If today’s practice sessions are any indication it’s looking like the race will come down to a battle between those with Hendrick power and those with Childress power, and I would not be the least bit suprised if the top 5 and top 10 at race’s end are littered with cars representing both.
Taking a little bit of a different approach from the Wise One, I came up with some cars that seemed to standout in each of the respective groupings;
A Group -
Mark Martin looks like he may possibly have the car to beat this weekend, as he was consistently fast on both the short run and the long run. Looks really strong and probably top 5 minimum if he avoids trouble.
His teammate in Jeff Gordon also looked really good on the charts, and after being not too happy with the car’s handling early on today, seemed to have finally found something that pleased him towards the end of Happy Hour. Look for him to contend for the win and continue his streak of top fives at this track.
Jimmie Johnson didn’t look as good as his Hendrick teammates, which was suprising. Wasn’t bad by any means. Just wasn’t as strong in practice today as we expected. From memory, though, he also wasn’t as good as Gordon in practice for this race last year, but with him and Chad working together you can never count him out. I still expect him to finish top five and be a strong contender come race’s end.
Juan Montoya is another A group driver that looked good today, although he kept to his typical plan of not running many laps. Between 1st practice and Happy Hour today he apparently said that “this was the best Martinsville car he ever had”. Starts well back, but if he takes care of his stuff and avoids trouble, getting to the front and contending for a top five shouldn’t be a problem for the driver who led the series in quality passes last season.
Probably the four best out of the A group from what I saw, although Denny Hamlin had some good times and obviously knows his way around here. With that knee of his, though, I’d avoid if you have one of the previous four. Tony Stewart made a few rosters, but he only looked average to me. Well, he typically does only look average in practice. But his comments about the car being “not bad” and “still have some work to do” doesn’t sound too optimistic. Possible top ten, but I don’t see him as a strong top five contender in this one.
B Group -
Some really good options this week in this grouping, and possibly leading the way is Jeff Burton. Ran a whole bunch of laps in practice today working on the long run and was able to put down some fast laps. Sounded quite confident too when interviewed, so I think he’s has an excellent shot at a top five finish tomorrow. Might even be one of the leading contenders for the win. I’d start him if you have him.
Dale Earnhardt Jr also looked quite strong in practice today and was another driver who expressed a lot of happiness with his car. Pretty good on the short run, but it was his times on the long run that stood out to me the most. About as strong as anybody in that regards. With a good history here and with the car he has, I’m looking at a top ten or even a top five out of Junior this week if he can keep it together for the full race. Great opportunity to save a start.
Jamie McMurray also looked like one of the the best B group options out there too, especially with him being a driver not likely to be used all that much this year. Fast on the short run, but also very respectable on the long run. With three straight top tens in the spring race here, I’m seeing him as having an excellant shot at making in four in a row.
Kevin Harvick wasn’t quite as good on the charts as some of the other fast Chevys, but his times indicate that he has at least a top ten car. Possibly a top five car, though, with him having the best pit stall and with how much his team has improved his car in some of the other races this year. Was quite happy with his car in practice, as well, which can be as much, if not more important here than what the times show.
Burton and Harvick’s teammate, Clint Bowyer, was another one of the strongest cars in this grouping in practice. Good on both the short and long runs it seemed, although maybe slightly behind his two teammates in value. I still expect him to be good and while I’m not sure he finishes top five again like last spring, it’s no stretch to see him finishing right around his average (apx 10th) in the COT races here.
Some other B group drivers that I was watching. Ryan Newman didn’t look too bad out there, but wasn’t a standout by any means. With him starting well back there’s better options. David Reutimann didn’t show much today and looked, at best, average. I see a top 15 as the likely ceiling for these two in this race. Brian Vickers may be a sleeper if you have him. Possible top ten car who had respectable short and long run speeds.
C Group -
If you have him on your team, and I think most of us do, Allmendinger looked like the easy selection out of whatever pair you may have. I liked his long run speed, and his averages were well above anybody else in this grouping. Backing up his top ten from last spring might be a stretch. But a top 15 seems like a very realistic possibilty if he doesn’t have any issues. I’d start him if you have him.
Whether it be Hornish, Menard, Speed, Labonte or anyone else in the C group, I didn’t see a whole lot to be optimistic about with these guys. A top 20 looks like a good finish for any of them. Hornish seemed to have the 2nd best times of this group, but maybe you go with Labonte’s experience and a decent record here last year. He wasn’t too far behind Sam on the charts. Menard didn’t like anything beyond a top 25 type, and while I didn’t pay all that much attention to Speed, Smith, etc., none stood out as being anything more than that either when I did take a peak.
Well, that’s what I got from today’s practice. A little long in length, I know, but if needed, hopefully there’s something in there that ends up helping you have a good points day when the race does end up finishing up.
Good luck everyone,
Randy
