Matt Kenseth
Attachment 5186
NASCAR welcomes us this season with a new car and the first woman to ever start the Daytona 500 from the pole position. There are also some great story lines going on as we enter the New Year.
Kevin Harvick will be a lame duck all season with the announcement of his move to Stewart Haas Racing official. Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth are in new rides. The champion from last season has switched from Dodge to Ford. Several big name drivers who missed the Chase last season need to rebound and Michael Waltrip Racing is back to prove last year wasn’t a fluke.
Each new season starts off with uncertainty but this year with a new car accelerates that uncertainty to new heights. We didn’t learn too much in the Sprint Unlimited race Saturday night because drivers seemed a bit timid to mix things up. It only took one lap to show that these drivers can still push draft at least down the backstretch. It only took fifteen laps to prove that one silly mistake can doom the entire race for half of the pack.
The driver that won Saturday night has been very outspoken that he plans to have the best season of his career at Richard Childress Racing. Another driver, Kenseth, seemed to have something to prove with the move to Joe Gibbs Racing. At the end of 500 miles on Sunday in the 55
th edition of the Daytona 500 I think new will win out over lame duck.
Good luck with your fantasy racing picks this week and don’t forget to send in your pick for “Whiteboard Fantasy Racing” this week for the Daytona 500
Send in your pick to win this week’s Cup race to dennis@racetalkradio.com for a chance to win a copy of the National Speedway Directory from SpeedwaysOnline.
Weather Report
Mostly Sunny with a green flag temperature of 78F and a high temperature of 82F
If you have a question about Fantasy Racing send it to dennis@racetalkradio.com and get it answered next week.
NASCAR by the Numbers
Using a proprietary race analysis technique we take the fans inside the numbers every week. DMIC’s rating system has been in use since 2002 and has proven to pick the contenders from the pretenders!
Consistency is King (Last Five Races)
Driver |
Last 5 |
B Keselowski |
93 |
M Kenseth |
93 |
Ky Busch |
92 |
C Bowyer |
91 |
K Kahne |
89 |
G Biffle |
88 |
K Harvick |
88 |
R Newman |
88 |
J Gordon |
88 |
P Menard |
88 |
Attachment 5185Kevin Harvick
Horses for Courses (Track Rating)
Driver |
Course |
M Kenseth |
90 |
C Edwards |
90 |
P Menard |
89 |
J Burton |
87 |
D Earnhardt Jr |
87 |
T Stewart |
87 |
K Kahne |
87 |
K Harvick |
86 |
J Logano |
86 |
B Labonte |
85 |
Type Casting (Track Type Factor)
Driver |
Type |
M Kenseth |
95 |
J Burton |
94 |
G Biffle |
90 |
B Keselowski |
90 |
K Kahne |
88 |
T Stewart |
86 |
C Bowyer |
86 |
D Earnhardt Jr |
86 |
D Hamlin |
85 |
Ky Busch |
85 |
Power Rating (240 Minimum to Qualify as Contender)
Driver |
Power |
M Kenseth |
277 |
K Kahne |
264 |
J Burton |
261 |
P Menard |
261 |
B Keselowski |
260 |
G Biffle |
260 |
D Earnhardt Jr |
260 |
Ky Busch |
260 |
C Edwards |
258 |
T Stewart |
258 |
C Bowyer |
256 |
K Harvick |
255 |
J Gordon |
252 |
J Logano |
250 |
D Hamlin |
250 |
M Martin |
249 |
R Newman |
249 |
M Truex |
248 |
B Labonte |
245 |
R Stenhouse Jr |
243 |
A Almirola |
242 |
Ku Busch |
242 |
M Waltrip |
241 |
T Bayne |
237 |
J McMurray |
236 |
M Ambrose |
236 |
D Ragan |
234 |
R Smith |
234 |
T Kvapil |
232 |
J Johnson |
232 |
JP Montoya |
231 |
D Gilliland |
230 |
D Reutimann |
228 |
C Mears |
227 |
D Blaney |
226 |
D Patrick |
226 |
DMIC’s Fantasy Picks presented by Speedwaysonline.com
Each week we will take you beyond the numbers to handicap the field from top to bottom to help your Fantasy Racing team succeed. You are also invited to join Lori Munro and I on “White Board Fantasy Racing” every Monday night on “Doin’ Donuts” at 8pm ET on RaceTalkRadio.com. Win fun prizes by picking just the race winners in our unique format. Send your picks to
info@racetalkradio.com to enter.
Top Pick
Matt Kenseth- Had strong car in Busch Clash and this car will be even better
Attachment 5184Brad Keselowski
10 to 1 Odds
Best Long Shot (Odds of 20-1 or More)
Paul Menard- RCR cars teamed up with an underrated plate track racer
50 to 1 Odds
Top Dogs (Group A in Yahoo)
Kevin Harvick- No matter what the generation RCR knows plate racing cars
12 to 1 Odds
Second Class (Group B in Yahoo)
Mark Martin- Sentimental pick but will have a great car
30 to 1 Odds
Middle Packer (Group C in Yahoo)
Trevor Bayne- Wood Brothers brought a car that looks cool and is fast
75 to 1 Odds
Crazy 8s for Daytona
Each week Lori Munro and Dennis Michelsen battle in the most unique racing game around! We pick one driver each from each 8 driver group using the current points’ standings. Our picks can help you round out your fantasy racing lineup!
Group 1: Lori picks Kevin Harvick and Dennis picks Matt Kenseth
Group 2: Dennis picks Dale Earnhardt Jr and Lori picks Tony Stewart
Group 3: Lori picks Joey Logano and Dennis picks Regan Smith
Group 4: Dennis picks Mark Martin and Lori picks Kurt Busch
Group 5: Lori picks Trevor Bayne and Dennis picks Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Do you have what it takes to handicap the races? Join Lori and Dennis every week and play in the Whiteboard Fantasy Racing Series! Send your pick for the Cup race to info@racetalkradio.com to enter. Weekly prize given away!