texas 500- who to watch/ who will win

[tony hipchest]

rep points to g-dub. he loves nascar. "gentlemen shtart your engines"

(of course it is the most inefficient waste of fuel/oil around=profits)

lol

[SteelerDan43]

well I just got screwed in the period of a couple laps w/ Yeley's crash and Kyle Busch having to come back in

[SteelerzGirl]

It was a bad week for me in the fantasy league, too, Dan. Geesh...

And why, oh why, do they keep torturing me by showing Chandra all over Jimmie? Ugh! I don't need to see that...(lol).

[daleemnm]

I picked Kahne, Yeley, Martin, and Burton. All of them finished in the top 10 except Yeley who was running top 10 until he wrecked.

[daleemnm]

Originally Posted by SteelerzGirl

It was a bad week for me in the fantasy league, too, Dan. Geesh...

And why, oh why, do they keep torturing me by showing Chandra all over Jimmie? Ugh! I don't need to see that...(lol).

I can't stand them showing her. She looks like a live skeleton.

[SteelerzGirl]

Originally Posted by daleemnm

I can't stand them showing her. She looks like a live skeleton.

Yes, she does. I was visiting my parents today and watching the pre-race stuff on the television in the kitchen while my Mom and and I were getting some Easter stuff together for my nieces and nephews at the kitchen table. When they showed her all over Jimmie, I started freakin' out...(lol). My Mom thinks Jimmie is a hottie, too, but she was laughing at me. My dad isn't into NASCAR and he just thinks I've gone off the deep end. He's probably right as far as my lust for Jimmie is concerned...(lol).

[Suitanim]

Good for me? I had Kahne.
Bad for me? I had Biffle and JJ Yeley.

[tony hipchest]

Originally Posted by DIESELMAN

1.Martin
2.Kenseth
3.Gordon
4.Kahne
5.Jr.

great call on kenseth in 2nd.

i think deiselman has picked 2 winners and 2 2nd place finishers so far.

[tony hipchest]

Originally Posted by tony hipchest

10 cup races at this track with 10 different winners. no one driver owns this track but with roush having won half the races with 5 different drivers, we'll just add it to the list of tracks he owns. we go from the race with perhaps the coolest trophy in sports to a venue where the top prize is a pair of boots. perhaps the suckiest trophy in all of sports. atleast texas gives out a hefty payout.

make that 11 races with 11 different winners. great run by kasey kahne

at one point several races ago, the fastest qualifying speed of the season was posted, topping atlanta, charlotte and both restrictor plate superspeedways. texas is the track that was giving indy car drivers (maybe it was cart- who cares) vertigo from driving so fast 2 or 3 years ago. there is much prestige in having the fastest track. see charlotte repaving pushing speeds up to 197.

blah, blah, fast cars, blah

point is texas is FAST and a second groove has been coming in slowly but surely. im watching for a good race with good passing up front and great passing 7-30 cars deep in the field. hopefully we wont struggle through another mile and a half, follow the leader, snoozefest.

the strongest cars stayed up front but it was a good race nevertheless

mark martin has good history here and hes backed it up this weekend with great qualifying and practice efforts. kenseth too. when he qualifies in the top 10, watch out! biffle won this race last year and has a top 10 start. edwards won the race in fall and loves these types of tracks. kahne also loves these mile and a halfers and he has the pole.jj yeley starts on the front row while teamate stewart starts from 40th. this shouldnt make too much difference to someone with a great car as kenseth proved this race can be won with a back up engine, and from the last place starting spot.

all guys mentionned did really well. kenseth and stewart showed the rest of the league how strong they both really are to pull out a 2nd and 3rd place finish, starting from 40th or beyond. kahne's pole position didnt hurt either

i really dont have my finger on the pulse of anything to make a bold prediction (i would most likely be wrong if i tried) however texas has been kind giving several drivers their 1st wins (j. burton, dale jr) and drivers who didnt have many wins (e. saddler and r. newman (see kasey kahne) ) have found success here. this could be good news for drivers like c. mears, j mcmurray and r. gordon as a darkhorse (or a favorite like k. kahne). the labonte brothers are always fun to watch at this track (b. lab had a solid 10th place finish and terry is just old getting all the equipment jeff or jimmie dont want and rookie yeley could suprise people with a great run in bobbys old ride he had a great top 10 ride going until he wrecked . watch team yates, 2nd and 3rd in( you didnt see too much if you watched these 2) practice, and i think d. hamlin will do descent (understatement of the year. he finished 4th). dale jr. won in his rookie season here. does truex hav it in him? im sure he does (he preved he does) but he really doesnt have the equipment yet (he proved he doesnt- finished 8th). i still think a 15-20th place finish isnt out of the question. while im not really looking at anything from the pointsleader in this race, i will not be suprised at all if he cracked the top 6 and maybe gordom will work his way up late in the race to pull out a 9-13th place finish. i really thought jeff would have the finish jimmie did, 11th, and jimmie would have the finish gordon did, 22,nd

kudos to the rookies. while i expected hamlin, truex, and yeley to stay out of trouble and have really good runs, they (along with sorenson) were up front most of the day. they all had excellent runs. with sorenson running 13th and yeley gave up a great top 5-10 run for a 35th place finish.

notable that dale jr.s 1st win here, was also the late adam pettys ist and only start in the cup series and the one and only time him and his dad competed together, although adams car failed and he was a non factor through most of the race. watching dale sr. celebrate in victory lane with his son, humanized him in my eyes. while i never rooted for him on the track, i always rooted for him as a team owner and a father (even as hard assed as he was). this is a tape i'll never record over. i'll be watching if either driver has a co-pilot with them this weekend.no miracles, but both drivers were worthy of mention

this week is tough. it sure was. see revised list

1) m. kenseth
2) e. saddler
3) g. biffle
4) kurt bush
5) m. martin
6) k. kahne

revised list:

1) g. biffle- (42nd) looked like he had the strongest car. the lack of damage to the wall proved otherwise. the damage to his bumper confirmed otherwise.
2) e. saddler- (33rd) riding the coattails of jarretts past success wont cut it other than being an average driver. 2 car teams could just be at a significant disadvantage.
3) kurt bush- (34th) see g. biffle. dude is pressing. he sounds smart but acts stupid
4) m. martin- (9th) mark keeps doing what he has to do but was never really in position to win)
5) k. kahne (1st) this is where my picks start to look good
6) t. stewart (3rd)
7) m. kenseth (2nd)


great run by the rookies and #9, 43, and ryan...chill out with sterling.

[DIESELMAN]

Originally Posted by tony hipchest

great call on kenseth in 2nd.

i think deiselman has picked 2 winners and 2 2nd place finishers so far.

Thanx Bro.....just to let everyone know there is an elusive score for getting #1-#4 and all the bonus points........its 416 points!!!!! nobody is out of it yet plenty of racin to go...