The Last Time We Visited Texas

People like to criticize the National Hockey League and Major League Baseball (and, until recently, the National Basketball Association) for having seasons that are too long, but consider this. Back in early April, when baseball was having its opening ceremonies, the NASCAR season was already six weeks old. And now that baseball has crowned a champion for this year, the NASCAR season continues to roll along. This week, it's pulling into Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth.

And this just might be the cure for what's ailing the People's Pitstop.

Again, turn back to early April. That's when NASCAR held the first of its two Sprint Cup races of the season in Fort Worth. The Internet's favorite fantasy racing team racked up a mind-boggling 376 points in that race.

It would be easy to write that off as the side effect of having race winner Matt Kenseth starting for us. But the truth is that three of our starters finished in the top 10 that day and led at least one lap. And the fourth starter, Juan Pablo Montoya, managed to finish in 13th place.

As the People's Pitstop considers its lineup for this week's race, two of our starters from that golden weekend (David Ragan and Clint Bowyer) are no longer available. Both are victims of the Yahoo Sports "nine starts only" rule. So are two of our bench drivers that week (Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Paul Menard), who both finished in the top 10 that April day. But results like that show you that good things can happen on any given weekend in fantasy sports. Hope doesn't have to be simply a word on a poster. Ask the St. Louis Cardinals about hope. Heck, ask the St. Louis Rams about hope. It springs eternal, even in November.

Our hope is that you'll get your votes in for our lineups. The fantasy NASCAR polls will close later tonight, while the fantasy football polls will stay open through Saturday night. Thanks in advance for your votes and your support.

We'll be back with the poll results.

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.

Fearless Predictions - Charlotte

Throw another hot dog on the grill, or anything else you like; we at the People's Pigskin don't judge. It's a Sunday packed with racing, whether your favorite drivers are in Monaco or Indianapolis or Charlotte Motor Speedway. If you chose option C from that list, then you'll be interested in reading our predictions for the Sprint Cup drivers who will finish in the top 10 in the NASCAR marathon, aka the Coca-Cola 600. Our most recent forecasts went a respectable 2-2 at Dover, but our season record is a less-than-respectable 10-26, so don't read them while operating heavy machinery (or taking a test drive with Kyle Busch).
One from the front: Your picks for the People's Pitstop this week left us with a smaller field of eligible drivers. We'll go with Jimmie Johnson, whose long list of career accomplishments includes six victories on this track. And, as longtime readers of this blog know, he starts 6th in this race.
One from the back: Jamie McMurray is starting back in 35th place. That makes this pick supremely easy. Last year, he finished 2nd in the 600 and then won the fall race in Charlotte. This year, the man who grew up in Joplin, Missouri, is representing a community devastated by last week's tornado. If there's anyone motivated to charge to the front, it's McMurray.
Two from the middle: Ryan Newman starts 12th, and we discussed his nine poles on this track in our last post. Now we need to consider a single win by Matt Kenseth, who starts 19th. He won Saturday's Nationwide race. How is that remarkable? It was the first Nationwide race he has entered all season.
Enjoy today's racing, but keep in mind why we call it Memorial Day. We'll be back with results.

Fearless Predictions - Talladega

NASCAR is mere minutes from dropping the green flag at its biggest oval track, Talladega Superspeedway. The People's Pitstop has an outstanding lineup for this Sprint Cup race. Now all we need to do is improve the predictions for drivers that will finish in the top 10. Last week's predictions improved (if that's the word for it) to 1-3, leaving us with a season record of 4-16. Maybe this is the week we turn things around.
One from the front: Only one driver starting in the top five is eligible for selection. Fortunately, that driver won the pole and has won a record 12 times on restrictor plate tracks. Jeff Gordon may not like how plate races work, but he knows how to do well on them. He'll continue that trend today.
One from the back: We have a surprise driver in the back 10 this week. Kevin Harvick only qualified 38th, but he won on this track last year. He's a good bet to get things done.
Two from the middle: Nothing says "confidence" like getting a contract extension from your car owner and sponsor. Greg Biffle may be starting 17th, but he knows where he's driving in the near future, and that kind of momentum can propel him to the top 10.
Our other pick is Matt Kenseth, who qualified 25th but showed last week that he still knows how to win a race.
Enjoy the race. We'll be back with the results.

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]

Looking Back at the Monster Mile

As we prepare for the Monday night game between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers, the People's Pigskin enjoys a 56-point lead over the Chicago VinSethBears. Our opponent has Jay Cutler, Matt Forte, Johnny Knox and Robbie Gould in tonight's game. (That's right, four Bears; care to guess how this fantasy football team got its name?) This matchup is far from settled. Tune in Tuesday for a wrap-up.

In the meantime, let's discuss something that has been settled: the 281 points the People's Pitstop scored during Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Dover International Speedway, including the bonus point Denny Hamlin recorded for qualifying fourth. Our season total is now 7,479, 55,859th among all Yahoo Sports competitors and 74th place among those in the Fans of From the Marbles league. Here are the details.

Jimmie Johnson: Started 1st, finished 1st, 191 laps led and 120 fantasy points, including 10 for winning the pole and 20 for leading more laps than anyone else. Simply put, he kicked butt.

Ryan Newman: Started 13th, finished 8th and 76 fantasy points. Good enough to be noticed, but not good enough to lead.

Matt Kenseth: Started 14th, finished 18th (1 lap behind the leaders) and 56 fantasy points. It is fitting that Kenseth ends his season for the People's Pitstop the way his whole season went as a Sprint Cup driver: making hardly a ripple.

Scott Speed: Started 20th, finished 32nd (7 laps behind the leaders) and 28 fantasy points. You want a quiet race? Check out this lap-by-lap report from the race. Scott Speed's only mention comes in Lap 91, when he goes a lap down.

The NASCAR folks take their act to Kansas this week, and we have a whole new set of driver lineup polls available. Please vote. They will close Thursday night.

We'll be back with football results.

The People's Results - Dover

The leaves are starting to change in certain parts of the country (and so are the quarterbacks), but one thing that isn't changing is your level of enthusiasm for the People's Pitstop. You, the Internet, have selected the lineup that will represent the Web's favorite fantasy NASCAR team this weekend in Dover. Here are the results.

A List. Jimmie Johnson, who is gunning for a fifth straight Sprint Cup, won this week's vote (and starting spot) over Denny Hamlin.

B List. Another week, another tie. This time, it's a four-way draw between Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne and David Reutimann. The two top qualifiers will start for the People's Pitstop. And if Matt Kenseth starts, it will be his last start for us this season.

C List. There must be something about Scott Speed. He won this poll yet again and will make his fifth start for us this season. Sam Hornish Jr., whose future is still up in the air, will sit on the bench.

You can see the poll results below. Thanks for voting, and if you haven't already voted on the People's Pigskin lineup, please vote on those polls now.

Oh, and if anyone is driving down to Dover for the weekend, would they mind picking me up a few football tickets? (Just kidding.)

UPDATED 6:30 P.M. The qualifying session is over, and Johnson confirmed your confidence in him by winning the freaking pole (and earning us a 10-point bonus). Hamlin qualified 4th; he stays on the bench but give us a 1-point bonus. Speed qualified 20th, or a single spot ahead of Hornish.

The B List qualifying competition was probably the tightest in the People's Pitstop's history. Your starters are Newman (13th) and Kenseth (14th; Sunday will indeed be his swan song for us). Kahne (16th) and Reutimann (17th) will sit on the bench.

And a football note. Knowshon Moreno was declared out for Sunday's game between the Denver Broncos and the Indianapolis Colts because of a hamstring injury. It's too late to alter the poll, but you can rest assured that the People's Pigskin will not start him Sunday. Who should we put in his place? If you haven't voted, do so now.

We'll be back with some predictions.

[polldaddy poll=3789689]  [polldaddy poll=3789695]  [polldaddy poll=3789709]

The People's Choice - New Hampshire

Once again, we at the People's Pigskin owe a debt of gratitude to you, the Internet. You thought hard and weighed all the relevant factors, and you helped us set the lineup for the People's Pitstop for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Here are the results.

A List. This list is populated with a lot of the drivers contending for the Sprint Cup, and we had a three-way tie between Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin. The reshuffling after last week's race has made the usual tiebreaker of driver points less relevant for this particular week, so we went by Cup titles. Johnson and Stewart have them, Hamlin does not. We'll return to points next week. For now, Johnson and Stewart go into this week's qualifying session battling for a starting spot.

B List. One of the starting spots has been finalized by Joey Logano's narrow win in this poll. Three other drivers are fighting for the other spot: Jeff Burton, Matt Kenseth and Clint Bowyer. If Burton or Kenseth win the qualifying tiebreaker, he'll start for the Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team for the last time.

C List. This poll produced another clear-cut winner: Scott Speed. He gets the starting spot, while Sam Hornish Jr. will watch from the bench and wonder how much longer he will be a Penske Racing employee. (That bench spot would have gone to Mattias Ekstrom, but he isn't entered for this race.)

The results appear below. Thank you for voting, and please vote in the fantasy football polls if you haven't done so already. They'll close Sunday morning.

We will update this post after qualifying concludes.

UPDATED 5 P.M. The results are in, and once again, the People's Pitstop earn some bonuses. Tony Stewart beat out Jimmie Johnson for the A List starting spot, and he earned us a 3-point bonus for qualifying 3rd. Clint Bowyer beat out both Jeff Burton and Matt Kenseth for the B List spot, and he earned us a 5-point bonus for qualifying 2nd. Joey Logano, sitting in the other B List spot, qualified 31st, and Scott Speed, holding the C List spot, qualified 28th.

We'll be back with some predictions.

[polldaddy poll=3752995] [polldaddy poll=3753000] [polldaddy poll=3753009]

Feeling Like Road-Kill

The People's Pitstop didn't have as bad a weekend as Tiger Woods, but that's about the only positive thing we can say about it.

Your favorite fantasy NASCAR team racked up only 256 points during Sunday's Sprint Cup race, including the 1-point qualifying bonus for A.J. Allmendinger. That leaves us with a season total of 5,881. We slipped to 55,540th overall on Yahoo Sports, and we fell 3 spots, to 66th, in the Fans of From the Marbles league. Here are the unpleasant details.

Tony Stewart: Started 6th, finished 7th and 78 fantasy points. The only thing missing from his day was a lap led. (But we'll get back to his day shortly.)

Jamie McMurray: Started 2nd, finished 6th, 5 laps led and 95 fantasy points. That includes the 5-point bonus from qualifying and a 10-point bonus for leading a lap.

Matt Kenseth: Started 31st, finished 13th and 66 fantasy points. Well, he did move up 18 spots during the race. (And he's now one of three B List drivers who can start only one more race for the People's Pitstop.)

Boris Said: Started 13th, finished 38th and 16 fantasy points. Apparently, bygones were not allowed to be bygones. After having a run-in with Stewart in June at Sonoma, Said had another get-together with Smoke on Sunday, and the road "specialist" got the worst of it. Who would have guessed "have at it" would mean "Drivers, go ahead and treat everyone's fantasy teams like a pinata."

Anyway, the road courses are now in our rear-view mirror, and it's time to get back on the ovals. NASCAR heads to Michigan this week, and we have a new set of lineup polls that will close Thursday night. We also have a quarterback-centric poll for you fantasy football fans. Please vote now. The results of our last fantasy football poll can be seen below.

We'll be back with a sneak peek at this week's track.

[polldaddy poll=3563148]

The People's Choice - Watkins Glen

As our long national Albert Haynesworth nightmare ends, so does another week of voting for the People's Pitstop. We asked you, the Internet, to pick our lineup for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen International. Here are the results.

A List. It shouldn't come as a complete surprise that this poll had one clear winner: Tony Stewart. He'll start for the Internet's favorite fantasy NASCAR team (as he did at the Sonoma race), while former teammate Kyle Busch will sit on the bench.

B List. It wouldn't be the People's Pitstop without at least one tie. This week, three drivers tied for two starting spots. Matt Kenseth, Kasey Kahne and Jamie McMurray will fight for those spots. The qualifying session will serve at the tiebreaker. Whoever qualifies worst will join Kevin Harvick on the bench.

C List. As he did at this season's other road race, Boris Said won your vote. He'll start for the People's Pitstop. The bench spot goes to A.J. Allmendinger.

We'll update this post after the qualifying session. The poll results appear below, and if you haven't voted on our fantasy football poll, please do so now.

UPDATE 2 P.M. The qualifying session is over. Jamie McMurray will start in 2nd place. He earned a starting spot in our lineup and 5 bonus points. Matt Kenseth (31st) gets the other B List spot over Kasey Kahne (36th). And A.J. Allmendinger, who will watch from the bench, earned us a bonus point for qualifying 4th.

We'll be back with our predictions.

[polldaddy poll=3563123] [polldaddy poll=3563133] [polldaddy poll=3563140]

The People's Choice - Indianapolis

My thanks go once again to you, the Internet, for helping your favorite fantasy NASCAR team pick its lineup for  Sunday's Sprint Cup race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Here is how the People's Pitstop looks this week.

A List. This poll finished in a dead heat. Two-time Brickyard 500 winner Tony Stewart and three-time winner Jimmie Johnson will be competing for a starting spot. The winner will be the driver who fares best in Saturday's qualifying session.

B List. Here we have another tie that will be broken by the qualifying session. This time we have three drivers -- Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman and Jamie McMurray -- competing for two starting spots. The one who qualifies worst will share the bench with Kevin Harvick.

C List. This poll produced a clear-cut winner. Sam Hornish Jr., whose career achievements include an Indianapolis 500 win, will start this race for the People's Pitstop. Scott Speed will watch from the bench.

We'll update you on the lineup after the qualifying session. The lineup poll results appear below, and the TV poll is still open.

UPDATED 2:45 P.M. The qualifying session is over, and the People's Pitstop is sitting quite pretty. Jimmie Johnson, who qualified 2nd (and earned us 5 bonus points in the process), gets the start over Tony Stewart. And from the B List, our starters are Jamie McMurray, who qualified 4th (earning us 1 bonus point), and Ryan Newman, who qualified 5th. Sam Hornish Jr. performed like a typical C List driver by qualifying 25th.

[polldaddy poll=3493560] [polldaddy poll=3493577] [polldaddy poll=3493590]

Picking Up the Pieces

The people who bring you the People's Pigskin hope you had a better Independence Day weekend than our fantasy NASCAR team.

The People's Pitstop managed to score only 242 points during Saturday night's Sprint Cup race at Daytona International Speedway. The team's season total is 4,801, dropping us to 54,143rd overall on Yahoo Sports but somehow raising us to 68th place in the Fans of From the Marbles league.

It would be tempting to skip the detailed results, but we're going to present them anyway.

Jimmie Johnson: Started 2nd, finished 31st (19 laps behind the leaders), 1 lap led and 40 fantasy points. The good news is that Johnson managed to get the 10 bonus points for leading a lap. The bad news is that he, like about half the field, had his night ruined by the proverbial Big One. And yes, it was big.

Matt Kenseth: Started 7th, finished 15th and 62 fantasy points. Well, at least he finished on the leap lap, and he did get to play table tennis with John Isner.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Started 13th, finished 4th and 84 fantasy points. After winning the Nationwide race in his father's paint scheme (and launching a fresh crop of conspiracy theories), Earnhardt ran near the front all night and provided the closest thing to a bright spot for the People's Pitstop.

Paul Menard: Started 23rd, finished 18th (1 lap behind the leaders) and 56 fantasy points. Another quiet week for our C List representative.

Speaking of another week, we start one now. And this week, NASCAR takes its show to Chicago for another Saturday night special. The lineup polls are now open and will stay open until Thursday night. The results of the Fourth of July poll appear can be found below.

[polldaddy poll=3422897]

The People's Results - Daytona

Once again, you, the Internet, have chosen the drivers who will suit up for the People's Pitstop for Saturday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Daytona. Here are the results of our polls.

A List. This poll came down to a tie between Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson. Whoever qualifies better will get the starting spot.

B List. This contest was clearer. Two drivers won the starting spots here: Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (who won't be using his father's paint scheme for this race). The bench spots go to Jamie McMurray and Kevin Harvick.

C List. Another week, another tie. This time we have Paul Menard duking it out with Travis Kvapil for the starting spot.

We'll update this post when the qualifying session concludes. In the meantime, a new poll is up, and the lineup poll results appear below.

UPDATED 9:30 A.M.: The qualifying session for this race was rained out, so the race order will be set by driver's points. That means Jimmie Johnson (2nd in points) will start over Kyle Busch (3rd), while Paul Menard (23rd) will start over Travis Kvapil (38th). We'll be back with the top 10 predictions.

[polldaddy poll=3404194] [polldaddy poll=3404206] [polldaddy poll=3404215]

The Talladega Damage Report (and New Polls)

On Sunday, Talladega Superspeedway saved its "Big One" for the end of the NASCAR Nationwide Series race. But the Sprint Cup race sure felt like a wreck for the Internet's favorite fantasy auto racing team.

The People's Pitstop managed to score only 232 points during the Aaron's 499 race. The team now has 2,299 season points, tied for 111,712nd overall on Yahoo Sports and tied for 143rd in the Fans of From the Marbles league. If we were a NASCAR Sprint Cup driver, we'd be Sam Hornish Jr. right now.

The good news is that each of the four drivers who started for the People's Pitstop managed to lead a lap in this record-setting race, and each driver got 10 bonus points for doing so. Here's how we got the points.

Jeff Gordon. Started 5th, finished 22nd, 4 laps led and 58 fantasy points. It's too bad Yahoo doesn't award bonus points for grudges with teammates.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Started 7th, finished 13th, 8 laps led and 76 fantasy points. Even the guy who used to own restrictor plate races couldn't find the key to victory Sunday.

Matt Kenseth. Started 2nd, finished 28th (4 laps behind the leaders), 1 lap led and 46 fantasy points. Kenseth got caught in a "Little One" wreck on Lap 84 and fell out of contention for good.

Paul Menard. Started 18th, finished 25th (2 laps behind the leaders), 1 lap led and 52 fantasy points. If you had gone to Vegas (or somewhere else where this is legal) and bet that Menard would  lead the same number of laps as Kenseth, you would be quite wealthy right now.

And now we turn our sights to Saturday night's Sprint Cup race in Richmond. The polls are up and will stay up until Thursday evening. Feel free to vote now.

Brandon, Jimmie et al

Today's post is designed to satisfy both sets of fans of the People's Pigskin: those who love fantasy football and those who love fantasy racing.

First, here's the racing information. There is still time to vote on the People's Pitstop lineup for Sunday's NASCAR Sprint Cup race in Texas. But we need to issue a quick reminder. According to Yahoo Fantasy Auto Racing's rules (which you can read in full by clicking here), a team is only allowed to start a certain driver nine times during the course of the Sprint Cup season. And this is a season that lasts until a week before Thanksgiving.

Therefore, when you vote, you might want to remember that certain drivers have already made frequent appearances in the starting lineup. For example, Jimmie Johnson has appeared four times so far, so we can use him only five more times this season, and we might want to use him during the Chase, when he won four races last year. Similarly, Matt Kenseth has made five appearances (and has four left), while Kevin Harvick has made four appearances (and has five left). Just saying.

Now, on to the fantasy football news. The Miami Dolphins traded a pair of draft picks to the Denver Broncos in exchange for headache/wide receiver Brandon Marshall. Who does this affect? First and foremost, ESPN's Christopher Harris says the trade helps Chad Henne, who may finally get to run a grown-up NFL offense now. Second, the good folks at Shutdown Corner say the trade may seal Ted Ginn's fate. Third...well, I'd say how this affects the Broncos starting quarterback, but that would suggest I knew who that will be.

Anyway, we will be back tomorrow with some facts about this week's race. Until then, feel free to vote.

Damage Assessment, New Polls and Rule Change

First of all, a show of hands, please ... how many of you expected Ryan Newman to win Saturday night's race?

OK, now that we know who the liars are, let's discuss the People's Pitstop results. The Internet's favorite fantasy racing team scored only 214 points at this week's Sprint Cup race in Phoenix. The season total is 1,760, leaving us tied for 140,102nd overall and tied for 171st in the Fan of From the Marbles league.

Here are the detailed results.

Greg Biffle. Started 30th, finished 22nd, 48 fantasy points. I guess all we had to do to break Biffle's top-10-finish streak was to put him in the starting lineup.

Matt Kenseth. Started 27th, finished 6th, 90 fantasy points. That includes 10 points for leading a lap. Kenseth was the only People's Pitstop starter who found his way to the front of the pack at any point during Gnatfest 2010.

Jeff Burton. Started 15th, finished 25th, 42 fantasy points. At least Burton was able to wind up on the lead lap.

Paul Menard. Started 32nd, finished 29th (1 lap behind the leaders), 34 fantasy points. Ugh.

The polls are now up for the next Sprint Cup race Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway. As usual, the polls will stay up until Thursday night, so we can turn in a lineup in time for Friday's qualifying session.

Speaking of qualifying, it's time to announce a rule tweak for this fantasy NASCAR team. From now on, if a starter and a bench driver get the same number of votes, we will use the driver to qualifies better in the starting spot. We'll still use driver points to determine who does and doesn't make the lineup we turn in Thursday night, but from now on if, say, Greg Biffle and Jimmie Johnson are tied in votes, and Johnson qualifies SEVEN WHOLE ROW in front of Biffle, Johnson will get the start, and Biffle will sit on the bench.

(OK, rant over.) Feel free to vote now. We'll be back with a look at some driver trends.

A Brief Review of Last Week

Like the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the Internet's favorite fantasy racing team took last week off. The polls for this week's race at Phoenix are already up, so feel free to vote now. Though this week's race will take place on Saturday night, the People's Pitstop polls will still close Thursday night.

Speaking of the People's Pitstop, our team managed to score only 226 points in our last race in Martinsville. That leaves us with a season total of 1,546, tied for 105,242nd in Yahoo Fantasy Racing and tied for 126th in the Fans of From the Marbles league. Here's the breakdown:

Jimmie Johnson. Started 3rd, finished 9th, 74 fantasy points. Even though Jimmie spent a good portion of the race near the front of the pack, he didn't manage to lead a single lap.

Kevin Harvick. Started 1st, finished 35th (100 laps behind the leaders), 32 fantasy points. And that total includes 10 points for leading 57 laps before being knocked out of the running for good by one of the most important auto parts on a track like this one: the brakes.

Matt Kenseth. Started 2nd, finished 18th, 56 fantasy points. More proof that where you start a NASCAR race may not have any bearing on where you finish it.

Paul Menard. Started 9th, finished 14th, 64 fantasy points. What does it say about your fantasy auto racing team when the C List driver may have been the brightest spot of your week?

No matter. It's time for a new race and new polls. The results of our wing-vs.-spoiler poll appear below. Please vote.

[polldaddy poll=2969749]

The Bristol Breakdown (and Martinsville Polls)

Bristol races are never easy to predict, but the People's Pitstop had a particularly rough week this week. The Internet's favorite fantasy racing team scored only 223 points on Sunday. No starter led a lap, so we got no bonus points for doing so. The season point total is now 1,320, good enough to be tied for 105,293rd overall and 123rd in the Fans of From the Marbles fantasy racing league.

Here's the driver-by-driver breakdown:

Mark Martin. Started 13th, finished 35th (92 laps behind the leaders), 22 fantasy points. At one point the Venerable One was threatening to take the lead in Sunday's Sprint Cup race. And then this happened.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Started 18th, finished 7th, 78 fantasy points. The good news is that Earnhardt found his way into the top 10. The bad news is that he failed to lead a lap on a track where he has a strong track record.

Matt Kenseth. Started 7th, finished 5th, 82 fantasy points. He did continued his every-week-in-the-top-10 streak. That's good.

Scott Speed. Started 29th, finished 31st (20 points behind the leaders), 30 fantasy points. He never really was a threat to do anything Sunday. That's bad.

Now it's time for you, the Internet, to turn your attention to our next race, which will take place at another fan-favorite short track, Martinsville. The polls are open and will close Thursday night, so that we can get the lineup in for Friday's qualifying session. Please vote now.

Some Thoughts on Sunday

First things first. The Internet's favorite fantasy racing team racked up 302 points during Sunday's Sprint Cup race in Atlanta. That's good enough to continue the People's Pitstop's rise up the charts. We're now tied for 81,663rd overall and tied for 92nd in the Fans of From the Marbles league. Here's your weekly breakdown.

Jimmie Johnson. Started 16th, finished 12th, 68 fantasy points. He didn't finish in the top 10, but he didn't get a bad batch of tires, either.

Kevin Harvick. Started 35th, finished 9th, 74 fantasy points. That's four straight finishes in the top 10 for the happy one.

Matt Kenseth. Started 14th, finished 2nd, 88 fantasy points. And for Kenseth, that's four finished in the top 10 and three in the top five.

Scott Speed. Started 32rd, finished 10th, 72 fantasy points. Yes, Scott Speed finished in the top 10. No, it's not necessarily the end of the world as we know it.

The only bad news for our team: For the first week of the NASCAR season, none of our drivers led a lap.

Speaking of the NASCAR season, it's taking this week off (we'll explore that topic later this week), but it's also leaving racing fans a juicy controversy. What do you do when a ticked-off Carl Edwards decides to get revenge on Brad Keselowski by flipping him and his car into the air? Some think NASCAR should do nothing, since it asked for this when it said it would let drivers settle disputes among themselves. Others say fans' lives may be on the line.

Our latest poll won't ask you what type of punishment NASCAR will (or should) dish out to the drivers in question. Your task is much simpler. Tell us whose fault it was.

We'll be back later with more on racing's off week and football's busy week. In the meantime, here are the results from the TV poll.

[polldaddy poll=2760569]