Rocketman Sports
#18 Kyle Busch vs #11 Denny Hamlin
Play On: 3* #18 Kyle Busch -135
Looking at my pick for the 4th spot we turn to Kyle Busch. Busch has no wins, 1 Top 5 finishes and 3 Top 10 finishes in his 3 starts in Indianapolis. Busch has an average finish of 7.0 in Indianapolis. Kyle Busch's average finish over the past 3 races is 9.0. In 3 races, he has 2 wins and 2 top 10 finishes, which is the hottest. Kyle Busch's average finish over the past 10 races is 9.1. In 10 races, he has 5 wins and 7 top 10 finishes which is best overall! Hamlin has an average finish of 16.0 here. We'll play Kyle Busch to finish ahead of Denny Hamlin for 3 units today!
Allstate 400 at The Brickyard PostQ
It has been quite some time since the #24 DuPont Chevrolet has been to victory lane – 25 races to be exact. That is quite some time for a driver of Jeff Gordon’s caliber to be without a win. That could very easily change this weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway where Gordon has run very well in his career winning three times with an average finish of 8th place. Gordon has had a strong car this weekend qualifying in the 5th position while ranking 3rd on our Speed chart. Gordon is hungry for a win and there would be no better time for him to get the win at The Brickyard.
Every time he is entered in an event Mark Martin’s name comes up as a contender for the win. Again Martin has looks to have a car that can get to victory lane. He qualified on the outside of the front row while ranking 4th on our Speed chart. He also has a streak of three consecutive top 10 finishes at Indy with an average finish of 15th place. Martin is determined to get his #8 DEI Chevrolet to victory lane before he makes the move back into the series on a fulltime basis. He will be among the front runners in the Allstate 400 at The Brickyard.
He has been a driver that we have been touting all season and also saying to avoid. This is a race in which we are high on Juan Pablo Montoya. In his lone start at Indy Montoya recorded a 2nd place finish. He has looked good strong so far qualifying in the 13th position while also ranking in the same spot on our Speed chart. Montoya runs very well at certain track types and Indy is one of those that fits his style. He should be a contender for at least a top 10 run. Jump on the #42 Havoline Dodge bandwagon for this race.
After posting 17 consecutive top 15 finishes to begin the season it has been a bit of a struggle for Jeff Burton in the last few events. He recorded his first DNF of the season at Daytona finishing in the 37th position. He then struggled at Chicagoland qualifying 3rd but finishing 19th. Burton’s struggles look like they will continue this weekend as he has been horrible through the practice sessions and qualifying. He qualified well back in the pack in the 32nd position and ranks just one spot better on our Speed chart. One should never doubt Burton as he has consistently raced his way to the front but that may not be the case this weekend. He gets our ‘buyer beware’ label of the weekend.
Although he has looked very good through the practice sessions and qualifying we’re not buying that Ryan Newman will be competitive on Sunday. He qualified well, which is the norm for the #12 Alltel Dodge team, taking the 3rd position. In seven starts, however, he has just one top 10 with an average finish of 24th place. Newman may also be looking forward to the end of the season when he ‘mutually’ agreed to leave Penske Racing at the end of the year. He has yet to announce where he will be next year and it could be weighing heavily on his mind. We recommend looking elsewhere.
profantasysports.com
Pit box: Indianapolis
Reid Spencer, Bill Marx and Roger Kuznia of the Sporting News are matching wits in the Pit box in 2008. The rules are different this year. They can pick a driver only once during the season. But for good measure, each also will pick his favorite to win the race. Keep track of the results each week in the Pit box and on SportingNews.com ( http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/pitbox.html).
Reid's pick: Well, as much as I hate to cover Bill's pick, I've been saving Stewart for just this moment, because I think he'll go back-to-back at the Brickyard. That would make a perfect capper on a weekend that started with his announcement of car numbers and sponsors for his Stewart-Haas entry for next year.
Who Reid really thinks will win: Jimmie Johnson. He broke his Brickyard jinx in 2006, and the No. 48 Chevy has been lightning quick in practice.
Roger's pick: Kevin Harvick. He's been running much better lately, and he's finished no worse than fourth in his last three Brickyard races. I also like knowing he has two wins there.
Who Roger really thinks will win: Jimmie Johnson. Jimmie doesn't have the overwhelming record of success that Harvick does, but except for small hiccups at Sonoma and Daytona, this team has been running too well not to return to victory lane.
Bill's pick: Tony Stewart. The time is right. The time is now. I know it because it hit me like a ton of bricks.
Who Bill really thinks will win: Tony Stewart. There's just nothing more to say.
Last race (at Chicagoland): What else is new? Reid extended his lead, albeit only slightly, when Kevin Harvick came home third. Roger's selection of Matt Kenseth came home seventh, while Bill's pick of Ryan Newman finished 10th. In the real picks, Bill scored a win over Roger when his pick of Kyle Busch passed Roger's pick of Jimmie Johnson on the final restart to take home the checkered flag. Reid's selection of Kenseth was not far behind in seventh, keeping that race nearly as it was entering Chicagoland.
sportingnews.com
Allstate 400: Yard of Bricks
By Brian Gabrielle
Take Kasey Kahne (+700), 1/6th unit. This week we head to the Brickyard, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the Car of Tomorrow has never raced. The closest track we can get to Indy to look at some historical numbers for the COT is Pocono, where the Cuppers raced last month. And in that event, Kahne was tops: he won the race, and he also came all the way through the field after a bad pit stop put him at the back of the pack. Kahne has a couple top-fives in his Brickyard history, and I think he's got a win in him on Sunday.
Take Jimmie Johnson (+700), 1/6th unit. J.J. broke my heart last Saturday losing late to Busch, but he proved that he's back to having the best cars when it matters most. Johnson won the Brickyard in '06 but then crashed out in '07, and in interviews this past week, he's come across quite a bit hungrier than usual. Expect the No. 48 to hang around for the race's first half, then adjust and come on like gangbusters late.
Take Brian Vickers (+1800), 1/6th unit. Second week in a row I'm going with the feisty Vickers. Last week at Michigan, he rewarded me with a fourth-place finish and a head-to-head win, and I think he's got as good an effort in him on Sunday. Vickers finished second at Pocono last month, illustrating that Team Red Bull understands what it takes to get around very fast flat tracks, and the Brickyard is one of those. There's still a shot Vickers wins a race this year; I don't think Vegas has quite caught up to how well he's running.
In this week's head-to-head match-up, take Vickers over Greg Biffle (+100), 1 unit. Vickers is an underdog in this one, and well he should be: Biffle sits seventh in points (compared to Vickers' 14th), and is favored to finish in the top 10 almost every single week. Still, his efforts at Pocono and Indy haven't been up to snuff the past couple years: he was 15th in the COT at Pocono in June and finished 24th, 30th and 23rd the three Pocono races before that, and his last three Indy finishes have been 15th, 33rd and 21st. It's always scary picking a "mid-major" against a superpower team like Roush Racing, but that's how impressed I've been with the No. 83 of late.
Trading Paint: Allstate 400 picks
Welcome to Trading Paint, a weekly entry where a statewide panel of four auto racing "experts" will make picks on the NASCAR Sprint Cup races. This week: Sunday's Allstate 400 in Indianapolis.
The rules are simple:
1. A panelist can't pick the same driver in back-to-back weeks.
2. Standings will be calculated each week based on the actual points earned by the drivers each panelist picks to win.
After 19 races, the standings are as follows, with their pick of last week's winner in parentheses:
1. Steve Kaminski (Carl Edwards) -- 2,843
2. Jeff Bleiler (Jimmie Johnson) -- 2,684
3. Mike Pryson (Dale Earnhardt Jr.) -- 2,549
4. Antoine Pitts (Kyle Busch) -- 2,481
Jeff Bleiler -- Jackson Citizen Patriot
Looks like Kaminski's cockiness is getting the better of him. Days after suggesting the three losers of this pick-the-winner contest purchase the victor a bicycle -- I'd make sure it came lacking a seat -- his ill-fated wisdom that Carl Edwards would win fell flat.
On the other hand, my selection, Jimmie Johnson, placed second, 30 spots ahead of Edwards and allowed me to pick up 102 points on our leader. I like the way this is starting to go.
• Winner -- Tony Stewart. I had him as a sleeper pick for the Chicagoland race, while the other three slotted him as their no chance. He finished fifth. I expect better this weekend.
• Sleeper -- Brian Vickers. No real reason here, just a hunch.
• No chance -- Kyle Busch. Come on, it's got to stop -- or at least slow down -- at some point. This is getting ridiculous. I haven't picked him to win many races, but I know once I do, he'll start to fade.
Steve Kaminski -- The Grand Rapids Press
I haven't had this much confidence in a pick all season.
Kyle Busch has three top-10 finishes in three Brickyard 400 starts, and the way he's running this year, he's a lock. Busch rolls into Indianapolis on a two-race winning streak, and his team has had an extra week to prepare since it was off last weekend.
It's one of the biggies on the Cup schedule, and Busch will be motivated.
• Winner -- Kyle Busch. There is no doubt about it.
• Sleeper -- Kevin Harvick. He has one win here and had a shot last year.
• No chance -- Jimmie Johnson. He won here two years ago, but he has failed to finish in the top 35 in three of the past four years.
Antoine Pitts -- The Ann Arbor News
After a week off I'm ready to return to Victory Lane as I did with Kyle Busch after his masterful last-lap pass at Chicagoland. Now, I'm looking forward to kissing some bricks.
• Winner -- Jeff Gordon. Hard to pick against the NASCAR driver who has owned the Brickyard.
• Sleeper -- Brian Vickers. Coming on in recent weeks, he's just outside of the Chase cutoff.
• No chance -- Sam Hornish Jr. It just hasn't happened for the former Indy 500 champ; he's 33rd despite starting all 19 races.
Mike Pryson -- Jackson Citizen Patriot
This week, the Brickyard.
After a week off spent licking our wounds, we're still trying to figure out a way to slow Mr. Kaminski. Meanwhile NASCAR has apparently changed its rules to slow Toyota -- in the Nationwide Series, anyway.
Gotta love a racing series intent on finding ways to slow down the action. I always thought the idea was to find ways, within the rules, of going faster than the next guy.
And with that, I move that we dock Kaminski about 75 points just to make things more fair for the rest of us.
While the Commissioner of the Trading Paint Series mulls over ways to make this series more fair, I offer up the following picks for Indianapolis:
• Winner -- Jeff Gordon. There's no way the guy goes the entire season without a win. He's won four times, and he'll make it No. 5 on Sunday.
• Sleeper -- Kasey Kahne. Kahne has had bad luck his two trips to Indy, finishing 36th and 40th when accidents prevented him from making it to the end. The hunch here is that he stays clean and is in it to the end. He also is in a developing logjam for the 12th and final Chase spot. This race is huge for him and could go a long way toward deciding his postseason chances.
• No chance -- Ryan Newman. What started out as a dream season for Newman has turned into a career fork in the road. He's close to being shut out of the Chase and he's got one eye on a new ride for '09. The focus just isn't where it needs to be to win at a place like Indy.
mlive.com
This race is a disgrace and complete disaster 😛