Fantasy NASCAR: Three winners in three races could be omen for rest of season
By Steve T. Gorches 648-3141 or sgorches@post-trib.com March 14, 2013 11:08PM
Jeffrey D. Nicholls/Post-Tribune Post-Tribune sports writer Steve Gorches
Top 10
readers
Rick Garvey 202
Kenneth Moldovan 200
Scott Ganzeveld 199
Kim Ritchie 198
Kyle Cicillian 197
Dotty Arnold 196
Sean Zart 194
Alek Shmagranoff 192
Al Hamstra 192
Susan Zart 192
Steve T. Gorches picks
LAS VEGAS — Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Jeff Gordon; Total points: 162; BRISTOL — Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, Mark Martin, Carl Edwards
The annual Post-Tribune Fantasy NASCAR contest has returned for a sixth season. Each week readers pick five drivers and points are based on the same system NASCAR uses in its weekly race standings. Lineup entries can be submitted via email (fantasy@post-trib.com) or phone (219-314-3797). Entries can also be texted to that cell number. No faxes, please. With your entries, please include your full name, hometown and a contact number. First and second place each week will be entered into a drawing in July for tickets to the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Follow Steve T. Gorches on Twitter during races @SteveTGorches.
Updated: April 16, 2013 4:22PM
What do NASCAR and the National Football League have in common? Not that hard to figure out that the answer is parity.
Yes, Jimmie Johnson is still arguably the best driver out there, challenging for titles each year despite not adding to his five straight crowns the last two years. But the bottom line is that there have been different champions the last three seasons, and three different race winners in three weeks this season.
So it really could be like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates — you never know what you’re going to get.
Which leads into this week’s track — Bristol Motor Speedway.
Talk about not knowing what you’re going to get. That’s Bristol in a nutshell. There are a handful of drivers who shine at the short track (second smallest in Sprint Cup Series only slightly longer than Martinsville), but with 43 cars occupying a small space (.533-mile), anything can and usually does happen.
It’s not quite as unpredictable as restrictor plate racing with lesser-known drivers finding their way into the top 10 frequently, but you can bet there will be crash or two that affects your lineups.
As for this week’s reader results from the sixth annual Post-Tribune Fantasy NASCAR contest, once again the scores were low with 202 points taking first. That was from contest veteran Rick Garvey from Chesterton. He had race winner Matt Kenseth, to go with Johnson (sixth), Brad Keselowski (third), Kyle Busch (fourth) and Tony Stewart (11th).
Garvey’s effort was just two points better than Kenneth Moldovan of Gary. He had 200 points without picking the winner (Kenseth), which doesn’t happen very often. He had runner-up Kasey Kahne, Busch, Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (seventh) and Carl Edwards, who followed up his first win in almost two years with a nice fifth-place effort. Looks like he’s back on track.
Both Garvey and Moldovan qualify for our July drawing for tickets to the Brickyard 400.
Doing your homework: Actually, using the word “homework” makes it sound harder than it is to simply know what drivers are entered in each week’s Sprint Cup Series race. It would be one thing to submit an entry that you want to stick for several weeks, and one of the drivers in that lineup isn’t running in a particular race. But there were two readers this past week who chose Regan Smith. I looked through the 43 places in the Las Vegas race results a dozen times; Trust me, Smith wasn’t in there. That’s a good way to ruin a perfectly good lineup.
