Heluva Good! Picks
After a few weeks of high speed racing, NASCAR shifts gears and goes road racing at Watkins Glen International in the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at The Glen.
You will hear lots of fans complain that this isn’t NASCAR racing, but we think this is some of the best racing we will see this year since it’s more than just turning left. (And whichever driver has clean air.)
One thing we always hear about for these races are the so-called "Road Course Ringers." Well, all you have to know is they have never won a race and putting your money on them has been a losing proposition. The only ringer we think has a legitimate chance here is Ron Fellows, since he has won here before in the Nationwide and Truck series and has also been very competitive in the Sprint series as well. Fellows has raced here many times in every type of car imaginable and this might even be considered his home track. So you might want to keep a close eye on him.
Tony Stewart 9/2
The road course races were almost conceded to Jeff Gordon before Tony Stewart came along. These types of races usually came down to these two drivers, but times have changed. We think Stewart runs better at Watkins Glen than he does at Sonoma, were he finished second. And with Gordon off his game due to a back injury, Stewart looks like an overwhelming favorite to win this race. In his last 10 races here, Stewart has been spectacular with four wins and just two races outside of the top-10.
Marcos Ambrose 6/1
At Sonoma we saw just how good of road racer Marcos Ambrose is and if he can just stay away from the bad luck that sent him to the rear for that race, he should battle Stewart for the win. Last year, Ambrose started dead last again in this race, and came through the field for a third place finish. So the race at Somona just shows you how good he is when it comes to road racing.
Live Longshot:
Robbie Gordon 12/1
Robbie Gordon may be the best road course driver in this series, but always seems to find trouble or lets his temper get the best of him when things don’t seem to go his way. If his car is right and he gets out front, he could be long gone. But once he gets stuck back in traffic he seems to lose it and his day is over. There are too many question marks keeping him from being one of our top plays this week, but we like him enough to list him as a decent long-shot.
Posted: 8/5/09 6:30PM ET
