- More get well wishes go out to Brian Vickers as he recovers from an unspecified illness. Casey Mears will step in for Vickers in the #83 Red Bull Toyota. Get well soon Brian!
- Kevin Harvick comes into the week with a 110-point lead over Jimmie Johnson. This would be a great opportunity for Johnson to cut into that lead, as this is one of Johnson's very best tracks. However, Harvick posted top 10s in both races in his rookie season of 2001. Johnson won both Dover races last season, as he did in his rookie season of 2002.
- Johnson leads active drivers in Dover wins, with 5. (He also won the fall race in 2005.)
- Although Juan Pablo Montoya is in 17th place in the standings, he's only 54 points behind Dale Earnhardt Jr for the final Chase spot. Montoya has been stout in the past month, pretty much duplicating what Mark Martin did last year, minus the wins. If not for Montoya's slow start, he'd be up there dueling with Harvick and Johnson.
- The spoiler has greatly benefitted Gibbs, RCR and EGR. Those drivers have been very strong since the spoiler made its debut. Consequently, Hendrick Motorsports has been a little off, with the exception of Jeff Gordon.
- Thinking of you: Jody Ridley (surprise winner at Dover in 1981). Whatever happened to him?
- Dover has three firsts for Matt Kenseth: 1) Start (September 1998); 2) top 10 (he finished sixth in that first start subbing for Bill Elliott); 3) Pole (June 2002). Kenseth has eight top 10s in his last 10 starts.
- Look for the usual suspects to run strong: Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Kenseth, Carl Edwards, Gordon, and Mark Martin. Which brings me to:
Predicted Race Winner: Jimmie Johnson. He breaks out of his funk and gains ground on Harvick. The rest of the top 5: 2) Hamlin; 3) Kenseth; 4) Kyle Busch; 5) J. Gordon.
6 comments:
Good stuff, Jon.
Could we not also say that Hamlin and Kyle would be challenging Harvick and JJ is not for their slow starts?
I wonder how much effect the spoiler has on the drivers. Some that used to run good with the spoiler, then bad with the wing, now aren't running well with the spoiler....Stewart, Jr, etc.
Hey Jon!
I thought you took Kevin in the Trifecta? I took JJ's partner Flash Gordon (since Gene grabbed my guy). Now you're telling us that JJ will win? Hmmm. Kudos for stickin' with your guy when it counts! I remember doing the Kylefecta a couple of years ago and won two of the three races. Not a bad deal.
Thanks for the information Jon!
and, we should not forget, there are still a lot of top-notch drivers hoping to clinch a spot in next weeks' All-star race without needing to do the showdown or the fanvote, lol
WOW Did Gene just indicate in some back assed way that at one time Junior did run well? =)
I keep hearing Biffle is a threat...better be as I forgot to change my stupid picks in the fantasy league.
HaHaHa, Kristen. It was a LONG time ago. He did win a number of races with the spoiler, and only one with the wing.
I can't say that the wing is why he hasn't won in so long, though. Even the Nation hasn't dreamt up that excuse...yet. LOL
Gene, that's true. Hamlin and Busch have been among the best since the spoiler came into play. Do you think NASCAR did this as part of their plan to JJ-proof the sport? As for Jr Nation, don't worry, they will at some point.
Dwindy, there's a method to my madness. I picked JJ to win to JINX him. Plus he's won five times and has always run strong at Dover.
Tez, very true.
Kristen, LOL. The last time Jr ran well was when he was at DEI (now Earnhardt Ganassi Racing). As for Biffle, he has run strong there in the past, so you may be in luck.
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