Fantasy Insight- Watkins Glen

Time for Streak to Break-Fantasy Insight Watkins Glen
By Dennis Michelsen (RaceTalkRadio.com)
Heading to the Centurion Boats at the Glen this week we are likely to see a winless streak broken. The only question is which one will fall! Tony Stewart has four wins in nine starts and an amazing “Horses for Courses” rating of 97 at the Glen. Stewart is also winless in his last 35 Cup starts. Jeff Gordon also has four wins at the Glen and a total of nine on road courses in his career. Gordon is also winless in his last 26 Cup starts. Robby Gordon is another road course ace but is winless since 2003 when he swept the road races. Each road course race we also see a plethora of road course ringers replace struggling Cup drivers. But those road ringers are winless since Mark Donahue won at Riverside in 1973! This week I am betting that one of these winless streaks will break. My top picks cover a few of the possibilities so good luck figuring out which one is most likely to fall! Good luck with your Fantasy Racing picks this week.

Race Winner Audio Every Week
Join us each weekend for unedited coverage of the press conferences from all NASCAR events! Audio is posted ASAP after each race concludes.

Pace Laps: Sponsored by JAYSKI
Road Ringers include Max Papis in the No. 70, Marcos Ambrose in the No. 21, Boris Said in the No. 60, Brian Simo in the No. 34 and Ron Fellows in the No. 01

Regan Smith drives the No. 81 but is not locked into the show

Michael McDowell is outside the Top 35 again this week

Forty-six teams will compete for forty-three starting positions

32% of Cup races have been won from the pole

68% of Cup races have been won from top 10 starting spot

Worst starting spot for a winner is 18th in 25 Cup races

First Cup race was held in 1957 and won by Buck Baker

Cup circuit has visited Watkins Glen every year since 1986

Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with 2 poles

Tony Stewart has the best average starting position (5.1)

Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart have the most wins (4)

Despite having the best average finish of any active driver (5.8), Scott Pruett is not on the entry list

By the Numbers: Sponsored by iHick.com
Every week the raw data is analyzed to separate the pretenders from the contenders! Anyone earning 240 points or more in the Power Ratings total has a great chance. 100 points is a perfect score for each category with 300 a perfect Power Rating. The top ten drivers will be shown in each category but only Power Ratings over 240 will be shown.

Consistency is King
Driver Last 5
Ky Busch 91
J Johnson 90
J Gordon 88
C Edwards 88
M Kenseth 87
M Truex 86
E Sadler 86
T Stewart 86
D Earnhardt Jr 86
G Biffle 85

Horses for Courses
Driver Course
T Stewart 97
R Gordon 94
K Harvick 89
J Johnson 88
E Sadler 87
D Earnhardt Jr 87
M Kenseth 86
C Edwards 84
J McMurray 84
Ku Busch 84

Track Type Casting
Driver Type
J Gordon 93
Ky Busch 93
C Edwards 91
T Stewart 91
R Newman 90
C Bowyer 89
G Biffle 88
D Hamlin 88
J Johnson 88
J Burton 87

Professor DMIC’s Power Rating Qualifiers
Driver Power
T Stewart 273
J Johnson 266
J Gordon 264
C Edwards 263
Ky Busch 263
E Sadler 260
R Newman 258
M Kenseth 256
R Gordon 254
K Harvick 253
D Earnhardt Jr 253
C Bowyer 252
D Hamlin 249
J Burton 248
Ku Busch 248
M Truex 247
G Biffle 247
B Said 246
B Vickers 245
J McMurray 243
C Mears 241

DMIC’s Picks: Sponsored by www.rowdy.com
Check out Rowdy’s new FREE Fantasy Race Game and listen to my analysis and picks every Wednesday!

Last Week’s Results: Pocono 2 (2nd, 3rd, 23rd)
Two out of my top three picks guessed right on fuel strategy at Pocono. Denny Hamlin might have been the fastest of the three but didn’t hit the top 20. The outsider and long shot picks did well but my struggling star pick was awful with Bowyer hitting the top 10.

Win: Tony Stewart (9-2 Odds)
Can’t stay winless too much longer

Place: Jeff Gordon (5-1 Odds)
Team is over due for a win

Show: Marcos Ambrose (15-1 Odds)
Very impressive at Infineon

Outsider: Robby Gordon (10-1 Odds)
(Outside of Top 20 in Points)
(8th Last Week)
Is team up to the task?

Long Shot Special: Boris Said (25-1 Odds)
(20-1 or Greater in Vegas)
(14th Last Week)
Long time since road ringer won but 25-1 is inviting

Rookie of the Race: Michael McDowell
(26th last week)
Former road course ace needs to qualify

Struggling Star: Greg Biffle
(Inside Top 12 in Points)
(Last Week 6th)
Four of his five career starts here were outside the top 30

• 0 Comments

Stewart Live on RaceTalkRadio Friday

Tony Stewart Press Conference and Rowdy Radio on RaceTalkRadio
(For Immediate Release)
Chicago, IL (July 24, 2008)-If you are stuck at work on Friday and can’t listen to Sirius Satellite Radio or tune into Speed TV, now you can still catch the Tony Stewart press conference from Indianapolis Motor Speedway live on RaceTalkRadio.com! Tune in at 11AM Eastern LIVE at www.racetalkradio.com. Tony will announce his new number and sponsors. The press conference will be available on replay all weekend.

RaceTalkRadio is also proud to announce that “Rowdy Radio” will debut this Friday. If our test drive works, this innovative radio show featuring the gang from the popular Rowdy Podcast will move to their new home on Thursday night at 7pm ET next week. Join Buck Fever, Bass Masters, and the whole Rowdy gang on Rowdy Radio every week on RaceTalkRadio.com!

www.rowdy.com

Now streaming 24/7 with over 20 hours of original programming per week!

Join sponsors such as the Rockingham Speedway, GLOCK, Great Clips, Office Depot Racing, Rowdy.com and Casite that reach new customers via our innovative shows. Contact us today and learn how our radio shows and websites can be put to work for you!

From NASCAR to the Dirt Tracks We Cover It All!

PR Contact
Dennis Michelsen
E-mail: dennis@racetalkradio.com

• 0 Comments
• NASCAR, indianapolis motor speedway, Chevrolet, Toyota, Tony Stewart, Rowdy, Stewart-Hass Racing, Office Depot, Old Spice, Sprint Cup

NASCAR Sets Dangerous Precedent with Toyota Change

NASCAR Sets Dangerous Precedent with Toyota Change
By Dennis Michelsen
Isn’t the idea in racing to come up with the fastest engine and car? Joe Gibbs Racing did just that during the off season with their switch to Toyota power and has gotten off to an amazing start this season with thirteen wins in the first twenty-one races of the season. (Fourteen wins in total for Toyota) How have they been rewarded for their hard work? NASCAR changed the rules starting this week with a smaller tapered spacer for the Toyota engines. This sets a dangerous precedent for NASCAR for the future.

Rating Engines a Tough Science
Total power in an engine is not the best way to test which engine is better or worse. There is more to racing than just how much power the engine generates when it is flat out. The torque available off the corners can be a big edge on some tracks. Being able to pull the car faster through the entire range of RPMs is huge. Can the car transfer all that power efficiently to the back wheels? It takes more than just horsepower to win but everyone seems to love to throw numbers at the fans to show how much they are getting screwed by the competition! Ratings engines is a tough science.

Not All Toyotas Equal
Some teams are naturally more equal than others but this year has been crazy! While Joe Gibbs Racing has won a lot of races in the Nationwide Series those wins have been mainly by the No. 20 car. Even more amazing is that the car has won with four different drivers! But NASCAR has penalized all of the Toyota teams for one team being dominant. David Reutimann has driven a Toyota all season and has seven top five finishes in twenty-one starts. This average is almost identical to the Chevy drivers Clint Bowyer and Brad Kesolowski. If the reason the No. 20 was winning is engine power wouldn’t Reutimann have grabbed one of those wins by now? Not all Toyotas are equal!

No Change in Cup Last Year
Last season Chevy won thirteen of the first fourteen NASCAR Sprint Cup races! Only Matt Kenseth’s win at California Speedway spoiled a perfect start to the season for the Bow Tie Brigade but they had seven of the top ten finishers in that race too. So why didn’t we see NASCAR penalize Chevy by tweaking the engines? When the engines were pulled at Chicagoland in the Nationwide Series the top rated engine wasn’t the race winner and not all of the top five engines were Toyotas. Testing engines AFTER a race makes no sense at all either. Some engines age worse than others after a grueling race and could make the differences among engines post race greater. If dominance in the races was why NASCAR reacted this year then why didn’t we see a change in Cup last year?

Last Minute Changes Nasty
NASCAR’s decision seems to make sense based on the fact that the Toyota engine has a larger bore than the other engines in use in the series from the other manufacturers. I will bore you with the technical Mr. Science explanation but NASCAR approved the Toyota with this larger bore. Last season Toyota didn’t have an advantage over the competition but they also didn’t have Joe Gibbs Racing or Kyle Busch! Whether a change was needed to prevent total domination by one car is a decision left to smarter people than myself. But what I do know is that it is very unfair to make this change on a Tuesday for a race coming up on Friday! Last minute changes are nasty for NASCAR teams.

Setting a Bad Precedent
Chevy did a masterful job of whining and getting their way much like the bratty kid that throws a tantrum until Mom gets him a lollipop at the store! The biggest trouble with giving into the brat is the next time they whine even louder. What ever happened to being rewarded with wins for working harder and developing better stuff than the other guy? What’s coming next handing out competition ribbons instead of winner’s trophies? NASCAR has not made a mid-season rule’s change to one manufacturer for over six years! It is uncertain whether NASCAR ever made a change to the engine rules in midseason to one manufacturer ever before! NASCAR is setting a dangerous precedent.

Editor’s Note: Keep up with the latest information about these changes and the reaction from the competitors on RaceTalkRadio.com and on www.thatsracin.com all week!

• 6 Comments
• NASCAR, Sprint Cup, Joe Gibbs Racing, Tony Stewart, Kyle Busch

Great News for Rowdy Nation

Hey Rowdy fans....do you get a chance to listen to the ROWDY RADIO show every week now? If the show has not yet come to a radio station near you...now you will be able to hear it on RaceTalkRadio.com!

This Friday night we will do a special test of the system and if all works according to plan ROWDY RADIO will make its debut on RaceTalkRadio! Starting next Thursday the show will take its regular place in our ever expanding lineup!

The Rowdy Podcast is great and Rowdy Radio kicks butt too...now fans can hear both every week no matter where in this wide wide world you live!

Dennis
RaceTalkRadio.com

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• 4 Comments
• NASCAR, Sprint Cup, Buck Fever, Bass Masters, Rowdy

Stewart Press Conference Replay

Tony Stewart's press conference from earlier today at Chicagoland Speedway will be rebroadcast in its entirety on RaceTalkRadio.com at 6pm CT tonight. In addition a press conference with Crew Chief Greg Zipadelli will follow the Stewart press conference. Our regularly scheduled shows will follow immediately after the special coverage of Tony Stewart's announcement of his move to Stewart-Haas Racing. Tune into www.racetalkradio.com at 6pm CT Thursday night July 10th for the complete and unedited replay of Tony Stewart's press conference. From NASCAR to the Dirt Tracks, RaceTalkRadio covers it all!

• 1 Comment
• NASCAR, Tony Stewart, hendrick racing, spring cup, Haas CNC, steward hass racing

Montoya Sings

Cut and paste this link to your browser and enjoy Juan Pablo Montoya singing at Wrigley Field Wednesaday night.

mms://216.55.142.117/RaceTalkRadioArchive/montoya.wma

Dennis

• 4 Comments
• NASCAR, Juan Pablo Montoya, Wrigley Field

Infineon Fantasy Picks

Another Winless Streak Ends-Fantasy Insight Infineon
By Dennis Michelsen (RaceTalkRadio.com)
Their winless streaks do not measure up to the seventy-six race winless drought that was ended last week but it has still been strange not to see Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart in Victory Lane this year. It’s been 29 races for Stewart and 20 for Gordon and one of those streaks is likely to end this week at Infineon Raceway. Don’t fall in love with the road course ringers since they have not won at the Cup level. Boris Said and Scott Pruett are the only ringers to finish in the top five at Infineon. The Cup guys keep getting better and with great road course racers like Jeff Gordon, Robby Gordon, and Tony Stewart it isn’t surprising the road course ringers struggle. They are also in the seat for teams that have not been at the top of their games and the drivers are not used to these heavier racecars. If you have to go shopping for a road course ringer your best bets are Boris Said, Ron Fellows, and Max Papis in that order. But the Cup regulars all rate above the road course ringers this week. Good luck with your Fantasy Racing picks this week.

Race Winner on Couch Potato Corner Sunday Night on RaceTalkRadio.com
Live media center coverage of the winner’s press conference is brought to you this week by Rockingham Speedway, home of the Carolina 500 on May 4th! Get your tickets today at RockinghamRacewayPark.com! Our thanks to NASCAR for granting us permission to use this audio every week to virtually put the fans inside the media center! Media Center audio may not be reused without express written consent from NASCAR and RaceTalkRadio.com.

Pace Laps: Sponsored by JAYSKI
Ron Fellows subs in the No. 01

Brandon Ash pilots the No. 02

Marcos Ambrose drives the No. 21

Brian Simo gets the nod in the No. 34

Terry Labonte drives the No. 45 again

Boris Said is in the No. 60

Max Papis drives the No. 66 with Scott Riggs shifts to the No. 70

47 drivers will compete for the 43 starting positions

Tony Stewart leads all active drivers with the best average starting position (6.8)

Jeff Gordon has the most wins, most poles, and the best average finish (9.7)

7 of 19 races have been won from the front row

Only one race has been won from outside the top 13 starting spots

Chevy has won 7 of the last 10 races

There have been five different winners in the last six races

By the Numbers: Sponsored by iHick.com
Every week the raw data is analyzed to separate the pretenders from the contenders! Anyone earning 240 points or more in the Power Ratings total has a great chance. 100 points is a perfect score for each category with 300 a perfect Power Rating. The top ten drivers will be shown in each category but only Power Ratings over 240 will be shown.

Consistency is King
M Kenseth 95
C Edwards 94
J Gordon 91
J Burton 91
Ky Busch 90
K Kahne 89
D Earnhardt Jr 88
J Johnson 88
D Ragan 87
G Biffle 86

Horses for Courses
J Gordon 92
R Newman 90
E Sadler 88
T Stewart 88
G Biffle 87
Almirola 86
K Harvick 86
J Burton 84
J Johnson 84
J McMurray 83

Track Type Casting
T Stewart 92
J Gordon 91
J Johnson 90
C Edwards 89
R Gordon 89
E Sadler 88
D Hamlin 87
Ky Busch 87
C Bowyer 87
K Harvick 86

Professor DMIC’s Power Rating Qualifiers
J Gordon 274
J Johnson 261
C Edwards 260
T Stewart 259
J Burton 259
G Biffle 257
M Kenseth 257
Ky Busch 256
E Sadler 255
R Newman 253
Almirola 252
K Harvick 252
D Earnhardt Jr 251
J McMurray 250
Ku Busch 250
D Hamlin 249
R Gordon 242
M Truex 241
B Vickers 240
C Bowyer 240

DMIC’s Picks: Sponsored by www.rowdy.com
Check out Rowdy’s new FREE Fantasy Race Game and listen to my analysis and picks every Wednesday!

Last Week’s Results: Michigan (20th, 3rd, 1st)
Once again Greg Biffle looked like he was going to win only to have the team shoot itself in the foot again. (Aren’t they out of toes by now?) Matt Kenseth was left with the fastest car but an official cost him one spot and gas mileage by Junior cost him the other. Dale Earnhardt Jr finally broke that winless streak! My long shot special hit the top ten and my struggling star was outside of the top 25 again so it was a good week.

Win: Tony Stewart (5-1 Odds)
It’s Smoke’s time of the year!

Place: Jeff Gordon (5-1 Odds)
Can another Hendrick winless streak end?

Show: Ryan Newman (22-1 Odds)
Second best average finish behind Gordon.

Outsider: AJ Allmendinger (35-1 Odds)
(Outside of Top 20 in Points)
(25th Last Week)
Team is rounding into form and road course should help.

Long Shot Special: Carl Edwards (25-1 Odds)
(20-1 or Greater in Vegas)
(8th Last Week)
Three top ten finishes in six career road course starts.

Rookie of the Race: Michael McDowell
(37th Last Week)
Road course expert gets a chance to shine.

Struggling Star: Kasey Kahne
(Inside Top 12 in Points)
(Last Week 26th)
Best finish in four career starts here is 23rd.

• 0 Comments
• NASCAR, Infineon, Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon

Pennies for Wessa

David Poole was talking about the little girl that gave that special penny to Junior's Daddy before he won his only Daytona 500. Believe it or not that girl is now 16 and the family has even more issues than ever before. A fund has been set up for the family and it might be cool if Junior fans and all race fans could help out.

If you would like to help, send a check made out to Pennies For Wessa to Pennies For Wessa, Attention: Mike Damron, Community Trust Bank, PO Box 39, Mouthcard, Ky. 41548.

The complete story about this family and the PENNIES FOR WESSA campaign can be seen at That's Racin at http://www.thatsracin.com/commentary/story/15496.html

Thanks for your consideration of this terrific event

Dennis
RaceTalkRadio.com

• 1 Comment
• NASCAR, Earnhardt, Daytona, Junior

Jeff Burton Tops NASCAR Top 20 This Week

Had a little delay getting this week's NASCAR Top 20 released....Jeff Burton is now on top of the charts!

Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Dale Earnharadt Jr, and Jimmie Johnson round out the top five this week.

http://www.racetalkradio.com/poll.html

• 4 Comments
• NASCAR, Sprint Cup, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Dale Earnharadt Jr, Jimmie Johnson, Top 20

Secret NASCAR Drug Testing Revealed

Lori Munro from War-Wagon.com found this exclusive evidence of a secret NASCAR lab where drug testing is going on right now!

• 0 Comments
• NASCAR, Drug Testing, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, Jamie McMurray, Autism Speaks, Boris Said, Jimmy Spencer