Back in the Groove

It certainly isn't saying much, but the People's Pitstop had a much better Saturday night than many of the people who had tickets to the race at Kentucky Speedway.
While lots of fans were wondering why NASCAR hates them, the Internet's favorite fantasy racing team was racking up 302 points. We remain in second place in the 9beersfantasysportstavern league with a season total of 4,872, but we now trail Jeff Gordon Dupont 24 by only 86 points.
Here's how we got there.
Kyle Busch: Started 1st, finished 1st, 125 laps led and 110 fantasy points. It's been a while since any driver dominated a Sprint Cup race the way Busch did. It's also been a while since a Busch sat at the top of the point standings, but he's there now.
Clint Bowyer: Started 20th, finished 35th and 22 fantasy points. You could be forgiven for thinking Bowyer got caught in traffic on the way to the track. And if the Sporting News is to be believed, he's in danger of getting caught on the outside of the Chase.
Ryan Newman: Started 18th, finished 4th and 84 fantasy points. Newman, on the other hand, solidified his status in the top 10 with his best performance of the season.
David Ragan: Started 8th, finished 8th, 3 laps led and 86 fantasy points. Ragan followed up the first Sprint Cup win of his career by bouncing back from an early spin.
Next up for the Sprint Cup drivers is the northernmost stop on the tour: New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The qualifying session is Friday, so the polls will close on Thursday. Hopefully, the parking lots in Kentucky will be empty by then.

Fearless Predictions - Kentucky

Whether you're spending the weekend working on your bucket list or your honey-do list, we're glad you've taken a moment to check out our predictions for NASCAR drivers who will finish in the top 10 at Saturday night's Sprint Cup race at Kentucky Motor Speedway. Last week's forecasts went a respectable 2-2, lifting our season record to 18-42.
One from the front: Even though this is the Sprint Cup debut for Kentucky, there is still some useful history here. For example, Brad Keselowski, who starts 6th tonight, has four top-four finishes on this track in Nationwide Series races, including a win on Friday night.
One from the back: It's a good thing the rule here is to pick a driver starting in the back 10, instead of the back nine. That's because the only driver back here whom most racing fans could pick out of a police lineup is Jamie McMurray, who starts 34th.
Two from the middle: One thing that might have gotten lost in the hoopla over David Ragan's Daytona win last week was the fact that Matt Kenseth had a car good enough to push Ragan to the checkered flag. This week, Kenseth starts 13th and can focus on his own car's chances.
Two spots behind him, in 15th place, we find Joey Logano, who has both short- and long-term history on his side. In the long-term category (or as long-term as you can get with a driver who still looks like he's late for geometry class), Logano has three Nationwide wins at Kentucky. In the short-term category, he has finished in the top 10 in the last two Sprint Cup races. Either fact would be good enough to pick him.
Enjoy the race, everybody. We'll be back with results.

The People's Choice - Kentucky

For the first time in its history, NASCAR takes its Sprint Cup act to Kentucky, home of good whiskey, fast horses and scandalous basketball teams. We at the People's Pitstop are prepared, thanks to all of you who voted in our lineup polls. Now, let's see who will represent us Saturday night.
A List: This poll produced a tie between Kyle Busch and new points leader Kevin Harvick. The qualifying session was a little more definitive. Busch claimed the pole and the starting spot, while Harvick settled for 19th place.
B List: Our survey here produced a three-way tie among Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman and Mark Martin, with A.J. Allmendinger barely behind in fourth place. "Barely behind" also could describe the qualifying results, with Newman (18th) and Bowyer (20th) edging out Allmendinger (23rd) and Martin (28th) for the starting lineup.
C List: If this were baseball, you get the feeling David Ragan and Paul Menard would have been called up to the majors by now. Once again, they dominated this week's voting, and they rewarded the voters' faith with top 10 starting spots. Ragan (8th) outqualified Menard and will represent the Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team on Saturday.
We'll be back with this week's predictions.

Picking Through the Wreckage

To put it succinctly, Saturday night stank for the People's Pitstop.
The Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team scored only 168 points at Daytona International Speedway. This was our lowest total since ... the last time we were at Daytona. Our season total is now 4,570. And the People's Pitstop has surrendered its lead in the 9beersfantasysportstavern league to Jeff Gordon Dupont 24. We sit in second place, with a 4-point edge over SteelerFan4Tony.
You might notice a theme to this breakdown of the results.
Carl Edwards: Started 14th, finished 37th, 1 lap led and 28 fantasy points. An early spin into the inside wall put him 25 laps down and kept him there the rest of the night. It also cost him his overall points lead.
Mark Martin: Started 1st, finished 33rd, 15 laps led and 46 fantasy points. Martin actually was a contender late I'm the race, until a nudge from Joey Logano on the first green-white-checkered attempt ended his night.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Started 6th, finished 19th, 1 lap led and 64 fantasy points. The final-lap wreck that caught Earnhardt was bad enough. His postrace question "What kind of fricking move can you make?" about what's supposed to be one of his strongest tracks was even worse.
Bobby Labonte: Started 24th, finished 31st and 30 fantasy points. Labonte took damage in a wreck on lap 5, and his car was never the same.
The good news: There's always another week in NASCAR. This one will take us to a brand new track for the Sprint Cup folks: Kentucky. The polls are now up, and they will stay up until Thursday night. (Forgive the order. The phone being used to post this won't let us click and drag.) We need your help to have a shot at redemption, so feel free to vote now.