This is one of those weeks in NASCAR history that I will remember for a very long time. No it probably will not be because of a memorable race winner or a thrilling pass for the win. This will be a special moment because a young driver from Aztec, New Mexico will be making his NASCAR Sprint Cup Debut.
Over 2500 different drivers have logged a lap in the Sprint Cup division but Alex Kennedy will be the first for whom I ever handled PR duties on the way up through the minor leagues of racing. The first time I saw this kid behind the wheel of a race car I knew he had special talent.
It was at Baer Field that I first saw him test a stock car and watched former NASCAR Busch Series rookie of the year Glenn Allen Jr. check his stop watch in disbelief at the speed of this young kid. Over the years I watched Alex become an excellent stock car racer – and to become an amazing young man off the track as well.
Kennedy is NOT a “road course ringer.” But he has always performed well on the road courses in whatever he has driven. When he was a 13-year-old racing his Legends cars, his dad picked road courses for his races because Alex would get more seat time.
His expertise helped him win a big race at Sonoma in those Legends cars. “Kid Kennedy” couldn’t defend that title because of an age restriction imposed the following year. Kennedy finished 11th in a K&N West Series race at Sonoma in a car that had not seen a race track in almost three years.
His career best fourth-place finish in the K&N East Series came at Lime Rock, another road course, with a hard working, but under-funded, team. Kennedy finished 15th at Montreal last year driving for Nemco Motorsports in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.
“Kid Kennedy” has the talent to make an impact in NASCAR, but, like many young racers, he does not have the deep pockets needed to get a full-time ride in today’s stock car racing where the concept of driver development is a thing of the past.
But this Sunday in Tri-Star Motorsports’ No.19 Toyota, Kennedy will join those other 2500-plus drivers who made it to the highest level in NASCAR racing. If the right sponsor comes along, maybe this will be the first of many Cup starts for Alex “Kid” Kennedy from Aztec, New Mexico.
Good luck Alex!
Good luck with your fantasy racing picks this week and don’t forget to send in your pick for “Whiteboard Fantasy Racing” this week for Sonoma.
Send in your pick to win this week’s Cup race to dennis@racetalkradio.com for a chance to win a copy of the National Speedway Directory from SpeedwaysOnline.com.
National Speedway Directory
Hot off the press the 2013 edition of the National Speedway Directory is now available. For over three decades the NSD has given race fans and teams information about every track in North America. Order your copy today at http://speedwaysonline.com
Weather Report
Partly sunny with a comfortable high temp near 80F
If you have a question about Fantasy Racing send it to dennis@racetalkradio.com and get it answered next week.
NASCAR by the Numbers
Using a proprietary race analysis technique we take the fans inside the numbers every week. DMIC’s rating system has been in use since 2002 and has proven to pick the contenders from the pretenders!
Consistency is King (Last Five Races)
|
Driver |
Last 5 |
|
K Harvick |
95 |
|
T Stewart |
94 |
|
C Bowyer |
91 |
|
Ky Busch |
90 |
|
J Logano |
89 |
|
C Edwards |
88 |
|
G Biffle |
88 |
|
JP Montoya |
88 |
|
J Burton |
87 |
|
Ku Busch |
87 |
Horses for Courses (Track Rating)
|
Driver |
Course |
|
J Gordon |
95 |
|
J Johnson |
94 |
|
C Bowyer |
91 |
|
M Ambrose |
90 |
|
T Stewart |
89 |
|
K Kahne |
86 |
|
JP Montoya |
85 |
|
C Edwards |
85 |
|
G Biffle |
85 |
|
Brian Vickers |
84 |
Type Casting (Track Type Factor)
|
Driver |
Type |
|
M Ambrose |
96 |
|
Ky Busch |
91 |
|
B Keselowski |
91 |
|
C Bowyer |
90 |
|
J Gordon |
90 |
|
J Johnson |
89 |
|
C Edwards |
89 |
|
K Harvick |
89 |
|
M Truex |
88 |
|
M Kenseth |
88 |
Power Rating (240 Minimum to Qualify as Contender)
|
Driver |
Power |
|
C Bowyer |
271 |
|
J Gordon |
269 |
|
J Johnson |
269 |
|
M Ambrose |
266 |
|
K Harvick |
266 |
|
T Stewart |
266 |
|
Ky Busch |
265 |
|
C Edwards |
262 |
|
Ku Busch |
258 |
|
M Kenseth |
256 |
|
JP Montoya |
255 |
|
G Biffle |
255 |
|
J Logano |
254 |
|
R Newman |
253 |
|
M Truex |
253 |
|
J Burton |
251 |
|
B Keselowski |
250 |
|
Brian Vickers |
248 |
|
K Kahne |
248 |
|
J McMurray |
245 |
|
P Menard |
240 |
|
C Mears |
240 |
|
D Earnhardt Jr |
239 |
|
R Stenhouse Jr |
234 |
|
D Gilliland |
234 |
|
D Hamlin |
231 |
|
A Almirola |
224 |
|
B Labonte |
223 |
|
D Reutimann |
222 |
|
T Kvapil |
221 |
|
D Ragan |
220 |
|
D Patrick |
218 |
|
D Stremme |
215 |
DMIC’s Fantasy Picks presented by Speedwaysonline.com
Each week we will take you beyond the numbers to handicap the field from top to bottom to help your Fantasy Racing team succeed. You are also invited to join Lori Munro and I on “White Board Fantasy Racing” every Monday night on “Doin’ Donuts” at 8pm ET on RaceTalkRadio.com. Win fun prizes by picking just the race winners in our unique format. Send your picks to info@racetalkradio.com to enter.
Top Pick (Last Week Finished 18th)
Tony Stewart- Driver is hot and very good at road courses
(7 to 1 Odds)
Best Long Shot (Odds of 20-1 or More) (Last Week Finished 7th)
Ron Fellows- It’s been a long time since a road course ringer won at Cup but Ron can
(60 to 1 Odds)
Top Dogs (Group A in Yahoo) (Last Week Finished 28th)
Clint Bowyer- The defending champion and a solid road course racer
(10 to 1 Odds)
Second Class (Group B in Yahoo) (Last Week Won)
Marcos Ambrose- The best road course racer in NASCAR
(5 to 1 Odds)
Middle Packer (Group C in Yahoo) (Last Week Finished 16th)
Jacques Villeneuve- Likely to tick off someone but can win if he stays under control
(60 to 1 Odds)
Crazy 8s for Sonoma
Each week Lori Munro and Dennis Michelsen battle in the most unique racing game around! We pick one driver each from each eight-driver group using the current points’ standings. Our picks can help you round out your fantasy racing lineup!
Dennis won 3-2 in week 15 and Lori leads the game 9-6 for the year
Group 1: Dennis picks Clint Bowyer and Lori picks Jimmie Johnson
Group 2: Lori picks Tony Stewart and Dennis picks Jeff Gordon
Group 3: Dennis picks Marcos Ambrose and Lori picks Juan Pablo Montoya
Group 4: Lori picks Denny Hamlin and Dennis picks Danica Patrick
Group 5: Dennis picks Ron Fellows and Lori picks Jacques Villeneuve
Do you have what it takes to handicap the races? Join Lori and Dennis every week and play in the Whiteboard Fantasy Racing Series! Send your pick for the Cup race to info@racetalkradio.com to enter. Weekly prize given away!































