NASCAR Kobalt Tools 500 from Phoenix Preview: Beyond the Numbers



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This season is winding down fast as NASCAR teams head to Phoenix this weekend. Placed about 15 miles west of the Phoenix Metro area, Phoenix International Raceway is a one mile track that the drivers will make 312 trips around on the quest for Victory Lane in Sunday afternoon's Kobalt Tools 500. Ford has taken the most wins at PIR, with half of the 22 fall Cup Series races offering up a trip to the Winner's Circle to Ford drivers but the last seven trophies have went home with Chevy teams. Just one fall race at Phoenix has been called early due to rain, and two have been extended for green-white-checker finishes.

Kevin Harvick is lurking in third place in Cup standings behind the leader by 59 points. Watch for Kevin to be driving it like he stole it at Phoenix on Sunday. Harvick has won at PIR twice before, and claims a total of six top ten finishes in his 15 previous starts at this track. With a 15^th place average finish, Kevin might appear to not be a shoe-in for the top ten this week, but with seven of his last nine Cup starts in Arizona resulting in top tens I think we should watch for Harvick to be near the front as laps wind down on Sunday afternoon.

Holding the leader spot in the Chase to the Sprint Cup Championship with a 33 point lead is Denny Hamlin. The #11 FedEx driver has never won at Phoenix International Raceway but successfully has found a top ten finish in 60% of his Cup starts here. Half of Denny's Phoenix races have found him in the top five at the end of the day. He isn't going to give up the points lead easily; if someone else makes his way to the top spot after this weekend that driver will have to fight to take it from Hamlin.

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Kyle Busch posts top ten finishes in seven of his 11 starts here at PIR. The only win he has at this track is also his only top five finish; from the first year he raced here in the Cup Series, 2005. This Busch brother has lost three Chase spots in the past two races and is now in the seventh position in points. On one hand, Kyle is only 22 points out of the fourth position in the Chase standings. On the other hand, he is also just 33 points away from sliding back another two spots. Kyle Busch will have to stay with the front of the pack to salvage a upward swing in his 2010 Chase standings.

The only driver in the field this week to have started all 27 Cup Series races at PIR is Mark Martin. Mark posts 18 top ten finishes and 12 top five finishes over the years in Phoenix; with a 8.7 average finish here Martin may be the guy to beat this weekend. He certainly has experience on his side – Mark has completed 8,283 laps around Phoenix International Raceway. Recent appearances here have given Martin good results with four of his last five starts showing top five finishes. Mark's last two starts at PIR have resulted in fourth place finishes; the spring race of 2009 found Martin in the Winner's Circle. The #5 might find its way back to Victory lane this weekend for Hendrick Motorsports.

Tony Stewart has a good chance to make up some lost ground in the Chase this weekend. With an 11.7 average finish the odds say the Tony will find his way to the top ten this Sunday; he's done it in nearly 53% of his starts at PIR. Stewart lost another spot in Chase points standings after last week's 31^st place finish. Just four races ago Tony was in fourth position in points; now he is in eighth. Making up points should be the primary focus of the #14 team this weekend. Realistically, Stewart could move up as high as fourth place after this weekend with a strong finish.



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Another driver to keep an eye on this weekend should be Jeff Gordon. With the buzz from last week's altercation between Gordon and Jeff Burton still existing the #24 Team will come into this weekend with a lot of attention coming their way. Without a win in 2010 Gordon comes to PIR with 74% of his previous starts here giving him a top ten finish. Jeff finished in the runner-up position in the early-season race this year; another finish like that and he could gain back the two Chase standing positions he lost last week after finishing 37^th in Texas. A win in 2007, nine top five finishes over the last 17 years, and a 10.4 average finish at PIR says that Gordon should be considered a contender for this week's race.

David Reutimann has a better average finish on Intermediate tracks than any other track type. With just six Cup Series starts at PIR Reutimann has two top ten finishes to his credit. He has posted three top ten finishes in the last four races of this season, however. With confidence on his side from his recent Cup performances and most of his better performances coming at Intermediate tracks, David may have what he needs to fight his way to the front of the field on Sunday. Watch for the #00 Michael Waltrip Racing driver to continue making headlines this week in Arizona.

Clint Bowyer comes to Arizona in the tenth place in the Chase after moving up two positions with a seventh place finish last week at Texas. Three of Clint's last five Cup starts at PIR have resulted in top ten finishes and his best finish of second place came in the 2008 April race. Clint has been in ten prior Cup races at Phoenix and posts a 14.9 average finish. A top five finish would considerably help Bowyer's Chase goal of finishing the season in the top five in points. Just 72 points separate the #33 Richard Childress Racing driver from the fifth spot in the Chase.

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Dale Earnhardt, Jr. posts seven top ten finishes out of his 17 Cup starts at Phoenix International Raceway. Dale has found Victory Lane twice, has two more top five finishes, and a 18.8 average finishing spot here. After a less than stellar season, Earnhardt is likely to do well in Arizona this weekend. Only two of his last five starts have been top finishes; the odds say this time around, Dale should find the top ten by the end of the day. Earnhardt finished in the 12^th position here in April of this year; driving the fan-designed “Paint the 88” Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on Sunday, watch for an improvement in Dale's finishing position.

Carl Edwards comes to Phoenix with an upward trend; over the past four races, he has improved from seventh to fourth place in the Chase standings. 317 points out of the top spot in points, Edwards is racing to hang on to fourth – there are six drivers out there who would love to take it from Carl. Eight top ten finishes out of his 12 Cup Series starts at Phoenix have resulted in Edwards having a 12.8 average finish at this track. Carl's best finish at PIR has been fourth place. He has finished fourth three times here, twice in 2008 and in the 2006 spring race. Watch for Edwards to qualify and race well; the #99 Aflac Ford will be looking to repeat the strong performance they had here in April.



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My winner pick for this weekend's Kobalt Tools 500 at PIR is Kevin Harvick, with Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards taking second and third. Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, David Reutimann, Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., and Mark Martin will complete the top ten. Suspiciously missing from my top ten picks is Jimmie Johnson; after the near meltdown of Chad Knaus last week and the swap of pit crews with the #24 team I am just not feeling like the Lowe's Team is going to be pulling it together this week. In fact, I'm going to predict a rare DNF for Johnson this weekend caused by an on-track tangle with a non-Chase driver. Also will call for Clint Bowyer to move up to the number six spot in Cup point standings by the end of Sunday's race.

Coverage of the Kobalt Tools 500 from Phoenix International Raceway began today with one practice session and qualifying. Carl Edwards posted the top speed in the first practice and took the pole in qualifying, breaking the former track qualifying record by more than half a second. The second practice comes on the air on SPEED at 1:30 pm on Saturday. Final practice will air at 3 pm Saturday afternoon, on a ten minute delay, on ESPN2. RaceDay coverage on SPEED begins Sunday at Noon and runs until 2 pm when coverage is picked up by ESPN2 for NASCAR Countdown. Switch to ESPN for race coverage beginning at 3 pm. It's going to be a full weekend of NASCAR coverage – don't miss a second of this next-to-last weekend of the Chase to the Sprint Cup Championship.

TOP TEN REASONS TO VOTE FOR AMY AS MOST PASSIONATE FAN

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10. It takes 1 minute to register and 10 seconds to vote daily...or less. Why wouldn't you help?


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Amy McHargue
http://ellipticalcurrents.blogspot.com

AAA Texas 500 Top Ten Preview...Beyond the Numbers

Texas Motor Speedway, on the far north side of Fort Worth Texas, is a 1.5 mile tri-oval. Sound familiar? The track is a close cousin in set-up to the tracks at Charlotte and Atlanta. Cup drivers will make 334 laps around the track on the way to 500 miles in Sunday afternoon's AAA Texas 500. The eighth race of ten in the Chase to the Sprint Cup Championship, it is getting very close to do-or-die time for drivers not sitting atop the points leader board.



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 Sitting atop the Chase leader board, Jimmie Johnson's chances for another top ten finish this weekend look good. With a 10.1 average finish at this track, one win, and 10 top tens in his 14 Cup starts at Texas Motor Speedway, there doesn't seem to be much reason to expect Johnson to not finish well on Sunday. If Jimmie does make his way into a top ten finish on Sunday, his #48 Lowe's Chevrolet team will have top ten finishes in nine of the ten last Cup Series starts. With this momentum, someone is going to have to step up to keep this Hendrick Motorsports team from taking home another Championship.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has as good a chance as anyone to take home the checkered flag this weekend. With 16 Cup starts at Texas Motor Speedway, Dale posts eights top ten finishes in the record book. Earnhardt won his debut race at TMS in 2000, but would be fairly happy this weekend if the #88 can duplicate the eighth place finish he earned here in the Spring race this year. Watch for Dale to run strong after the halfway point on Sunday.

Also with a shot at the win in Sunday's AAA Texas 500 is Carl Edwards. In 11 Cup Series starts at Texas Carl has finished in the top ten four times. Out of those four top ten finishes, three of them were wins. Carl has been involved in accidents in his past two showings in TMS Cup racing that have kept him out of contention at the end of the day; his three starts prior resulted in one 10th place finish and two trophy finishes. Watch for Carl to lead the field on Sunday, at least part of the day.



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 One of many drivers chasing Jimmie Johnson on Sunday will be Denny Hamlin. Hamlin has started 10 Cup races here in Texas and has a 9.6 average finish. Seven of his ten starts resulted in top ten finishes for Denny; four of those were top fives. Hamlin has one win at Texas Motor Speedway. Just 14 points behind Chase leader Johnson, Denny is only going to be satisfied with the top spot at the end of the race. Denny has claimed a win and a runner-up finish in his last two Texas Cup starts – he'll be looking for another win Sunday afternoon.

Clint Bowyer is coming into this weekend the low man on the Chase standings totem pole. Just six points out of 11th place and 50 points away from seventh place in the Championship race Clint has an honest shot at moving up considerably after Sunday's race if he can have another strong finish. Bowyer has 44% success in finding the top ten in his previous Cup races at TMS; he'll be looking for the front of the pack throughout the AAA Texas 500.

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Kevin Harvick is another driver hoping to finish ahead of the Chase leader this weekend; he is just 38 points out of the top spot in the Chase. Kevin will be looking for a better than average weekend in Texas, Harvick has a 12.9 average finish at TMS from his 15 Cup starts at this track. Four of Kevin's last six starts at this track have resulted in top ten finishes but the #29 RCR team will be looking to get their first win at Texas Motor Speedway this weekend. A win could put Harvick on top of the Chase leader board ahead of Hamlin and Johnson.

Another Chase driver to watch this weekend is Jeff Gordon. Nine of Jeff's 19 Cup starts in Texas have given him top ten finishes and he has one win here. Jeff averages an 11.9 average finish on Intermediate tracks; the odds are that he will have a solid day on Sunday. Three of Gordon's last five Texas starts have given up top ten endings; he will be looking to keep it over 50% with another top ten this weekend. Whereas Jeff is 207 points out of the Chase lead, he is still fighting to retain his 4th place standing just 23 points in front of Kyle Busch.



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 Speaking of Kyle Busch, he lost a spot in Chase standings after a 25th place finish last week. With no wins in Cup Series races at Texas Motor Speedway Kyle will be driving for the front of the field on Sunday. Coming off of a third place finish in the Spring race here in the Lonestar state Busch will also have the Trucks race to gain knowledge about track lines before Sunday's race. Watch for Kyle to be a competitive threat this weekend.

Tony Stewart won at TMS in 2006 and has 10 top tens out of 17 Cup starts at this track. Stewart was taken out of contention in the earlier 2010 race in Texas by an accident but had three consecutive top ten finishes before the Spring race. His 13.4 average finish is one of the better averages among Chase drivers; watch for Smoke to be near the front by the end of the AAA Texas 500.

Be ready for Jeff Burton to have a strong showing this weekend. In 19 Cup starts at Texas Motor Speedway Burton has two wins and seven additional top ten finishes. In recent performances Burton has not finished outside of the top 15 in a Texas race since 2006. With his average finish at Texas and his Intermediate track average finishes both being right at 15.0 it's going to take a good day to gain back his spots in the Chase that were lost after last week. Jeff is sitting in the 10th spot, and needs a strong finish on Sunday to keep from losing any more positions.



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 My pick for the trophy win in Sunday's AAA Texas 500 is Kevin Harvick. Expect to see Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson rounding out the top three. Also finishing in the top ten should be Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Jeff Burton. With just two races left in the Chase to the Sprint Cup Championship all drivers will be looking for glory in the Lonestar state; watch for hard racing and at least a couple big wrecks.

AAA Texas 500 coverage starts on Friday with first practice airing on the SPEED Channel at 3 pm on a two-hour delay. Qualifications will be live on SPEED at 4:30 pm. Friday afternoon. Saturday morning we wake up to two live practices at 9:30 am. and 11 am., both on SPEED. NASCAR RaceDay on SPEED begins Sunday at 9:30a.m., with a second Special Edition of RaceDay beginning at 1 pm. We will then switch our television channels to ESPN for NASCAR Countdown at 2 pm and live coverage of the AAA Texas 500 beginning at 3 pm. Don't miss Sunday's mid-afternoon special from Fort Worth, with the Chase winding down this is sure to be an exciting weekend!

Talladega AMP Energy 500 Race Preview...Beyond the Numbers



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 Talladega Super Speedway; the 2.66 mile Tri-oval in Northern Alabama that since 1968 has been entertaining race fans. We love to watch the boys get down and dirt, bump and rub, race hard all the way from the Green Flag to the Checkers. And there is always the “Big One” to look for. The Speedway is located in the northern part of Alabama, just south of Interstate 20 and about 50 miles to the east of Birmingham. The AMP Energy 500 will take place on Halloween – Sunday October 31st and drivers are hoping for treats instead of treats as they circumnavigate the 'Dega track 188 times on their way to 500.08 miles. Who will be at the top of the Leader Board when the Checkers fly?


Tony Stewart lost a spot in the points after last week's race in Martinsville...and he wants it back. With four of his last five starts at 'Dega finding Tony outside of the top ten at the end of the race, he needs to set a goal of duplicating his win in the 2008 AMP Energy 500. Other than that win, Stewart has taken the Checkered flag in the top ten on 11 other occasions. Tony find the top ten by the end of the day in more than 50% of his Cup starts at Talladega and in 54% of his Superspeedway starts. Will Tony get tricks or treats this year in his goodie bag?



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 Jimmie Johnson comes to Alabama the Chase leader but with 41% of his starts at Talladega ending with top ten finishes Johnson is definitely not a shoe-in this weekend. One start for Johnson has resulted in a win and four more times he has posted top five finishes. In recent appearances at 'Dega Jimmie has only found the top ten by the end of the race two out of his last five starts. Johnson has also had two finishes in the 30's and one 13th place finish in the spring 2008 race in his last five starts here.

Five-time Talladega winner Dale Earnhardt, Jr. comes into this weekend with only two of his past five starts ending in a top ten finish. Dale's last top ten came in the Spring 2009 race in Alabama, his last two starts have given him 11th and 13th place finishes. He has flirted with the top ten in all but one of his last six Cup starts at this track. Earnhardt has never started from the pole position at this Superspeedway but coming off of a seventh place finish last week he should have quite a bit of confidence about this Halloween weekend.

Denny Hamlin currently resides in the second position for the Chase to the Sprint Cup Championship just six points behind Jimmie Johnson. Denny is in the best position anyone has been in after six Chase races to take over the points lead. With no wins at 'Dega and three top tens in nine starts, Denny posts a 19.3 average finish here. Hamlin has fought hard to gain on the points leader, however so don't expect a less-than-desirable average at this track to stop Denny from coming out with guns blazing.



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 Kevin Harvick is working at the 62 point deficit that exists between himself and the Chase points leader. Kevin sits in third position in the Chase to the Sprint Cup Championship, won in the Spring Talladega race, and has eight top ten finishes in his 18 Cup starts at this track. With a 20.8 for an average finish in his last five Cup starts in Alabama Harvick needs to improve on all but the most recent of his appearances at 'Dega – his win in this year's Spring race - and go for the points this weekend. Maybe Kevin should dress as a race winner for Halloween this year...

Jamie McMurray won the AMP Energy 500 in 2009, finished in the runner-up spot in the 2010 Spring race; we have seen Jamie make things happen this year when he expects to do well. McMurray has 16 starts at the Talladega Superspeedway; six of those starts have given him top ten finishes at the end of his day. One-third of all of Jamie's starts at Superspeedways have resulted in top tens. After a pole start at the Auto Club Speedway, a win two weeks ago in Charlotte, a win in the AMP Energy 500 in 2009, and a second place finish at his last Cup start in Alabama McMurray is coming to town with some big plans for a Halloween party in Victory Lane.

Mark Martin brought home a second place finish in Martinsville last week; can he do it again in Alabama? Martin certainly has the edge on the rest of the field in regard to experience. Mark has 45 Cup starts at Talladega dating back to 1982. Over the course of these last 28 years Martin has posted just two wins but claims a top ten finish in more than half of his starts at this Superspeedway. One-third of Mark's 69 top ten finishes at Superspeedways have happened at Talladega.



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 Kurt Busch is sitting in the ninth position in the Chase points standings. This could be Kurt's best chance for a big points weekend in the remainder of this season. Although this Busch brother has never won at 'Dega, he posts a 12.8 average finish and has found his way to the top ten in 13 of his 19 starts here. This Alabama track is by far his best Superspeedway – 42% of Kurt's Superspeedway top ten finishes have come at this track. Coming off a string of finishes outside of the top ten, Kurt has his eye on a strong run on Sunday at Hallow-Dega.

Clint Bowyer is out f the Chase but his season is far from over. After a dismal week at Martinsville found him in the 4th turn wall less than a third of the way through the race, he finished 38th due to a rear gear failure after his team got him back o the track post-accident. Clint comes to Talladega with the desire to gain points on 11th place Greg Biffle who is 90 points in front of Clint. Bowyer can claim three top ten finishes at 'Dega in his nine Cup Series starts and finished in the seventh position here in the Spring. Clint is going to be racing for his first Cup win at in Alabama Sunday in the AMP Energy 500.

Gaining two places in the Chase after Martinsville, but still 246 points behind Chase leader Johnson, Jeff Burton comes to Alabama this weekend with 13 top ten finishes to his credit at this track. Finishing in the top ten in three of his last five starts at 'Dega helps Jeff with the confidence aspect and the mental side of this weekend's Halloween special. Jeff typically performs just barely better at the Fall race in Talladega than in the Spring. His Fall race average finish is 18.06 whereas he posts a 18.64 for his Spring race average finish.



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 My pick for the win in Sunday's AMP Energy 500 is Jamie McMurray with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Kevin Harvick rounding out the top three. Also in the top ten we should expect to see Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer, Jeff Burton, Mark Martin, and Kurt Busch. Kyle Busch will be the cause of the “Big One” while racing against Jeff Gordon, taking Juan Pablo Montoya out of the race in the process. Watch for veteran driver Mark Martin to dominate early but fall off in the later stages of the race to the rear of the top ten.

The AMP Energy 500 practice on Friday will air at 2pm and 3:30pm on the SPEED Channel. Saturday brings us Live Practice, again on the SPEED Channel coming on-air at Noon. Raceday will be on the SPEED Channel from 10am until Noon. ESPN2 picks up coverage at Noon and will carry on until race coverage from Talladega starts on ESPN at 1pm. Don't miss this afternoon of Have-at-it-Boys racing on Halloween from the South.

Amy McHargue
http://ellipticalcurrents.blogspot.com/

Once in a Lifetime Opportunity...PLEASE HELP



A couple of weeks ago I submitted a video for the Hamburger Helper Most Passionate Fan contest. The contest is running in conjunction with the NASCAR's Most Popular Driver fan vote. Five finalists were chosen from all of the entries submitted; I made the top five!

From Monday October 25 through 11:59pm Monday November 8 there is a live fan vote being held at http://bit/ly/9ddRfp I am Video #1. Unfortunately, the administrators were concerned about whether my shirt could be considered offensive, so they blurred it. The video ending makes a lot more sense with the shirt viewable. On the upside...THAT'S WHY I HAVE A BLOG! I can post anything I want :) So here it is, t-shirt intact, bringing NASCAR fans and INDYCar fans together for 29.5 seconds.

If the "Milka" reference didn't make sense to you, check here: http://bit.ly/99n5Uq

Welcome to how I have single-handedly brought NASCAR and INDYCar together....okay, maybe not. But it IS funny! So, WHY am I enjoying the heck out of being silly for everyone on the Internet to see?

The Video (Video#1, that's me!!!) with the most votes at the end of the voting period (November 8th at 11:59pm) wins a three-night stay at the Wynn Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, baby. DURING NASCAR Champions Week! AND gets to help award the NASCAR's Most Popular Driver Award!!! Registering at the site will take less than a minute for most people, and a daily vote will take all of 15 seconds. Probably will take long for the page to load on your computer screen than it will for you to actually vote! Hint: Choose the "Save Password" option and you shouldn't have to login again during the contest period. So what are you waiting for???? Please, go to http://bit/ly/9ddRfp and *Vote Video #1 for AMY*

***THANK YOU***

NASCAR Martinsville Preview: Tums Fast Relief 500...Beyond the Numbers

Much like Talladega, it is tough to predict how any driver will perform at this week's Martinsville Speedway race. The track conditions can vary dramatically due to air and track temperatures, whether the sun is out or it is overcast, and even minor adjustments can cause big changes to a race car on the track. Martinsville Speedway is a .526 mile long, narrow oval located in Ridgeway, Virginia just south of Martinsville. Martinsville has the distinction of being the shortest track on the Cup circuit and is sometimes referred to as the Paperclip due to it's appearance from above. The Tums Fast Relief 500 takes place Sunday afternoon, and includes 500 laps to equal 263 miles before the checkers wave.



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 Denny Hamlin has finished in the top ten in the last seven races at Martinsville. Hamlin has won three of the last four races at Martinsville and came in second to Kevin Harvick in the one he did not win. Denny posts an impressive 6.6 average finish at this week's track, and comes in with a healthy dose of confidence – as well he should, considering he has only finished outside of the top ten in one of his nine Cup race starts at Martinsville. Sitting just 41 points behind the Chase leader, Hamlin doesn't want to let this Sunday's opportunity pass him by.

Sitting just a bit farther back in Chase points, Kevin Harvick is 77 points off the lead in second place but has yet to post a win at Martinsville in a Cup Series event. Harvick's best finish in his 18 Cup Series starts has been seventh place on three occasions in 2003, 2006, and 2008. In recent appearances at this track, Kevin has two top ten finishes in his last five Cup starts. With an average finish of 18.2 Harvick needs to come off of the green flag strong and both he and the #33 Richard Childress Penzoil team must make no errors in the pits.

Jimmie Johnson is the only driver with a better average finish at Martinsville than Denny Hamlin; Jimmie posts a 5.4 average finishing spot. Sitting atop of the Chase to the Sprint Cup Championship leader board, Johnson is coming into this weekend's Tums Fast Relief 500 with tons of confidence. This confidence will transfer to the track as the #48 Lowe's Team has been on a roll since the Chase started. Watch for the Hendrick Motor Sports Team of Johnson and Chad Knaus to be near – or at – the front by the end of Sunday's race.



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 Clint Bowyer may be effectively out of the Chase in 12th place but he is not ready to give up on his season. With more than 50% of Clint's finishes at Martinsville resulting in top ten finishes Bowyer can stand to be a bit optimistic toward this weekend. Clint has had some success at this track in the Nationwide Series – he holds the record for fastest qualifying for his efforts at the 2006 Nationwide race. Four of the last five starts in Cup Series Racing at Martinsville have ended in top ten finishes for the #33 RCR Team. Clint needs a strong finish to move up in points; he is 44 points back from his nearest competitor in the points.

Juan Pablo Montoya will be the first of non-Chase drivers to make a top ten finish out of Sunday's race. He post a 14.6 average finish at Martinsville and has two top ten finishes out of his seven Cup Series starts at this track. Juan is coming off an 11th place finish last week, and has just two finishes outside of the top fifteen in his last ten Cup starts. Montoya should finish strong in the Tums Fast Relief 500 on Sunday afternoon.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is the second non-Chase driver I have finishing in the top ten this week. Dale has a 14.1 average finish at Martinsville Speedway, but can claim top ten finishes in just under half of his 21 Cup starts here...and he hasn't had a top ten in either of his two most recent Martinsville starts. Earnhardt needs a strong finish, as since his 4th place finish in New Hampshire five races back he hasn't found a way to finish within the top 15. This could be a good comeback week for Dale.

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Carl Edwards has a good shot at a strong finish on Sunday; he claims a 17.5 average finish at Martinsville and although he has no wins to his credit at this track, has been good on Short-Track racing. Edwards posts top ten finishes in one-third of his Short-Track Cup Series Starts. Carl's best finish at Martinsville was in this race in 2009 when he took home a third place finish. Watch for Carl to drive agreesively to get himself back into the points race – at an even 200 points behind Chase leader Jimmie Johnson, for Carl this weekend is do-or-die when it comes to the Chase.

Rounding out my non-Chase three for the top ten is Jamie McMurray, a driver who has been underestimated for the most part of this 2010 season. Even with his wins at major events like the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400, no one really expects much out of Jamie – except for Jamie himself. With nine top ten finishes in McMurray's 15 Cup Series starts at Martinsville Speedway Jamie comes into this week expecting to perform well. McMurray's win last week could give him the extra confidence and momentum his team needs to end the day with a top ten finish on Sunday.

Coming into Martinsville with a 12.6 average finish in Virginia is Tony Stewart. After loosing a spot in the Chase standings after a 21st place finish last week Stewart wants to take that spot back and then some. Stewart has shown he can navigate the Paperclip, with three wins, and 13 top ten finishes in his 23 Cup starts at Martinsville. When Tony wants something, the rest of the field better watch out, because Stewart is willing to take it, and Tony wants to get back withing a realistic reach of the leaders in the Chase to the Championship.
 Kyle Busch earns a spot in this week's top ten finishers after gaining four spots in Chase points standings due to last week's runner-up finish. Kyle has no wins at Martinsville in his 11 starts here, but can claim four top five finishes in his prior Cup appearances at this track. With a 17.8 average finish Kyle may not be a favorite to win, but I think he will bring a tough race and finish in the lower half of the top ten in Sunday's race.


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I pick Kevin Harvick for the win this Sunday at Martinsville Speedway with Jimmie Johnson in the runner-up position and Denny Hamlin in third. Finishing out the top ten will be Clint Bowyer, Juan Pablo Montoya, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Carl Edwards, Jamie McMurray, Tony Stewart, and Kyle Busch. Kurt Busch and Matt Kenseth will continue to lose points on the Chase leaders, and a strong finish by Bowyer will move him into the 11th place in the standings, leaving Kenseth in 12th in the Chase.

Tune in on Friday afternoon for live practice coverage on SPEED, starting at 11:30 a.m. EST. Qualifying coverage starts on ESPN2 at 3 p.m. Saturday practice is live at 10 a.m. on Speed, whereas Saturday's second practice session will begin at 11:15 a.m. But will air on a significant delay, not coming on until 6:30 p.m. on ESPN2. NASCAR RaceDay begins Sunday morning at 10 a.m. At Noon, pre-race coverage picks up on ESPN2 with coverage of the Tums Fast Relief 500 from Martinsville Speedway switching over to ESPN at 1 p.m. Don't miss the sixth race in the Chase to the Sprint Cup Championship!

How to Win NASCAR tickets, TVs, Cash, and Condos...Get your Dream Ticket!!!

Small town America...where small and quaint locally-owned shops line the street, antique streetlights light the night, benches and trees dot the sidewalks, and where everyone has a smile for a visitor. So what happens when small towns start to struggle financially? Stores begin to close, families move out. I grew up in one of those small towns. Seeing it happen over the years makes me want to help take care of other small towns in the region. An organization in Johnson City Tennessee is stepping up to do just that – they are helping take care of a small town with The Dream Ticket.



Ron Campbell / Johnson City Press



The WIN Firm, in conjunction with charity Friends of Olde Downtowne Johnson City has put together a raffle to benefit the charity. Friends of Olde Downtowne Johnson City is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization, meaning that your raffle ticket purchase is a tax deductible charitable donation. The raffle has been designed to raise a quarter of a million dollars for Friends of Olde Downtowne Johnson City. A spokesperson for the charity says that the main goal is to promote the area, to get more people to visit the area in Southeastern Tennessee, and to give people more to do in the area through festivals and events.

The prize list is what makes this raffle amazing. Grand prize winners will receive a condo. Not for a weekend and not for a week - you will receive the title of ownership for a condo in Southeastern Tennessee. The condo in question will allow occupants to wake every morning to the sight one of the premier NASCAR and Drag Racing facilities. Did I mention that there may be TWO condos awarded? The prize list also includes FOUR 50” Plasma Screen TVs. I know I would enjoy watching a weekend of sports on that! What about cash? How about a prize of $2,500...or a trip to Las Vegas for a Spring NASCAR race including hotel stay, airfare, and transportation...season tickets to a certain NASCAR track nearby Johnson City...or single race tickets to a NASCAR race at that same track...the prize list even includes the Richard Petty Driving Experience and the Richard Petty Ride Along Experience passes. With a prize list this rich the $99 raffle ticket price is well worth the investment. And remember, all proceeds from this raffle go to the Friends of Olde Downtowne Johnson City charity.



Friends of Olde Downtowne Johnson City sponsor First Fridays and the Blue Plum Festival in downtown Johnson City. The Blue Plum Festival is a rapidly growing annual event that takes place in June of each year. The festival includes food and craft vendors, entertainment stages, a kids area, cornhole tournaments, and a 5k run/walk. In 2010, the 11^th annual Blue Plum Festival brought more than 80,000 people to downtown Johnson City. Musicians from Jazz to Reggae, Southern Gospel to Southern Rock grace the stages at the Blue Plum Festival to viewers from near and far; one couple travels every year from New York City to attend. The festival isn't just for entertainment, the Johnson City Press reports that the 2010 Blue Plum Festival also gathered more than 1,000 pounds of recyclables.

With the economy in its current condition, donations are down for Friends of Olde Downtowne Johnson City. Donations are the lifeblood of any charity – without donations the charity cannot sponsor events. The Dream Ticket raffle is a way that you can support this charity and small town USA. For a $99 tax-deductible donation you receive one raffle ticket. At the most 10,000 tickets will be sold. Between four and eight prize packages will be given away. That makes your odds better than most of the slot machines at the casino. You only have until December 17th to purchase your Dream Ticket; if less than 10,000 are sold your odds are just that much better! Visit http://getyourdreamticket.blogspot.com/ to learn more and http://www.getyourdreamticket.com/ to purchase your Dream Ticket now...what are you waiting for?? There may never again be raffle with such an impressive prize list and such great odds that allows a charity to continue improving an area rich with tradition! Get your Dream Ticket now!

Amy McHargue
http://ellipticalcurrents.blogspot.com