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Well, the Sprint Cup Series ends this week at Homestead, and I’m pretty sure that we’re all glad to see the end of yet another season of Jimmie Johnson taking advantage of the Chase format like a fat man at the Golden Corral.

It’s just not fun to watch anymore. Worse, it’s not fun to do these fantasy picks when the obvious choice is the same guy every weekend. It makes everything… easy. Too easy.

So you know what? We’re going to try something different this week. Instead of picking Chase drivers for this week’s Homestead race, seeing as most of you have exhausted your supply of Chasers that are worth picking, I am going to make it a point of recommending non-Chase drivers this week.

If you have them available, you know who to pick, but for the rest of us, let’s make things interesting.

Kevin Harvick (avg. fn. 9.1): Despite clinching the Camping World Truck championship with Ron Hornaday last week at Phoenix, Happy’s had little to smile about on the Cup side of things this year. Luckily for him, he has an opportunity to finish the year on a high note, as Homestead is one of his better tracks. Despite never winning the season finale, he’s never finished worse than 20th and has completed 2140 of 2141 possible laps.

A.J. Allmendinger (avg. fn. 11.0): I know, he’s only made one start at Homestead, last year. But he passed 32 cars after starting dead last. That says a lot.

Martin Truex Jr. (avg. fn. 12.5): His average finish would be higher had he not run this race in 2004 as a reward for his Busch Series title. In the past three years, he’s finished 2nd, 6th, and 10th, respectively, for an average finish of 6.0. It’s his last race with Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, and I’m sure Truex would like to go out with a good finish, especially considering how bad this year has been for him.

Jamie McMurray (avg. fn. 15.4): Truex’s replacement in the No. 1 car doesn’t have quite as stellar a record at Homestead as his predecessor does, but he’s not a pushover, either. Since he became a full-time Sprint Cup driver in 2003, his average finish at Homestead is 14.3, and that’s dragged down by an engine failure in 2006. Look for McMurray, relieved at finally signing a contract for 2010, to perform well this weekend.

Bobby Labonte (avg. fn. 18.7): The only former Homestead winner in this bunch, having scored the victory in 2003, Labonte had top 10 finishes in four of his first five starts at the track. Since then, his record has declined, but that’s more of a testament to his Petty Enterprises cars being weak. Maybe Kevin Buckler’s cars aren’t much better, but Labonte has gotten things out of those cars that David Gilliland could not (when he wasn’t starting and parking, that is). One can’t lose sight of the fact that Labonte led 174 laps the first time that the Cup cars came to Homestead.

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Join us for our final weekly NASCAR fantasy racing live blog/chat session of 2009 this Thursday at 7 PM ET.

We’ll talk about the final race of the Sprint Cup season at Homestead Miami Speedway with Eric McClung. Eric authors our NASCAR fantasy racing preview every week and has an excellent record as a fantasy racing expert.

Leave your email in the box below and we will remind you right before the chat starts.

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Totally reconfigured in 2003, Homestead-Miami Speedway is the only place on the Sprint Cup circuit with variable banking, gradually increasing from 18 degrees on the bottom to 20 at the top. Because the track only hosts the season finale of the NASCAR season it is more important to consider a driver’s momentum heading into this race than historical stats. With that in mind, strongly consider three drivers from the Richard Childress Racing stable. Over the last six races, RCR has had two top-10 cars on four occasions.

• Clint Bowyer finished a career-best fifth last year at Homestead and has an average finish of 10.0 over the last six races this season.
• Kevin Harvick holds an impressive 7.6 average finish since the track was reconfigured and only one finish outside the top-10. He was in runner-up last year’s Ford 400 and has registered the 11th-most points over the last six races.
• Jeff Burton is decent at Homestead with a 15.8 career average finish but more importantly has three straight top-10s this season.

Also noteworthy, David Ragan will be running the new Ford engine for the first time in a non-restrictor plate event.

Chasing the pole at Homestead-Miami

1. Kasey Kahne… Winner of the pole in ‘06 at Homestead, Kahne owns an average starting position of 5.8– best among active drivers.
2. Ryan Newman… Starting second in ‘05 and ‘07, Newman would lead laps in both races and finished seventh and 18th. Starting Newman this week will be hinge greatly on his qualifying run, as he finished outside the top-20 in ‘06 and ‘08 when he started 16th and 29th.
3. Jimmie Johnson… Johnson has only started inside the top-10 at Homestead only once, starting from the pole in ‘07. But on the season, Johnson as has recorded the best average starting position (8.5) among all drivers. To avoid another disaster like Texas, Johnson would be wise to  qualify up front in order to avoid the risk of running in the middle of the pack.

Here’s an explanation of the highlighted text in the rankings. Download a printer-friendly version here.

• Y! A/B/C - The top options in the Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing game by driver list.
• Value play - Good recent history at this week’s track. Drivers to consider as low-rent salary cap options or alternative options in allocation formats.

1. Jeff Gordon… Only one finish outside of the top-10 at Homestead since ‘03– four top-fives. Y!-A1
2. Jimmie Johnson… Five finishes of 15th or better at Homestead (four top-10s, one DNF) since ‘03 (six races). Average finish of 10.0 since ‘06, led at least one laps in all three. Y!-A2
3. Mark Martin… DNF (crash) at Homestead in ‘03, average finish of 10.0 in the four races since. Y!-A3
4. Kurt Busch… Won in ‘02 at Homestead prior to reconfiguration. DNFs (crash) in ‘06 and ‘08, runner-up in ‘07. Y!-B1
5. Denny Hamlin… Finished third at Homestead in ‘06 and ‘07, 13th in last year’s Ford 400. Y!-B2
6. Tony Stewart… Two-time winner (’99, ‘00) at Homestead prior to reconfiguration. Average finish of 13.3 since ‘03; two top-10s, five top-15s. Y!-B3
7. Juan Pablo Montoya… DNF (crash) at Homestead in ‘06, average finish of 16.0 in the last two races. Y!-B4
8. Clint Bowyer… Finished a career-best fifth at Homestead last year, one other top-10 in three career starts. Y!-A4
9. Greg Biffle… Three-time winner (’04-’06) at Homestead, average finish of 15.5 in the last two races.
10. Kasey Kahne… Two top-10 finishes at Homestead in the last three races. Y!-B5
11. Kyle Busch… Finished a career-best 19th at Homestead in last year’s Ford 400.
12. Matt Kenseth… Won at Homestead in ‘07, led 214 laps. Started third, finished 25th last year- led 73 laps.
13. Kevin Harvick… Average finish of 9.1 at Homestead in eight career starts, has never finished worse than 20th.
14. Carl Edwards… Won last’s year Ford 400 at Homestead. Owns a streak of four top-10s, has never finished worse than 14th.
15. Ryan Newman… Average finish of 20.6 at Homestead in the last three races. Y!-B6
16. David Reutimann… Won the pole at Homestead last year but only led one laps, finished 20th. Finished 13th in last year’s Nationwide race. Y!-B7
17. Jeff Burton… Only one top-10 at Homestead since ‘03- but has finished 14th or better three times in that span.
18. Brian Vickers… Has never finished better than 18th at Homestead, only one lead-lap finish (two DNFs) in six career starts. Y!-B8
19. Joey Logano… No career Cup starts at Homestead. Won the pole, finished 10th in last year’s Nationwide race.
20. Marcos Ambrose… Started 41st, finished 42nd in last year’s Ford 400– first career start at Homestead. Finished 10th in ‘07 Nationwide race, DNF last year. Y!-C1
21. AJ Allmendinger… Strong value play. Started 43rd, finished 11th in last year’s Ford 400– first career start at Homestead. Y!-C2
22. Jamie McMurray… Strong value play. Finished a career-best third at Homestead in last year’s Ford 400, 15.4 average finish in six career starts.
23. Casey Mears… Strong value play. Average finish of 15.3 at Homestead in the last four races.
24. Dale Earnhardt Jr…. Average finish of 23.4 at Homestead in nine career starts, has not finished better than 19th since ‘03.
25. David Ragan… Weak value play. Average start of 6.5 at Homestead in two career starts– finished 10th and 24th.
26. Martin Truex Jr…. Weak value play. Average finish of 12.5 at Homestead in four career starts.
27. Brad Keselowski… Weak value play. Started 31st, finished 23rd in last year’s Ford 400– first career Cup start at Homestead. Finished third in last year’s Nationwide race. Y!-C3
28. Bill Elliott… Long shot value play. Won from the pole at Homestead in ‘01 prior to reconfiguration. Started 15th, finished 12th last year. Y!-C4
29. Sam Hornish Jr…. Started 29th, finished 37th in last year’s Ford 400– first career Cup start at Homestead. Average finish of 3.0 (three wins) in seven IndyCar starts (’01-’07)
30. Bobby Labonte… Won in ‘03 at Homestead, average finish of 28.6 in the five races since.
31. Scott Speed… Started second, finished 16th in last year’s Ford 400– first career Cup start at Homestead.
32. Travis Kvapil… Started 19th, finished seventh at Homestead in last year’s Ford 400– both career bests.
33. David Stremme… Finished 11th at Homestead in ‘06 and ‘07, did not start last year.
34. Reed Sorenson… Average finish of 24.2 at Homestead in four career starts.
35. Paul Menard… Average finish of 27.3 at Homestead in four career starts.
36. Robby Gordon… Average finish of 27.4 at Homestead in seven career starts.
37. Elliott Sadler… Average finish of 30.0 at Homestead since ‘03.
38. David Gilliland… Average finish of 30.7 at Homestead in three career starts.
39. Regan Smith… Started 26th, finished 34th in last year’s Ford 400– first career Cup start at Homestead.
40. Michael Waltrip… Started 42nd, finished 38th at Homestead in last year’s Ford 400– no starts in ‘06 and ‘07.
41. Max Papis… No career Cup starts at Homestead. Finished 27th in last year’s Truck race.
42. Erik Darnell… No career starts at Homestead.
43. John Andretti… No Cup starts at Homestead since ‘04.
44. Terry Labonte… No Cup starts at Homestead since ‘04.
45. Sterling Marlin…? Possible start and park. Rumored to the TBD driver. Started 21st, finished 29th last year at Homestead.
46. Dave Blaney… Possible start and park. Average finish of 18.8 at Homestead since ‘03.
47. Joe Nemechek… Possible start and park. Average finish of 23.4 at Homestead since ‘03.
48. Michael McDowell… Possible start and park. No career Cup starts at Homestead. DNF (transmission) in ‘07 Nationwide race.

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Phoenix

Who's Up	Who's Down
Biggest Gain This Week: Denny Hamlin: 7th to 5th	Biggest Drop This Week: Jeff Gordon: 3rd to 4th
No new drivers this week.	No drivers dropped out this week.

Rank: 1st Jimmie Johnson #48 Last Week: 1 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Jimmie Johnson- 7 Wins, 23 Top Tens Jimmie Johnson had a statement victory at Phoenix but don't think he's immune to problems at Homestead. The last time Jimmie Johnson didn't win the championship he had a blown tire at Homestead that ruined his day and his championship hopes (2005).

Rank: 2nd Mark Martin #5 Last Week: 2 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Mark Martin - 5 Wins, 21 Top Tens Finishing second must almost be like a tradition for Mark Martin fans. Michael Jordon stopped many of his competitors from winning championships and Jimmie Johnson is doing the exact same thing. MJ took his sport to the next level and so will JJ.

Rank: 3rd Kurt Busch #2 Last Week: 4 Change: +1 Driver Page | Articles

Kurt Busch - 2 Win, 20 Top Tens Kurt Busch was poised to be one of Jimmie Johnson's biggest competitors at Phoenix but the 2 team lost the handle of their car mid race. I'm sure Roger Penske wishes that he could have made Pat Tryson a counter offer to stay.

Rank: 4th Jeff Gordon #24 Last Week: 3 Change: -1 Driver Page | Articles

Jeff Gordon- 1 Win, 24 Top Tens Earnhardt and Petty have their 7 by 7 club and soon Jeff Gordon will be able to start his own 4 by 4 club with Jimmie Johnson. Or even better yet he could do it by himself with his 4 driver championships and 4 owner championships.

Rank: 5th Denny Hamlin #11 Last Week: 7 Change: +2 Driver Page | Articles

Denny Hamlin - 3 Wins, 19 Top Tens For anyone who ever goes to my fantasy chats then you'll know that my default Denny Hamlin advice works. "If its flat or short pick Hamlin". If Hamlin ever wants to win the championship then he really needs to win at an intermediate track.

Rank: 6th Tony Stewart #14 Last Week: 5 Change: -1 Driver Page | Articles

Tony Stewart - 4 Wins, 23 Top Tens Under the old system Stewart would only be 8 points back. That systems dead so this shouldn't even be news. The real news that Stewart created for the week was over his radio. Stewart called Jr a "no driving talent sob". Yikes.

Rank: 7th Juan Pablo Montoya #42 Last Week: 6 Change: -1 Driver Page | Articles

Juan Pablo Montoya - 7 Top Fives, 18 Top Tens Juan Pablo Montoya's rise is certainly one of the best stories of the season but no one possibly thought he might finish in the top 5 in points. Montoya's magic Homestead number is 5 points, that's how many points he needs to gain on Tony Stewart.

Rank: 8th Greg Biffle #16 Last Week: 8 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Greg Biffle - 10 Top Fives, 16 Top Tens Historically Homestead is a very good place for Biffle with his 3 career wins at the track. Don't buy into that hype this weekend because those wins all were with the old car. The best he's finished with the COT is 13th.

Rank: 9th Kasey Kahne #9 Last Week: 9 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Kasey Kahne - 2 Wins, 14 Top Tens Kahne started his NASCAR driving career with Ford and after Homestead he'll once again be in a Ford. I don't know if I should be happy or sad for him. I guess we'll all find out next season.

Rank: 10th Ryan Newman #39 Last Week: 10 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Ryan Newman - 5 Top Fives, 15 Top Tens Newman returned to the Chase in 2009 but once he made it there really wasn't anything to brag about. He finished 7th twice but what's so great about that?

Rank: 11th Carl Edwards #99 Last Week: 11 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Carl Edwards - 7 Top Fives, 13 Top Tens Edwards was good in the spring but ever since then it's all been downhill. If I were Carl I wouldn't be expecting a very good seat at the Las Vegas awards banquet this year.

Rank: 12th Brian Vickers #83 Last Week: 12 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Brian Vickers - 1 Win, 13 Top Tens Believe it or not Vickers is improving. His Chase average finish right now is 23. Last year over the same segment of races his average finish was 25.1. Next year he might be able to get it down to around 20.

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So this is it - the Sprint Cup title is pretty much locked up, and for the fourth consecutive year, the hardware goes home to Jimmie Johnson. That’s right, Jimmie Johnson has been the active champion of Sprint Cup for the length of one presidential term.

During their reign as the acting president and vice president of the Chase for the Sprint Cup, Johnson and crew chief Chad Knaus have done everything right - suppressing any and all challenges from their opposition, making up for their mistakes, playing the game (so to speak) calmly. They are tacticians in every sense. Were an equivalent to the No. 48 team in the White House, we’d be hailing them as the best presidential administration ever.

But all that the Johnson regime inspires in NASCAR fans seems to be a lack of passion - a growing disinterest in the sport. Like the Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s, the Dallas Cowboys of the 1990s, and the New York Yankees of many different and disparate eras, their eventual triumph is a foregone conclusion.

And in a sport where every race is a playoff, so to speak, that’s not a good thing.

Truthfully, this is all the Chase’s fault. NASCAR never needed playoffs; when you have everybody competing against one another every week, it’s already a best-of-30 series between every team in the sport. Towards the end, somebody gets “eliminated” every week, even though they’re still present on the track.

Johnson’s domination of the Chase format is impressive, yes. But wouldn’t it be far more impressive to see him making incredible comebacks every year? Right now, Johnson has a 103-point advantage over Mark Martin for the title going into the final race of the season at Homestead.

Under the old format, that would only be an eight point advantage over Tony Stewart.

And NASCAR claims that the Chase makes things more competitive.

Things went the same way in 2008, when the Chase spread Johnson and Carl Edwards out by an extra 85 points going into Homestead. Instead of a 141-point advantage, Johnson would have only had 56 over Cousin Carl.

And you know what? One of NASCAR’s most affable drivers would have backflipped his way to becoming the first driver to win championships in NASCAR’s top two series in the same year. The 16-point advantage would have fallen just short of the 1992 duel between Alan Kulwicki and Bill Elliott in terms of excitement - that year, the margin of victory was a mere 10 points.

With no Chase, Johnson would have maintained his 2006 championship, the most impressive of the bunch, but only by four points over Matt Kenseth. But 2007 would have gone to the rightful champion, Jeff Gordon, whose dominance (and 7.3 average finish) easily trumped his teammate. And right now, we’d be asking if Gordon, who would be only 51 points back, could win a record-tying seventh championship (he also would have won in 2004).

The problem with Johnson is his lack of charisma, and everyone - from the higher-ups in NASCAR to my mother, who pin-pointed the problem while I was talking to her today - knows it. If Jimmie Johnson was as polarizing as Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, or even Kyle Busch, the fans would be a lot more interested. But Johnson doesn’t do anything statistically that Gordon never accomplished (or nearly accomplished - had he been a little better in 1996, he’d have four titles in a row), wreck people in the name of victory like Earnhardt, or piss people off like Shrub.

Fans watch the races hoping, more often than not in vain, that Johnson will make a mistake and fall out of the race. It doesn’t happen, and that’s the end of it. The championship is decided, we collectively sigh, and we move on to football.

The sport needs solutions to this problem, and regardless of what anybody says, it is a huge problem. What we have with Johnson is a driver who may be the greatest of all-time in taking advantage of fortuitous situations. You know, in his entire Busch/Nationwide career, he only won one race? In that year, 2001, he was beaten in the points by Tony Raines. Think we’d be talking the same way about Tony Raines right now had Rick Hendrick picked him and not Johnson?

One answer is to “Jimmie-proof” the Chase, which the writers on NASCAR.com have discussed. While it would allow the sport to maintain its Chase format, it’s unfair to mess with the entire schedule based on the strengths of one driver. Many of Johnson’s best tracks just so happen to fall at the end of the year. Again, fortuitous situation.

The better solution, however, is to shoot the Chase to hell. Obviously, NASCAR won’t do that, because it brings in more money in the short term - but when the fans stop watching because the championship is a foregone conclusion, they’ll seriously reconsider. The past four years would have been a lot more interesting without it, and everyone who has looked at the statistics knows it.

Obviously, neither of those things are going to happen. So I venture one last suggestion out to the motorsports world, an idea which is so far-fetched, so desperate to give NASCAR a new champion, that it makes far more sense than anybody would ever be willing to admit. The side effects would be nothing but positives for not only NASCAR, but also motorsports around the world.

Go race for US F1, Jimmie.

Peter Windsor, are you listening?

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Kurt Busch and the Blue Duece sit outside, front row for the start of the Checkers O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 today at Phoenix International Raceway.

This coming off his win last week at Texas Motor Speedway. The Penske Racing no. 2 team has to be considered a favorite to win at PIR.

Kurt has had a nice year. Busch and Kasey Kahne have helped to keep the Dodge brand significant in NASCAR this season. I expect to see the Miller Lite Dodge upfront and mixing it up with all those fast Chevies today at PIR.

Below are some pics of Kurt’s winning Sunday at the Great American Speedway. Click on the thumbnail for a better view.

Photo credit: BethAnne Heisler - On Pit Row

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Well that’s what Mindy thinks anyway. I mean how can a guy show up one day a week and out think 42 full-timers on the pit boxes of NASCAR?

Mindy has a business proposition for JR Motorsports too. It’s all here in the latest Monday Morning Crew Chief video with our Mindy Monday. Watch it now.

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We had a blast at Texas Motor Speedway last weekend. It is truly the Great American Speedway.

The happenings there had much to do with our Fast Lap questions this week On Pit Row. Here they are and here is a video of our Fast lap debate on the radio show.

Turn 1 - Is the Chase back on now that Jimmie Johnson had problems in Texas?

Turn 2 - Would Kyle Busch’s season be saved if he had won the triple?

Turn 3 - Who is to blame for Kyle running out of gas?

Turn 4 - What does Dale Earnhardt Jr have to do?

Tell us what you think. And since this is supposed be fast, please limit your answers to Twitter length - 140 characters. We don’t have a way to count your input, so this is the honor system for now.

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The Chase to the 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship has turned into an intramural match race for Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin and Jimmie Johnson.

Not what most of the subjects of the Kingdom of France wanted it seems. But that’s what we have.

Jimmie still has a headlock on the Cup if you ask me. But that’s why they run the races.

At least the Busch brothers made for a little drama at TMS.

I was really pulling for Kyle Busch to pull off the weekend sweep of the three top series events. Maybe this week he can.

And Kurt Busch continues to show - along with Kasey Kahne - that Dodge isn’t ready to act like Fiat did in the 70s and pull out of the market.

On to Phoenix.

Photo credit: Round girl Jen by BethAnne Heisler - On Pit Row

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Join us Thursday at 7 PM ET for a live NASCAR fantasy racing chat session for the Checkers O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway.

Ryan Rantz will host and he’s bringing some special stuff to help you make the right choices for your NASCAR fantasy racing teams. Check out Ryan’s NASCAR power rankings for week nine of the Chase.

You can leave yourself a reminder in the box below.

The chats take place on the Bench Racers Live Page here.

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The fat lady didn’t sing for NASCAR at Texas Motor Speedway after all. Jimmie Johnson hit the wall. But Eddie Gossage who bills himself as the “World’s Greatest Race Promoter” provided the music before the race with a concert by Texas band Z Z Top. We have pics.

Click on the image for a better view.

Photo credit: BethAnne Heisler - On Pit Row

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Lowes 48 team working on Jimie Johnson’s wrecked Chevy

Last weekend at Texas, Jimmie Johnson did something for us all to make the Chase more interesting. He wrecked. He finished 38th, allowing Mark Martin to become a factor in the Chase again. Martin erased 111 points of Johnson’s lead by finishing fourth, but still has 73 more to make up.

But don’t expect Johnson to be shaken. The No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports team has been through a lot more adversity than this. They didn’t even lose the points lead, after all. Johnson isn’t going to let last week rattle his cage any; those sorts of things happen. (Just ask Martin about Talladega.)

Anyways, it’s obvious who’s going to be at the top of this week’s list of picks - not only are they the two top drivers in points, they’re the two top active drivers at Phoenix, with a combined five wins and 27 top-10s in 36 starts. (If their combined Phoenix stats were spread across one full Sprint Cup season, they’d be a strong championship contender, if not the champion.) But to be fair, other drivers do exist…

Jimmie Johnson (avg. fn. 5.4): 5.4? A worst finish of 15th? Do I even need to justify or explain this?

Mark Martin (avg. fn. 9.0): It has been 20 years since Martin finished outside of the top 20 at Phoenix. That race, all the way back in 1988, was his debut at the track, and he finished 36th only because his race ended early with a crash. Johnson holds a slight edge over Martin in every statistical category, but keep in mind that the more starts a driver makes, the lower an average finish usually tends to be. The fact that “The Kid” has more starts at Phoenix than anybody else who’s still driving, and still has the best average finish, is a testament to how good he really is in the desert. Oh, and he won the race in the spring.

Tony Stewart (avg. fn. 10.1): Smoke won in his Phoenix debut back in 1999. He hasn’t won at the track since, but he hasn’t failed to finish any races either, and he’s only failed to complete all 312 laps in a Phoenix race three times (although two of those were both races last year). He also finished second in the spring.

Kurt Busch (avg. fn. 12.5): Last week’s win at Texas and two straight podium finishes at Phoenix put him on this list. Mediocrity in 2006 and 2007 blemishes his record, but his recent performance, both in the Chase and in the desert, currently gives him the seventh best record of active drivers at Phoenix. He led 60 laps in this race last year and 63 in the spring, finishing second and third, respectively, in those two races.

Kyle Busch (avg. fn. 14.8): I know, he’s not a Chase driver. I like to break my own rules a lot. But he was so strong last week, and he’s got six top-10s in nine starts at Phoenix, so he deserves a mention.

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Over the last nine races this season, three have been on flat tracks. Thus far there has been a total of seven races on flat tracks. This gives fantasy owners a very clear idea on the top options for this weekend’s race at Phoenix International Raceway. I’ve created another NASCAR Fantasy Tool, 2009 Average Finish at Flat Tracks. Martinsville Speedway, Phoenix, Richmond International Raceway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway all vary in length but their banking in the corners is similar and are all, of course, flat.

Mark Martin and Denny Hamlin each have two wins on flat tracks. Kyle Busch owns a victory and has three straight top-fives on flat tracks. Tony Stewart began the season with four top-fives on flat tracks but an average finish on 13.3 on the last three. Ryan Newman has three straight top-10s; Brian Vickers has three straight of 11 or better. Sam Hornish Jr. put together a streak of four top-10s but was a disaster in the other three.

Chasing the pole at Phoenix

1. Mark Martin… In April, Martin from the pole and has won a total of seven poles this season, one being Richmond. He started fourth just three weeks ago at Martinsville.
2. Jimmie Johnson… Johnson won last year’s O’RAP 500 from the pole. The rest of Johnson’s starting numbers at Phoenix are decent: fifth and six in ‘07, seventh in 4/08 and he started 10th back in April.
3. Jeff Gordon… Gordon has started inside the top-10 for six of the seven flat track races this season. He has started inside the top-10 this season for 10 straight races.
4. Kurt Busch… Started third in April and in last year’s O’RAP 500. He has started inside the top-10 at Phoenix in seven of his last eight attempts.

Here’s an explanation of the highlighted text in the rankings. Download a printer-friendly version here.

• Y! A/B/C - The top options in the Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing game by driver list.
• Value play - Good recent history at this week’s track. Drivers to consider as low-rent salary cap options or alternative options in allocation formats.

1. Mark Martin… Two-time winner at Phoenix (4/09, ‘93). Average finish of 8.0 in four starts since ‘07. Best average finish (5.7) at flat tracks this season. Y!-A1
2. Jimmie Johnson… Three-time winner at Phoenix (’08 sweep, ‘07). Has never finished worse than 15th in 12 career starts– fourth or better in six straight, seventh or better in eight straight. Finished fourth in April. Tenth-best average finish (9.6) at flat tracks this season. Y!-A2
3. Denny Hamlin… Five finishes of six or better at Phoenix over the last six races, average finish of 6.0 in that span. Average finish of 4.0 last year. Finished sixth in April. Second-best average finish (5.9) at flat tracks this season. Y!-B1
4. Tony Stewart… Won at Phoenix in ‘99. Average finish of 18.0 last year, 3.0 in ‘07. Runner-up in April. Third-best average finish (7.4) at flat tracks this season. Y!-B2
5. Kurt Busch… Won at Phoenix in ‘05, runner-up in last year’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500- led 60 laps. Finished third in April. Fourth-best average finish (8.7) at flat tracks this season. Y!-B3
6. Jeff Gordon… Won at Phoenix in 4/07, finished 10th in 11/07 race. Finished 13th in last year’s April race, DNF (engine) in November. Fifth-best average finish (8.9) at flat tracks this season. Y!-A3
7. Juan Pablo Montoya… Average finish of 16.5 at Phoenix last year. Average finish of 11.9 at flat tracks this season, 3.0 in the last two. Y!-B4
8. Kyle Busch… Won at Phoenix in ‘05. Average finish of 10.0 since ‘07 (five races). Sixth-best average finish (9.0) at flat tracks this season. Y!-A4
9. Ryan Newman… DNF (engine), 34th-place finish last year. Finished 38th and fifth in ‘07. Finished 16th in April. Average finish of 11.3 at flat tracks this season. Y!-B5
10. Carl Edwards… Finished fourth at Phoenix in both races last year, ninth in April. Seven top-10s in 10 career starts.
11. Greg Biffle… Average finish of 16.5 at Phoenix last year. Finished fifth in April.
12. Brian Vickers… Only one top-10 (’05) at Phoenix in 10 career starts. Average finish of 12.0 in ‘06, 21.6 since (not counting crash last year). Y!-B7
13. Kasey Kahne… Has finished 13th at Phoenix in consecutive races, no top-10s since ‘06. Y!-B8
14. Clint Bowyer… Runner-up in last year’s April race, 12th in November. Average finish of 14.9 at flat tracks this season.
15. Jeff Burton… Two-time winner at Phoenix (’01, ‘00). Has not finished worse than 15th since ‘97 (17 races). Average finish of 7.5 last year, 11.0 in ‘07. 9.5 in ‘06.
16. Kevin Harvick… Two-time winner at Phoenix (’06 sweep). Average finish of 10.5 in ‘07-’08.
17. Matt Kenseth… Won at Phoenix in ‘02. Average finish of 4.0 in ‘07, 26.6 in the three races since.
18. Dale Earnhardt Jr…. Two-time winner at Phoenix (’04, ‘03). Average finish of 6.5 last year. Finished 31st, ran 18th in April.
19. Marcos Ambrose… Average finish of 16.0 at Phoenix in two career starts. Y!-C1
20. David Reutimann… Average finish of 21.5 at Phoenix last year. Started and finished a career-best eighth in April.
21. Joey Logano… Started 31st, finished 21st in April– first career start at Phoenix.
22. Brad Keselowski… Strong value play. No career Cup starts at Phoenix. Third in the April Nationwide race. Y!-C2
23. Jamie McMurray… Strong value play. Finished 23rd at Phoenix in both ‘07 races, 10.3 in the three races since. Finished third in last year’s Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500, 11th in April.
24. Martin Truex Jr…. Strong value play. Average finish of 7.3 at Phoenix in three of the last four races, not counting a DNF (overheating) in last year’s Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500. Average finish of 17.0 in seven career starts. Finished seventh in April.
25. Casey Mears… Zero top-10s at Phoenix in 11 career starts, 27.3 average finish.
26. Sam Hornish Jr…. Weak value play. Finished a career-best ninth at Phoenix in April, but had an average running position of 23rd. Average finish of 27.6 in three previous career starts. Y!-C3
27. Bobby Labonte… Weak value play. Average finish of 14.3 at Phoenix from ‘07-’08. Y!-C4
28. AJ Allmendinger… Average finish of 25.5 at Phoenix in two career starts.
29. David Ragan… Finished a career-best 10th at Phoenix in last year’s Checker O’Reilly Auto Parts 500, 27th in the April race.
30. Reed Sorenson… Finished a career-best 12th at Phoenix in April. DNF (crash) and 31st-place finish last year. Average finish of 17.0 in ‘07.
31. Regan Smith… Long shot value play. Average finish of 28.7 at Phoenix in three career starts.
32. Paul Menard… Zero top-20 finishes at Phoenix in five career starts, 23.4 average finish.
33. Michael Waltrip… Finished 24th at Phoenix in both races last year.
34. Robby Gordon… Average finish of 28.8 at Phoenix since ‘07 (five races).
35. Elliott Sadler… Only one top-10 (’02) at Phoenix in 15 career starts. Finished 11th in both ‘05 races, average finish of 31.1 in the seven races since.
36. Scott Speed… Average finish of 37.0 at Phoenix in two career starts.
37. John Andretti… Started 41st, finished 38th at Phoenix in April, first start since ‘04. Average finish of 12.0 in four CART Series races (’88-’92).
38. Brandon Ash… No career Cup starts at Phoenix. Average finish of 10.9 in seven career Truck Series West races (’98-’05).
39. Max Papis… No career Cup starts at Phoenix.
40. Erik Darnell… No career Cup starts at Phoenix.
41. Kevin Conway… No career Cup starts.
42. David Gilliland… Possible start and park. Started 27th, finished 33rd at Phoenix in April.
43. Michael McDowell… Likely start and park. Started 29th, finished 34rd in April of last year– first career start at Phoenix.
44. Joe Nemechek… Likely start and park. Finished 41st at Phoenix in April.
45. Dave Blaney… Likely start and park. Finished 42nd at Phoenix in April.
46. Tony Raines… Likely start and park. Finished 43rd at Phoenix in April.

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This table is a companion for my NASCAR Fantasy Racing Preview of the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. Below are 24 drivers of fantasy interest and their average finish this season at four flat tracks: Martinsville Speedway, Phoenix, Richmond International Raceway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

The four flat tracks vary in length but do feature similar banking. Over the last nine races this season, three have been on flat tracks: Richmond is a little shorter (0.75 miles) and banked 14 degrees; New Hampshire is a little longer (1.06 miles) and most recently, Martinsville which is much shorter (0.53 miles) both are banked 12 degrees. Phoenix is 1.00 miles and banked 11 degrees and held its first race in April, the eighth race of the season.

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Texas

Who's Up	Who's Down
Biggest Gain This Week: Mark Martin: 3rd to 2nd	Biggest Drop This Week: Juan Pablo Montoya: 4th to 6th
No new drivers this week.	No drivers dropped out this week.

Rank: 1st Jimmie Johnson #48 Last Week: 1 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Jimmie Johnson- 6 Wins, 22 Top Tens Jimmie Johnson has been Superman in the Chase this year but Sam "Kryptonite" Hornish Jr proved to us that Johnson isn't invincible. The only effect of the Johnson crash will be seen at Homestead when he's points racing for the fourth year in a row.

Rank: 2nd Mark Martin #5 Last Week: 3 Change: +1 Driver Page | Articles

Mark Martin - 5 Wins, 20 Top Tens Mark Martin got the job done at Texas. Martin didn't win or even lead a lap but he renewed his championships chances by finishing 4th. At Phoenix where Martin won earlier this year he needs to further reduce his points deficit to Johnson.

Rank: 3rd Jeff Gordon #24 Last Week: 2 Change: -1 Driver Page | Articles

Jeff Gordon- 1 Win, 23 Top Tens Jeff Gordon started on the pole at Texas but if I were to grade his race I would give him a D. Gordon needed a top five day at worst, and the 24 team had perhaps their worst intermediate track performance of the year.

Rank: 4th Kurt Busch #2 Last Week: 5 Change: +1 Driver Page | Articles

Kurt Busch - 2 Win, 19 Top Tens After the way the 2 car performed at Texas it's to bad Pat Tryson will be leaving this team soon. I know if I were a crew chief I wouldn't want to leave Kurt Busch for Martin Treux Jr.

Rank: 5th Tony Stewart #14 Last Week: 6 Change: +1 Driver Page | Articles

Tony Stewart - 4 Wins, 23 Top Tens Tony Stewart is a still a full race behind Johnson in the point standings. Their main goal this season was to make the Chase, but Talladega is what officially killed this teams chances.

Rank: 6th Juan Pablo Montoya #42 Last Week: 4 Change: -2 Driver Page | Articles

Juan Pablo Montoya - 7 Top Fives, 17 Top Tens Montoya spent much of the Chase racing inside the top 5 but unfortunately it's starting to look inevitable that he won't finish there. I can't find any fault for a team that came virtually out of nowhere and was a legitimate threat.

Rank: 7th Denny Hamlin #11 Last Week: 8 Change: +1 Driver Page | Articles

Denny Hamlin - 3 Wins, 18 Top Tens Hamlin had a big day at Texas and moved up three positions up to 8th in the points. At Phoenix Hamlin should be able to lock himself inside the top 10 in points.

Rank: 8th Greg Biffle #16 Last Week: 9 Change: +1 Driver Page | Articles

Greg Biffle - 10 Top Fives, 16 Top Tens Other then Kansas and Talladega I don't remember seeing Biffle at all in the Chase. Their performances haven't really been that great, but they have managed to avoid DNF's which is a key aspect of the Chase.

Rank: 9th Kasey Kahne #9 Last Week: 7 Change: -2 Driver Page | Articles

Kasey Kahne - 2 Wins, 14 Top Tens After a failing motor at Texas Kahne now is sitting tenth in the points only 41 points ahead of Carl Edwards. I don't expect much out of either of these drivers at Phoenix so Homestead will be the key as to who goes to Las Vegas.

Rank: 10th Ryan Newman #39 Last Week: 10 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Ryan Newman - 5 Top Fives, 15 Top Tens If Ryan Newman is going to finish inside the top ten this season then he must avoid his 22.9 average finish at Phoenix. Newman's only had 1 top ten at Phoenix since 2005.

Rank: 11th Carl Edwards #99 Last Week: 11 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Carl Edwards - 7 Top Fives, 13 Top Tens Carl Edwards may have been the biggest loser at Texas. Now Carl sits 11th in the points after his Texas wreck. If Carl doesn't finish in the top ten then he can forget about recognition at the 2009 awards banquet in Las Vegas.

Rank: 12th Brian Vickers #83 Last Week: 12 Change: 0 Driver Page | Articles

Brian Vickers - 1 Win, 13 Top Tens I think this team will be impacted tremendously in 2010 by their Chase disaster. Even at their very best they barely made the Chase. With Kenseth, Earnhardt Jr (yes him), and RCR teams improving forget Vickers chances of making the Chase next year.

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Almost before anyone sat down on Sunday, The Great Jimmie Johnson (there…I said it. It’s about time someone started calling it as it is) was in the wall and wrecked. The Jumbo-trons at Texas Motor Speedway immediately started displaying the silly “if it all ended right now…” scenarios of championship points possibilities.

But that wasn’t the end of J J’s Sunday afternoon drive. We have pictures, up close and personal like.

Click the thumbnail for a better view.

Click the thumbnail for a better view.

Photo credit: BethAnne Heisler - On Pit Row

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Despite gaining 111 points on defending champion Jimmie Johnson in Sprint Cup points after the Dickies 500 at Texas, Mark Martin isn’t expecting his Hendrick Motorsports teammate to gift-wrap the title based on one poor performance.

Rather, the one they call “The Kid” is expecting a fight in the final two races just to stay a bridesmaid.

“I still have got my hands full for the top-six positions with all those guys — two guys that knocked me out of championships are breathing down my neck, so the race is still on,” Martin, 50, told the media after the race, in which he finished fourth. “I don’t know why everybody tries to cap this thing out and doesn’t just wait and watch. There are still two races to go and still things that can happen.”

One of those things happened to Johnson early in the race, after Sam Hornish Jr. sent him into the wall before the race was five minutes old. Losing dozens of laps while in the garage for repairs, Johnson returned to the track to finish 38th.

What had been a gimme championship, considering Johnson’s track record over the past few years, is now slightly more interesting.

True, Martin left 35 points on the table by failing to win and/or lead the most laps at Texas; the No. 5 car didn’t see the lead all day. A 38-point difference is much easier to overcome than one of 73 points - in the former scenario, were Martin to win at Phoenix, Johnson would lose the lead by finishing outside of the top five. In reality, Johnson only needs to crack the top 15, something that he has never failed to do at Phoenix.

That’s right. Johnson’s worst Phoenix finish is 15th, which occurred both in the fall of 2002 and the spring of 2005.

When a driver accrues as many strong finishes as Johnson has over the past few Chases, it’s easy and realistic for a driver to concede the title a few weeks early. But if any driver can challenge Johnson, it’s going to have to be Martin, who is the only driver within two figures of the three-time champ heading into the final two races of the season.

But while anything can happen (or has happened) to knock challengers out of title contention, even the almighty Jimmie Johnson is not immune to misfortune.

So while Mark Martin can talk about Johnson’s track record all he wants, there’s nothing to say that the same exact thing won’t happen next weekend at Phoenix. Being realistic is a positive, but resigning oneself to a bridesmaid?

Considering the way that 1990, 1994, 1998, and 2002 worked for him, it seems that second-place finishes are being realistic for NASCAR’s elder statesman.

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How did your weekend of NASCAR from Texas Motor Speedway turn out?

Did you cheer when Jimmie Johnson hit the backstretch wall so hard, so early in the race? Many in attendance did.

Were you disappointed that Kyle Busch ran out of gas just short of sweeping all three NASCAR races on the same weekend? I admit that I was.

If you were Brian France for one day, what would you change about NASCAR?

We asked that question of some of the fans at the Great American Speedway. Here’s a bit of what we got.

You may recognize one Phil Tripp, author of the One Lugnut Short blog and long suffering Elliott Sadler fan. Phil and his lovely better half Janelle invited On Pit Row over for some tailgate and conversation. The time was one of the highlights of the weekend for us. Boomer!