Hard Turn

A NASCAR BLOG BY Jeff Owens

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Fantasy Week 13: Best Buy 400

May 29

Dover is a track that presents numerous options for fantasy players, because the top drivers normally do well there.

Carl Edwards, for instance, should be the favorite to win his fourth race of the season. Edwards won the last race at Dover in September and finished third there last June.

Keep in mind that NASCAR used the new car in both Dover races last year, so most teams should already have a good idea what to expect.

Also, as you make your picks, think Bristol. Dover’s 1-mile, concrete surface is basically a big Bristol, so drivers who do well at Bristol normally are in the hunt at Dover.

Group A

Edwards and Kyle Busch, the two dominant drivers this season, should be the drivers to beat again this weekend. Busch finished fifth there in September. Edwards finished third there in June.

Also consider Matt Kenseth, who won this race in 2006 and finished fifth there last year.

Two drivers to stay away from are Hendrick teammates Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Gordon, who has not won there since 2001, finished ninth and 11th last year while Johnson finished outside the top 10 in both races.

Group B

This group is full of solid picks for Dover. Greg Biffle, Jeff Burton, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin, Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr. have all won there.

Truex scored his first career victory there last June and should be a strong contender again.

Burton won there in 2006 and Biffle in 2005. Biffle also finished second to Edwards in September.

And perhaps the biggest threat there from this group is Newman, who has three wins at Dover and finished second to Truex last June.

Also, don’t count out Martin. Dover has always been one of his best tracks. He has four wins there and should be a serious threat to get his first win with DEI. Following Truex’s win in June, Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished third for DEI there in September, so this could be a big weekend for DEI.

Group C

This might be a good week to take a flier on Robby Gordon. He finished 10th and 19th in the two races at Dover last year. If he can stay out of trouble, he could contend for another solid finish.

Jamie McMurray and Juan Pablo Montoya also both had top-10 finishes at Dover last year.

Group D

David Ragan and Brian Vickers continue to be the best bets in this group. Ragan finished 14th there last June while Vickers had top-20s in both races.

Group E

Sam Hornish Jr. seems to be getting the hang of stock-car racing, scoring his best finish of the season (13th) last week at Charlotte. David Reutimann also scored his first top-10 of the season. They are emerging as the class of this group.