Centurion Boats at The Glen News and Notes

Driver to win the Centurion Boats at the Glen

Tony Stewart +475
Jeff Gordon +500
Kyle Busch +800
Juan Montoya +850
Robby Gordon +950
Patrick Carpentier +1550
Ron Fellows +1550
Denny Hamlin +1550
Kevin Harvick +1750
Marcos Ambrose +1750
Carl Edwards +1750
Jimmie Johnson +1750
Kurt Busch +2150
Boris Said +2350
Jamie McMurray +2550
Ryan Newman +3850
Dale Earnhardt Jr +3850
Greg Biffle +4500
Jeff Burton +4500
Clint Bowyer +5000
Martin Truex Jr +6500
Matt Kenseth +6500
Kasey Kahne +6500
Field +1250

TheGreek

Pure Stats: Centurion Boats at the Glen — Watkins Glen International

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Aug. 4, 2008) – At what point does Kyle Busch start worrying?

The battle for potential Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup bonus points got tighter this past weekend, with Carl Edwards picking up another 10 bonus points for his win at Pocono – pushing his total to 30.

Busch, with 70 bonus points, still has a 40-point lead – but his comfort zone is quickly shrinking.

He has now finished outside the top 10 in back-to-back races, something he’s done only three times this season.

Plus, the competition is catching up – especially in the form of Edwards and Jimmie Johnson. Johnson finished third at Pocono, giving him his third top-three finish in the past three races.

Edwards has finished in the top two in three of the last four races, and the top 10 in 10 of the last 12.

But there’s still plenty of good news for Busch.

For one, he returns to a road course, a track type at which he has won twice this season (Mexico City in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Infineon Raceway in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series). If Busch wins this weekend at Watkins Glen in either the NASCAR Nationwide Series or NASCAR Sprint Cup, he’ll be the first driver in NASCAR history to win three road-course races in one season.

Also, Busch is strong over the next five tracks. Actually, since 2005, he’s stronger than both Edwards and Johnson at the remaining five tracks in the Race to the Chase. At those tracks (Watkins Glen, Michigan, Bristol, California and Richmond), Busch has an average Driver Rating of 98.9.

Edwards has a 95.0 and Johnson a 96.4.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Top 12 at Watkins Glen International

Driver Races Poles Wins Top Fives Top 10s DNFs Average Finish Driver Rating
1 Kyle Busch 3 0 0 0 2 0 16.3 84.9
2 Dale Earnhardt Jr 8 0 0 2 3 2 20.6 79.7
3 Carl Edwards 3 0 0 1 2 0 10.7 85.6
4 Jimmie Johnson 6 0 0 3 3 1 14.2 104.5
5 Jeff Burton 14 0 0 2 3 3 21.36 74.0
6 Jeff Gordon 15 2 4 6 8 2 12.4 108.2
7 Kasey Kahne 4 0 0 0 0 0 19.8 64.4
8 Greg Biffle 5 0 0 0 1 1 30.2 59.2
9 Tony Stewart 9 0 4 5 7 0 6.1 137.9
10 Denny Hamlin 2 0 0 1 2 0 6.0 112.1
11 Kevin Harvick 7 0 1 2 4 0 12.0 96.2
12 Clint Bowyer 2 0 0 0 0 0 15.0 79.2

Selected Driver Highlights

Note: All driver statistics that follow are from Watkins Glen International. The Loop Data statistics – Driver Rating, Average Running Position, etc. – in this release, however, cover the last three races at Watkins Glen. NASCAR’s scoring loops began collecting data for statistical purposes in 2005.

Kurt Busch (No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge)
• One top 10
• Average finish of 23.0
• Average Running Position of 17.1, 14th-best
• Driver Rating of 98.6, seventh-best
• 27 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 118.242 mph, seventh-fastest
• 161 (59.2%) Laps in the Top 15, sixth-best
• 67 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Carl Edwards (No. 99 Office Depot Ford)
• One top five, two top 10s
• Average finish of 10.7 in three races
• Average Running Position of 15.2, ninth-best
• Driver Rating of 85.6, 10th-best
• 157 (57.7%) Laps in the Top 15, eighth-most
• 56 Quality Passes, ninth-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 DuPont Chevrolet)
• Four wins, six top fives, eight top 10s; two poles
• Average finish of 12.4
• Average Running Position of 9.6, fourth-best
• Driver Rating of 108.2, third-best
• 15 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 118.590 mph, third-fastest
• 196 (72.1%) Laps in the Top 15, tied for fourth-most
• 59 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Robby Gordon (No. 7 Jim Beam Dodge)
• One win, seven top fives
• Average finish of 8.8
• Average Running Position of 11.9, fifth-best
• Driver Rating of 106.3, fourth-best
• Six Fastest Laps Run, tied for sixth-most
• 158 Green Flag Passes, fifth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 118.459 mph, fourth-fastest
• 196 (72.1%) Laps in the Top 15, tied for fourth-most
• Series-high 83 Quality Passes

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Toyota)
• One top five, two top 10s
• Average finish of 6.0 in two races
• Average Running Position of 7.8, second-best
• Driver Rating of 112.1, second-best
• Seven Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most
• Average Green Flag Speed of 118.596 mph, second-fastest
• 87.8% (158 total) Laps in the Top 15, second-best percentage
• 52 Quality Passes (average of 26.0 per race), second-best average

Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet)
• One win, two top fives, four top 10s
• Average finish of 12.0
• Average Running Position of 12.7, sixth-best
• Driver Rating of 96.2, eighth-best
• Five Fastest Laps Run, tied for eighth-most
• 202 (74.3%) Laps in the Top 15, third-most
• 50 Quality Passes, 11th-most

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet)
• Three top fives
• Average finish of 14.2
• Average Running Position of 7.9, third-best
• Driver Rating of 104.5, fifth-best
• Average Green Flag Speed of 118.326 mph, sixth-fastest
• 237 (87.1%) Laps in the Top 15, second-most

Jamie McMurray (No. 26 Crown Royal Ford)
• One top five
• 17.0 average finish
• Average Running Position of 15.3, 10th-best
• Driver Rating of 90.1, ninth-best
• 151 (55.5%) Laps in the Top 15, tied for ninth-most

Tony Stewart (No. 20 Home Depot Toyota)
• Four wins, five top fives, seven top 10s
• Average finish of 6.1
• Series-best Average Running Position of 3.3
• Series-best Driver Rating of 137.9
• Series-high 76 Fastest Laps Run
• Series-fastest Average Green Flag Speed of 119.360 mph
• Series-high 264 (97.1%) Laps in the Top 15
• 73 Quality Passes, fifth-most

At Watkins Glen International:

History
• After several events were held on the streets of Watkins Glen, a permanent 2.3-mile facility was opened in 1956.
• The first NASCAR Sprint Cup race at The Glen was in 1957, won by Buck Baker.
• After a six-year absence, NASCAR returned to The Glen in 1964 and 1965.
• After a 21-year absence, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series returned to The Glen, and has run one race a year there since 1986.
• The NASCAR Nationwide Series held its first race at The Glen in 1991.
• The first combination weekend at Watkins Glen International for NASCAR’s national series was a NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series event in 1998.

Track Milestones
• There have been 25 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series races at Watkins Glen International since the first race there in 1957.
• Buck Baker won the first pole and race (1957).
• Tim Richmond won the first pole and race upon the series’ return in 1987.
• There have been 14 different pole winners. Qualifying has been canceled five times.
• The race winner has started first in eight of 25 races. Mark Martin leads all other drivers with wins from the pole with three in a row between 1993 and 1995.
• 16 of the 25 race winners have started from a top-five starting position.
• 18 of 25 races at Watkins Glen have been won from a top-10 starting position.
• The deepest in the field that a Watkins Glen race winner has started was 18th by Steve Park in 2001.
• 15 different drivers have won races, led by Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart, with four each.
• Jeff Gordon set the all-time NASCAR Sprint Cup record for road-course victories with his victory in 2001, his seventh on a road course.
• There have been two caution-free races at Watkins Glen, both coming in the first three races there (1957 and 1965).
• There has been one race extended by a green-white-checkered finish: 2005 (92 Laps).
• Two active drivers have had a runner-up finish as their best at Watkins Glen: Ryan Newman and Ron Fellows. Fellows has finished second there twice (1999 and 2004), his career-best NASCAR Sprint Cup finishes.

Hot Fact

Scott Pruett has an average finish of 5.8 in five races at Watkins Glen, the best of any driver with more than two starts there. Tony Stewart is second among drivers with more than two Watkins Glen races, with an average finish of 6.1 in nine appearances. Mark Martin has an average finish of 6.9 in 19 races – the third-best of drivers with more than two starts there.

NASCAR in New York
• There have been 63 NASCAR Sprint Cup races in New York:
• 176 drivers in NASCAR’s three national series (all-time) have their home state recorded as New York.
• There have been 13 race winners from New York in NASCAR’s three national series:

Watkins Glen International Data

Race #: 22 of 36 (8-10-08)
Track Size: 2.45 miles
Race Length: 90 laps/220.5 miles

Driver Rating at Watkins Glen
Tony Stewart 137.9
Denny Hamlin 112.1
Jeff Gordon 108.2
Robby Gordon 106.3
Jimmie Johnson 104.5
Scott Pruett 98.7
Kurt Busch 98.6
Kevin Harvick 96.2
Jamie McMurray 90.1
Carl Edwards 85.6
Note: Driver Rating compiled from 2005-2007 races (3 total) at Watkins Glen.

Qualifying/Race Data
2007 pole winner: None (inclement weather)
2007 race winner: Tony Stewart, 77.535 mph, 8-12-07)
Track qualifying record: Jeff Gordon (124.580 mph, 70.798 seconds, 8-8-03)
Track race record: Mark Martin (103.300 mph, 8-13-95)

Estimated Pit Window: Every 30-32 laps, based on fuel mileage.

Centurion Boats at The Glen PreQ

This week has to be the week in which Tony Stewart has had his sights on for quite some time. After struggling at Indy Stewart rebounded last weekend at Pocono to post a 2nd place finish. He was never really in contention for the win but you can bet that Stewart will get the #20 Home Depot Toyota to victory lane at least one more time before he departs Joe Gibbs Racing at the end of the season. It has been one year since Stewart last posted a win and he is as hungry as any driver in the series to take the checkered flag. With four wins in nine career starts Stewart will be the favorite in the Centurion Boats at The Glen.

The big name drivers are beginning to shine as we approach the Chase for the Championship. Among those is Jeff Gordon who has begun to find his way to the top of the scoring pylon week in and week out. Gordon has been running much better in the last 11 races than in the first 10 races of the season after he started out with six top 15 finishes in those first 10 events before recording six top 10s in the last 11 events (with two 11th place runs in that span). Both Stewart and Gordon are known for the road racing prowess and with each searching for their first win of the season it will be an exciting race to watch this Sunday if both drivers are near the front at the end of the day.

A driver that gets little attention on a weekly basis but who has been running near the front quite frequently is Elliot Sadler. One of the reasons is that while Sadler may be running near the front during the race he has not been finishing races there. Sadler has been bitten buy the bad luck bug when he has been running often suffering from tire issues. This could be a week where Sadler runs very well, at end up front. Sadler has five consecutive top 20 finishes at Watkins Glen International and does run well on road course tracks. He has not finished outside the top 20 in the last nine road course racing and was running in the top 5 at Infineon before a tire issue with two laps remaining relegated him to a 19th place finish. Sadler is a sleeper that you should keep in mind when setting your lineup for this race.

Kasey Kahne has yet to get the nuances of road course racing down. In the last nine starts he has just two finishes in the top 20 with an average finish of 26th place. Each of those top 20 finishes did come at Watkins Glen but they were in his first two season in the series. In the last two years at the track he has a 22nd and 26th place finish. Kahne is set to make the Chase for the Championship and can afford a lackluster performance. He just can’t afford a terrible performance. If he can muster a top 20 it would be an accomplishment for the team – anything more would be an outright miracle. The #9 Budweiser Dodge gets our ‘buyer beware’ label of the week.

OK – we’re going to give up on him. Juan Pablo Montoya has just not been producing this season. We felt he would be running much better by this point in the season but the entire Chip Ganassi Racing has struggled this season and it doesn’t look like it will get better any time soon. Montoya has been especially porous producing just two top 10s this season. He did get one of those at Infineon earlier this season but in his lone start at Watkins Glen Montoya finished in the 39th position. We will say to avoid Montoya this weekend and then he will come out a produce a solid run. It doesn’t matter anymore – we’re going to give up on him for the remainder of the year.

profantasysports.com

Gordon Going to The Glen
Racingone.com

Robby Gordon is a fan of NASCAR road racing and the veteran driver hopes to post another Sprint Cup Series win this Sunday in the Centurion Boats at The Glen at Watkins Glen International.

"Well, I still like the road racing a lot," Gordon said. "It's something that I look at, we have probably a 1-in-5 or 1-in-10 shot of winning the race. We put a lot of effort into our road racing effort. Not that we don't put a lot of effort into our oval racing as well. This is something I've done for 15 years now and I have a lot of experience road racing."

With all of his road racing experience, racing in the rain as the Nationwide Series did last weekend for the first time in history at Montreal, is something Gordon has done before.

And he believes racing in wet weather has a place in NASCAR.

"Well, I was kicking myself last weekend watching that because I do enjoy the racing in the rain so much," Gordon said. "You know, it would have been a lot of fun. I think we were well-prepared for that. We've done a lot of rain racing in the past."

"You know, our road racecar, the Nationwide Series car has defrosters, has windshield wipers, all the stuff we would have needed for that event. It was kind of a bummer we weren't there. But we were really trying to put all of our focus here on this Jim Beam weekend at Watkins Glen, where we're running both the Nationwide car and the Cup car."

Gordon took the checkered flag at Watkins Glen back in 2003 and like the circuit's other road course, Infineon Raceway where he also has excelled during his NASCAR career, considers the two his favorites on the schedule.

"Yeah, Watkins is a good place for us," he said. "You know, I look forward to going to Watkins every year. You know, it's equal to me. Doesn't make a difference if it's Sonoma or Watkins. I think, you know, my results are about the same on both of them."

"Strategies are still about the same. Pit strategy has a lot to do with it. Fuel mileage has a lot to do with it. And timing a caution right."

"As far as racecars, you know, our cars have been fast at Sonoma. We ran inside the top three for the first half of the race till we pushed it on fuel mileage. We hung ourselves out. But, you know, on one side of it, you know, I think the tracks have elevation change pretty similar. Watkins is a faster racetrack as far as top speed than what we have at Sonoma. But both of 'em, you still got to turn left and you got to turn right, and the car has to be very consistent on the tires, not abuse 'em too hard."

As is usually the case, fuel strategy will no doubt play a big part in Sunday's outcome.

"You know, hopefully we don't run ourselves out of fuel here at Watkins and we put ourselves in a position to time the pit stops right," Gordon said. "And if we do, I think we've got a legitimate shot at winning."

Eight men in Watkins Glen

In the event qualification is rained out or canceled for any other reason, the following drivers would make the show: Michael McDowell, A.J. Allmendinger, P J Jones, Patrick Carpentier, Kyle Petty, Joe Nemechek. Max Papis and Marcos Ambrose.Going home would be Brian Simo, Boris Said and Regan Smith in the No. 81.

Owner/driver needs a win
Associated Press

Car owner Robby Gordon sees Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen International as a chance to show the team's progress and woo potential sponsors.

Driver Robby Gordon just wants to feel what it's like to win again.

It's been five years and 178 races since Gordon took the checkered flag, winning the 2003 event at The Glen to complete a sweep of the two Cup road races that season while driving for Richard Childress Racing.

Since starting his own team in 2005, Gordon's success has been limited. His only top-five finishes the past three seasons have been a second, fourth and fifth at Watkins Glen.

Worse, each ensuing season, sponsorship money has become harder to find and he's still got a one-car operation - a distinct disadvantage against powerhouses like the three-car Joe Gibbs Racing, four-car Hendrick Motorsports and five-car Roush Fenway Racing operations.

But Gordon's roots are in road racing, in sports cars and IndyCars, and he was a top-notch off-road racer. He remains one of NASCAR's best on tracks with right and left turns.

``We put a lot of effort into our road racing,'' he said Tuesday during a video conference. ``Not that we don't put a lot of effort into our oval racing as well, (but) this is something I've done for 15 years now and I have a lot of experience road racing.''

There is constant speculation that Gordon's time as an owner could end soon if he doesn't find more sponsors. But Gordon, who insists he is not spending his own money, said he's confident Robby Gordon Motorsports will have a sponsor next year. Jim Beam is the current sponsor.

Gordon said getting the team running three years ago was the hardest part. He sees the outfit as mature and stable now, learning from mistakes and finding solutions to problems.

``Every year we've climbed the ladder in points and we work ourselves up into a higher position,'' Gordon said. ``I'm confident by the end of the year this year we'll learn from some of the mistakes we made again with the Car of Tomorrow.''

Even one-car teams, Gordon says, can struggle getting everyone to work together.

``It sounds crazy,'' Gordon said. ``You would think everybody working together would be on the same team anyway. But you have a lot of cliques, a lot of groups. There's a lot of egos in this sport.''

And a lot of races. The 36 events over 10 hectic months add to the challenge for a small team. Gordon likened NASCAR to a season-long version of the 16-day Dakar rally.

``By the time you get home on Monday, you got to be already having cars ready so that they can roll on the truck on Wednesday and go the next weekend,'' he said. ``You've got to really look into the future of what you're going to need to make your team better.''

Gordon's team is getting used to the routine, enough so that he would like to add a second car if the team has enough success.

``Like I said, we're four years into it now,'' Gordon said. ``We're not racing the race of Wednesday or Thursday to get the car in the hauler. We're actually racing the race on the racetrack, and that's the most important thing.''

A few wins would help, too. Perhaps starting Sunday.

Almirola back in No. 8
Associated Press

Aric Almirola returns to NASCAR Sprint Cup racing this week, driving the No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet at Watkins Glen International.

It will be the sixth Cup race of the season and first since June 29 at New Hampshire for the 24-year-old rookie, who is sharing the ride this season with Mark Martin. But it will be Almirola's first start since last month's announcement that he will drive the No. 8 entry full-time for DEI in 2009.

The youngster is scheduled to compete in 12 Cup races this season, including three in the next four weeks.

Though a road course might not be an easy return for Almirola after a layoff of more than a month, he is looking forward to the challenge, despite starting 40th and finishing 28th in the June road race at Sonoma.

``Once I started to get a hang of racing on a road course I actually started to like it,'' Almirola said. ``The goal for Watkins Glen will be the same as in Sonoma, to keep all four tires on the pavement and get the best finish possible.''

Tony Gibson, crew chief for the No. 8 Chevrolet, liked what he saw at Sonoma.

``Aric did everything we asked of him, and more,'' Gibson said. ``He kept the car out of trouble, stayed on the lead lap and improved as the race went on. He's a quick learner who has loads of talent.''

Almirola, who also had six Cup starts last year, doesn't particularly enjoy watching races from the pits and could hardly wait to get back in the car.

``Don't get me wrong, I am fortunate to learn from Mark, but being on the sidelines is not any fun,'' Almirola said. ``I want to get in there and be part of the action. I am really looking forward to the next four weeks.

Centurion Boats at The Glen Driver Rating

Tony Stewart heads NASCAR’s driver ratings this weekend for the Centurion Boats at The Glen. Fancy title. He has an average driver rating of 137.9, more than 25 points ahead on 2nd place Denny Hamlin. In his last six races at The Glen, he has four wins and a 2nd place finish in 2006. He’s the defending champion and has to be the favorite this weekend. It would be a shock in Stewart finishes outside the top 5. This is hopefully one of the safer picks we’ll give you all season.

Instead of recommending Hamlin or Mark Martin, I’m going to give you a more unsuspecting candidate. Robby Gordon won at Watkins Glen in 2003 and has six top 5s in his eight career starts at the track. Gordon feels at home on the track and should be an excellent fantasy option for you. In most formats, Gordon is either a 2nd or 3rd tier driver. To be blunt, this is one of the only tracks where Gordon will shine. So be sure to take advantage.

An extremely dark horse pick this week would be Scott Pruett. Jayski.com reported that Reed Sorenson is scheduled to drive the #41 Chip Ganassi Target Dodge. The team used Scott Pruett at Infineon Raceway earlier this season. With team in the top 35 in owner’s points, Sorenson looks to have the ride secured for this weekend. If Pruett’s name surfaces this week, be sure to use him as a lower-tiered option. In his five career Cup series races at Watkins Glen, he has four top 10s, including a 2nd place finish in 2003. He is more than capable of grabbing a solid finish if he can get a ride this weekend.

profantasysports.com

Bring On The Road Courses - And The "Ringers" Too!
Tommy Thompson

The debate concerning road course racing and how it should or shouldn’t fit into the historically circle track-dominated world of NASCAR has heated up, as it routinely does twice a year leading up to and immediately following the sanctioning body’s only two events with right turns — Infineon and Watkins Glen. One issue is that some do not believe that the racing is particularly interesting, as passing is infrequent and at considerably slower speeds than the 200 mph exhibitions that fans have become accustomed to. But the second major point of disagreement — and more frequently argued one — is whether NASCAR should allow road course

“ringers” — drivers brought in by team owners for their expertise in a particular form of motorsports — to participate in the races.

Let’s deal with these one at a time. First, the boring part; I can tell you that if you ever so much as stepped foot across the Atlantic Ocean, most racing fanatics would beg to differ with that unflattering assessment. Road course racing, though the rage in Europe and much of the rest of the world, has taken a backseat to oval track racing in the United States since the advent of automobiles in this country — probably out of necessity more than anything else. Initially, horse racing tracks were all the rage here, in part because they just seemed more practical than rutted and narrow wagon trails to test the mettle of drivers and machine. And even in the early 1900s, when capitalism in the U.S. was alive and thriving, racing promoters figured out early on that it was easier to collect admission fees from spectators as they entered the gates of a track than from race viewers sitting on grassy knolls that they owned along country trails.

I, like many others, grew up around the local circle tracks and was never properly introduced to road course competition; thus, I also never acquired an understanding or appreciation for it. That is, not until the 1993 Spring race at Sonoma, CA — almost 30 years after my love affair with auto racing began. That day, I became a fan of road course racing as well, after watching an event that was won by Geoff Bodine in a hotly contested battle with Ernie Irvan in the yellow Kodak No. 4 and Ricky Rudd in the No. 5 Tide ride.

What I learned from that experience is that although I had watched television broadcasts of previous road course events, it was impossible for me to fully appreciate the patience, strategy, and car control required by teams and drivers until I witnessed it live and in person. In the end, that point of view is not so unlike road course fans who follow various sports car racing series, then profess the same type of dislike mentioned above for oval tracks. With limited knowledge and without seeing a circular speedway in person, they simply refuse to believe there is anything exciting about racers turning left all the time.

Considering the different challenges associated with driving on a road course, there is certainly room on the Sprint Cup circuit for those type of competitions; and in my mind, it would be a legitimate discussion as to whether only two such events is enough. Certainly, one such race would be appropriate as part of the ten week Chase to the Sprint Cup championship. There’s no question different disciplines of racing provided during the first 26 races of the Sprint Cup schedule should be fairly represented in NASCAR’s version of a playoff system. Short tracks, intermediates — including the mile and a half ovals — and road courses during the final events best assure that the ultimate championship driver and team were truly the best… no matter what type of track the series raced on that year.

Perhaps just as surprising as no road course in the Chase is the fact that for as infrequently that Cup teams run the closed circuit events, they are very good at it. No better example of that statement needs to be made than to point out that road course “ringers” have never won a Cup race at either Sonoma or Watkins Glen. They have been competitive and have challenged for victories — as would be expected — but a Cup regular has always prevailed over world-renown drivers such as Ron Fellows, P.J. Jones, Scott Pruett, and Boris Said.

And that brings us to our second point. Sunday’s running of the Centurion Boats at the Glen at Watkins Glen International will find the “ringers” once again in attendance, with the likes of the aforementioned Fellows, Jones, Pruett and Said being joined by other road course specialists such as Max Papis and Brian Simo. All of them are steadfastly intent on beating NASCAR’s best; but should one of them prevail, all that will be proven is that one of the experts at road course racing won one of nearly 100 road races run since the beginning of the modern era. In all honesty, their three-decade shutout from Victory Lane is no bigger testament to how tough the going has been for them over the years.

And while their participation has hardly led to dominance, NASCAR has been dead on in its non-decision to exclude these world class drivers from plying their expertise against American stock car oval racing’s top drivers. Unlike the ban on professional basketball players in international competition until 1989 and the Olympics in 1992, stock car racers have never been deprived of competing against the best. One only needs to look at the improvement by numerous other countries — countries that now play shot-for-shot against American professional basketball players — to know that given an opportunity, athletes will always rise to the level of competition.

Today, the stats are so skewed towards the NASCAR regulars that the specialists are only brought in almost exclusively by owners desperately needing a decent finishing position, and the accompanying owner points in order to maintain their precarious perch within the Top 35 — not by a top team looking to cash in with a surprise upset. These “ringers’” presence in the race only serves as a fairly accurate barometer as to the proficiency of NASCAR’s best in a discipline of racing that they are less experienced in. That NASCAR regulars consistently perform well lends credence to the belief held by many, including myself, that these stock car drivers are among the most talented chauffeurs in the world.

And that’s my view…from Turn 5.

frontstretch.com

Cup drivers have adapted well to road racing

It has been 20 years since NASCAR returned to Watkins Glen International, a road course the stock car boys briefly sampled in the 1950s and '60s.

When the modern stars of the sport arrived at the natural terrain circuit in upstate New York in 1986, there was some sheer terror among their ranks.

``I drove a cab in Detroit, but Watkins Glen worried me a lot more,'' the late Benny Parsons said after finishing eighth in that race. ``A lot of these guys have no clue what they're doing out there, especially when they see a right turn.''

But NASCAR, undaunted by its experience at The Glen, added another road circuit, Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif., in 1989.

Since then, twice a year, NASCAR's best are called upon to find their way around tracks that not only have a variety of turns, but also include elevation changes.

Every race on the Sprint Cup schedule counts the same, so teams and drivers have made it their business to find a way to improve at the two road courses, although some teams still hire road racing specialists like Ron Fellows, P.J. Jones, Boris Said and Scott Pruett for these events.

But, overall, the Cup regulars, many of whom have gone to multiple road racing schools to perfect their skills, have become very adept on the road circuits.

One of the best is Robby Gordon, who won both Cup road races in 2003.

``NASCAR drivers throughout the last couple years - I'm going to go back even as far as 10 years - they've started to put a lot of effort into their road racing because it's ... two of the 36 races,'' Gordon said. ``And if you run the Nationwide car as well, it could be four.

``So there's a lot of good road racers. I mean, Mark Martin has been a phenomenal road racer for as long as I can remember. I teamed up with him in the late '80s. We won the 24 Hours of Daytona together ... look at what's happened the last eight years in Cup races, it's been a NASCAR regular that's won all these races.''

Other top-notch road racers among the Cup stars include defending Watkins Glen champion Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, Juan Pablo Montoya and Kyle Busch, who won the June race at Sonoma.

Apparently, there's not as much difference between racing on ovals and road circuits as some people think.

``The biggest thing on the oval is, you know, back off early, get it into the corner, then get back on the gas,'' Robby Gordon said. ``It's similar to how I run the road races, as well. I try to roll the middle as fast as I can. And I think, you know, that's helped me on the road courses.

``But, you know, the short ovals I normally run pretty good at, so it seems like that works there, too.''

Of course, not everyone enjoys road racing.

``It's no secret that I really don't like road courses,'' said Dale Earnhardt Jr. ``Watkins Glen is a little faster and flatter than Infineon Raceway, but I grew up watching racing on ovals and not road courses.

``I've had a good run or two at the Glen, and I'm running the Nationwide race there (Saturday) to get some extra seat time, but I just generally don't like road course racing. We just want to run well, get through it and get on with oval track racing (next week) at Michigan.''

---

SPECIAL PLACE: Part-time NASCAR driver Boris Said, whose racing background is almost entirely in road racing, planned to do a double this week, racing in both the Nationwide race and, if he can qualify, Sunday's Cup event.

Whether he gets it done or not, Said just loves racing at The Glen.

``Even though I've had my share of ups and downs at The Glen, I still consider it my home track,'' explained Said, who resides in Southern California. ``I like everything about it: The track, the area, the people, the restaurants, the Saidhead fan club and Seneca Lodge.''

Said's fondness for the 2.45-mile road circuit began in his early days as a sports car racer. His Cup debut was at the track in 1999, winning the outside pole. Overall, he has competed in 14 NASCAR races at Watkins Glen, including seven in Cup, five in Nationwide and two in the Craftsman Truck Series.

Among the Cup highlights are a third-place finish in 2005 and eighth in 2001. He also won the pole for the 1998 Nationwide - then Busch - race and finished fourth in the 2001 event.

But one race at The Glen continues to haunt the free-spirited Said.

In 2001, Said was taken out in an incident with Robby Gordon, who went on to win the race.

``I had the fastest car that day and I know I could have won the race,'' he said. ``But I got punted from behind by Robby, spun out and hit the fence. That one is still hard to swallow.''

---

HE SAID IT: ``That stuff happens all the time, all the time, because that's in the heat of the moment. It's competitive, there's sweat running down your forehead, this is a decision-making business that you have to do now. Not always are you going to make the right decisions and you never know what the right decision is until the whole thing unfolds.'' - driver Greg Biffle talking about the pit road argument between eventual Pocono Raceway winner Carl Edwards and crew chief Bob Osborne last Sunday.

---

STAT OF THE WEEK: Kyle Busch has won a total of 15 races in NASCAR's top three series this season, including the Cup race at Sonoma and the Nationwide race on the road course in Mexico City. If the 23-year-old Joe Gibbs Racing driver wins Sunday, he would become the first driver to take three national-series road course events in one season.

Busch has seven wins in Cup, six in Nationwide and two in trucks heading into the weekend. He could use a good finish in Cup, coming off of finishes of 15th and 36th after winning three of the previous four races.

Centurion Boats at The Glen HOT! Sheet

Over the course of the last three races, you will find nothing but the number 5 or less for Jimmie Johnson in the starting and finishing category. At Chicago, he started 5th and nearly won before settling for 2nd. Starting from the pole at Indy, his tires lasted long enough for him to kiss the bricks at the end. Last week, he posted another pole and ended up 3rd. He’s had plenty of success on the road courses, so look for his surge towards the top to continue.

One of the nice surprises in the fantasy racing circle recently has been Jamie McMurray. As you can see on our chart below, in his last three outings he has an average finish of 12th. At Chicago, things could’ve been a lot worse, but he overcame a tire issue to finish 21st. Speaking of tires, at Indianapolis he survived with a strong 6th place run. At Pocono, the team took a little gamble near the end and it paid off in the form of a 9th place. You should be able to continue to get decent value for him.

He may be a lame duck in the #12 car, but Ryan Newman is making the most of his current situation lately. Over the last six races, he has placed in the top 15 in five of them. His only slip up came at Daytona when he fell victim of circumstance and ended up 36th. The team rebounded well the ensuing three times out placing 10th, 13th and 14th. We think you can go ahead and mark down another top 15 this Sunday on the road course.A more surprising driver near the bottom this week is Kurt Busch. The former champion was looking like one when he won in dominating fashion at New Hampshire and then ran 4th at Daytona. But then the wheels started falling off. Literally, in some cases. As stated below, his average finish in the last three events is a whopping 35th place. He is coming off of a very disappointing 38th place finish at Pocono because he actually led for a little while. We’re not saying sit him because he does have some road course savvy, but he gets our “buyer beware” label this week.

On the flip side of things, the last three times out for Paul Menard have been horrible. After a surprising pole position at Daytona and a 15th place finish, he could only come up a 26th place run at Chicago. The Brickyard got the best of him as he finished 42 laps down in 41st position. The triangle of Pocono last week was even worse as he got caught up in an accident that made him post his second DNF of the season in 42nd place. This place has eaten him up in the past, so stay away.

profantasysports.com

Stewart and Gordon poised for victory
August 7, 2008

WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (AP) -A road course race couldn't come at a better time for Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon.

The masters of Watkins Glen International - Stewart and Gordon have combined to win eight of the past 11 NASCAR Sprint Cup races on the twisting, 11-turn layout - are mired in season-long winless streaks heading into Sunday's Centurion Boats at The Glen.

A fifth win by either driver would put him in a league of his own. No driver in the track's storied 60-year history has ever won five races, and that includes Formula One, Indy cars, and sports cars.

``I feel that we're the guys that every time we go there that everybody has to pay attention to us in order to win,'' Stewart said. ``Now, there are times we don't win, obviously, but we're still in the hunt every time and got a shot.''

Being winless in early August isn't uncharted territory for Gordon, although the four-time Cup champion hasn't gone this deep into a season without a victory since 2002. It is for Stewart, though, who has had at least two wins every year since 1999, his rookie season, and customarily shines in the heat of summer.

Stewart hasn't won a Cup race since he bested Gordon here a year ago, a span of 35 races that represents the longest winless streak of his 10-year Sprint Cup career.

``It's not like we're not running well, because we are,'' said Stewart, who has won four of the past six races at The Glen and will be inducted Friday into the track's Legends of The Glen. ``We've just had some circumstances that haven't gone our way. You'll have that.''

Of Stewart's 32 career Cup victories, six have come at road courses.

``We're batting better than .400 at Watkins Glen,'' said Stewart, who finished second to Carl Edwards a week ago at Pocono. ``In nine years, we've won four races. If you can't be counted as a factor after that, I don't know when they do count you as a factor.''

Gordon, who has a NASCAR-record nine road course wins, won three straight at The Glen from 1997-99 and captured his fourth in 2001. He's had tough luck here since, especially a year ago.

Gordon led 51 of the race's 90 laps and was two car-lengths ahead of Stewart with just two laps remaining. But the classic battle between NASCAR's two most successful road racers that appeared to be looming disappeared in the blink of an eye when Gordon spun off course on his own entering the first turn of lap 89.

Stewart zoomed past, held off a late charge from Edwards, and won for the third time in four races. Gordon recovered to finish a disappointing ninth.

``When you have a day like we had last year at The Glen and the laps that we were ahead of Jeff we could drive away from him a little bit it makes you feel good,'' said Stewart, who led 20 laps a year ago. ``You know you're outrunning the best that's been.''

Not lately.

After posting a series record 30 top-10 finishes in 2007 and finishing second to Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jimmie Johnson in the Chase for the championship, Gordon's No. 24 team has struggled this season despite his sixth-place spot in the standings.

On the road course at Infineon Raceway in June, where Gordon has won five times, he finished third behind winner and series points leader Kyle Busch, but only out of pure luck. Timely caution flags, pit strategy, and a chain-reaction crash that took out contenders Stewart, Jamie McMurray and Kevin Harvick with less than six laps remaining allowed Gordon to sneak past.

``I know what it should feel like to go fast,'' said Gordon, who has finishes of 10th, fifth, and 11th since Infineon. ``We're working way, way too hard for these types of finishes.''

NASCAR's top series runs two races on road courses each season and the events always lure top road racers from outside the circuit hoping for that elusive victory. An outsider hasn't won in Cup competition since Mark Donohue drove Roger Penske's No. 16 AMC Matador to victory in the 1973 Winston Western 500 at Riverside.

Included in the field of 45 cars who will try to qualify on Friday is Canadian road race star Ron Fellows, who has come the closest to duplicating Donohue's feat. Fellows, who won last week's Nationwide race in the rain in Montreal, was runner-up at Watkins Glen to Gordon in 1999 and Stewart in 2004.

Joining Fellows will be road race standouts Boris Said, P.J. Jones, Brian Simo, Marcos Ambrose, and Max Papis. That is, if it doesn't rain. Qualifying has been rained out three times in the past four years and there's a 30 percent chance of showers on Friday afternoon. Based on owner points, only Said and Simo would not make the 43-car field if qualifying is canceled.

Sunday's race also could have big implications for the Chase. Only five races remain in the so-called regular season, and the top 12 drivers in points after the first 26 events compete for the Cup title over the season's final 10 races. Denny Hamlin sits in 10th, but is only 46 points ahead of Matt Kenseth in 13th, with Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer in between.

Driver Handicaps: Watkins Glen

This weekend the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads to Watkins Glen International for Sunday's Centurion Boats at The Glen. To help you make your fantasy racing picks, RacingOne brings you our weekly detailed look at some of the field for the 90-lap event.

Who's HOT at Watkins Glen
• Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon lead all drivers with four wins each.
• Denny Hamlin has a 6.0 average finish in two starts.
• Robby Gordon has finished in the top five in the last three races.
• Kevin Harvick has one win and three top 10s in his last five starts.

Keep an Eye on at Watkins Glen
• Kyle Busch won his first Sorint Cup road race in June at Infineon.
• Jimmie Johnson scored his best road course finish (third) in this event last year.
• The road course "ringers" - Ron Fellows and Boris Said.
• Carl Edwards is coming off consecutove to 10s at The Glen.
• Marcos Ambrose, who will attempt his third Sprint Cup start, has captured four top 10s in five Nationwide road course races.
• Ryan Newman has finished in the top 10 in three of his six starts at The Glen.
• Juan Pablo Montoya has one Sprint Cup road course win (Sonoma) in three starts.

Track Performers
Tony Stewart has competed in 19 road course events and his 8.2 average finish tops all drivers. Jeff Gordon, who has an 10.8 average finish, leads all drivers in wins (9) and laps led (664) in 31 starts. Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards are the only other drivers entered in the Centurion Boats at The Glen that have an average finish of 15.0 or better on road courses.

Watkins Glen Rookie Report
Patrick Carpentier and Regan Smith are the only rookies to have made a Cup start at Watkins Glen International. Former open wheel driver, Carpentier, drove the No. 10 at The Glen last year to a 22nd-place finish and Smith piloted the No. 01 to a 37th-place finish after starting 10th. Both of them have also made Nationwide starts at the 2.45-mile road course. Carpentier pulled a double last year, finishing 19th in the Nationwide race and Smith has raced twice at The Glen in the Nationwide Series in 2005 and 2006. His best finish was 19th in 2005. Rookie Standings

Qualifying Tidbits
There have been 14 different pole winners at Watkins Glen International, with qualifying rained out five times, including three times in the last four years. Kurt Busch is the most recent pole winner at The Glen, taking the position in the 2006 race. Prior to that Jeff Gordon and Mark Martin are the only other active drivers to have won poles at the road course. Gordon has won two pole awards at the track, while Martin is tied with Dale Earnhardt for the most poles at the track with three. Gordon is the current qualifying record holder with his 2003 lap of 124.580 mph. Eight of the races have been won from the pole position and all but seven races have been won from a starting position within the top 10.

RacingOne Staff Picks
Jeff Wackerlin: Jeff Gordon
Pete Pistone: Robby Gordon
Rachael West: Kyle Busch
Kym Opalenik: Tony Stewart

Top 20 Driver Notes - Based on Current Standings

1. Kyle Busch: Busch captured his first two NASCAR road course victories this season at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez (Nationwide) and Infineon Raceway (Sprint Cup). His win at Infineon lowered his overall average finish to 15.6 in seven Cup road course starts. This weekend Busch will be shooting for his third consecutive top 10 at Watkins Glen when he makes his first start at the track with Joe Gibbs Racing.

2. Dale Earnhardt Jr: In 2006, Earnhardt Jr ended a streak of three consecutive, and only, top 10s at Watkins Glen with an 18th-place finish. In the three-race top 10 run, Junior posted an average finish of 6.0 and led a combined 12 laps. Last year Earnhardt finished 42nd after his No. 8 Chevrolet lost an engine. This week he will look to get back on track at The Glen when he makes his first track start with Hendrick Motorsports. He will make that start in a brand new car, chassis No. 88-514.

3. Carl Edwards: Edwards is coming off two consecutive top 10s at Watkins Glen International. His fifth-place finish in this event last season is his only top five in seven road course starts. This weekend he will shoot for his fifth Cup Series road course top 10 by driving the same car (chassis No. RK-482) that finished ninth in June at Infineon.

4. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson captured his best Sprint Cup road course finish last season at Watkins Glen International when he took the checkered flag in third. It marked his third top five at The Glen and fifth overall top 10 in road course competition. This weekend Johnson will be driving the same car (chassis No. 442) that finished 15th at Infineon in June.

5. Jeff Burton: Watkins Glen International is Burton's worst track on the circuit when it comes to finishing average. In 2005, Burton finished 43rd after he crashed in Turn 1 on lap 30. The finish was his worst at WGI and it came in his first track start with Richard Childress Racing. Burton will be looking to lower his WGI average finish of 21.3 by racing the same car (chassis No. 249) that finished 13th at Infineon in June.

6. Jeff Gordon: Gordon has the most Sprint Cup wins on the road courses with nine. He is tied with Tony Stewart for the most victories at The Glen with four. Gordon is first in laps led at WGI with 227 and second in poles (2), and top-10 finishes (8). Since winning at Watkins Glen in 2001, Gordon has posted an average finish of 18.7.

7. Kasey Kahne: Kahne has made four starts at The Glen with a best finish of 14th coming in his debut there in the 2004 race. Since then, his finishes have continued to get worse, with a 26th-place finish in the COT's first race at the track in 2007. Kahne's average finish at The Glen is 19.8. He finished 33rd at Infineon in June.

8. Greg Biffle: Biffle has been fairly successful in all three top NASCAR series at The Glen. He won a Craftsman Truck Series race there from the pole in 2000, has posted two top-10 finishes in the Nationwide Series and posted his first top-10 finish at the road course in the Cup Series last year. In five Cup Glen starts, Biffle has an average finish of 30.2. The No. 16 team will bring Chassis RK 497 this weekend. It was last raced at Infineon in June to an 11th-place finish.

9. Tony Stewart: Stewart returns to The Glen as the defending race winner after winning the race last year from the fifth-starting position. Not only is he the defending winner, Stewart is tied with Jeff Gordon for all-time winners at the road course, having won four races in his last six starts at the 2.45-mile road course. He won the 2005 race from the pole, leading a record setting 83 of the races 92 laps en route to the victory. In nine total starts at the track, Stewart has finished in the top 10 in all but two races. One of those finishes outside the top 10 was 11th, while the second was a 26th-place result in 2001. He has led a total of 190 laps in five races at the track and has the best pre-race driver rating of 137.9.

10. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin has made two starts at Watkins Glen. In his debut there in 2006, Hamlin started and finished 10th and last year, battled for the victory most of the day. He battled Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart throughout the race and benefitted from Gordon and Edwards' late race spins to score the runner-up finish behind teammate Stewart. Hamlin will pilot Chassis 181 in Sunday's race. The car will be making its second start of the season after being driven to a 27th-place finish at Infineon.

11. Kevin Harvick: Harvick is a past winner at The Glen, taking the victory in the 2006 race from the seventh starting position. He has three other top-10 finishes at the road course in seven total starts. But in last year's debut of the new car at the 2.45-mile course, Harvick posted his worst finish to date there - 36th. At the first road course event this year, Harvick finished 30th. He will pilot a new car for Sunday's event, Chassis No. 256, which was tested at Road Atlanta last week.

12. Clint Bowyer: In two starts at The Glen, Bowyer finished a best 14th-place last year. He will be piloting Chassis No. 250, which he drove to a fourth-place finish in June at Infineon Raceway. Additionally, Bowyer will be racing in Saturday's Nationwide Series event at The Glen.

13. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth's best finish in eight starts at The Glen is an eighth-place finish in 2003. He has two other top-10 finishes there. The road course in New York is one of only two tracks on the circuit where Kenseth has yet to post a top-five finish. The other track is Infineon Raceway. Kenseth will be behind the wheel of Chassis RK-597, which he raced at Infineon this year to a career-best eighth-place finish after starting 33rd.

14. David Ragan: Ragan made his Watkins Glen debut last year and finished 32nd after starting 22nd. He finished 24th at Infineon in June and will pilot the same chassis from that event - Chassis RK-495.

15. Ryan Newman: Newman has one top-five and three top-10 finishes in six starts at The Glen. He finished 13th in last year's race and has an average finish of 14.7 at the track. Newman posted a seventh-place finish at Infineon in June. The team is bringing Chassis PRS-527 this weekend and is the same car he raced at Infineon. He also drove the car at Bristol Motor Speedway in March.

16. Brian Vickers: Vickers made his road course debut for Red Bull at Watkins Glen last year but suffered a transmission problem and posted a 41st-place finish. In three other starts there driving for Rick Hendrick, Vickers posted one top-10 finish - eighth in 2005. At Infineon this June, Vickers finished 14th.

17. Martin Truex Jr: Truex Jr. has made two starts at The Glen. In his debut there in 2006, he finished 28th. Last year, with the COT's debut on the road course, he posted a sixth-place finish after starting 12th. He finished 16th at Infineon in June. Truex Jr. will pilot a new Chevy Impala Chassis No. 075 this weekend at The Glen.

18. Kurt Busch: Busch has made seven starts at The Glen and came close to winning in 2006. That year, Busch started from the pole and led the most laps (38). But a pit road penalty on lap 54 placed Busch at the rear of the field and he was collected in an accident as he worked his way back up. He finished 19th. His best finish on the 2.45-mile road course is a 10th-place in 2004. His average finish is 23.0. This weekend Busch will field Chassis PSC-565 a brand new car that debuted in Sonoma this June to a 32nd-place finish. The team also tested the car at Road Atlanta last week.

19. Jamie McMurray: McMurray has made five starts at The Glen and holds an average finish of 17.0. His best finish came in 2006 on the 2.45-mile road course, when he finished third after leading six laps. Last year he finished 34th in the COT's debut on the New York road course. He did a little better with the new car at Infineon this year, posting an 18th-place result. McMurray will pilot Chassis RK-496, which he raced last year at The Glen.

20. Bobby Labonte: Labonte has made 15 starts at The Glen - two for Petty Enterprises. Both of his starts with Petty resulted in 24th-place finishes, but last year, he led four laps en route to the finish. Prior to that, Labonte had posted six top 10s and two top fives at the road course. He won the pole there in 2000 and has led a total of 27 laps. At Infineon this past June, Labonte scored his highest qualifying position of 2008 with a fourth-place start. He wasn't able to capitalize on it though, finishing 39th with a mechanical issue.

Racingone.com

Fantasy Picks 'N' Pans: A Watkins Glen Repeat or The Agony Of Defeat?
Bryan Davis Keith and Mike Neff

For the final time in ’08, the Cup boys will be turning left and right as they visit another road course. Watkins Glen is one of the more historic tracks in America and it can have dramatic effects on fantasy players’ teams. This weekend affords you the chance to pick up some inexpensive Road Course Ringers to jump start your team. Though a Ringer has yet to win a Cup race, taking a chance with one on your roster could pay large dividends. A tried and true veteran could pay off as well as the Sprint Cup drivers jockey for a spot in the Chase.

Using both pedals a lot more than normal this weekend could mean different things for different drivers. Will Kyle Busch back up his Sonoma win? Does Jeff Gordon finally take the checkers first this weekend? Can Tony Stewart finally get into his usual summer mode? Only in this week’s Picks ‘N’ Pans will you find who you should have on your roster and who should stay in the RV lot.

Bryan’s Race Rewind:

One year ago, the Cup race at the Glen was Jeff Gordon’s and Tony Stewart’s to lose. And both nearly did lose it. Stewart lost the lead on Lap 44 after spinning himself out while leading, but managed to come back through the field and win after Jeff Gordon spun himself while leading with less than 10 laps to go. Stewart, along with teammate Denny Hamlin, posted a one-two finish for Joe Gibbs Racing, while future teammate Kyle Busch scored a Top 10 finish as well. Hendrick Motorsports placed all four of its teams in the Top 15, including three in the Top 10 (Johnson third, Busch seventh and Gordon ninth). Ron Fellows scored a fourth place run in the No. 96 Hall of Fame Racing entry. Not a single Dodge cracked the Top 10 in the final running order.

Mike’s Keys to the Race:

Driver skill plays a more important role this weekend than any other weekend of the year. Some people argue that drivers can make a huge difference on plate tracks, but they are never more important than on a road course. Drivers who are good on road courses are always going to be good on road courses, and drivers who aren’t can become better, but will never consistently battle with the drivers who have it figured out. Looking for an organization to put your hopes in? Look no further than Joe Gibbs Racing. They won the first race of the year on a road course and certainly have the talented drivers to continue their road course success. Don’t count out Penske and Hendrick who have also shown strength on road courses in the past.

Mike’s Picks:

Crank ‘em up:

Jeff Gordon is the winningest driver in NASCAR history on road courses. He was in position to win this race last year when he spun late in the race and relegated himself to a ninth place finish. His team has been getting the new car configuration figured out and has been near the front in the last few races. This could very well be the start of the push for a fifth championship for Gordon if he can take the win this weekend.

Kyle Busch is certainly not synonymous with road course racing, but he took the victory in Sonoma earlier this year. Busch has had the best season in Cup so far this year, but has gotten off of his game a little bit with some poor results the last couple of weeks. While his finishes have suffered, he has been running well before misfortune has hurt him. Look for him to sweep the road courses this year with a victory this weekend.

Last year at Watkins Glen, it was a one-two finish for the Gibbs’ guys, but can they repeat the feat this year?

Sit ‘em down:

Bobby Labonte has not had a Top 10 at Watkins Glen in seven years and hasn’t had a Top 10 on any road course in six years. He also hasn’t finished higher than 24th on a road course in four years. He only has four Top 5s on road courses in his entire career. What it all adds up to is Bobby does some amazing things in Petty equipment, but he won’t be doing it this weekend.

Kasey Kahne sat on the pole in Sonoma. That is pretty much the extent of his road course success. He has never had a Top 10 on a road course. He had a strong car this past weekend and might have won the race if his pit strategy had panned out a little better. However, there are no right turns at Pocono. Historically road courses have been extremely difficult for Kahne and this weekend is not going to be any different. Kahne will have a strong push to the Chase, but it will start after the Glen.

Roll the Dice:

Juan Pablo Montoya is one of the most talented drivers in Cup today. Looking at the success, or lack there of, that the other open wheelers are experiencing in the series this year should be a testament to that fact. While Ganassi equipment has been far from stellar this year, a driver’s talent can overcome quite a bit on a road course. Montoya was moving forward last year when he had his dust up with Kevin Harvick. While he may not win the race for fantasy players, he will almost certainly give them a strong Top 10 finish.

Bryan’s Picks:

Crank ‘em up:

It’s Tony Stewart on a road course—barrring the bumper of Kevin Harvick slipping and sliding out of control late again, Sunday’s race is his to lose.

While Kyle Busch and Tony Stewart may be the only two drivers with Cup road wins on their resume, the team’s third driver, Denny Hamlin, has proven quite the road racer in his own right. Hamlin boasts a Nationwide Series win at Mexico City, and since 2006 in both Nationwide and Cup competition has only one finish outside the Top 15 on a road course. Hamlin proved he knew his way around the Glen last season, finishing runner-up to teammate Tony Stewart. And with his FedEx team looking to score the good finish that they should have gotten at Pocono, look for the 11 car at the front on Sunday.

Sit ‘em down:

Travis Kvapil has little road racing on his stock car resume, and what is there isn’t that impressive. Kvapil’s best career finish on a road course came in 2005, scoring a 21st place run at Infineon. Since then, Kvapil’s record includes a 33rd at the Glen in 2005, failing to qualify at Infineon in 2006, and a mediocre 22nd place finish at Sonoma earlier this season. Kvapil and his No. 28 team stole a 16th place finish last weekend at Pocono, but don’t be fooled…they’re still in a rut. There are better Fords, even at Yates Racing, to start this weekend.

David Ragan has come a very long way from his rookie campaign in 2007. Ragan’s best career road course finish in NASCAR’s top divisions was a 13th at Montreal in a Nationwide car; in Cup, that number falls to his 24th place run earlier this season at Sonoma. Ragan’s career average finish on a Cup series road course is a chilly 28.33, and momentum or not there are much safer bets to make this weekend, especially on the Roush Fenway roster.

Roll the Dice:

No one, and I mean no one, can doubt Robby Gordon’s talent and passion when it comes to road racing…there are few out there that can match his ability. Gordon’s resume is also impressive, including two Cup road course wins and Top 10 finishes in the last three Watkins Glen Cup races. Gordon’s cars have always been extremely fast since he established his own team in 2005…but Gordon’s sometimes a bit too fast as a driver. Gordon’s erratic driving and his team’s mechanical troubles make starting the No. 7 Dodge a big risk/reward for fantasy owners. If you’re trying to keep a lead, start someone safer. But if you’re an owner like myself needing big points and wins to catch up, it’s late enough in the season to start gambling, and Robby Gordon is a gamble to make.

frontstretch.com