The People's Choice - Phoenix

Thanks to all of you voted in our polls for the People's Pitstop lineup this week. The Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team will take the track with these drivers.
A List: This poll was all about family -- no, not that kind. The two poll winners were Kurt Busch and his brother, Kyle. Kurt qualified 2nd (giving us 5 bonus points), so he'll start over Kyle, who qualified 4th (giving us 1 bonus point).
B List: Four drivers found their way to the top of this poll, so we needed a qualifying session to select the two starters. Ryan Newman (qualified 14th) and A.J. Allmendinger (15th) sent Juan Pablo Montoya (22nd) and Mark Martin (23rd) to the bench.
C List: Michael Waltrip isn't entered in this field (thank goodness), so we needed some newcomers to step forward. Regan Smith had the votes and the lap speed (qualifying 5th) to get into the starting lineup. David Ragan will cool his heels on the bench.
The poll results appear below, and we have a new poll on the new NASCAR scoring system, because anyone who watched last season knows that what NASCAR needed to do more than anything else was change the way it keeps score. <Insert eye roll here.>
Enjoy the race. We'll be back with results.
[polldaddy poll=4612033] [polldaddy poll=4612052] [polldaddy poll=4612071]

Time to Bounce Back

The Daytona 500 was a great time to be a rookie but a rough time to be a piece of sheet metal, or the People's Pitstop.
The Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team compiled only 142 points during the Sprint Cup season opener. That leaves us in 13th place (out of 14) in the 9beersfantasysportstavern group on Yahoo Fantasy Auto Racing.
Here are some of the details.
Jeff Gordon: Started 2nd, finished 28th (35 laps behind the leaders), 1 lap led and 46 fantasy points, including 10 for leading a lap.
Jeff Burton: Started 4th, finished 36th (116 laps behind the leaders), 5 laps led and 30 fantasy points.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Started 1st (technically), finished 24th (6 laps behind the leaders), 9 laps led and 54 fantasy points. So much for that conspiracy theory.
Michael Waltrip: Started 8th, finished 40th and 12 fantasy points. Waltrip was our only started who did not lead a lap. Maybe he should stick to talking.
Anyway, we have a chance to rebound this weekend in Phoenix. The race is Sunday, and qualifying is Saturday. The polls are now open and will remain open through Friday night. Please vote now.
We'll be back.

The People's Choice - Daytona 500

We are just minutes away from the season-opening race on the NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule (the Daytona 500, in case you're living under a rock), and the People's Pitstop has the lineup to take the early lead in the 9beersfantasysportstavern group on Yahoo Fantasy Auto Racing. Here are the drivers that you, the Internet, selected.
A List. Jeff Gordon, who will start on the front row of today's Great American Race, edged out Matt Kenseth for the starting spot. This week, we used starting position as a tiebreaker, but next week, we'll start using points, since the lineups will have to be set before qualifying.
B List. On the 10th anniversary of his father's death, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is officially the polesitter (even though a practice crash will send him to the back). He's also one of our starters this week, along with the leading vote getter, Jeff Burton. Martin Truex Jr. and Kasey Kahne (winner of a five-way tie by virtue of starting position) will be on the bench.
C List. This is also the 10th anniversary of Michael Waltrip's first Daytona 500 victory, so it's fitting that he's the starter for this week. His better qualifying position gives him the edge over Paul Menard.
The poll results appear below, and a very simple poll is now available for voting. We'll be back with the results. Until then, enjoy the race.

[polldaddy poll=4582796] [polldaddy poll=4582852] [polldaddy poll=4582815]

And We're Back!

The People's Pigskin did not end up winning its group in the ESPN Fantasy Playoff Challenge, but the Internet's favorite fantasy sports site now can turn its sites to the track.
That's right; the People's Pitstop is back! We're going to use the collective wisdom of you, the Internet, to win fantasy NASCAR glory (or at least the 9beersfantasysportstavern group in Yahoo Fantasy Auto Racing). The rules are like those of last season. Each week, you'll be asked to vote in polls like the ones on the right side of this page. We need to pick 2 drivers from the A List, 4 from the B List and 2 from the C List. Each week, one of the A List drivers, 2 of the B List drivers and one of the C List drivers will start for us and earn fantasy points according to their performance in the race. Each driver may start for us only nine times during the NASCAR season.
Anyway, the polls are open. They will close Sunday morning before the start of the Great American Race. (Apparently, anyone talking about the Daytona 500 is contractually obligated to use that phrase. Who knew?) Please vote now. Thanks.