Fearless Predictions - Kansas

As we approach Columbus Day, it's time for the NASCAR predictions to chart a course to undiscovered territory: the .500 mark. But it won't be easy. Last week's picks went 1-3, leaving us with a season record of 39-69.
One from the front: The one pick that worked for us last week was Carl Edwards. He starts in second place this week and finished second in Saturday's Nationwide race at Kansas Speedway to Brad Keselowski, who starts for the People's Pitstop. He also has finished in the top 10 the last two times the Sprint Cup drivers have taken on this track.
One from the back: This week, we find Juan Pablo Montoya in 34th place, but this pick is more of a prayer. We are praying that Montoya can avoid all the people who have reason to have grudges against him.
Two from the middle: Here are a few things you should know about Kurt Busch, who starts 17th in this race. His win last week in Dover was his fourth top 10 finish in five weeks. He jumped five spots in the point standings, to a very respectable (and in contention) fourth place. And he finished ninth at the Kansas race in June.
And then we have last week's runner-up, Jimmie Johnson. Yes, he starts in 19th place this week. But he's finished in the top 10 in the last five Kansas races. And speaking of five, there's always this.
There are still a few hours to vote on the People's Pigskin lineup for this week. Get your votes in now. We'll be back with those results.

Fearless Predictions - Watkins Glen

It's raining today in the Northeast, but optimistic NASCAR fans will tell you the sun will shine just long enough on Watkins Glen to get Sunday's Sprint Cup race run. That means it is worth our while to predict some drivers who will finish in the top 10. Last week's forecasts went 2-2, raising our season record to 24-52.
The pessimist probably has stopped reading this post already. So we don't have to worry about the pessimists for the rest of this post. (Whew.)
One from the front: It's hard to ignore these facts. Juan Pablo Montoya has two Sprint Cup wins under his belt. Both of them have come on road courses. Montoya won the Watkins Glen race last year. He starts fifth today. This week, we'll ignore the fact that he is having a hard time making friends in NASCAR.
One from the back: How on earth did Denny Hamlin qualify 42nd for this race? Did he do it just to make our bottom 10 pick simple? If so, we'll take it. He has four top 10 finishes on this track, including a second place finish in 2007. And it was just last year when people were saying he had a chance to dethrone Jimmie Johnson.
Two from the middle: Every year, a few road course specialists (or ringers) show up at Sonoma and Watkins Glen to show the regular Sprint Cup drivers how to turn right. One of them is Boris Said, who is known as much for his hair and he is for his driving. He starts 15th tonight and is quite comfortable with hairpin turns.
Jeff Gordon isn't a specialist, but he would be able to make a great living at it. He has four wins on this track. He also has top 10 finishes three of the last five races this season. He starts 17th this week and is always a good bet to find the front.
Enjoy the race, everybody, and think sunshine. (They are in upstate New York, after all.) We'll be back with the results, whenever they're available.

As the Engines (and Tempers) Cool Off...

The People's Pitstop is hanging on for dear life, but at least it's hanging in there.
The Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team scored 233 points during Sunday's Sprint Cup race in Sonoma County, California. Our season total of 4,402 keeps us in first place in the cutthroat 9beersfantasysportstavern league, but our lead over runner-up Jeff Gordon Dupont 24 has dwindled to 39 points. Another week like this one (without or without mistakes on our part) will put our lead in jeopardy, to say the least.
Here's what we can say about our drivers without risking a secret NASCAR fine.
Jimmie Johnson: Started 12th, finished 7th and 78 fantasy points. Last year's race winner was the only People's Pitstop starter to improve his position from start to finish.
Kasey Kahne: Started 6th, finished 20th and 52 fantasy points. Kahne was heading for a potential top five finish until he was run over by Juan Pablo Montoya, who needs to consider checking this book out of his local library.
Ryan Newman: Started 5th, finished 25th and 42 fantasy points. Newman (and any fantasy NASCAR player considering using him again) had better hope Tony Stewart was kidding on Sunday about wrecking his teammate.
Paul Menard: Started 3rd, finished 17th and 61 fantasy points. Notice that every starting driver finished on the lead lap, which was more than either Denny Hamlin or Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Stewart could say.
This week, the NASCAR caravan hauls back across the country for a Saturday night race at Daytona International Speedway. We'll have more about this race in our next post, but the lineup polls are now up and open for voting. Since qualifying is Friday, you have until Thursday night to make your votes. (And they will be reflected in this week's lineup. Cross our heart.)

Fearless Predictions - Sonoma

Thanks to the later start time (and thank goodness we don't imitiate the Chinese in this regard) we at the People's Pitstop have had a few extra hours to consider the predictions for top 10 finishers for this week's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Sonoma's Infineon Raceway. We'll need all the help we can get with these picks. Last week's forecasts went 0 for 4, lowering our season record to 16-36.
One from the front: There is a phrase in sports betting: "Ride the hot hand." In this case, that hand can be found on the arm of Denny Hamlin, who starts 4th in this race. He won last week's race at Michigan and has top 10 finishes in three of his last four points races.
One from the back: David Ragan may be starting 34th this week, but there's a reason he's been one of the most frequent starters so far this season for the People's Pitstop. He has four top 10 finishes under his belt this season, including a career-best runner-up finish in the Coca-Cola 600.
Two from the middle: Our first selection from this category starts 17th in this race but has won on this track before. In fact, that win was the first of his Sprint Cup career. It's Juan Pablo Montoya, who may be getting an extension soon from his team.
The other selection starts 20th in this race but has two wins on this track, to go with his two Cup titles. Tony Stewart could use a win Sunday to ease his mind. Last week he fell out of the top 10 in points, and he probably does not want to take his chances with the "wild card" rules.
Enjoy today's road race. We'll be back with results.

That Could Have Gone Better...

Of course, it could have gone worse, too. We could be absorbing a 6-point penalty from a failed post-race inspection.
As it stands, the People's Pitstop managed to score only 228 points at Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway. The Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team managed to stay atop the 9beersfantasysportstavern league with a season total of 3,911, but our lead over SteelerFan4Tony is only 82 points.
Here are the gory details.
Carl Edwards: Started 6th, finished 37th (141 laps behind the leaders) and 18 fantasy points. We all know that Edwards has a television career waiting for him whenever he hangs up his firesuit. But we didn't expect him to log some practice time during Sunday's race.
Juan Pablo Montoya: Started 16th, finished 7th, 38 laps led and 88 fantasy points. Montoya was our only starter to lead a lap on Sunday. He was a contender to win his first oval race in a NASCAR vehicle until a couple of two-tire changes late in the race.
Clint Bowyer: Started 12th, finished 16th and 60 fantasy points. The driver who won the midweek Prelude to the Dream could not maintain his momentum on the Pennsylvania triangle. You know your driver had a mediocre day when his team's press release highlights the number of laps he spent in the top 15.
Regan Smith: Started 5th, finished 15th and 62 fantasy points. The bad news: This year's Darlington winner sits 27th in points and will need better results to get into the top 20 and be eligible for a wild card Chase spot. The better news: The Colorado-based racer doesn't need to win races to get warm coverage from his local paper.
The next stop on NASCAR's summer tour is Michigan International Speedway. The qualifying session is scheduled for Saturday, so we'll keep our lineup polls open until Friday night. You should know the drill by now: You vote for 2 drivers from the A List, 4 from the B List and 2 from the C List. Vote now, and get your friends to do the same. Thanks in advance.

The People's Choice - Pocono

This post is a little bit on the late side, but better late than never. Anyway, you, the Internet, selected another week's lineup for the People's Pitstop, and the qualifying session took care of the rest. Here are the drivers who will represent the Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team during Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Pocono Raceway.
A List: Carl Edwards and Kevin Harvick tied for the top spot in this poll, but they certainly were not that close when it came time to qualify for the race. Edwards will start 6th, while Harvick will start 32nd and will watch from our fantasy bench.
B List: There was a surprise winner in this poll: Brad Keselowski. In second place, we had a three-way tie between Clint Bowyer, Juan Pablo Montoya and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Bowyer (12th) and Montoya (16th) earned starting spots over Keselowski (20th) and Earnhardt (21st).
C List: Let me know if this sounds familiar. The vote produced a dead heat between David Ragan and Regan Smith. And in this qualifying faceoff, Smith (5th) had the edge over Ragan (11th).
We'll be back before the race with the fearless predictions.

Surviving Darlington

It's now Monday, but nerves probably are still frayed from Saturday night's NASCAR race at Darlington Speedway. The good news is that the People's Pitstop emerged from that race in far better shape than Clint Bowyer's car did. The Internet's favorite fantasy racing team scored 292 points this week. That's nowhere near our best performance of the season, but it gives us a season total of 2,914 points, which is good enough to maintain the top spot in the always-competitive 9beersfantasysportsgroup league.
Here are the scoring details.
Carl Edwards: Started 4th, finished 2nd, 57 laps led and 99 fantasy points. Edwards must be developing a taste for silver; this is the third second-place finish this season in a Sprint Cup race. At least he can console himself with his return to first place in Yahoo's Power Rankings.
Ryan Newman: Started 2nd, finished 5th, 28 laps led and 97 fantasy points. Newman had a strong weekend, starting with his domination of the rain-shortened practice session. Of the combatants in last week's grudge match, he definitely emerged in the stronger position. And speaking of that grudge match...
Juan Pablo Montoya: Started 16th, finished 23rd (2 laps behind the leaders) and 46 fantasy points. Instead of trying to figure out one of the toughest tracks on the NASCAR schedule, Montoya spent his Saturday night trying to make new friends, like Jimmie Johnson.
David Ragan: Started 11th, finished 21st (1 lap behind the leaders) and 50 fantasy points. The People's Pitstop benched the eventual winner of this race in favor of a driver whose highlight was literally tearing into Brian Vickers' car.
South Carolina is now in NASCAR's rear view mirror. Up next is the Monster Mile of Dover International Speedway. The new lineup polls are now open, and they will remain open until Friday night. Remember that we need you to select two drivers from the A List, four from the B List and two from the C List to represent the People's Pitstop this week. You're the reason we made it to the top, and you're the only way we can stay there, so feel free to vote now.

The People's Choice - Darlington

Does it feel like this week just fly by? Maybe it's because the People's Pitstop had a short week of voting. But it doesn't matter. You, the Internet, came through again. Thanks to you, we have a roster of Sprint Cup drivers for this week's NASCAR race at Darlington Raceway. Remember that this is a Saturday night race, so that everyone can spend time with their moms on Mother's Day.
Here are the results of this week's lineup polls.
A List. It should come as absolutely no surprise that Kyle Busch, the winner of last week's race in Richmond, also won this week's poll. The runner-up is Carl Edwards, who may not be doing many backflips but does lead in the point standings. As usual, the better qualifier will start.
B List. This race was almost as tight as the one Jimmie Johnson won a few weeks ago at Talladega. We must have drawn all the Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans this week; he won this poll. Clint Bowyer took second place. And we have a three-way tie for third place. In situations like this, we go to the driver points tiebreaker. That means Ryan Newman and Juan Pablo Montoya make it into our lineup, while A.J. Allmendinger has to wait until next week.
C List. Two drivers with kind-of-similar names tied for the most votes in this survey. David Ragan and Regan Smith will compete for a starting spot on the Internet's favorite fantasy racing team.
We will update this post when the qualifying session is over. In the meantime, enjoy your Friday, and don't forget to send those flowers to you know who.
UPDATED 10:30 P.M. And make sure you thank your mother for making you so smart. Once again, we leave the qualifying session with bonus points: 5 from Newman, who qualified second, and 1 from Edwards, who qualified fourth. They will be joined in the starting lineup by Ragan (11th) and Montoya (16th).
We'll be back with the predictions.

Knocking on the Door

Sorry this post is so late. Would you believe we were waiting on the verdict? No? Didn't think so...
Anyway, the People's Pitstop is red hot. We scored 376 points during last week's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway. That lifted our season total to 1,944, and it leaves us in second place in the prestigious and competitive 9beersfantasysportstavern group on Yahoo Sports. And you know something? We can catch the group's leader, Wild Kyle, who sits only 21 points ahead of us.
Here are the details.
Matt Kenseth: Started 4th, finished 1st, 169 laps led and 111 fantasy points. Kenseth picked one heck of a time to break that winless streak. And picked a great way to do it; the Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team got a 10-point bonus for having the driver who led the most laps.
Clint Bowyer: Started 3rd, finished 2nd, 44 laps led and 101 fantasy points. What's better than having the best driver in a race? Having the two best drivers, especially when one of them had to make a top-notch save to stay in the top two.
Juan Pablo Montoya: Started 14th, finished 13th (1 lap behind the leaders) and 66 fantasy points. Montoya is this week's "driver who failed to lead a lap" in our lineup. But he's keeping himself in top 10 lists like this one from the Sporting News.
David Ragan: Started 1st, finished 7th, 11 laps led and 98 fantasy points. No, getting his first career pole was not a fluke. He'll be a contender for the Pitstop's lineup for some time to come.
Speaking of the lineup, it's time to pick a new one. NASCAR takes its act to Talladega Superspeedway, where Ragan has his best average finish and will try to avoid the big one. The qualifying session is Saturday, so the polls will stay open until Friday night. Please vote now. Keep your hot streak going--because it's your hot streak.

The People's Choice - Texas

It doesn't matter how long or short the voting period is. You, the Internet, come out in droves to vote on the People's Pitstop's lineup week after week. Thanks to you, we have a roster of drivers to represent us at Saturday night's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway.
A List: It's a good thing we have two spots to offer from this poll, because it ended in a tie between Kevin Harvick (aka the winner of back to back races) and Matt Kenseth (aka the other guy to win this poll).
B List: He might not have a stock car win on an oval track yet, but Juan Pablo Montoya does have a win in a People's Pitstop poll. He beat a field that included Dale Earnhardt Jr., A.J. Allmendinger and Clint Bowyer, all of whom join him on this week's roster.
C List: Maybe you just like the color brown. Or maybe you're impressed that he finished in the top 10 last week at Martinsville. Either way, David Ragan is your winner here. He'll be joined in the lineup by a familiar C List face: Paul Menard.
As usual, the qualifying session will determine which of these racers start and which will ride the pine. Thanks for voting. The results appear below. And a new poll about everyone's favorite golf tournament is now available for voting.
We'll upate this post when the qualifying session is complete.
UPDATED 9:50 P.M. Maybe you voters should consider buying extra Powerball tickets this week. Ragan got his first career pole, and we got 10 bonus points for having the foresight to pick him. Bowyer qualified third and got us 3 bonus points, while Kenseth qualified fourth and got us a single bonus point. They'll be joined in the starting lineup by Montoya, who qualified a relatively modest 14th.
We'll be back with some fearless predictions.
[polldaddy poll=4845921] [polldaddy poll=4845935] [polldaddy poll=4845947]

The People's Choice - Martinsville

We're back from our sojourn in Las Vegas. We'd like to tell you all about the ultimate margaritas, the Michael Jackson impersonator, the world's dumbest roulette player, the 70 beers, the roller coaster, the lions and the man lying unconscious on the Strip, but what happens there stays there. (Really, it's in the contract.)
It's back to work for the People's Pitstop, but you, the Internet, did not take this week off. You came out and selected a lineup for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Martinsville Speedway. Here are your results.
A List. You must have seen something in Jimmie Johnson's near-win last week in Fontana. The five-time defending Sprint Cup champion won this poll, followed by Denny Hamlin.
B List: This race was a lot closer. Three drivers (Juan Pablo Montoya, Martin Truex Jr. and Kasey Kahne) tied for first place, while A.J. Allmendinger came in fourth. Good thing we have four spots -- two starting and two bench -- to give them.
C List: Only two drivers received votes in this poll. One of them, surprise, surprise, was Paul Menard. The other was David Ragan. You know the drill by now. Whoever qualifies better will start. The other one will sit.
Thanks again for voting. The results appear below, and a new poll about college basketball's big event is available for voting. We will update this post after the qualifying session.
UPDATED 2 P.M. Kahne has spent a lot of time on our bench this season. Not this week; he qualified 3rd and earned the People's Pitstop 3 bonus points. The other starters are Hamlin (5th), Allmendinger (6th) and Ragan (14th). That's right; Paul Menard, who qualified 16th, finally gets a seat on the bench.
We'll be back with a fresh set of predictions.
[polldaddy poll=4801881] [polldaddy poll=4801961] [polldaddy poll=4802021]

The People's Choice - Fontana

Some people are getting ready to watch college kids compete for spots in the Final Four. Some are getting ready for the start of baseball season, the only season that holds a candle to NASCAR's in terms of length. But we at the People's Pigskin are thanking you, the Internet, for coming out again in droves to vote on our lineup. Here are the drivers that will represent the People's Pitstop this weekend in Fontana, California.
A List: The winner of this poll is someone who was winning back when Charlie Sheen was just a guy in a troubled marriage. Five-time defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson took this poll. He and Carl Edwards will compete during qualifying for a chance to start for the Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team on Sunday.
B List: Don't let people tell you stock car racing is strictly for Americans. This poll was won by Colombia's Juan Pablo Montoya. The runners-up were some usual suspects (Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne), but the final spot went to a Tasmanian named Marcos Ambrose. The two drivers who qualify the best will start.
C List: UPS representative David Ragan won this poll, followed by Bobby Labonte.
Thanks once again for voting. The results appear below, and a new poll on rule changes is available for your votes now. We'll try to update this post once the qualifying session is over.
UPDATED 9:45 P.M. You guys are good. And so is Montoya, who took the pole and will earn us a 10-point bonus. He's joined in the starting lineup by Ragan (who qualified 6th), Newman (9th) and Johnson (16th).
[polldaddy poll=4759885] [polldaddy poll=4759909] [polldaddy poll=4759927]

Fearless Predictions - Bristol

We're just hours away from the NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Bristol Motor Speedway. While you prepare your snacks and beverages, we at the People's Pigskin are busy figuring out which drivers will finish in the top 10. Once again, drivers in our starting lineup are ineligible for selection. But that doesn't excuse our going 1 for 4 in the last edition of these picks.
One from the front: We have three starters in the top 10 (Paul Menard, Martin Truex Jr. and Mark Martin), so that narrows the field considerably. We'll go with the driver who won the Phoenix race and has the pole this week: Carl Edwards.
One from the back: The bottom 10 this week is a veritable "Who's That" of auto racing. Except we find a driver who's currently in 4th place in Sprint Cup points but only 36th on the starting grid. That would be Juan Pablo Montoya, who finished 7th last August on this track.
Two from the middle: Believe it or not, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has finished in the top 10 in the last two races this season. The networks might be able to manufacture crowd noise when he passes, but they can't manufacture a top 10 finish.
And quick, before you reach for that cup of coffee, name the driver who sits on top of the point standings as of right now. If you guessed Tony Stewart, either you know your racing stats or you peeked at one of the links earlier in this post. Either way, Stewart finished 2nd at Bristol last spring and starts in 13th place today. Pencil him in for a strong day.
We'll be back with the results. Enjoy the race.

All-Star Updates

This post will offer occasional updates on tonight's All-Star festivites.

11:17 p.m. EDT The final segment of this race (only 10 laps, officially) took nearly as long to complete as the first one. That's because Kyle Busch wrecked, and then Jimmie Johnson spun out. In the end, Kurt Busch won. As I write these words, Kyle is still waiting to confront his "teammate" Denny Hamlin about the way his race ended. Good thing they won't have to contend with a 600-mile race next week or anything.

10:30 p.m. EDT The third segment is over, and now we have what has to be the most random element in the entire All-Star Race: a 10-minute break. All the teams get 10 minutes to work on their cars (but not to change the tires; at the end of the break, the cars will drive back to pit row for a mandatory four-tire change).

If anyone can explain the logic behind this, I'd love to hear it. After all, they've run a grand total of 90 laps so far, and they're getting ready to run only 10 more. And this is the third break they've had so far tonight.

If you want to put a 10-minute break into a Charlotte race, wouldn't you want to put it into the 600-mile race they'll be running a week from Sunday?

10:04 p.m. EDT The second segment just ended, and over in the Yahoo Sports chat room, we've had ... well, I'm not sure if it's a hoax or something that would have been better suited for another forum:

"10:03 [Comment From thats what she said] JENNY- I know you are on this chat since you texted me right now....i wanted to ask you if you will take my hand in marrige?"

No word yet on whether she said yes. But really, what more could she want from a future husband?

9:44 p.m. EDT The first segment of tonight's four-segment race (and, at 50 laps, the longest one by far) has just concluded. And Darrell Waltrip, in his infinite wisdom, just told the Speed TV viewers that now the exciting part of this race will begin. Thanks, DW. Thanks for telling those of us who turned on our sets in time to watch the start of this race just wasted their time.

8:48 p.m. EDT Well, I'd like to say that your vote in the All-Star poll helped put Jeff Burton over the top and into tonight's main event. Alas, it wasn't meant to be. That spot went instead to Carl Edwards. Uh, oh. One of the drivers who already qualified for the race: Brad Keselowski. Hopefully, they won't get together tonight.

8:13 p.m. EDT The Sprint Showdown has just concluded, with Martin Truex Jr. and Greg Biffle earning spots in the All-Star race. This was preceded by what may be the proudest moment of my race chatting career. The details below. To set the scene, Juan Pablo Montoya had just nearly gotten into two different wrecks by trying to squeeze other drivers off their lines.

"7:45 [Comment From peoplespigskin] Over/under on number of laps until Montoya actually wrecks someone?"

"7:46 Jay Hart: CAUTION"

"7:46 Jay Hart: JPM wrecked."

"7:47 [Comment From Robby Gordon Fan Club] peoplespigskin is a clairvoyant. Does he know tonight's Powerball numbers?"

How can I top that? Stay tuned.