Buffalo4 Posted April 12, 2005 Share Posted April 12, 2005 Once again #24 will be the favorite here too but I believe Dale Jr. will be a little more motivated, so I like him to win. If B. LaBonte has better luck he's one of the best here. Others that run good here: J. Burton Dale Jarrett M. Martin T. LaBonte (I don't like his team or car this year though) Darkhourse: Casey Mears Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumpin Johnies Posted April 12, 2005 Share Posted April 12, 2005 From Racers Edge: RANK DRIVER 1. Elliott Sadler #38 Sadler came out of nowhere last year to win at Texas and it began a season of amazing turnarounds on tracks where he once struggled. 2. Jimmie Johnson #48 Johnson has never finished outside of the top-10 at Texas. On the other hand he has never earned a top-five, but that is about to change. 3. Tony Stewart #20 Seventeenth at Atlanta was the worst finish by Stewart in his last 14 races on the similarly configured 1.5-mile tracks. 4. Jeff Gordon #24 Once Gordon got the hang of Texas he has swept the top-five with four great finishes in a row. 5. Greg Biffle #16 Four of the last five attempts of the 1.5-milers have ended with a top-five finish for Biffle; it's time to pick himself up from Martinsville and start over. 6. Joe Nemechek #01 Assuming Nemechek's engine holds together, he will be glad to get off the short track circuit, and back to where he belongs. 7. Kurt Busch #97 It seemed unlikely that Busch would have three bad races in a row entering Martinsville… four seems even more far-fetched. 8. Kasey Kahne #9 For a driver who has never recorded a short track top-10 in the Cup series, Kahne broke his slump in style with a second-place finish. Now he needs to win on a speedway. 9. Ryan Newman #12 Wherever he finishes, Newman will start near the front at Texas: he has the last four poles on this style track. 10. Matt Kenseth #17 Kenseth got to wear the big hat that goes to the winner back in 2002 after starting a dismal 31st. 11. Mark Martin #6 Martin is one of eight different winners at Texas in the track's first eight races. 12. Kevin Harvick #29 Harvick has been all or nothing in his last seven races on the 1.5-mile tracks. Two top-10s are mediated by three results worse than 30th. 13. Rusty Wallace #2 The series returns to the big track for another week before heading to a flat track. Rest Wallace this weekend and let him prepare for Phoenix. 14. Jamie McMurray #42 McMurray's last eight races on the similarly configured 1.5-mile tracks have all ended with a top-15 finish. 15. Scott Riggs #10 Hendrick Motorsports engines have raised Riggs expectations and then let him down in the last few races. 16. Dale Jarrett #88 Jarrett's results have slipped in his last three starts at both Texas and on the combined 1.5-mile tracks to fall outside the top-10. 17. Dale Earnhardt Jr. #8 "Just two more weeks to Talladega" is Earnhardt's mantra… just two more weeks. 18. Dave Blaney #07 His eighth-place finish at Atlanta broke a 12-race streak of finishes outside of the top-10 for Blaney and crew. 19. Jeremy Mayfield #19 After three finishes of 20th or worse, Mayfield was finally back on track with a top-15 at Atlanta. 20. Carl Edwards #99 Can Edwards add to his unrestricted intermediate speedway mystique after winning at Atlanta? He lost a lot of momentum on the short tracks. 21. Sterling Marlin #40 Marlin's last 10 races on the 1.5-mile tracks have ended in a 22nd-place finish on average. 22. Michael Waltrip #15 Wherever he starts, expect Waltrip to move up during the race: in his last eight attempts on the cookie-cutter he has moved up 16 positions on average. 23. Casey Mears #41 In two starts at Texas, Mears has not moved more than two positions from his grid position before the end of the race. 24. Jeff Burton #31 Burton won the inaugural race at Texas and backed it up with a runner-up finish in 2000. Since then the best he could muster was a 19th. 25. Ricky Rudd #21 Rudd climbed back into the top-35 in owners' points with a strong run at Martinsville. 26. Travis Kvapil #77 Kvapil's best results of the year will come on the short tracks, but he will improve on the speedways as well. 27. Brian Vickers #25 One of Vickers best results came at Texas in 2004; now that his rookie season is over he will be more predictable. 28. Kyle Petty #45 Watch Petty closely over the next few weeks, his team is one of the most improved on the circuit and Evernham power will keep him in contention. 29. Kyle Busch #5 Busch attempted to make a pre-rookie start on this track in 2004, but failed to qualify. 30. Jeff Green #43 A blown engine for Green at Texas last year was one of the early signs that a change was needed; this season Petty Enterprises has power from Ray Evernham. 31. Jason Leffler #11 Leffler has made only one start at Texas in 2001, but he made the most of it and finished a respectable 17th. 32. Mike Bliss #0 Bliss will make his first Cup attempt at Texas this weekend, but on the other similarly configured 1.5-mile tracks he has finished 33rd on average. 33. Bobby Hamilton Jr. #32 Hamilton shows a lot of promise on the 1.5-mile tracks but rarely carries the momentum to the end of the race. 34. Ken Schrader #49 Wait for the short tracks to roll back around before giving Schrader the green light again. 35. Scott Wimmer #22 In 14 previous attempts on the 1.5-mile tracks, Wimmer has failed to qualify three times; he'll be in the show Sunday, but those stats don't bode well for a good finish. I've got the 38 car in three of my pools. Go Sadler! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retrograde assault Posted April 12, 2005 Share Posted April 12, 2005 I'll be there, hope the redneck don't come out in me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumpin Johnies Posted April 13, 2005 Share Posted April 13, 2005 I'll be there, hope the redneck don't come out in me. 775513[/snapback] Sweet deal. I was in Bristol and Atlanta a couple of weeks ago. I'm headed to Darlington and the Brickyard next. Texas is supposed to be the fastest track on the circuit, should be a blast! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Herdmaster Posted April 13, 2005 Share Posted April 13, 2005 I like Sadler this week, but my darkhorse is Nemechek....tracks fast and he knows how to get around a fast track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jumpin Johnies Posted April 14, 2005 Share Posted April 14, 2005 I like Sadler this week, but my darkhorse is Nemechek....tracks fast and he knows how to get around a fast track. 777433[/snapback] I agree I have Sadler in three pools but I'm using Nemechek as my C driver in another. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retrograde assault Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 I wish there had been a Texas Motor Speedway when I was 20! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
broncosn05 Posted April 22, 2005 Share Posted April 22, 2005 Kenseth as always will be in my lineup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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