35	14	17.50
Matt Kenseth	40	43	19	3	6	1	18.67
Scott Riggs			15	38	7		20.00
Ryan Newman	6	37	30	7	23	18	20.17
Kasey Kahne			38	16	4	24	20.50
Tony Raines		13			20	29	20.67
Casey Mears		27	26	5	32	16	21.20
Reed Sorenson				28	16	22	22.00
Dave Blaney	43	28		6	26	12	23.00
Bobby Labonte	29	1	12	34	41	23	23.33
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	21	24	23	19	19	36	23.67
Sterling Marlin		10	16	26	37	33	24.40
Clint Boyer					10	39	24.50
Juan Pablo Montoya					34	15	24.50
David Reutimann						25	25.00
Ken Schrader	27		25	22	29		25.75
Paul Menard					17	35	26.00
Elliott Sadler	9	21	34	23	36	38	26.83
Robby Gordon	26	30	29	14	40	27	27.67
Brian Vickers		34	18	43	21	42	31.60
Michael Waltrip	41	41	17	29			32.00
David Gilliland					33	32	32.50
Travis Kvapil			39	32	27		32.67
Kyle Busch				41	38	20	33.00
Sam Hornish Jr.						37	37.00
Homestead-Miami Starts By Driver Over Past Six Races
Driver	Race Date and Finish
	Nov.17 2002	Nov. 16 2003	Nov. 21 2004	Nov.20 2005	Nov. 19 2006	Nov.18 2007	Avg.
Kasey Kahne			4	3	1	3	2.75
David Ragan						7	7.00
Ryan Newman	15	4	3	2	16	2	7.00
Kyle Busch				4	3	18	8.33
Kurt Busch	1	7	1		36	5	10.00
David Gilliland					9	12	10.50
Joe Nemechek	4	8	19	10	13		10.80
Brian Vickers		3	14	18	6	17	11.60
Kevin Harvick	36	6	9	14	7	8	13.33
Jeff Gordon	37	5	5	12	12	11	13.67
NOTES: Blank spaces showcase driver was not in race This table looks at only the last six races at this track, drivers that have a start, is also sorted by average finish, and I also throw in the best average starters .

A look at the wins list:

Ford cars are the most dominate at this track; they also have the last four wins.

Multiple winners get the wins in a row.

A look at the top tens data:

Rick Hendrick is the only team that can say they have at least one driver getting a top ten in the past six races

In the last three races though no one can keep up with Jack Roush this track where he has at least 3 cars getting a top ten.

A look at the average finish data:

Carl Edwards has the best average finish data with his last three finishes at this track being in the top 10.

Jeff Gordon though has one okay finish killing an average that could be around a 5.5

Jimmie Johnson has one bad finish in the past six races that almost doubles his average finish.

Even though Greg Biffle has three wins at this track in the past six races he has enough bad finishes to have an average finish above 10.0

Kurt Busch in his past five starts has three top five finishes, but two finishes 36^th or worse.

Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch, and Casey Mears hates this track. Clint Boyer also does not like this track, but has limited data.

A look at Average start data:

I say that qualifying means nothing at this track. Carl Edwards and Jeff Gordon you can say are the best at both.

NASCAR's 10 Hottest Drivers - Week 36

richardginn — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:15:00 GMT

1) Carl Edwards (Previous Position: 3^rd) - Winning his second Sprint Cup race in a row moves his back into the top of my rankings. He made the chase interesting at least for one more week.

2) Jimmie Johnson (Previous Position: 1^st) - Johnson finally gives up his first place spot after a few weeks at the top. Battle back to a fifteenth place spot after going a lap down, but could never get back on the lead lap.

3) Kevin Harvick (Previous Position: 2^nd) - Harvick moves down one spot as Carl Edwards was super at Texas. Although he had nothing for the leaders he did have a top ten finish.

4) Clint Bowyer (Previous Position: 4^th) -Bowyer was hot early in the race and then had some good pit strategy late in order for him to have a top five finish.

5) Greg Biffle (Previous Position: 6^th) - Biffle moves up to fifth spot in the rankings with his fifth place finish at Atlanta. He was up front for mostly all the race, but had nothing for the leader.

6) Jeff Burton (Previous Position: 5^th) - Burton got a lap down, but was able to get it back late in the race. He was nothing special all day long, but was able to finish in the 13^th spot.

7) David Ragan (Previous Position: 7^th) - Another week at the seventh place spot in the standings with his 11th place finish at Texas. Another quality run for this driver.

8) Matt Kenseth (Previous Position: 8^th) - Kenseth had a top ten finish at Texas, but never really had anything all race long.

9) Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Previous Position: 9^th) - DEJ wound up finishing 20^th as he had problems on pit road. He never really did anything all race though.

10) Tony Stewart (Previous Position: 10^th) - Stewart wound up having to try to get his lap back, but could never get anything going all race long.

Biggest gainer: Carl Edwards - 2

Biggest loser: Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, and Jeff Burton - 1

Off List: N/A

New to list: N/A

NASCAR Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 Expert Picks

richardginn — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 11:45:00 GMT

Yeah, I picked another winner in Carl Edwards. Denny Hamlin finished in the top 20, but not as good as other A list drivers.

Had one of the best B list picks in Kyle Busch. Mark Martin had another quality finish, so did Casey Mears. No complaints.

My C list drivers were not that great compared to the rest of the bunch. A.J. Allmendinger and Sam Hornish Jr. got caught a lap down and could not get back on the lead lap. A.J. could have had a finish around 17^th or even better if he did not get a lap down around lap 145.

A list active driver:

Jimmie Johnson - Fourth time on this list for Johnson. He has the best finishing average at this track over the past six races and has the last two wins at this track. This is some really solid data.

B list active driver:

Kyle Busch - Eighth time on this list for Busch. I had him in my active drivers list week and I want to use him again. He is a bit of a gamble here since he does have two bad finishes in the past six starts at this track, but his last three finishes have all been in the top ten.

Greg Biffle - Sixth time on this list for Biffle. He has some solid data at this track, but does have that one bad start at this track in the past six races. His Sprint Cup finishes as of late have been solid.

C list active driver:

David Reutimann - Sixth time on this list for Reutimann. He has only some data at this track, but does have one top 20 at this track. I think his momentum from the Texas race will carry over to the Phoenix track.

Sleeper picks:

Clint Bowyer - Bowyer has two top ten place finishes in the past five races at this track which is good, his Sprint Cup finishes have not been that bad either.

Mark Martin - If you have a chance to pick him use him instead of one my active drivers. This is the last time this year you can select this driver. The data for him at this track is really good.

Travis Kvapil - He does have some of the best data for a C list driver with one top five finish, but even he can be a gamble of a C list pick. None of the C list drivers have super data.

NASCAR Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 Racer/Track Trends

richardginn — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 11:40:00 GMT

Track: Phoenix International Racway.

Dimension: 1-mile Tri-oval.

Past Winners list

Date/Driver/Car Make

10/31/93 - Mark Martin - Ford
10/30/94 - Terry Labonte - Chevrolet
10/29/95 - Ricky Rudd - Ford
10/27/96 - Bobby Hamilton - Pontiac
11/02/97 - Dale Jarrett - Ford
10/25/98 - Rusty Wallace - Ford
11/07/99 - Tony Stewart - Pontiac
11/05/00 - Jeff Burton - Ford
10/28/01 - Jeff Burton - Ford
11/10/02 - Matt Kenseth - Ford
11/02/03 - Dale Earnhardt, Jr. - Chevrolet
11/07/04 - Dale Earnhardt, Jr. - Chevrolet
04/23/05 - Kurt Busch - Ford
11/13/05 - Kyle Busch - Chevrolet
04/22/06 - Kevin Harvick - Chevrolet
11/12/06 - Kevin Harvick - Chevrolet
04/21/07 - Jeff Gordon - Chevrolet
11/11/07 - Jimmie Johnson - Chevrolet
04/12/08 - Jimmie Johnson - Chevrolet

Multiple winners list:

Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 2
Jeff Burton - 2
Jimmie Johnson - 2
Kevin Harvick - 2

	Phoenix Top Tens By Team Or Owner
Team Or Owner	Date Of Race
	Nov.13 2005	Apr. 22 2006	Nov. 12 2006	Apr.21 2007	Nov. 11 2007	Apr.12 2008	Total
Rick Hendrick	3	2	2	3	3	2	15
Richard Childress	1	3	2	1	2	2	11
Jack Roush	1	2	2	1	2	2	10
Joe Gibbs	2	1	1	2	1	2	9
DEI	0	0	1	0	1	2	4
Petty Enterprise	0	1	0	1	1	0	3
GEM	0	1	1	0	0	0	2
Gene Haas	0	0	0	2	0	0	2
Jim Smith	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
Yates Racing	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
Doug Bawel	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
Rodger Penske	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
Phoenix Finishes By Driver Over Past Six Races
Driver	Race Date and Finish
	Nov.13 2005	Apr. 22 2006	Nov. 12 2006	Apr.21 2007	Nov. 11 2007	Apr.12 2008	Avg.
Jimmie Johnson	7	7	2	4	1	1	3.67
Jeff Gordon	3	10	4	1	10	13	6.83
Tony Stewart	4	2	14	14	4	14	8.67
Mark Martin	14	11	6	12		5	9.60
Kevin Harvick	23	1	1	10	6	19	10.00
Jeff Burton	15	9	10	13	9	6	10.33
Carl Edwards	6	4	5	11	42	4	12.00
Denny Hamlin	13	34	3	3	16	3	12.00
Bobby Labonte	5	8	27	8	18	12	13.00
Greg Biffle	2	15	34	17	2	9	13.17
Martin Truex Jr.		22	12	20	7	8	13.80
Clint Bowyer		5	33	22	11	2	14.60
Matt Kenseth	32	3	13	5	3	38	15.67
Kyle Busch	1	36	38	7	8	10	16.67
Kurt Busch		24	8	18	12	23	17.00
Travis Kvapil	10	21	30	2		22	17.00
Brian Vickers	26	13	11			25	18.75
Casey Mears	22	20	26	37	13	11	21.50
Juan Pablo Montoya				33	17	16	22.00
Jamie McMurray	18	14	40	23	23	17	22.50
Paul Menard				25	22	21	22.67
David Reutimann				32	20	18	23.33
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	40	23	9	19	43	7	23.50
David Gilliland			16	35	28	15	23.50
Kasey Kahne	27	6	7	31	40	36	24.50
Sam Hornish Jr.					30	20	25.00
Johnny Sauter	39			9	15	37	25.00
Ryan Newman	12	39	15	38	5	43	25.33
Robby Gordon	8	41	32	24	24	29	26.33
Sterling Marlin	34	12	36		25		26.75
Kyle Petty	19	31	25	30	29		26.80
Joe Nemechek	17	35	19	16	38	40	27.50
Elliott Sadler	11	37	17	34	27	41	27.83
Reed Sorenson		40	29	15	19	42	29.00
Dave Blaney	25	27	23	39	31	30	29.17
Bill Elliott			31		34	31	32.00
Scott Riggs	38	38	22	42		26	33.20
David Ragan				41	32	27	33.33
Regan Smith						35	35.00
Michael Waltrip	33	42	42			24	35.25
Phoenix Starts By Driver Over Past Six Races
Driver	Race Date and Finish
	Nov.13 2005	Apr. 22 2006	Nov. 12 2006	Apr.21 2007	Nov. 11 2007	Apr.12 2008	Avg.
Jeff Gordon	10	19	1	1	3	11	7.50
Carl Edwards	3	5	12	28	1	3	8.67
Greg Biffle	4	2	6	18	7	18	9.17
Jimmie Johnson	2	10	29	5	6	7	9.83
Denny Hamlin	1	6	22	3	15	16	10.50
Martin Truex Jr.		9	26	7	2	9	10.60
Ryan Newman	11	13	7	19	13	1	10.67
Kasey Kahne	22	22	11	10	10	5	13.33
NOTES: Blank spaces showcase driver was not in race This table looks at only the last six races at this track, drivers that have a start, is also sorted by average finish, and I also throw in the best average starters .

Normal 0

A Look at the wins data:

The drivers getting multiple wins got them in a row, which is odd.

Chevrolet has won the last six races.

A look at the top tens data:

At the last race only five teams got in two drivers each in the top ten, first time seeing that data.

Rick Hendrick gets in at least two drivers in the top ten over the past six races.

Jack Rosuh and Joe Gibbs can say that they get at least one driver in the top ten in the past six races.

In the past three races very little love is shown to the low-end teams at this track.

A look at the average finish data:

Jimmie Johnson just owns this track. He is the only driver to have all six of his last finishes in the top ten.

Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart are also great at this track.

Clint Boyer, Greg Biffle, and Matt Kenseth all have one junky start killing the average finish data.

Kyle Busch has two junky finishes though.

Casey Mears, Dale Earnhardt. Jr., Kasey Kahne, and Ryan Newman are drivers that hate this track.

A look at average start data:

Qualifying good at this track can help, but not much. Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson though are the best at both.

NASCAR's 10 Hottest Drivers - Week 35

richardginn — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:35:00 GMT

1) Jimmie Johnson (Previous Position: 1^st) - Johnson keeps his first place ranking again as he made massive comeback with under 10 laps left to get a second place finish.

2) Kevin Harvick (Previous Position: 3^rd) - Harvick moves up one spot though his car was not special all. Wound up with a 13^th place finish in the race.

3) Carl Edwards (Previous Position: 5^th) - Edwards had a great weekend where he won two races. Had a great car all day long and moved back into second place in the Sprint Cup points.

4) Clint Bowyer (Previous Position: 2^nd) - Bowyer never really had anything all day and wound up getting lapped. Also wound up in a pit road incident with Juan Pablo Montoya.

5) Jeff Burton (Previous Position: 4^th) - Burton had nothing all day long and finishes 18^th. He wound up getting into a late wreck that did not help him at all.

6) Greg Biffle (Previous Position: 6^th) - Biffle never really had anything all day, but finished in tenth spot. Another solid finish for him.

7) David Ragan (Previous Position: 7^th) - Ragan stays in his seventh place spot with another top ten finish. This guy has been impressive as of late with his Sprint Cup finishes.

8) Matt Kenseth (Previous Position: 10^th) - A top five finish at Atlanta moves him up a couple of spots in my rankings. Did not have anything for Carl Edwards all race though.

9) Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Previous Position: 8^th) - DEJ had a car that was good at the start of the race, but then faded back. Got some of his speed back at the end of the race, but finished that race in 11^th place.

10) Tony Stewart (Previous Position: 9^th) - Stewart moves down to the final spot in my rankings with his not so great 17^th place effort at Atlanta. He got down a lap for a long time in the race.

Biggest gainer: Carl Edwards - 2

Biggest loser: Tony Stewart - 3

Off List: N/A

New to list: N/A

NASCAR Dickies 500 Expert Picks

richardginn — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:15:00 GMT

A couple more laps and Jimmie would have won the race last week ... had him in my sleeper section. Tony Stewart on the other hand, was not special at all, but finished 17^th.

Dale Jr. was good at points in the race, but fell back to 11^th. Greg Biffle finished in tenth, but was not special all day long.

Vickers was the second best B level pick, but was not special at all.

The other sleepers did not do it in the end. Juan Pablo Montoya wound up getting hit late in the race twice ending his great day. Paul Menard did not nothing all day and had a poor finish.

A list active driver:

Carl Edwards - Fifth time on this list for Edwards. I am using him as a momentum play pick here since he won the last race. He does have two wins in the past six races, but also has one junky finish.

B list active drivers:

Mark Martin - Ninth time on this list for Martin. It is the final time I can use him as an active driver. The data for him is good though as he has four top finishes in the past six races.

Kyle Busch - Seventh time on this list for Busch. His last two finishes have been both top five finishes at this track and I think that will continue at this track. He also has two junky finishes in the past six races at this track as well.

C list active driver-

A.J. Allmendinger - Fourth time on this list Allmendinger. So far in the #10 car he has been really solid for a C list driver and I going to pick him this race even though he has very limited data on him for this track.

Sleeper picks.

Denny Hamlin - Hamlin has been very solid at this track with four top ten place finishes in the past six races. He last two Sprint Cup finishes have been in the top ten as well.

Casey Mears - A bit of a gamble with this driver, but he does have two top tens in the past six races. Lately though his Sprint Cup finishes have been very good.

Sam Hornish Jr. -A pick and pray candidate for sure. He has limited data at this track and his Sprint Cup finishes as of late have not been special as well.

NASCAR Dickies 500 Racer/Track Trends

richardginn — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 11:07:00 GMT

Track: Texas Motor Speedway

Dimensions: 1.5 mile Intermediate Quad-Oval

04/06/97 - Jeff Burton - Ford
04/05/98 - Mark Martin - Ford
03/28/99 - Terry Labonte - Chevrolet
04/02/00 - Dale Earnhardt, Jr. - Chevrolet
04/01/01 - Dale Jarrett - Ford
04/08/02 - Matt Kenseth - Ford
03/30/03 - Ryan Newman - Dodge
04/04/04 - Elliott Sadler - Ford
04/17/05 - Greg Biffle - Ford
11/06/05 - Carl Edwards - Ford
04/09/06 - Kasey Kahne - Dodge
11/05/06 - Tony Stewart - Chevrolet
04/15/07 - Jeff Burton - Chevrolet
11/04/07 - Jimmie Johnson - Chevrolet
04/06/-08 - Carl Edwards - Ford

Multiple Winner list:

Carl Edwards - 2
Jeff Burton - 2

	Texas Top Tens By Team Or Owner
Team Or Owner	Date Of Race
	Nov.6 2005	Apr. 9 2006	Nov. 5 2006	Apr.15 2007	Nov. 4 2007	Apr. 6 2008	Total
Jack Roush	4	2	0	3	2	2	13
Joe Gibbs	2	2	2	1	0	3	10
Rick Hendrick	1	0	3	1	3	1	9
Richard Childress	0	2	2	1	2	2	9
DEI	1	1	1	1	1	1	6
Rodger Penske	0	0	1	0	2	1	4
Chip Gnassi	1	0	1	1	0	0	3
GEM & James Rocco	0	2	0	0	0	0	2
Yates Racing	1	0	0	0	0	0	1
Petty Enterprises	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Ginn Racing	0	0	0	1	0	0	1
Felix Sabates	0	0	0	1	0	0	1
Texas Finishes By Driver Over Past Six Races
Driver	Race Date and Finish
	Nov.6 2005	Apr. 9 2006	Nov. 5 2006	Apr.15 2007	Nov. 4 2007	Apr. 6 2008	Avg.
Matt Kenseth	3	2	12	2	2	9	5.00
Tony Stewart	6	3	1	25	11	7	8.83
Jimmie Johnson	5	11	2	38	1	2	9.83
Denny Hamlin	7	4	10	9	29	5	10.67
Kevin Harvick	16	5	3	29	10	11	12.33
Mark Martin	2	9	22	3	34	8	13.00
Clint Boyer		19	5	16	19	10	13.80
Martin Truex Jr.	15	8	14	7	3	36	13.83
Jeff Burton	30	6	38	1	6	6	14.50
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	8	12	6	36	14	12	14.67
Carl Edwards	1	36	15	12	26	1	15.17
Kurt Busch	10	34	8	11	8	23	15.67
Jeff Gordon	14	22	9	4	7	43	16.50
Casey Mears	4	14	7	23	31	22	16.83
Jamie McMurray	11	37	26	5	9	14	17.00
Kyle Busch	40	15	4	37	4	3	17.17
Juan Pablo Montoya				8	25	19	17.33
Bobby Labonte	26	10	16	28	16	20	19.33
David Gilliland			21	19	28	15	20.75
Tony Raines	31	24	19	13	20		21.40
Elliott Sadler	9	33	37	17	12	26	22.33
Scott Riggs	34	7	31	27	13		22.40
Kasey Kahne	42	1	33	20	18	25	23.17
Ryan Newman	25	40	34	32	5	4	23.33
Brian Vickers	19	43	27	14	23	16	23.67
Travis Kvapil	24	27	28			18	24.25
Dave Blaney		29	32	21	21	21	24.80
Paul Menard			41	15	30	17	25.75
Reed Sorenson		13	17	40	40	24	26.80
Joe Nemechek	37	23	18	18	35	37	28.00
Robby Gordon		20	39	24	32	30	29.00
Greg Biffle	20	42	35	6	33	39	29.17
Ken Schrader	29	16	42	31			29.50
David Ragan				39	37	13	29.67
Sam Hornish Jr.						32	32.00
Bill Elliott	32				36	34	34.00
Regan Smith						35	35.00
Michael Waltrip	41	26	43			31	35.25
A.J. Allmendinger					39		39.00
David Reutimann					43	41	42.00
Texas Starts By Driver Over Past Six Races
Driver	Race Date and Finish
	Nov.6 2005	Apr. 9 2006	Nov. 5 2006	Apr.15 2007	Nov. 4 2007	Apr. 6 2008	Avg.
A.J. Allmendinger					5		5.00
Jimmie Johnson	11	16	5	3	8	5	8.00
Denny Hamlin	14	8	6	7	7	14	9.33
Jeff Gordon	2	11	23	1	2	18	9.50
Juan Pablo Montoya				16	3	11	10.00
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	10	15	10	12	12	1	10.00
Kurt Busch	18	7	3	17	6	23	12.33
Ryan Newman	1	14	24	20	11	4	12.33
Matt Kenseth	3	6	36	4	18	8	12.50
NOTES: Blank spaces showcase driver was not in race This table looks at only the last six races at this track, drivers that have a start, is also sorted by average finish, and I also throw in the best average starters .

Normal 0

A look at the wins data:

The multiple wins list improved by one more driver after the end of the first 2008 race this year.

No driver (so far) has win two races in a row at this track.

A look at the top tens data:

DEI is the only team over the past six races to have one and only driver in the top ten.

Jack Roush, Richard Childress, and Rick Hendrick are the best at this track over the past three races.

A look at average finish data:

Matt Kenseth is the best at this track over the past six races. He has three second place finishes, but no wins.

Jimmie Johnson does have one junky finish. Without that finish he has an average finish under 5.0

Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. have one bad finish keeping his average above 10.0.

Kurt Busch, Jamie McMurray, and Jeff Gordon all have one bad finish in the past races hurting average finish data.

Kyle Busch has three top five place finishes, but two junky finishes killing his average finish.

Kasey Kahne, Ryan Newamn, and Greg Biffle hate this track. Kasey Kahne though is the only one of these three drivers with a win at this track in the past six races. Remove his win and his best finish is 18^th.

A look at average start data:

Qualifying well at this track can help a bit. Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin are the best at doing both.

NASCAR's 10 Hottest Drivers - Week 34

richardginn — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:30:00 GMT

1) Jimmie Johnson (Previous Position: 1^st) - Johnson keeps his first place ranking with his win at Martinsville. Not many cars had something for him during the race especially at the end of it.

2) Clint Bowyer (Previous Position: 2^nd) - Bowyer stays in his spot with this 10^th place finish at Martinsville. He was not a factor at all.

3) Kevin Harvick (Previous Position: 4^th) - Harvick moves up one spot with his top ten place finish at Martinsville. Never was a factor in this race.

4) Jeff Burton (Previous Position: 3^rd) - Burton finished the race in 17^th spot with a car that was not special at all today. He wound up with a pit road penalty late in the race, but did not lose many spots because of it.

5) Carl Edwards (Previous Position: 7^th) - Edwards did not win the race, but had a car that finished in third place. He never did lead one lap though.

6) Greg Biffle (Previous Position: 5^th) - Biffle moves down one spot to the sixth place position with his 12^th place finish at the track. He was leading the race at one point of time though.

7) David Ragan (Previous Position: 8^th) - Ragan never was special in this race, but was in the top ten for a while in the race. Wound up spinning out really late in the race that caused him a 13^th place finish.

8) Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Previous Position: 10^th) - DEJ wound up finishing second at Martinsville. Never did have anything for Jimmie at the end of the race.

9) Tony Stewart (Previous Position: 6^th) - Well, he almost had 8^th spot in my rankings. He wound up blowing a couple of tires sending him back to a 26^th place finish.

10) Matt Kenseth (Previous Position: N/A) - Kenseth squeezes onto the list with his top ten at Martinsville. He has been pretty solid as late. With 4 out the past five races being a top ten finish.

Biggest gainer: Dale Earnhardt Jr. - 2

Biggest loser: Tony Stewart - 3

Off List: Kasey Kahne

New to list: Matt Kenseth

NASCAR Pep Boys Auto 500 Expert Picks

richardginn — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 11:02:00 GMT

Well I rebounded nicely last week. Two drivers in the top five, five drivers in the top 20.

At one point I was thinking about having all Hendrick cars in my expert picks article, which would have worked out nicely. I thought that would be big hoggish though.

Jeff Gordon finished fourth, but led some laps. One long green flag run killed him a bit. Jeff Burton on the other hand wound up getting a one-lap penalty late in the race that killed about five spots for him in the standings.

I wound up with the best B list pick in Dale Jr. who had nothing for Jimmie Johnson, but still finished in second place.

Kyle Busch wound up with many tire problems, but still finished in 29^th place. I thought a former Hendrick driver could do great at this track and it did not work out.

Travis Kvapil was not that bad of a C list pick, but other drivers would do better than him points wise. Regan Smith on the other hand was a bust who spun out his car killing his race day.

Normal 0 A list active driver:

Tony Stewart - Fourth time on this list for Stewart. He has one of the best average finish data over the past six races at this track even though he has one junky finish of 30^th. He has been doing well in the Sprint Cup finishes as of late.

B list active drivers:

Greg Biffle - Fifth time on this list for Biffle. He has three top ten place finishes at this track in the past six races. His Sprint Cup finishes as of late have been solid as well.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. - Eighth time on this list for DEJ. This is the second time in a row I am picking this driver as an active one, but he has four top ten place finishes in the past six weeks.

C list active driver:

Brian Vickers - Eighth time on this list for Vickers. He has the best data for a C list driver with more than one start. His last two finishes at this track have been top tens.

Sleeper picks:

Jimmie Johnson - With the way the chase has been going for him so far he is hardly a sleeper pick; he has some of the best average finish data and has two wins at this track in the past six races.

Juan Pablo Montoya - He has three starts at this track with one top ten finish. He is a bit of a gamble, but one you might want to take.

Paul Menard - He has only three starts at this track, but has one finish that is a top 20. Great C list driver data is hard to come by so he is a pick and pray candidate.

NASCAR Pep Boys Auto 500 Racer/Track Trends

richardginn — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:45:00 GMT

Track: Atlanta Motor Speedway

Dimension: 1.54 Mile Quad-Oval

Atlanta Motor Speedway Past winners since 11/94

11/13/94 - Mark Martin
03/12/95 - Jeff Gordon
11/12/95 - Dale Earnhardt
03/10/96 - Dale Earnhardt
11/10/96 - Bobby Labonte
03/09/97 - Dale Jarrett
11/16/97 - Bobby Labonte
03/09/98 - Bobby Labonte
11/08/98 - Jeff Gordon
03/14/99 - Jeff Gordon
11/21/99 - Bobby Labonte
03/12/00 - Dale Earnhardt
11/20/00 - Jerry Nadeau
03/11/01 - Kevin Harvick
11/18/01 - Bobby Labonte
03/10/02 - Tony Stewart
10/27/02 - Kurt Busch
03/09/03 - Bobby Labonte
10/28/03 - Jeff Gordon
03/14/04 - Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
10/31/04 - Jimmie Johnson
03/20/05 - Carl Edwards
10/30/05 - Carl Edwards
03/19/06 - Kasey Kahne
10/29/06 - Tony Stewart
03/18/07 - Jimmie Johnson
10/28/07 - Jimmie Johnson
03/9/08 - Kyle Busch - Toyota

Multiple wins list sine 11/94

Bobby Labonte - 6
Jeff Gordon - 4
Dale Earnhardt - 3
Jimmy Johnson - 3
Carl Edwards - 2
Tony Stewart - 2

	Atlanta Top Tens By Team Or Owner
Team Or Owner	Date Of Race
	Oct.30 2005	Mar. 19 2006	Oct. 29 2006	Mar.18 2007	Oct. 28 2007	Mar. 9 2008	Total
Jack Rosuh	4	1	3	2	2	2	14
Rick Hendrick	1	2	2	1	2	2	10
Richard Childress	1	0	0	2	2	3	8
Joe Gibbs	1	1	2	1	0	2	7
DEI	1	2	1	1	0	0	5
Chip Gnassi	1	1	0	2	1	0	5
GEM & James Rocco	0	1	0	0	1	0	2
Ginn Racing	0	0	1	1	0	0	2
Red Bull	0	0	0	0	1	1	2
Rodger Penske	0	0	0	0	1	1	2
Yates Racing	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Petty Enterprises	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Robby Gordon	0	0	1	0	0	0	1
Atlanta Finishes By Driver Over Past Six Races
Driver	Race Date and Finish
	Oct.30 2005	Mar. 19 2006	Oct. 29 2006	Mar.18 2007	Oct. 28 2007	Mar. 9 2008	Avg.
Jeff Gordon	2	4	6	12	7	5	6.00
Matt Kenseth	5	13	4	3	4	8	6.17
Jimmie Johnson	26	6	2	1	1	13	8.17
Tony Stewart	9	5	1	2	30	2	8.17
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	4	3	3	14	25	3	8.67
Jeff Burton	8	25	13	4	5	10	10.83
Clint Bowyer		27	25	6	6	6	14.00
Greg Biffle	7	16	5	41	22	4	15.83
A.J. Allmendinger					16		16.00
Carl Edwards	1	40	7	7	2	42	16.50
Kyle Busch	12	12	27	32	20	1	17.33
Juan Pablo Montoya				5	34	16	18.33
Denny Hamlin	19	31	8	19	24	15	19.33
Kurt Busch	36	37	14	11	8	11	19.50
Mark Martin	3	4	36	10	43	22	19.67
Brian Vickers	15	23	19	42	10	9	19.67
Reed Sorenson	41	10	29	9	3	31	20.50
Robby Gordon		28	10	20	21	24	20.60
Paul Menard		7		31	27	19	21.00
Michael Waltrip	11	20	33		11	30	21.00
Casey Mears	21	21	28	28	12	17	21.17
Joe Nemechek	18	17	9	17	36	36	22.17
Elliott Sadler	10	29	21	18	14	43	22.50
Kevin Harvick	22	39	31	25	15	7	23.17
Jamie McMurray	6	14	40	15	26	40	23.50
Ryan Newman	23	18	30	23	37	14	24.17
Kasey Kahne	35	1	38	39	9	28	25.00
Sam Hornish Jr.						25	25.00
Bobby Labonte	31	43	12	16	41	12	25.83
Martin Truex, Jr.	40	19	37	8	31	21	26.00
Scott Riggs	33	11	22	43	29	18	26.00
Dave Blaney	24	32	18	27	38	34	28.83
Travis Kvapil	26		32			29	29.00
Bill Elliott			41		18		29.50
David Ragan				33	33	23	29.67
David Gilliland			15	30	42	32	29.75
Ken Schrader	34	24	24	37			29.75
David Reutimann				40		20	30.00
Johnny Sauter				29	32		30.50
Tony Raines			34	38	23		31.67
Regan Smith						38	38.00
Atlanta Starts By Driver Over Past Six Races
Driver	Race Date and Finish
	Oct.30 2005	Mar. 19 2006	Oct. 29 2006	Mar.18 2007	Oct. 28 2007	Mar. 9 2008	Avg.
Kasey Kahne	6	1	8	12	4	9	6.67
Mark Martin	4	12	7	4	12	10	8.17
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	17	11	6	22	5	2	10.50
Carl Edwards	2	18	12	14	16	4	11.00
Kyle Busch	7	17	10	8	19	6	11.17
Ryan Newman	31	2	17	1	9	12	12.00
Jeff Gordon	24	26	9	5	8	1	12.17
Greg Biffle	16	8	13	25	1	13	12.67
NOTES: Blank spaces showcase driver was not in race This table looks at only the last six races at this track, drivers that have a start, is also sorted by average finish, and I also throw in the best average starters .

Normal 0

A look at the wins data:

The data shows one driver winning multiple races.

Jimmie Johnson has two out of the past three wins at this track.

Jeff Gordon has not been in victory lane in a long time at this track.

A look at the top tens data:

Jack Roush and Rick Hendrick are the only two teams that can claim having at least one driver over the past six races with a top ten finish.

The Richard Childress team though has been equally as hot as Jack Roush and Rick Hendrick in the past three races.

Not a whole lot of love to lower end teams at this track.

A look at the average finish data:

Jeff Gordon is the best over the past six races, but his 2008 season has not been super spectacular.

Matt Kenseth is just right behind him, but his Chase for the Championship has not been great.

Jimmie Johnson has one so-so finish killing an under 5.0 average. Tony Stewart has one bad finish killing an under 5.0 average.

Carl Edwards has two crappy finishes in the past six races killing his average.

Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., and Kasey Kahne are drivers that hate this track.

A look at average start data:

Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon are the bets at qualifying and finishing at this track. Data looks even better for them over the past four races, than the past six.