Dega Dreamin'

Welcome to the newest installation on YDF, where I'll be bringing you your weekly Nascar fix. I know we're already balls deep in the season, but better now than never to start teaching you fools a thing or two about stock car racing. This Sunday at 2:00pm the Sprint Cup Series heads to Talladega for probably the 2nd most anticipated race of the year next only to the Daytona 500. Fans will have their coolers loaded, their women scantily clad and be sporting their favorite cut off t-shirt of Dale Sr. with some Lynyrd Skynyrd wailing in the background. Nascar races are one of the rare times society condones getting back to your grass roots to show just how red that neck can get.

'Dega is the fastest race on the schedule and one of the most prone for wrecks, most notably the "Big One" that can damn near wipe out the whole field, or at least your fantasy team for the week. This should be a large factor when deciding who to start in your fantasy leagues. So, check drivers recent record to first off make sure they finished the race, and secondly to see how well they placed.

My pick of the week is Tony Stewart. He recently started up his own team with Haas Racing to form Stewart-Haas racing and many people thought this would be a rebuilding season for him, but it's been anything but that. He has been in contention for several races this year and last week at Pheonix he finished 2nd behind the vet Mark Martin. He has a pretty good record at 'Dega with only 3 DNFs (did not finish) in 20 starts here. Of those 20 starts, he's finished 2nd six times and won the Fall's race at 'Dega last year.

Also, you should expect to see General Jeff Gordon, Kurt Busch, and fan-favorite Dale Jr. competing for the lead this week. Gordon has the second most wins ever at this track with 6 victories (2nd only to "The Intimidator" Dale Sr., who has an unprecedented 14 wins at this track), and 8 DNFs in 32 starts. Busch has no wins at this track, but has posted 11 top 10's in 16 starts here with only 2 DNFs. Finally, Dale Jr. who has been disappointing so far this season, has posted 5 wins here over 2001-2004 seasons. However, he has also posted 5 DNFs here in his 18 starts at this track, but he is an Earnhardt, so I fully expect him to bounce back at 'Dega and he'll definitely be seeing some action on my fantasy roster this week. One quick caveat about all these guys though...they have all had stellar careers here, but each of them, including Stewart, had a DNF in one of the two races at 'Dega last year. Basically, these guys are all hit or miss and could all easily sweep the top 5 or be in the garage before the halfway mark. Oh yeah, and Jimmie Johnson is a contender for every race in the season...he doesn't have a bad track period

For those of you who like to roll the dice on some sleepers, you should consider Ryan Newman or Clint Bowyer. Newman has six top 10's and 4 DNFs in 14 starts here, meaning he could hit gold or leave you feeling like a Sunday morning after an all day YDF tailgate at Keeneland. Bowyer has been under the radar since he got in Nascar and continues to produce while ESPN focuses on the blockbuster racers like Johnson, Gordon, Dale Jr, etc. He's swept the top 12 over the past 3 attempts and they were all from deep in the field.

This is the first in a long line of Nascar posts, so keep tuning in and maybe you'll learn a thing or two, or maybe I'll just end up looking like a jackass. Either way 'Dega should be an easy way to nurse a hangover or just continue to get drunk.