“I’ve read a few articles and blogs stating that this last week’s break doesn’t make sense after only four races into the season. A part of me agrees. However, with back-to-back trips to the west coast I have to think that the crews and transport drivers may feel differently.
While the Cup schedule does need an off week later in the season where teams will go months without one, this breather after race number four does have it’s benefits. Think of it as taking a couple practice swings up on the tee box before really ripping one down the fairway. The teams have a chance to regroup and refocus on this one final race before the current season’s owner points come into play for the top 35. I’m sure the teams for Jeremy Mayfield & Scott Riggs are happy to have the extra week to prepare. They’re trying for a full season run as opposed to being a pair of “start-n-park” teams. But that’s a whole other blog post.
My Atlanta Prediction Results:
Ford = Carl Edwards. Carl finished 3rd.
Chevrolet = Jimmie Johnson. Jimmie finished 9th.
Toyota = Kyle Busch. Kyle finished 18th.
Dodge = Kurt Busch. Kurt finished 1st.
Last week I said that Kurt Busch could be a good darkhorse pick to win. I hope you gambled on the #2 car in your fantasy NASCAR games the same as I did. Unfortunately, you win some and you loose some. While I followed my heart on Kurt, I didn’t follow my gut and go with Jeff Gordon. Instead I went with Johnson based on on the numbers. Sure would have been nice to have that 1-2 finish.
My Bristol Predictions for each Manufacturer:
Matt Kenseth is Ford’s best hope for a win this week. Matt finished 10th and 9th at Bristol in the 2008 season. In the 10 Bristol races from 2002-2006, Matt posted a top ten in 9 out of 10 races, two of which were wins. Oh, and that 10th race he finished 16th. Charge up the batteries for the Kenseth robots!
This week I’m going with stats and my gut, which means I believe Chevy’s best hope for a win should come from Jeff Gordon. The #24 team has been running very strong these first four races of 2009 and has posted finishes of 14th, 2nd, 6th and 2nd. Gordon has 5 wins at Bristol Motor Speedway and a career average start and finish of 5th and 11th, respectively.
Let’s face it, Toyota’s chances of a win are most likely always going to come from the Joe Gibbs operation. This week the numbers are very comparable between Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin. I’m going to go with Denny this week for the Toyota banner. In six career starts at Bristol he has three top tens and finished 14th or better in all but one race. That race was a 43rd place finish due to engine failure.
In one goofy backwards victory lap, Kurt Busch has once again put Penske racing in the spotlight. Has the organization turned things around? I think it’s far too early to say for sure. However, prior to the 2005 season Kurt had to be considered a favorite for the Bristol win– even if he would have been driving a golf cart. If last week was the sign of Kurt and Penske’s return, then we all need to pray Kurt doesn’t do snow angels again if he wins this week.
My Pick To Win?
I kicked myself in the butt last after taking Johnson over Gordon. The bad part is I continued to second guess my pick even before the race started. However, I went with the numbers. This week I’m going stick with Jeff Gordon. The historical numbers are there, the current season performance is there, and my gut is still telling me Jeff Gordon for the win!”