Picks/Charlotte/SunNight
#1
05-19-2013, 09:12 AM
Picks/Charlotte/SunNight
Administrative Note
This thread is being posted on Sunday, May 19. The race is on Sunday, May 26 at 6:16 p.m. The window will close Sunday, May 26, at 5:16 p.m.
Points and Congratulatory Remarks
Lets give a congratulations to butch049 for winning the Sprint All Star Race and 02 Earnhardt for racing his way in at the Sprint Showdown!
Leprechaun93 (Keane) has won the last two points paying races and therefore holds the lead in the overall standings and in Segment 2, which has 7 races remaining.
1) Leprechaun93 1149 Leader
2) monte carlo 3831 1126 -23
3) SSmeansSuperSexy 1102 -47
4) Cowboy6622 1084 -65
5) Ricks 2006 SS 1083 -66
6) silverfish33 1054 -95
7) MnteCrloSS47 1053 -96
8) 02 Earnhardt 1050 -99
9) butch049 1038 -111
10) STUMPMI 1009 -140
11) 77GP 1005 -144
12) 03JGMonte 998 -151
13) zjerry 983 -166
14) SupplySgt 979 -170
15) RocknSS04 976 -173
16) BlazedSS 975 -174
17) carlm54stl 903 -246
18) 06MistreSS 869
19) BocaReject 180
20) DarrynSami 115
21) Lorenzo 114
*Members SSmeansSuperSexy, butch049, Cowboy6622, 03JGMonte, zjerry, 02 Earnhardt, and SupplySgt were penalized 25 points each when Brad Keselowski had an illegal rear end confinscated in prerace inspection at Texas Motor Speedway before the NRA 500.
***Members RocknSS04, STUMPMI, SSMeansSuperSexy, 06MistreSS, MnteCrloSS47, Leprechaun93, BlazedSS, Ricks 2006 SS, 77GP, and monte carlo 3831 were penalized 12 points each after a connecting rod was found to be too light in Matt Kenseth's engine after the STP 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Segment Points
We will be doing 4 segments throughout the year, each 9 races in length. The current segments points will be posted here.
1) Leprechaun93 231 Leader
2) monte carlo 3831 212 -19
3) silverfish33 211 -20
4) butch049 207 -24
5) Ricks 2006 SS 203 -28
6) cowboy6622 197 -34
7) Blazed SS 188 -43
8) 03JGMonte 185 -46
9) zjerry 184 -47
10) MnteCrloSS47 182 -49
11) 02 Earnhardt 179 -52
12) STUMPMI 178 -53
13) SSmeansSuperSexy 161 -70
14) 77GP 153 -78
15) SupplySgt 146 -85
16) carlm54stl 132 -99
17) Ricks 2006 SS 129 -102
This Week at Charlotte
The 600 miler at Charlotte is a great race.. sometimes. You can expect a lot of green flag runs and a lot of adjustments as the race transitions from day to night. The teams that will be strong will have to meet several criteria. For one, they have to be strong at the 1.5 mile tracks. For two, they have to have a crew chief who is good at keeping up with the track and making the adjustments as the race goes on. For three, they will have to have the durability to run 600 miles into the night while maintaining focus and having their equipment hold up.
Plus, as Jeff Burton pointed out one year, being at home with your family gets you away from the track for much of the week. One has to be able to focus on the race track while maintaining a home life for these two weeks in Charlotte as well... you don't just live in the motor coach this weekend!
So lets take a look at who meets this criteria...
CHEVROLET TEAMS
Hendrick
I think almost any of your Hendrick cars are good choices this week. To bet against Jimmie Johnson this week is almost taking the long shot bet. Last year, he would have been in contention to win had he not had a pit road error late in the race. Kasey Kahne is great at Charlotte. Plus, there is something baout these night time races that suits Kasey's driving style... especially if the weather is cool next weekend.
For Dale Jr, I just don't know. He seems to be slowly sinking into his "summer slump." And Jeff Gordon is on par to have the fewest top 5 finishes of his career since 1994.
Stewart Haas Racing
Even in the All-STar race, they were junk. Stewart rode in the back all night, Newman made a few aggressive moves, and Danica brought up the rear. They were all but a waste of space. To bet on a Stewart-Haas car this weekend is a long shot bet. Newman is actually the leader of the pack over there right now.
Childress Racing
Harvick, Menard, and Burton are just "ok" right now... theyr'e all running better than tehy did last year, and Menard has a top 10 streak going for a while, but I do'nt think they're going to be contenders for teh win.. unless old Happy gets a set up he likes.
Furniture Row
Kurt Busch seems to start off strong in a race but fall off on long runs and not keep up with his car into the night. Plus, the pit crew seems to be a couple of seconds off where everyone else is. I wouldn't put my money on Kurt Busch... it's a long shot.
TOYOTA TEAMs
Joe Gibbs Racing
Matt Kenseth seems like an easy bet, but we have to consider a couple of things first. One, Radcliff admitted a few weeks back he needs to do a better job calling a race. Most of us wonder why, but he did say it. For two, when you look at the transition from day to night races, the 20 has been a little off, except at Darlington, when Wally Brown was calling the shots anyway. Kenseth faded at Texas and Richmond. so unless this team figures out something they didn't know in the All-Star, I think some of their flames may have faded....
of course, just as I say that...
Kyle Busch is the best driver at Charlotte to have never won here. Kyle Busch seems to have a tendency to overdrive the car at some point in a race and mess it up. That may be what happens to him this weekend, considering he has an extra 100 miles he can screw up in.
And then there is Denny Hamlin... he ran 2nd in Darlingotn, 6th in the All Star race.. he needs wins....
Michael Waltrip Racing
I think this group is just a little bit off of where the Gibbs cars are. Bowyer likes tracks taht aren't 1.5's better.. but Martin Truex loves them. However, Truex reminds me of Goose in Top Gun... you love the guy, but you know nothing good can ever happen to him. Then there is Mark Martin... and he has caused a few accidents in these longer races over the years. It's like he is losing some of his judgment in split second decisions as he goes into his 50s...
FORD TEAMS
Roush Fenway
Carl Edwards is the only guy in this group making any noise right now. Stenhouse is figuring things out but has a year or so to go. Edwards seems to start out running like crap in a race and creep his way into the top 10 as the night goes on. With a 600 mile race, he might just have enough time to sneak in and win.
The other guys at Roush are far long shots right now I believe.
Petty Motorsports
Almirola seems to be losing some of that speed and fire. However, a 1.5 mile track could be right up his ally. He was good at Texas as the race track cooled down so he could be a good long shot.
Ambrose just runs like junk it seems.... he's waiting for road courses or something.
Penske Racing
When teh suspensions came down, it seems to have crushed this teams momentum. Brad K. is good at trash talking on Twitter right now but without his buddy Paul Wolfe, he can't seems to turn left as well as he used to. Plus, he seems to be having bad luck... pit stop errors at Darlington, crash because he is back in the pack, breaking a transmission...
but ol' Joey was running good there at teh end of the all-star race!
My Picks
Going to go for a few solid picks and a long shot... see how this goes...
1) Denny Hamlin
2) Kasey Kahne
3) Joey Logano
This thread is being posted on Sunday, May 19. The race is on Sunday, May 26 at 6:16 p.m. The window will close Sunday, May 26, at 5:16 p.m.
Points and Congratulatory Remarks
Lets give a congratulations to butch049 for winning the Sprint All Star Race and 02 Earnhardt for racing his way in at the Sprint Showdown!
Leprechaun93 (Keane) has won the last two points paying races and therefore holds the lead in the overall standings and in Segment 2, which has 7 races remaining.
1) Leprechaun93 1149 Leader
2) monte carlo 3831 1126 -23
3) SSmeansSuperSexy 1102 -47
4) Cowboy6622 1084 -65
5) Ricks 2006 SS 1083 -66
6) silverfish33 1054 -95
7) MnteCrloSS47 1053 -96
8) 02 Earnhardt 1050 -99
9) butch049 1038 -111
10) STUMPMI 1009 -140
11) 77GP 1005 -144
12) 03JGMonte 998 -151
13) zjerry 983 -166
14) SupplySgt 979 -170
15) RocknSS04 976 -173
16) BlazedSS 975 -174
17) carlm54stl 903 -246
18) 06MistreSS 869
19) BocaReject 180
20) DarrynSami 115
21) Lorenzo 114
*Members SSmeansSuperSexy, butch049, Cowboy6622, 03JGMonte, zjerry, 02 Earnhardt, and SupplySgt were penalized 25 points each when Brad Keselowski had an illegal rear end confinscated in prerace inspection at Texas Motor Speedway before the NRA 500.
***Members RocknSS04, STUMPMI, SSMeansSuperSexy, 06MistreSS, MnteCrloSS47, Leprechaun93, BlazedSS, Ricks 2006 SS, 77GP, and monte carlo 3831 were penalized 12 points each after a connecting rod was found to be too light in Matt Kenseth's engine after the STP 400 at Kansas Speedway.
Segment Points
We will be doing 4 segments throughout the year, each 9 races in length. The current segments points will be posted here.
1) Leprechaun93 231 Leader
2) monte carlo 3831 212 -19
3) silverfish33 211 -20
4) butch049 207 -24
5) Ricks 2006 SS 203 -28
6) cowboy6622 197 -34
7) Blazed SS 188 -43
8) 03JGMonte 185 -46
9) zjerry 184 -47
10) MnteCrloSS47 182 -49
11) 02 Earnhardt 179 -52
12) STUMPMI 178 -53
13) SSmeansSuperSexy 161 -70
14) 77GP 153 -78
15) SupplySgt 146 -85
16) carlm54stl 132 -99
17) Ricks 2006 SS 129 -102
This Week at Charlotte
The 600 miler at Charlotte is a great race.. sometimes. You can expect a lot of green flag runs and a lot of adjustments as the race transitions from day to night. The teams that will be strong will have to meet several criteria. For one, they have to be strong at the 1.5 mile tracks. For two, they have to have a crew chief who is good at keeping up with the track and making the adjustments as the race goes on. For three, they will have to have the durability to run 600 miles into the night while maintaining focus and having their equipment hold up.
Plus, as Jeff Burton pointed out one year, being at home with your family gets you away from the track for much of the week. One has to be able to focus on the race track while maintaining a home life for these two weeks in Charlotte as well... you don't just live in the motor coach this weekend!
So lets take a look at who meets this criteria...
CHEVROLET TEAMS
Hendrick
I think almost any of your Hendrick cars are good choices this week. To bet against Jimmie Johnson this week is almost taking the long shot bet. Last year, he would have been in contention to win had he not had a pit road error late in the race. Kasey Kahne is great at Charlotte. Plus, there is something baout these night time races that suits Kasey's driving style... especially if the weather is cool next weekend.
For Dale Jr, I just don't know. He seems to be slowly sinking into his "summer slump." And Jeff Gordon is on par to have the fewest top 5 finishes of his career since 1994.
Stewart Haas Racing
Even in the All-STar race, they were junk. Stewart rode in the back all night, Newman made a few aggressive moves, and Danica brought up the rear. They were all but a waste of space. To bet on a Stewart-Haas car this weekend is a long shot bet. Newman is actually the leader of the pack over there right now.
Childress Racing
Harvick, Menard, and Burton are just "ok" right now... theyr'e all running better than tehy did last year, and Menard has a top 10 streak going for a while, but I do'nt think they're going to be contenders for teh win.. unless old Happy gets a set up he likes.
Furniture Row
Kurt Busch seems to start off strong in a race but fall off on long runs and not keep up with his car into the night. Plus, the pit crew seems to be a couple of seconds off where everyone else is. I wouldn't put my money on Kurt Busch... it's a long shot.
TOYOTA TEAMs
Joe Gibbs Racing
Matt Kenseth seems like an easy bet, but we have to consider a couple of things first. One, Radcliff admitted a few weeks back he needs to do a better job calling a race. Most of us wonder why, but he did say it. For two, when you look at the transition from day to night races, the 20 has been a little off, except at Darlington, when Wally Brown was calling the shots anyway. Kenseth faded at Texas and Richmond. so unless this team figures out something they didn't know in the All-Star, I think some of their flames may have faded....
of course, just as I say that...
Kyle Busch is the best driver at Charlotte to have never won here. Kyle Busch seems to have a tendency to overdrive the car at some point in a race and mess it up. That may be what happens to him this weekend, considering he has an extra 100 miles he can screw up in.
And then there is Denny Hamlin... he ran 2nd in Darlingotn, 6th in the All Star race.. he needs wins....
Michael Waltrip Racing
I think this group is just a little bit off of where the Gibbs cars are. Bowyer likes tracks taht aren't 1.5's better.. but Martin Truex loves them. However, Truex reminds me of Goose in Top Gun... you love the guy, but you know nothing good can ever happen to him. Then there is Mark Martin... and he has caused a few accidents in these longer races over the years. It's like he is losing some of his judgment in split second decisions as he goes into his 50s...
FORD TEAMS
Roush Fenway
Carl Edwards is the only guy in this group making any noise right now. Stenhouse is figuring things out but has a year or so to go. Edwards seems to start out running like crap in a race and creep his way into the top 10 as the night goes on. With a 600 mile race, he might just have enough time to sneak in and win.
The other guys at Roush are far long shots right now I believe.
Petty Motorsports
Almirola seems to be losing some of that speed and fire. However, a 1.5 mile track could be right up his ally. He was good at Texas as the race track cooled down so he could be a good long shot.
Ambrose just runs like junk it seems.... he's waiting for road courses or something.
Penske Racing
When teh suspensions came down, it seems to have crushed this teams momentum. Brad K. is good at trash talking on Twitter right now but without his buddy Paul Wolfe, he can't seems to turn left as well as he used to. Plus, he seems to be having bad luck... pit stop errors at Darlington, crash because he is back in the pack, breaking a transmission...
but ol' Joey was running good there at teh end of the all-star race!
My Picks
Going to go for a few solid picks and a long shot... see how this goes...
1) Denny Hamlin
2) Kasey Kahne
3) Joey Logano
Last edited by Cowboy6622; 05-19-2013 at 09:18 AM.
#2
05-19-2013, 09:28 AM
Also, here is a classic NASCAR Photo from Charlotte!
My beloved Torino's racing with the Superbirds and Charger Daytona's at Charlotte in 1970.
My beloved Torino's racing with the Superbirds and Charger Daytona's at Charlotte in 1970.
#5
05-19-2013, 11:39 AM
1. #48 Jimmie Johnson
2. #5 Kasey Kahne
3. #99 Carl Edwards <center>
2. #5 Kasey Kahne
3. #99 Carl Edwards <center>
Last edited by carlm54stl; 05-19-2013 at 11:46 AM.
#10
05-20-2013, 12:33 PM
Evan, if you win this race, I'm going to be mad. I had Jimmie Johnson as my #1 and swapped for Hamlin.. .then you posted my original picks! So if you win, I'm going to have to get out my passport, come across the border, and take care of business! LoL!