Edwards Will Stay On Top
FORT WORTH, TX - APRIL 08: Carl Edwards, driver of the #60 Fastenal Ford, celebrates after winning the NASCAR Nationwide Series O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 at Texas Motor Speedway on April 8, 2011 in Fort Worth, Texas.
Tony Stewart won his third race of the Chase and closed to within 8-points of Carl Edwards with only three races remaining this season. It is winding down and there are probably only six serious contenders left in the field to win this years Sprint Cup championship.
This week the drivers head back to Texas for the running of the AAA Texas 500. Another 500-mile race that will test engines after the 400-mile mark. If anyone gets knocked out of a race early now it will be the end of their championship hopes this season.
AAA Texas 500
Carl Edwards: Carl is the points leader at this moment and finished 3rd at Texas earlier this year. He swept both of the races here in 2008 and I look for him to have a great run once again this weekend and hold on to the top spot.
Tony Stewart: Tony is on a roll during this years Chase and he needs to keep pace with Carl this weekend. He won the first race of the Chase on a similar track in Chicago and could repeat that feat once again.
Kevin Harvick:: Kevin has finished in the top-10 in three of his last four starts here but he hardly ever leads laps in Texas. Bonus points are going to be at a premium for all contenders in these last three races.
Brad Keselowski: Brad is not going to go away and will take advantage of any mistakes other drivers make. Brad has struggled a little bit here during his short career but all that goes out the window the way this team is performing right now.
Matt Kenseth: Matt is probably the most consistent Chase driver at Texas Motor Speedway. He won the race here in April and finished 2nd to Denny Hamlin last November. He needs a win in the worst way to move back up in the standings.
Jimmie Johnson: It is go time for Jimmie Johnson right now. He is sitting in 6th place 43-points behind the leader. He finishes consistently in the top-10 at Texas but that probably isn’t good enough at this stage of the season. He needs a couple of wins if he has any chance of winning his 6th straight championship.
Kurt Busch: Kurt won this race back in 2009 and has finished in the top-10 in four of his last five starts here. He is probably out of the running and might be able to really help Brad get a better handle on the track.
Kyle Busch: Kyle qualifies well here but is inconsistent with his finishes. He is pretty much out of the running for the championship but he always tries to win every race he is in.
Jeff Gordon: Since winning the race here in the spring of 2009 Jeff has really struggled. He seems to get caught up in an accident somewhere or loses the handling on his car. These longer races have been tough on this team.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Junior leads laps almost every race here but his finishes are less than he desires. However, if you’re good enough to lead laps as often as he does you can be good enough to lead the last lap of the race.
Denny Hamlin: Denny was pretty much knocked out of contention after the second race in this seasons Chase. However, he swept both races here last year and finished 2nd in the fall race in 2009. They would love to get another win this late in the year as they look towards next season.
Yahoo Fantasy Picks for Texas
Yahoo Driver Group A
- Matt Kenseth
- Denny Hamlin
Yahoo Driver Group B
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Jeff Burton
- Mark Martin
- Clint Bowyer
Yahoo Driver Group C
- David Ragan
- Paul Menard
Top-5 Overall at Texas Motor Speedway
- Matt Kenseth
- Denny Hamlin
- Greg Biffle
- Jimmie Johnson
- Kevin Harvick
Dark Horse: Mark Martin
Chaser to Stay Away From: Ryan Newman
[...] Texas Fantasy Preview [...]