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  • Matty’s Picks 2012 – Vol. 5 Bristol Motor Speedway – Food City 500 – March 16, 2012

    Matty’s Picks 2012 – Vol. 5 Bristol Motor Speedway – Food City 500 – March 16, 2012

    [media-credit name=”bristolmotorspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”199″][/media-credit]I’m starting my column this week as I sit aboard a 32 foot Columbus Motor Home that has been my chariot to Bristol Motor Speedway 12 times before. For this spring race, we’re traveling a bit lighter than normal, and I have the ability to pull my laptop out and actually get some work done on the 12 hour trip to the hills of Tennessee.  Its time like these that help me to remember why I am a NASCAR fan.

    Swapping stories about times at our local short track, the days of working on a Limited Modified at Oswego Speedway, to my first dirt race at Brewerton Speedway, to the first time I saw the big show at Watkins Glen International with The Intimidator leading the field to the stripe. Its a 12 hour trip that I normally would dread, but each year “Bristol Eve” takes me back to the snowy Christmas Eve’s as a young pup back in Upstate New York.

    Bristol Motor Speedway needs no introduction. It’s The World’s Fastest Half-Mile, is the most covenanted ticket in all of NASCAR, and has been the site of countless historic races and driving moves throughout motorsports history. I made my first trip to BMS in 2002, still wet behind the ears in the NASCAR world, and it was a place I vowed to visit until the day I died. From the moment we made our way down Route 11 and I laid eyes on The Coliseum of NASCAR, to the moment the checkered flag flew on final lap of the 2002 Sharpie 500 , I was hooked.

    This is the first time I’ll visit the high banks of BMS as a member of the media, and just like in 2002, I’m looking forward to sharing some special moments and great times with 165,000 of my closest friends.

    Due to limited resources here at Bristol, I will not be recapping last week’s picks at Las Vegas:

    Bristol Picks

    Its going to be a short column this week because it’s St. Patty’s Day and I’m finishing my column from a picnic table at the Red Barn Campground off Turn 3 here at Bristol Motor Speedway…

    Winner Pick

    There’s no shock here as to who I will pick this week as the winner of the Food City 500…

    Its a guy that has won 5 of the last 6 races here in Thunder Valley and has had a strong car all weekend. Kyle Busch is the man I’m putting my money on this week to make a stand for his championship run in 2012. He’s won a third of the Sprint Cup races he’s started at Bristol Motor Speedway (5 wins in 15 starts). He’s also got an additional 7 top-5 runs, and 10 top-10’s to add to his resume for my pick of the weeks. When he’s not winning, he’s finishing strong with an average finish of 9.1 in his 15 starts at the bull ring.

    He was in the top-3 in both of the final two practice sessions this weekend and will pilot the No. 18 Wrigley Doublemint Toyota from the 13th spot tomorrow. I’m going with history and a dominant runs in each of the last two NASCAR Sprint Cup series practices this weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway.

    Dark Horse Pick

    Starting up front at Bristol can mean the difference between being collected in a mid-race bumper car fiasco, or keeping your nose clean and hanging with the leaders. Joey Logano has the starting spot towards the front that may keep him clear of any traffic in the middle of the Food City 500. Logano laid down a lap time of 15.392 seconds during Friday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Qualifying, and was able to lead 119 laps during today’s Ford EcoBoost 300 Nationwide Series Race.

    Logano’s practice speeds were less than impressive however, qualifying him as my Dark Horse of the week.

    For the first time all weekend, the forecast is beautiful for the 52nd Annual  Food City 500, and I will spend the day circling the .533-mile short track here in Thunder Valley. I would normally tell you to follow me on Twitter for mid-race cell phone shots and Tweets, but I’ve discovered the issues associated with 165,000 cell phones within a 1/4 mile area.

    Until next time…You stay classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Matty’s Picks 2012 – Race No. 3 – March 4, 2012 Subway Fresh Fit 500 – Phoenix International Raceway

    Matty’s Picks 2012 – Race No. 3 – March 4, 2012 Subway Fresh Fit 500 – Phoenix International Raceway

    [media-credit name=”www.phoenixraceway.com” align=”alignright” width=”300″][/media-credit]Enter Clint Eastwood; I recon so…

    After the fiasco in Florida last week, I am happy we’re heading to a place that averages just 12 days of rain the entire year. Not counting my chickens before they hatch here, March, historically has been the wettest out of any month. Between the historical rainfall data, and the absolutely perfect weather forecast for Phoenix this weekend, I am confident we’ll be seeing a race on Sunday afternoon.

    This will be the second NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on the freshly face-lifted Phoenix International Raceway, and I am hoping a bit of new rubber will have worked its way into the 1-mile tri-oval’ish track in the desert. With the track being re-paved in the summer of 2011, PIR worked its tail off to try and give the cup drivers the absolute best racing conditions possible for the 2011 Kobalt Tools 500. PIR made numerous attempts to foster passing on the new surface including “tons of laps” by driving schools on soft tires.

    Before this weekend’s Subway Fresh Fit 500, PIR has taken strides again to foster passing and work in their new racing surface’s upper groove. Phoenix International Raceway hired Colorado-based Bandimere Speedway to have a tire rotator machine work additional rubber into PIR’s upper groove. The program was conducted Feb. 25-27, one week before this weekend’s big event.

    “The goal was to present the best possible racing surface to NASCAR and the drivers for this weekend’s races,” said Phoenix International Raceway President, Bryan R. Sperber. “This is a very important race in the NASCAR season and we wanted to make sure that the track was ready to perform.”

    I like the races at Phoenix, and am looking forward to what Sunday will bring…

    Daytona 500 Recap

    Where do I start? Despite Mother Nature not cooperating on my Quarter-Century Birthday last week, I couldn’t have asked for a better weekend. Between the hype of Danica’s debut in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, the re-birth of “the pack”, and simply the fact that it was the Daytona 500, last weekend’s race had a lot of hoopla surrounding it. The fact that last week’s Daytona 500 would be run in primetime on Monday night, Danica’s crash on lap number two, Brad Keselowski picking up 100,000 followers on Twitter, and the “fire heard round the world” all took the place of FOX’s regularly scheduled dramas on Monday night.

    By now, everyone has heard the stories of the fire, Danica’s troubles, Twitter followers and everything other than racing, so I will skip to the recap of my picks. As you may recall, because Daytona tends to be a craps-shoot to pick drivers, my picks last week were determined by the random draw of playing cards.

    My Dark Horse pick last week was a rookie in the Great American Race, however he looked like a seasoned veteran as he dodged accidents and hung around the top 15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. remained patient in the pack for the majority of the laps on Monday night, but my quest to start the season off with a strong Dark Horse finish came to a halt with just four laps to go in the Daytona 500. Stenhouse was caught up in a multi-car accident with just four laps to go. The No. 6 EcoBoost Ford came home 20th.

    Two NASCAR Series Champions got the start last week for Matty’s picks, and two series champions were caught up in the same racing accident.

    Tony Stewart was picked via my random card draw last week, and was on pace for a strong finish just like Stenhouse, but couldn’t avoid the final incident of the marathon weekend. I was happy when the cards fell last Friday and I ended up with Smoke as a starter, but again Stewart will come out of Speedweeks without the Harley J. Earl trophy. Smoke found the front of the pack for laps 59 and 60 gaining confidence in his Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet, and with a move of an experienced veteran, slipped back into safer waters for the remainder of the laps on Monday night.

    It was just that move that may have caused Stewart his troubles at the end of the 500, as he was collected in the mid-pack accident with just three laps to go. Smoke brought his battered Chevy home 16th, and sent me home crying with no points last week.

    Phoenix Picks

    Winner Pick


    Kasey Khane wanted nothing more than sending Red Bull Racing on its way with a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series win last fall. When the Chase came down to the wire, Khane was in the hunt in a handful of the last 10 races, just lacked that last extra nudge to put him in Victory Lane. That extra nudge came at Phoenix International Raceway in November when he sent Red Bull Racing out of NASCAR with a victory.

    Kasey Khane has this new racing surface at PIR figured out, and his speeds have been great all weekend. If it wasn’t for Khane pushing his Farmer’s Insurance Chevrolet just a bit too hard entering turn number 3 on his qualifying lap earlier today, he would be starting P1 tomorrow afternoon. He was 5th fastest in the first practice on Friday and followed up his mishap on his first qualifying lap with a time quick enough for 10th on the starting grid for tomorrow. 10th just happens to be where he started last fall when he claimed victory on the new configuration.

    Khane has been under a microscope since his announcement that he would be moving to Hendrick Motorsports last season, and the time has come for him to shine. The No.5 car has to be the favorite for Sunday, so if you’re able to give him a start, DO IT!

    Dark Horse Pick

    I hate to call a guy with an average finish of 12.0 at PIR a Dark Horse, but with just 312 laps to do business on Sunday, starting positions are critical. He was my Dark Horse for the race in November and he did not let me down, finishing 4th after starting 14th.

    Jeff Burton was one of 36 drivers that tested Goodyear tires on PIR’s new racing surface, and he was the fastest driver on the track over the two-day test. He laid down a lap good enough for the 11th spot on the grid earlier today in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Qualifying. Its been a while since Burton has visited Victory Lane at PIR (2001), but watch for the No.31 to be close to the front when the dust settles in the desert tomorrow afternoon.

    That’s all for this week so until next time, you stay classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Race No. 2 – 54th Annual Daytona 500 Daytona International Speedway, February 26, 2012

    Race No. 2 – 54th Annual Daytona 500 Daytona International Speedway, February 26, 2012

    [media-credit name=”daytonainternationalspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”288″][/media-credit]Happy Birthday to Me!

    This year’s Great American Race happens to fall on my quarter-century milestone, and what a better way to spend my birthday than with some 200 mph high octane pack racing! My living room will be transformed into a pit of NASCAR fans on Sunday afternoon, but could never rival the ‘stadium-seating’ that was brought in during my brother’s collegiate days in the Delta Sigma Phi house at Clarkson University. This was hands-down the coolest Daytona 500 party I was ever able to (and will probably ever) attend, however I am excited for this year’s racing season to formally kick-off on Sunday.

    In an effort to expand the sport’s following I’ve decided to share my Daytona 500 this Sunday with some non-NASCAR/non-racing fans. My living room will be full on Sunday of half die hard’s and half newbies; the die hard’s pleading their case on why each of their drivers are the best and cheer for. Nonetheless, it will be exciting to watch the action in my living room and exciting to see the pack duke it out for one of the most prestigious crowns in all of motorsports.

    Bud Shootout Recap

    Just like each restrictor plate race, last weekend’s Bud Shootout turned out to be a roll of the dice. It’s either feast of famine with these races, and I (just like most fantasy players) ended up on the short end of the stick when the dust settled last Saturday Night.

    My Dark Horse pick wasn’t really a Dark Horse because he does have 2 wins at Daytona, but like I said last week, the criteria for entrance to the Bud Shootout doesn’t yield many Dark Horses in general. Jamie Mac found the front quickly last week in the first segment, reaching the point just four laps in. He showed that the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet would be a contender all night, leading a total of 5 times for 11 of the 75 laps. My misfortune came on the final lap of the Bud Shootout last week when McMurray was collected in a multi-car incident, which sent the No. 24 of Jeff Gordon for a wild ride on his roof, netting McMurray a 16th-place finish when all was said and done.

    My Winner Pick last week is the guy that can “see the air” on the Superspeedways (despite the fact that he hasn’t won in 3 years). Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a fan of the way the racing has morphed back to the pack at Daytona, “I like it better. The closing rate is a little fast. Guys will go flying backwards and forwards. I think we made a lot of great improvements don’t get me wrong. I think we have really made a lot of great improvements and I have more of my destiny in my hands in this type of racing.” said Jr. following his Bud Shootout efforts.

    Despite being a bit more comfortable behind the wheel on Saturday Night, Dale Jr couldn’t make it through a lap 55 incident that collected his No. 88 National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet. Jr. finished 20th and I finished the weekend looking like a buffoon.

    Daytona 500 Picks

    With complete disregard for claiming to know what I am talking about, I’ve decided to make my picks a little bit differently this week…
    It is probably not a great idea because of Ford’s complete dominance of Daytona 500 practice and qualifying sessions, but I would like to have a little fun this weekend for my birthday and also bring in some outside help in making my picks.

    Because of my rocky start last week, and the complete craps-shoot it is to choose a driver to win a restrictor plate race, I’ve decided to make my picks based off a total random draw. My picks this week will be based off my girlfriend’s random draw of playing cards (0-9), and I will provide historical data and insight as to why that driver stands a chance to take the Checkered Flag on Sunday Afternoon.

    So using Price is Right rules, I will have my girlfriend Casey select four cards at random, and the closest driver (by car number) to the cards selected (without going over of course) will be the drivers I will pick this week for Matty’s Picks.

    Here’s a photo of the draw:

    [media-credit id=24 align=”aligncenter” width=”169″][/media-credit]

    Dark Horse Pick

    Via random draw (and a pre-determined list of possible Dark Horses and Winners), Casey selected the 10 of Spades (0) and the 6 of Diamonds. So on the nose for the Dark Horse this week is a Roush Fenway Racing driver that everyone can agree on as a Dark Horse, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

    Not much Sprint Cup history here for my Dark Horse pick, as Stenhouse will make just his second start in the Sprint Cup series on Sunday, but based off his practice speeds, it looks like Casey didn’t do too bad picking my Dark Horse this week.

    Last year’s NASCAR Nationwide Series Champion didn’t stretch his points lead when it came to the three races on Superspeedways in 2011, (8th at Daytona in February, 38th at Talladega in April, and 28th back at Daytona in July), but his practice speeds for this year’s Daytona 500 have been nothing to frown at. He was 12th quick in the first practice session, 14th in the second, his highest mark on the leaderboard came in the third practice session, and his most recent efforts landed him seventh in the sixth session earlier today.

    I’m not emptying my bank account on Stenhouse for Sunday’s race, but with his Roush-Fenway FR9 Ford Fusion looking strong in practice, I will not count him out just yet.

    Winner Pick

    Casey selected the Ace of Clubs and the Deuce of Spades when it came down to my winner pick, and via Price Is Right rules, (with no driver in the No. 12 car) this would bring us to the No.13 of Casey Mears. I’m not sure that Mears is shown on anyone’s list of ‘Winner Picks’, so I will bypass that pick and head for the No. 14 Office Depot/Mobil 1 Chevrolet of Tony Stewart.

    Now how can I be mad at the random draw of the No. 14 car this week? Coming off a second-place (closest finish of the Bud Shootout by the way) in last Saturday’s race at Daytona, and a win in the first of the two Dual races Thursday, what is there not to like? Yes, I know he’s not in an FR9, but really, what is there not to like about this pick?

    Smoke will be making his 14th start in the Great American Race on Sunday, a race that has evaded him 13 times before. Despite being winless in the big dance, Smoke has tallied an impressive 16 victories at the World Center of Racing including:
    3 – Sprint Cup wins in the July race
    3 – Bud Shootout Wins
    2 – Gatorade Dual Wins
    2 – International Race of Champions (IROC) Wins
    6 – NASCAR Nationwide Series Wins

    This Stewart-Haas racing team is so confident in their chances that after his win on Thursday, Stewart came across the radio and said “Keep it clean, please“. Spotter Bob Jeffrey added “Don’t put anything on our race car. That’s going to be the Daytona 500 winner.”

    Seriously, what’s not to like about this? He’s starting third on Sunday and has a race record that rivals anyone in history…

    That’s it for this week. I’d like to thank Casey for her help with my picks this week and until next time, you stay classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Matty’s Picks: Vol. 23 – Talladega – October 23, 2011

    Matty’s Picks: Vol. 23 – Talladega – October 23, 2011

    Let’s roll the dice again this weekend and head to the Yellowhammer State (no clue as to what that means) for the second and final time of this 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season.

    Now, I will tell you that the Matty’s Picks columns have been rather lengthy the past 10 weeks or so, and one of the SpeedwayMedia.com editors (Uncle Role Model) let me know about it in the Media Center at Charlotte Motor Speedway last week. So the days of my quirky facts and less than insightful information are over…party pooper.

    Not acting like a tough guy or anything (in all seriousness), there are only a few things that have given me the chills and made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. A brief recap of some of those moments is as follows; the first is even the thought of a needle coming towards my skin, the second was walking into Notre Dame Stadium for the first time just a month ago, and the third was standing in the first row on the front stretch at Talladega Superspeedway while a pack of 43, 750HP stock cars took the wind out of my lungs as they flew by at 200MPH. Talladega is just one of those tracks that all NASCAR fans must visit to truly take in the speed, the talent, and the tailgate that Dega has to offer.

    It’s a tough week to pick a winner because of the fact that ANYTHING can happen in 188 laps at Talladega. Avoiding “The Big One” at the 2.66-mile tri-oval is key, and as of late, finding a partner that is willing to push you to victory and not try anything crazy coming thru the tri-oval on the final lap is the last piece of the puzzle on the way to Victory Lane in Alabama.

    Charlotte Recap

    Let me start by saying that I had the time of my life last weekend in North Carolina. I was blown away by the organization and execution of the race weekend. It was the most well organized, thoroughly staffed, and most hospitable race environments I have ever been a part of. NASCAR race organizers should be required to attend a race weekend in Charlotte before they even think about hosting a Sprint Cup Series race. (Cough, Kentucky…)

    I will start with the bad news first this week in my recap section.

    My Dark Horse pick for last Saturday’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway was 5-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Champion, Jimmie Johnson. Johnson ran in the Top-10 for the majority of the laps Saturday night, before he was involved with an incident after racing Ryan Newman and Kevin Harvick for position.

    The No. 48 Lowe’s/Chevy 100 Year Anniversary Chevrolet was shown in the 7th position when I heard one of the loudest cheers (besides Jr. taking the lead at Bristol), that I’ve ever heard in my life. I was standing in Turn 4 at Charlotte Motor Speedway when the crowed erupted, and as I turned to watch the giant HD video board to see that my Winner Pick had plowed the wall coming out of Turn 2.

    Johnson finished the race scored in 34th, netting me nothing to brag about and spoke following his on-track incident, “That one stung for sure,” Johnson said. “I’m just thankful to have such safe race cars, safe walls. Everything did its job. That was a pretty big impact. It’s just unfortunate that we wrecked. We got into Turn 1, and the (No.) 39 was real tight on my outside, and it pulled me around the corner. From there on, I was just kind of hanging on.”

    I said last week that I was more confident in my Dark Horse pick than my Winner Pick, and for good reason. Kasey Kahne’s driver rating going into last weekend’s Bank of America 500 spoke for itself. He was fourth in overall driver rating at Charlotte Motor Speedway at 94.5, and had 7 Top-5’s including 4 wins at the 1.5-mile quad oval.

    Three practice sessions later, it seemed like Kahne had the car to beat last weekend, winning two of the three practice sessions. Kahne ran very well all night except for when he pitted JUST before the caution flew, catching him a lap down to the leaders about midway through the race. He opted to take the wave around, putting him back on the lead lap, and keeping my hopes alive for a solid finish.

    It was pretty fun watching Kasey Kahne work his way back through the field and back into the Top-5 with around 50 laps remaining.

    Kahne was able to race his way all the way back to fourth, netting me a Top-5 Dark Horse pick (my first since Brad Keselowski finished 3rd way back in August at Michigan).

    “We had a great Red Bull Toyota. The guys did an awesome job. It was just a fine line of being really good or a little off. We kind of went over it throughout the race…we had to fight back. It was just kind of being in the wrong spot at the wrong time. We had a really good car and it was another positive race for us.”

    Talladega Picks

    Picking anyone at a Superspeedway makes me very nervous. I could go through miles and miles of statistics, driver ratings, rants, gut feelings, but really it all comes down to having a bit of luck on your side to win at Talladega. On top of having Lady Luck in your corner, the 2-car draft has created a very team-oriented style of racing at Talladega and Daytona. So having someone who will not get selfish at the end of the race and settle for second is a key to victory at a restrictor plate race.

    This week will be an all or nothing version of Matty’s Picks as I will be picking a pair of teammates to drive to the front on lap 188 Sunday afternoon.

    There is just a hint of strategy this week in making my picks, because a you know it’s a two-car dance at Talladega. Many times it turns out that the two-car pushes are teammates.

    Yesterday, many teams were at Talladega Superspeedway for testing of the new Electronic Fuel Injection system that will make its debut next season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The two fastest cars on the track…Richard Childress racing teammates.

    Winner Pick

    My Winner Pick this week is “The Closer”, for his “Where did he come from?” racing style over the course of the 2011 Sprint Cup Season. Kevin Harvick won the spring race last April at Talladega, one of his four wins at either Daytona or Dega.

    In 60 starts at the two Superspeedways, Kevin Harvick has 15 Top-5’s, 26 Top-10’s, and a slew of come from the rear of the pack to finish strong’s. Harvick currently sits just 5 points behind points-leader Carl Edwards, and is looking for a win to separate himself from the rest of the field for the Sprint Cup. Watch for Harvick to receive some help by way of Paul Menard in taking the checkered on Sunday.

    Dark Horse Pick

    With the two-car tango, any driver who plans on winning the Good Sam Club 500 on Sunday will have to have some help from behind.

    Paul Menard and Kevin Harvick had the two fastest cars on the racetrack yesterday during the EFI testing at Talladega Superspeedway. The tandem ran over 90 laps together, and to me it was practice for Sunday.

    Menard’s history at Talladega is less than impressive with just one finish in the Top-5 after 10 starts at the 2.66-mile monster. His record at Superspeedways in general have been subpar, with an average finish of 21.2 at Dega and Daytona.

    To me, the advantage lies in the testing session yesterday as drivers and crew chiefs alike had their chances to work the bugs out and get a bit more comfortable with the two-car tango. Watch for Menard and Harvick to hook up early and run the majority of the 188 laps on Sunday glued to each other’s bumpers.

    That’s all for this week, as always check me out on Twitter @ML_B_Lo for some less than insightful NASCAR news.

    Until Next Time…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Matty’s Picks: ‘Straight from The Beast of the Southeast!’ Vol. 22 – Kansas – Charlotte – October 15, 2011

    Matty’s Picks: ‘Straight from The Beast of the Southeast!’ Vol. 22 – Kansas – Charlotte – October 15, 2011

    This weekend marks my first trip to Charlotte Motor Speedway for a race weekend. I had the privilege of touring the track three years ago as a part of my trip to the Tar Heel State to watch my beloved Mountaineers take down the North Carolina Tar Heels in a thrilling 31-30 shootout in the 2008 Meineke Car Care Bowl. Since my tour of the track in December 2008, I have been itching to make it to a race weekend at the historic 1.5-mile quad oval, and it’s almost a dream come true for me this weekend.

    [media-credit name=”charlottemotorspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”254″][/media-credit]This Saturday’s Bank of America 500 will be run under the lights in front of 140,000+ fans at the first modern superspeedway to install and host night racing. Until 1998, when lights were installed at Daytona International Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway was the largest track in the world to host night racing.

    It may be the history behind the track, or the battle for the Sprint Cup that has begun to heat up ever so slightly, or it may be the 4-day “vacation” I get by heading to Charlotte this weekend that has me so amped up for this weekend’s race. It might be the fact that this will be the first race this fall that I will watch with undivided attention, but I really think I might be most excited to see the monstrosity that is the HD video board that stretches 200 feet down the backstretch at Charlotte Motor Speedway. After following all the tweets this spring about the video board, I am overly excited to see how massive this thing is.

    It was announced in September of last year that CMS would partner with Panasonic to install the World’s largest HD video board at the track. The 9 million LED’s that make up the video board measures 200 feet by 80 feet, probably the best place in the World for a Call of Duty: Black Ops match.

    I had mixed results following this spring’s trip to The Beast of the Southeast, but I did manage pick the winner of May’s Sprint Cup All-Star Race, as well as the runner-up in the Coke 600. I look forward to seeing the cars in action this week, and hope that my keen eye will help me make some power picks this week for my first trip to Charlotte.

    Kansas Recap

    I won’t spend too much time this week recapping my finishes in Kansas, due to my eagerness to get to some racetracks that do not encourage three-hour naps on Sunday afternoon. The Bank of America 500 this Saturday marks the start of my amplified interest-level in The Chase schedule.

    My Winner Pick for Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 was the driver of NASCAR’s “Blue Deuce”. Brad Keselowski had won the June race at Kansas Speedway, he won the NASCAR Nationwide Series race on Saturday at Kansas, and he was a shoe-in for the race win on Sunday.

    He started the race 15th, and made his way into the top-10 early. Fast forwarding through the 200 laps of napping, Keselowski hit the point at lap 207. He also was shown on top of the leaderboard at lap 241, but was passed for the lead by eventual race-winner, Jimmie Johnson on lap 245. Bad Brad brought his No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Charger home in third and spoke on pit road after the race: “Everybody was a little close; we were just closer, but the Miller Lite Dodge was good. Proud of the effort. Kind of an up-and-down day. We got up to be a second- or third-place car mid part of the race, then kind of fell off a little bit, but came back. Third-place day, that’s good, that’s what you’ve got to do. Really, we want to win races like Jimmie (Johnson), but we’re making the best we can out of it. If he stumbles, we’ll be there.”

    Despite being second-fastest in Sprint Cup Final Practice at Kansas Speedway, David Ragan brought me no help as a Dark Horse pick last week.

    Ragan started 13th on Sunday, but quickly fell through the field ending up a lap down to the leaders for the majority of the 267 lap race. The long green-flag runs that occurred at Kansas last week, allowed little time for adjustments throughout the race. Track-position was as good as gold last week, and Ragan couldn’t find any to improve his finish.

    “We just weren’t lucky today. We missed getting the lucky dog a couple of times and the chips just didn’t fall our way. When you’re back there 10th to 20th you need a couple lucky breaks and we just didn’t get them. We could have gotten a top 10 out of it, but it just wasn’t our day.”

    When it was all said and done, Ragan finished 20th and lent me no help in improving my average finish for my Dark Horse picks.

    Charlotte Picks

    Despite a busy day of media availabilities, Nationwide Series qualifying, two Sprint Cup practice sessions, and even a car wash, I’ve found a bit of time to make a couple picks this Friday Afternoon. My winner pick in the other points race this year at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Carl Edwards did not fare too well in his attempt to sweep the SpeedWeeks races this May.

    After winning the Sprint Cup All-Star race here in May, Carl decided to give his Ford Fusion little bodywork on the infield grass. Let’s just say the car was fast enough the way it was and it really had an affect on the 16th place finish he picked up in the Coke 600.

    As for my Dark Horse for the Coke 600, David Ragan scored me my highest finish for any of my 21 Dark Horse picks this season – not too shabby.

    Dark Horse Pick

    I will start with my Dark Horse this week because there should be no other guy in anyone’s discussions of which non-Chase driver could win the Bank of America 500 tomorrow night. Kasey Kahne is fourth among all active drivers with a driver rating of 94.5, behind Jimmie Johnson (112.8), Kyle Busch (106.5), and Joey Logano (96.5) at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    Kahne became the first driver to be “Voted-Into” the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series All-Star Race in May of 2008, and come home a winner. He then went on to win the Coke 600 the following week, successfully sweeping the May races here at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 2008.

    Kahne was the fastest car on the track after his 31 practice laps yesterday, and is shown second on the speed charts in this first of two practice sessions as I look out the window of the Media Center here on the infield. He has three wins here at The Beast of the Southeast, but hasn’t won here since his 2088 Coke 600 Victory.

    Kahne felt good about his car following his qualifying lap last night during Bojangle’s Pole Night: “We were really good in practice today in qualifying and in race trim. We didn’t go quite as fast tonight as we would have liked to. I think in the race it should be really good. We just need to keep up with the track and keep up with keeping the track position and things throughout the race. We’ll have a good shot.”

    Kasey Kahne is eager to leave Red Bull Racing on a high note, and a win in the Bank of America 500 Saturday Night would do just that. Be ready for some fireworks centered around the No. 4 car tomorrow night.

    Winner Pick

    One of the keys to victory here at Charlotte Motor Speedway is keeping up with the ever changing track conditions as the sun settles behind the grandstands and the lights come on. The track temperature can really plummet when the sun goes down, and crew chiefs and drivers must be ready to go for when night falls.

    One crew chief that will always put his driver in the best possible equipment to cross the Finish Line (the pink colored one this week here at Charlotte) first is Chad Knaus. Across his nine seasons as Crew Chief for the No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet, Knaus has scooped up 52 victories with Ole’ Five-Time, six of them coming right here at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

    He is the best amongst all drivers in the Driver’s Rating category at 112.8, and averages a finish of 10.8 here at Charlotte. He hasn’t won here since the fall race of the 2009 season, but he is coming of a big win last week at Kansas.

    I think the comment before the race two weeks ago at Dover International Speedway really put a fire in the belly’s of the No. 48 team, and that is not the guy you want to piss off. With an average finish of 3.7 in the last 5 races of the Sprint Cup Series’ schedule, Johnson is about to come alive.

    Johnson sits 10th on the speed charts here after the first practice session of the day and spoke earlier this week about his feelings about Charlotte: “I think we’re going to be a threat (at Charlotte Motor Speedway). When I look back to Chicago, Kentucky, and Kansas obviously, our 1.5-mile stuff has been coming along pretty good over the last two or three months. So I feel good about it. Charlotte, with that asphalt that’s down, it is its own environment and it’s really tough to get your car right from the start of the race to the end of the race. So I feel like directionally we’re going the right way; but until I get on the track this week and understand where the grip level is and what our issues are, it’s hard to build too much confidence.”

    That’s all for this week, be sure to follow me on Twitter all night tonight and tomorrow for up to the minute action @ML_B_Lo and OnPitRoad.com for the long story.

    Until Next Week….You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!!!!

  • Matty’s Picks Vol. 21 – Kansas – Hollywood Casino 400 – October 9, 2011

    Matty’s Picks Vol. 21 – Kansas – Hollywood Casino 400 – October 9, 2011

    “We’re not in Kansas anymore Toto”

    I figured I would add some kind of excitement to this week’s race by using a famous movie quote to break the ice in this week’s column.

    There were 17, uneventful lead changes among 9 drivers during the STP 400 earlier this year at Kansas Speedway, a race that I chose to watch the back of my eyelids rather than the on-track activities. According to this week’s media advance from NASCAR, Kansas Speedway was Brad Keselowski’s coming out party, winning there in June during the series’ first trip to the 1.5-mile track.

    [media-credit name=”Kansasspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”250″][/media-credit]Apparently, I missed Keselowski’s run to the front in June, as he was only shown in the top spot for the last 9 laps, the only laps he lead all day. Keselowski’s run to the front started around lap 165, after the 5th and final caution flag flew during the STP 400. The final 102 laps would be run under green-flag conditions and Keselowski would go on to win by a margin of 2.813 seconds over second-place finisher Dale Earnhardt Jr.

    My picks for June’s race at Kansas Speedway were Jeff Gordon as my Winner Pick and A.J. Allmendinger for my Dark Horse. Gordon finished 4th, and Allmendinger flirted with a Top-15 for the majority of the race, but failed in the fuel-mileage game and ended up finishing 26th.

    I can’t say that I’m overly-excited for the race on Sunday, partly due to the fact that it’s almost guaranteed that that race will come down to fuel-mileage in the end. I AM excited for the second-half of The Chase to start, and to finally visit some tracks that will keep me awake on Sunday Afternoon.

    Dover Recap

    There was no place to go for me but up after my performance two weeks ago at New Hampshire. I had my worst combined total finishes two weeks ago with a 25th and 26th-place finish for my picks. I half-rebounded last week at Dover, scoring a top-5 for my winner pick.

    Let’s start with the bad news this week.

    Greg Biffle was my Dark Horse pick last week at the Monster Mile after an intense look at his statistics prior to last week’s AAA 400. In the prior 5 races at the Monster Mile, Biffle’s finishes were: 19th, 6th, 19th, 3rd, and 16th. In the 5 races prior to the start of the 2009 season, Biffle’s finishes were: 1st, 3rd, 6th, 2nd, and 8th.

    After getting off to a solid start it appeared that Greg Biffle was headed for a top-10 finish in Dover today. He was running seventh when the field restarted on lap 358 following a caution but lost control of his 3M Cubitron II Ford three laps later and made contact with the inside wall. Biffle brought the car to pit road for repairs but went two laps down in the process. When the checkered flag dropped Biffle was in the 27th position. He dropped one spot in the points to 15th.

    “We had a fast car from the start,” said Biffle. “The guys worked hard in the pits all day and we should have had a top-10 finish at the least. We had a pit road penalty early on and were able to bounce back from that but we were just too loose on that last run.”

    My winner pick faired a lot better than Biffle last week, finishing in the runner-up spot. Spinning his tires on the final restart might have cost Jimmie Johnson his seventh victory at Dover International Speedway, but it didn’t hurt his run for a sixth straight NASCAR Sprint Cup championship.

    Johnson had led a race-high 157 laps coming into the final restart at Dover’s one-mile concrete oval. He lined up on the front row with Kurt Busch and spun the tires slightly, giving Busch the edge. Johnson crossed the finish line second, improving five spots in the championship standings to fifth.

    Johnson spoke of his troubles on the final restart following the AAA 400 last Sunday “I just got a poor restart when I was the leader, and for the last restart, I didn’t get a good one again,” Johnson said. “I couldn’t race (Busch) through Turns 1 and 2. The cars were very equal. We saw that.”

    I look to parlay my half-rebound last week at Dover into full-on success this weekend at Kansas.

    Kansas Picks

    Chevrolet has claimed 6 victories in the 10 Hollywood Casino 400’s, the most of any other manufacturer, but Chevy hasn’t seen Victory Lane at Kansas since October of 2009. Chevy’s recent lack of success has me looking at a Dodge and a Ford on Sunday.

    Winner Pick

    Due to his success at Kansas in June, and his lack of success in The Chase thus far, Brad Keselowski is receiving my Winner Pick this week. Even though he led just 9 laps en route to his victory at Kansas in June, his teammate Kurt Busch led a race-high 4 times for 152 laps.

    Busch’s soaked up Penske Racing’s pool of luck last week at Dover, and I think its Brad’s turn to hit the spotlight this weekend. He raced his way into the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup in dramatic fashion, but has failed to reach Victory Lane since his win at Bristol in late-August.

    Keselowski is ready to put his name back in the discussion for the Driver’s Championship this year and I say he is the favorite to win on Sunday. “We do want to send a message this weekend that we are going to fight to the finish,” Keselowski said.

    At this point in the season, Keselowski is looking to rebound from a disappointing power-steering issue and 20th place finish last week, and put his name back in the mix to take home the Sprint Cup.

    Dark Horse Pick

    David Ragan will be making his 175th Career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series start this weekend at Kansas Speedway. Sticking with my trend of not picking a Chase driver for my Dark Horse pick, I think Ragan stands the best shot of bringing home a Top-5 out of all non-chasers this weekend.

    His past finishes at Kansas are less than impressive but Ragan and his Crew Chief, Drew Blickensderfer seem to have the fuel mileage game down to a science. In the prior two races decided by gas (Geico 400 at Chicagoland and Sylvania 300 at Loudon), Ragan finished 11th and 7th respectively.

    Ragan has five prior Sprint Cup starts at Kansas Speedway. With those five starts, Ragan has an average starting position of 16.8 and finishing position of 17.6.

    Ragan said earlier this week “We always look to improve at tracks from the first event there and Kansas is a track that really fits our program. Our engines run well there and our cars are fast. Drew and I are going to work hard to try and grab another win for our UPS team.”

    He will be piloting the car that finished 13th at Kansas Speedway earlier this year, and I think Ragan is a driver ready to pounce on the chances of playing spoiler on Sunday.

    That’s all for this week, stay tuned next week as I make my first trip to Charlotte Motor Speedway with SpeedwayMedia.com editor, Ed Coombs and Photo Journalist, Brad Keppel. I look forward to an exciting week next week, so be sure to stay tuned for live updates on my trip on Twitter @ML_B_Lo.

    Until Next Week…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Matty’s Picks Vol. 20 – Dover – AAA 400 – October 2, 2011

    Matty’s Picks Vol. 20 – Dover – AAA 400 – October 2, 2011

    The Monster-Mile! Dover International Speedway is one of my favorite tracks on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule, so yes I will watch the race this Sunday for the first time in three weeks.

    [media-credit name=”doverspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”254″][/media-credit]A short 6-hour trek from where I grew up, Dover has been a popular destination for vacations of my family and friends. Dover’s high concrete banking offers endless passing potential, high speeds, and even a spot to pay for your trip in the casino located along the backstretch of the 1-mile concrete oval.

    I was lucky enough, two years ago, to have the opportunity to ride shotgun in a two-seater, NASCAR Stock Car around the high-banks of Dover International Speedway. Monster Driving School offered members of the media complementary rides in the two-seater stock cars at the Monster Mile, and in turn gave me the utmost respect for stock car drivers. The experience is one that I will never forget and made my interest level in NASCAR go from insane to outright ridiculous.

    Now for anyone out there that thinks the 43 guys that strap into the 750-horsepower stock cars each week are not actual athletes, THINK AGAIN. I had the opportunity to take 8-laps around the Monster Mile, and I will tell you I had all I could do to walk straight when I climbed out of the car. The exuberant amount of adrenaline I had flowing through my veins that day was the only thing aiding my head to stay straight and remotely close to my body. I have the utmost respect for those guys now after just 8-laps, I can’t fathom the physical strain 3.5 hours of petal to the metal action puts on a driver’s body.

    So if you’re one of those people who think NASCAR isn’t a sport, I challenge you to climb into one of those 750-horsepower stock cars and THEN see what you think.

    Loudon Recap

    If I had fifty-cents for every time one of my picks ran out of gas in the past two weeks, I would have enough for one double cheeseburger at McDonalds. (My roommates’ favorite snack in college)

    It was another terrible week for me in New England last week (even though I got my revenge by my Bills taking it to Tom Brady and the Patriots last week), marking my worst combined total finish in the 19 editions of Matty’s Picks.

    Ryan Newman was my winner pick last week, and yes I did make the pick before the dramatic qualifying session that ensued last week, resulting with Newman starting on the pole for last Sunday’s Sylvania 300.

    Newman led the following 62 laps, when a miscue on pit-road sent him back in the field, never to reach the lead again. The bad news continued to roll in for Newman when he cut a tire down late in the race while running in the top-10 with just five laps remaining. The catastrophe cost Newman an imminent top-10 finish, and a boost in the points standings as well. Instead, the misfortune caused Newman to drop from 8th to 12th in points.

    Newman spoke earlier this week about his misfortune in the first two races of The Chase “The results have not equaled the performances for our team at the past two races,” said Newman. “We’ve put ourselves in a hole, but the good news is that we still have eight races to go to make up the difference. We’ve been known for our comebacks and the way we fight through adversity. One thing you always hear from our Soldiers is that you never quit and you complete the mission. That’s what this Army race team has done and will always continue to do.”

    As for my Dark Horse pick, Clint Bowyer was poised to win the race Sunday but his gas tank did not agree with him winning the race.

    After starting 11th, Bowyer wasted no time in breaking into the top 10 and was shown in 8th-place around the midway point in the race. It was at that time when crew chief Shane Wilson came over the radio and told Bowyer to save as much fuel as he could for the end of the race.

    Bowyer flexed his muscles after a round of pit-stops near lap 250 when he took the lead, conserving fuel all the way. He was ahead of race-winner Tony Stewart by half a second when his engine was finally starved of fuel with just three laps remaining. Bowyer’s day ended on pit-road with a 26th-place result and he was short when speaking with the media following the race “It’s just not our year. I’m proud of this team. What a great car. It just didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to.”

    Even Stewart had sympathy for fellow Chevy driver Clint Bowyer following his win last Sunday “I know exactly what that feels like. I know exactly how he feels (Clint Bowyer) right now. I saw him slow down the back and I thought ‘Oh, no, you’re kiddin’ me’. That is not the way you want to win it for sure.”

    Dover Picks

    The spring race at Dover back in May marked the debut of Matty’s Picks, and laid the groundwork for a successful regular season of picks this year. I am looking to rebound off the past two weeks of miserable picks and get back into championship contention down the stretch here in the final 8 editions of Matty’s Picks.

    Considering five drivers (Jimmie Johnson, Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle, Kyle Busch, and Matt Kenseth) have combined to win 15 of the last 19 races at the Monster Mile, it leaves little for question this week.

    Winner Pick

    Jimmie Johnson sits 10th in points going into Sunday’s race, a position he is fairly unfamiliar with this far into the Sprint Cup Schedule.

    He leads all active drivers with 6 wins at the Monster Mile, including three of the last five after sweeping both races in 2009 and taking the fall race last year in Dover. The concrete mile has been kind to Johnson throughout the years (something that doesn’t always happen when your tires break loose due to the severe banking all around the track), making one of the most incredible saves in NASCAR history back in his 2006 qualifying efforts.

    Johnson has an average finish of 9.6 at Dover, and sitting 10th in points is nowhere he wants to be for any period of time. “New Hampshire obviously wasn’t the finish we were looking for especially with how good we were throughout the weekend. I’m really looking forward to this weekend though. Dover has always been a good place for the 48 team and I really enjoy racing there. I’m not really sure why, but it has always just kind of suited my driving style” said the five-time champ earlier this week about his chances this weekend.

    Jimmie Johnson’s quest for 6 in a row is underway, and now the time to make his statement, a win will do it.

    Dark Horse Pick

    Since the other four drivers are in The Chase that are a part of the statistic above pertaining to the past 19-races at Dover, I have to go with the only driver without a shot at claiming the Sprint Cup this year.

    Greg Biffle’s trends at Dover have been rather interesting to look at this afternoon. It seems like he is more back and forth than a ping-pong match. In the past 5 races at the Monster Mile, Biffle’s finishes have been: 19th, 6th, 19th, 3rd, and 16th. In the 5 races prior to the start of the 2009 season, Biffle’s finishes were: 1st, 3rd, 6th, 2nd, and 8th.

    Now, Biffle is not in the Chase, but is a serious contender to take the checkered this Sunday. His average career finish across 18 races is 11.4 and he currently sits 13th on the speed charts in Sprint Cup Final practice.

    The Biff is also coming of an impressive third-place finish last week at Loudon, and sits just three points out of the top Non-Chaser points in 14th. Biff spoke about his success at Dover this week “I’ve had some success at Dover and it would be great to get the 3M Ford Fusion in victory lane there this weekend. It’s been a pretty up and down season for us so far but I feel like we’re moving in the right direction. A win would definitely keep the momentum going though. As a driver, you have to be on your toes in Dover. You want your car to be a little loose but at the same time, it can’t be too loose. I have high expectations for this weekend.”

    That’s all for this week as I look forward to watching my first Chase race this season on Sunday afternoon because my Buffalo Bills are on the road this week in Cincinnati.

    Until next time…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Matty’s Picks Vol. 19 – New Hampshire – Sylvania 300 – September 25, 2011

    Matty’s Picks Vol. 19 – New Hampshire – Sylvania 300 – September 25, 2011

    Race No. 2 of the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup brings us back to Loudon, New Hampshire. On April 12, 1934 the highest wind speed recorded at ground level was recorded at Mount Washington, NH. The wind speeds were three times as fast as those in most hurricanes.

    [media-credit name=”nhms.com” align=”alignright” width=”254″][/media-credit]The 750 horsepower engines of the NASCAR Sprint Cup racecars will not reach speeds nearly as fast as those at Mount Washington in 1934, but they will be going as fast as the wind speeds of most hurricanes, Sunday Afternoon.

    I didn’t fare extremely well with my Dark Horse pick after the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series’ first stop this season in New Hampshire, but I did manage to pick the Runner-up in the July race. I thought I had nailed my Dark Horse pick in the July race (even after submitting my picks before any on-track activities) after finding out Regan Smith would start in 11th for the Lenox Industrial Tools 301, but knew a Top-10 finish would be too good to be true.

    My Winner Pick for the July race, Tony Stewart started outside pole and would finish exactly there. I had a 2nd and a 33rd place finish earlier this year, with Regan Smith giving me my first pick to finish outside the Top-30 cars.

    Chicago Recap

    Well, if you’re my winner pick, plan on finishing 22nd…

    Two weeks ago, I picked Clint Bowyer to win the Wonderful Pistachios 400 at Richmond International Raceway; his result, a 22nd place finish.

    Last week, I picked Kyle Busch to win the Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway; his result, a 22nd place finish.

    I used up my mandatory once-a-month Kyle Busch pick last week only because it was the second-to-last race of the month, and I probably should have held out and picked the Las Vegas native this week. It was my mistake in thinking that the race at Chicagoland would not turn out to be another once of these fuel-mileage fiascos we see each race at these 1.5-mile cookie-cutter style racetracks.

    As we all know, its checkers or wreckers for Kyle Busch each time he straps up his helmet to go racing. And that mentality really puts you at a huge disadvantage when you are trying to conserve fuel at the end of the race. Sometimes I feel like Rowdy’s right foot is made of lead, and he really cannot resist the temptation to jam his foot through the floorboards of his No. 18 M&M’s Toyota Camry. He reached the point position early in the race on Monday, but when the race shook out (as it has historically); it was the guy with the most mustard left in the bottle that took the checkered.

    Kyle explained his day after the 400 mile stanza: “We had a good car today and kept fighting back all day long. But, once we hit that debris it made the car really loose and I was doing the best I can. I still hoped we could finish in the top-10. I saved as much fuel as I could but I guess it just wasn’t enough and we ran out with two to go. Just really disappointing day.”

    As for my Dark Horse pick last week, he was one of the 7-Chevrolets that finished in the Top-10 on Monday.

    Mark Martin’s 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup season has been one filled with questions, disappointments, and very few triumphs. Martin’s starting spot in Monday’s race wasn’t anything to write home about either.

    I had made my decision on Martin early in the week last week and was put to ease after the first practice session on Friday, after he posted the 3rd best speed of the practice session. I knew all along that winning one of the final 10 races this season would be quite an achievement for the 52-year old whose career seems to be coming to its final chapter.

    Many frustrations have plagued Mark Martin’s final season at Hendrick Motorsports, which in the early stages of the race I thought would be the case yet-again for my Dark Horse pick. After starting 25th in the Geico 400, Martin battled through potential damage on the front spoiler on his No. 5 Chevrolet to eventually lay down lap times that were as fast as the race leaders.

    With all the fast cars running out of gas at the end, Martin had enough fuel left in the tanks to pass the wounded on the apron and bring home a Top-10 Dark Horse pick for me. Martin finished one-spot better than teammate Jimmie Johnson in 9th place, certainly a respectable finish after qualifying so poorly.

    New Hampshire Picks

    As I watch the practice speeds roll across my phone today, I can’t help but to notice the fire power the Chevrolets seem to be packing this weekend at New Hampshire. Eight of the Top-10 drivers in practice today have been piloting Chevrolets; I’m going with Chevy for Sunday…

    Winner Pick

    I’m really going out on a whim here this week and picking July’s race winner to take the checkered flag in Loudon, Sunday Afternoon (or Monday as it looks right now). He’s atop the leaderboard following Sprint Cup practice earlier today, and with that will do all he can to secure a favorable starting position for Sunday’s 3-hour nap window.

    Ryan Newman won July’s Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway after starting from the pole. Since there is little-to-no passing opportunity at New Hampshire, starting up-front is key in a successful finish. No other driver has more poles than Newman at the 1-mile flat track in New England and he hasn’t finished outside the Top-8 in his past three trips to Loudon.

    Newman loves racing at New Hampshire, and I would too if I had an average finish of 12.4 in 19 races. “New Hampshire has always been a good place for me. I’m not a hundred percent sure why. It’s the place of my first win, when I hadn’t won in a long while, 70 some races. I won again there. This past July we were able to qualify and finish 1-2 at Stewart-Haas. It’s a fun race; it’s a very finesse racetrack. You can’t overdrive the car there very much because it’s so flat”, said Newman just yesterday before he arrived at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

    Ryan Newman seems to have a rocket ship of a car this weekend, watch for him to lead the pack for the majority of the 300 laps on Sunday (or Monday).

    Dark Horse Pick

    As I said last week, I will finish the season by picking a driver that sits outside The Chase for the Sprint Cup as my Dark Horse each week.

    Unlike my Winner Pick, whom I have yet to pick this year, I’ve spoke about my Dark Horse pick 4 times this season, second only to Kyle Busch in number of picks this season. His results for me have been like his results at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, really good or really bad, nothing in the middle.

    Clint Bowyer has given me two Top-5 picks this year, but the other two times I’ve picked him in my column, he has given me a 36th and a 22nd-place finish. Bowyer is coming off the disappointment of missing The Chase for the Sprint Cup just two weeks ago, and has rebounded nicely from such disappointment by netting a 7th place finish last week at Chicago.

    Bowyer’s stats at New Hampshire Motor Speedway are just as I described, really good or really bad. He won this race just a year ago, but finished 17th at Loudon in July. He has visited Victory Lane in New England twice in his Sprint Cup career, finishing in the Top-10 a total of four times in eleven tries.

    Bowyer also described enjoying his trips to New Hampshire earlier this week: “Flat tracks like New Hampshire Motor Speedway and Richmond International Raceway always fit my driving style. I love racing up there. It is a lot of fun. Nothing in particular, it just fits my driving style.”

    I picked Clint Bowyer to win the race just two weeks ago at Richmond, and he let me down. He will rebound for me this weekend and stick his nose in the mix for the win.

    That’s all for this week as I set my sights on the two most important football games this season, my West Virginia Mountaineers hosting the Tigers from Louisiana State University tomorrow night in primetime, and my hometown Buffalo Bills take on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots here in Buffalo on Sunday Afternoon.

    Until next time…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Matty’s Picks: Geico 400 Vol. 18 – Chicago – September 18, 2011

    Matty’s Picks: Geico 400 Vol. 18 – Chicago – September 18, 2011

    I will tell you up front that this will be a rather brief Matty’s Picks as there is really nothing exciting to write about at Chicagoland Speedway.

    [media-credit name=”chicagolandspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”123″][/media-credit]Chicago marks the start of the 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup, and NASCAR couldn’t have picked a more boring race to start what is supposed to be the most exciting part of the season. Even the race at Kentucky Speedway earlier this year will prove to be more exciting than the race this weekend at Chicagoland because at least at Kentucky there was the parking situation to talk about.

    The fall season marks the toughest time during the NASCAR Sprint Cup season for viewer ratings, because of competing with the National Football League for viewers on Sunday afternoons. Placing another cookie-cutter style track with few passes and strung-out racing is no way to compete with the NFL.

    Enough with my rant about The Chase schedule, onto some picks…

    Richmond Recap

    Bad, bad, bad. I had two picks last week that really hit the toilet bowl in the last race of the 2011 regular season.

    Clint Bowyer, my Winner Pick, may have had the car to beat last Saturday night but got tangled up in an accident just nine laps into the 400-lap stanza. Bowyer had a very fast Chevrolet Impala in qualifying, sealing up fifth-place on the starting grid, but as everyone knows pointing the wrong the way on the racetrack is not the way you win races.

    Bowyer restarted 34th after the caution (which he caused) on lap 20 and I had a glimmer of hope as the Richard Childress Racing driver quickly moved into the top-15 by lap 60, top-10 by lap 70 and back into the top-5 by lap 100.

    Clint Bowyer might have been the hottest driver on the track last Saturday (in a literal sense), as he reported his in-car air conditioner had quit just 10-laps in, and the “Helping Hands” crew was forced to continue shoveling water and ice packs thru the window of the No. 33 car.

    Bowyer ran in the top-15 for another 125 laps before crew chief Shane Wilson realized the No. 33 was losing ground to the leaders and called his driver to the pits under the green. This strategy to be off-sequence to the leaders would backfire just seven laps later when the caution flag flew, forcing Bowyer a lap down to the leader and in the 20th position.

    The No. 33 car would linger around the top-15 the remainder of the race, but fought a loose condition, eventually taking the checkered flag in the 22nd position, sealing me up a poor finish for a Winner Pick.
    I will not bore you with the recap for Marcos Ambrose, because you would be here all night reading about each incident he was involved in. My Dark Horse pick, faired just one position better than Bowyer, finishing the Wonderful Pistachios 400 finishing in 21st position.

    Marcos Ambrose tried to make the most out of a rough night, after starting from the 33rd spot, and finding himself involved in a handful of on-track incidents. And just by coincidence, Ambrose was involved in the same wreck my Winner Pick, Clint Bowyer was involved in just 9-laps into Saturday night’s race.

    This was just the start of Ambrose’s troubles with the wall and other cars. Ambrose was involved in at least two other incidents before the half way point and at least one other during the second half of the race.

    He was a lap down basically the entire race, and never really gave me the hopes of making a Dark Horse win pick. With his 21st place finish, Ambrose did crack the top 20 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series drivers points, but gained me nothing in my Dark Horse picks.

    Chicago Picks

    Winner Pick

    Well, I have to get my mandatory once-a-month Kyle Busch pick in, and with just one race to go after Chicago in the month of September, let’s make it this week.

    Like most tracks on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule, Kyle Busch has visited Victory Lane at Chicago, but never with Chase points riding on the line. In July 2008, Rowdy started on the pole at Chicagoland Speedway because of qualifying being rained out, and would pass Jimmie Johnson on the final restart for his first and only win at the track.

    Also unlike most tracks on the schedule, Kyle does not average a top-10 finish at Chicago. His average finish at the cookie-cutter in Joliet is 13.5, and his only top-10’s are actually top-5’s. He has finished 17th and 33rd respectively in the past two seasons at Chicago, but is eager to set the high mark in The Chase.

    Kyle is the guy most are pointing at to knock Jimmie Johnson off his championship course, and in order to do that he must WIN. I’d say the first race of the 2011 Chase is the time to do it.

    Dark Horse Pick

    I’ve made it a point to not pick two “Chasers” each week, and will start off this week with a driver who really could use a win for his NASCAR legacy.

    A win for Mark Martin in these final ten races this year would mean the world to the 52-year old. He is coming off a top-10 last week at Richmond and does have a history of finding the front at Chicagoland Speedway.

    Mark Martin etched his name in the history books at Chicagoland Speedway in July 2009 when he won the LifeLock.com 400, a race that was run at night. He led the race 4 times for a total of 195 laps, a complete domination of the rest of the 43-car field. The July win marked his 4th victory in 19 races during the 2009 season, the season he would be ranked first going into the final ten races of the season. 3

    Mark Martin was 3rd in the first practice of the day, and his average finish in the ten races run at Chicagoland Speedway is 12.8, slightly better than my Winner Pick’s.

    Not many folks are looking at Mark Martin for a win this week; hopefully I’ve opened your eyes to that possibility.

    That’s all for this week and as always…You Stay Classy NASCAR NATION!

  • Matty’s Picks: AdvoCare 500 Vol. 16 – Atlanta – September 4, 2011

    Matty’s Picks: AdvoCare 500 Vol. 16 – Atlanta – September 4, 2011

    We make our only trip to Atlanta Motor Speedway this Labor Day Weekend, a track where in 1995, the late Dale Earnhardt drove his No. 3 to victory in a race time of 3 hours, 3 minutes, and 3 seconds. That might just be my coolest “quirky fact” yet for Matty’s Picks.

    [media-credit name=”atlantamotorspeedway.com” align=”alignright” width=”152″][/media-credit]Atlanta has no characteristic of being dominated by one or a few drivers as 7 different drivers have won this race the past 10 years, repeat winners being; defending race winner Tony Stewart (2010 & 2006), Carl Edwards(2005 & 2008), and Jimmie Johnson (2007 & 2004).

    For the first time in 50 years, the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will visit Atlanta Motor Speedway just once in the 2011 campaign. Atlanta forfeited its spring race this season to yield an opening in the 36-race schedule for its brother, Kentucky Speedway. Being one of the original NASCAR superspeedways, the track has traditionally drawn two races to the Peach State but with just one weekend on the schedule this year, you can be sure that the fans will pack the grandstands when the lights come on Sunday night.

    Bristol Recap

    For the first time since The Brickyard, I didn’t pick a driver that finished inside the Top 10, so in turn my Bristol recap will be rather brief.

    Before his troubles last Wednesday night in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race in Thunder Valley, Kyle Busch had won the previous 5 NASCAR events at Bristol Motor Speedway. His prior dominance in all three major NASCAR series at BMS was my basis for picking him as my Winner Pick last week.

    Busch struggled for the majority of the weekend, (besides the Nationwide Series race Friday night) and his troubles carried into the race on Saturday. His car was NEVER good last weekend, and really drove the wheels off his Doublemint Camry to try and say in the Top 10. Busch eventually would come home 14th and had this to say about his troubles:

    “Kind of a disappointing day, but proud of the guys. We never gave up, but we just never could get the car to where it would feel like it had in the past. That’s kind of what we struggled with all weekend — just not being able to get that special Bristol feel.”

    As for my Dark Horse pick last week, he fared a bit better than Kyle Busch but still failed to finish inside the Top 10 by just one spot.

    Kasey Kahne found himself one lap down just past the midway point in the race, but was fast enough to stay just behind the leaders and catch the lucky dog, putting him back on the lead lap.

    Kahne started at the tail of the field and was able to work his way through a bit of traffic after the Lucky Dog, and was able to secure an 11th place finish for his efforts. The finish boosted him two spots in the points standings and he spoke after the race:

    “We worked on the balance of the car all evening. Luckily, we got the lucky dog and were able to work our way up to 11th at the finish. The finish moved us up two spots in the points, which is great with two races left to get in the Chase. We head to Atlanta next week, which is one of my favorite tracks so looking forward to that.”

    Atlanta Picks

    Without a spring race at Atlanta this year, I will be turning to some statistics from prior seasons as well as results from the first race at AMS’ twin sister, Texas Motor Speedway. Texas was modeled after its big brother in 1996, and produces extremely similar racing to AMS with its 24-degrees of banking and corner-entry speeds over 200 MPH.

    Winner Pick

    This week, I’d like to please my girlfriend again by picking her favorite driver. I’m trying to score some brownie points with her after ditching her this Labor Day Weekend to head to South Bend, Indiana to fulfill a dream I’ve had for quite some time. I will be attending my first football game at Notre Dame Stadium as my beloved Fighting Irish take on the Bulls from the University of South Florida.

    At least my girlfriend’s favorite driver has some history at Atlanta Motor Speedway and is extremely familiar with Victory Lane at the track. Jimmie Johnson has 3 wins at AMS and an average finish just outside the Top 10 at 10.4. He finished 3rd in this race last year, but his last win at Atlanta came in October of 2007, the year he swept both Sprint Cup races at AMS.

    Johnson finished 8th at Texas earlier this year, and will probably go down as the best Intermediate Track drivers in NASCAR history. He has tallied 37 of his 54 victories on Intermediate Tracks and averages a Top 10 in all combined races on 1.5 mile courses, a no-brainer pick I would say.

    Dark Horse Pick

    My dark horse pick is desperate for a win here late in the season, and Atlanta is a place I feel he has a good shot at doing it. Clint Bowyer sits 12th in the Chase for the Sprint Cup standings, but with zero wins would find himself on the outside looking in for the last 10 races of the season.

    As it stands now without Bowyer having a win, Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin would seal the two Wild Card spots, moving Bowyer aside. Atlanta is a place that Bowyer enjoys racing at as it brings him back to his days of Dirt racing in the Midwest. Atlanta’s slick, high-banked corners make turning though the corners similar to that of driving on Dirt.

    Bowyer scored a Top 10 in this race last year with his 7th place finish, his 5th at AMS, but has failed to finish inside the Top 5 at Atlanta. Bowyer finished second earlier this season at Texas, and has fire in his belly for a win this weekend. Bowyer is looking for a win in the worst kind of way and he might just do it Sunday night.

    That’s all for this edition of Matty’s Picks. As a quick side note, I’m extremely excited for the 2011 College Football season to start this weekend. I’ll be watching my Alma Matter, West Virginia University take on the Marshall Thundering Herd this Sunday afternoon in preparation for the race Sunday Night.

    Until next week…LETS GOOO MOUNTAINEERS!