Dale Earnhardt Jr. ‘Dewing’ Something Amazing – Fantasy Insight Indy

Lost amid the speculation of the AJ Allmendinger drug test is a story that should be getting media members fired up. After the first 19 races Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the only driver to finish every lap this season. How significant is this accomplishment? No driver in the modern era of NASCAR has ever gone this many races into a season and finished on the lead lap in every race! Not the great Richard Petty. Jimmie Johnson never did this. Not even his Daddy accomplished this amazing feat. Dale Earnhardt Jr is “Dewing”  something amazing this season!

I can already hear the naysayers and the Junior haters screaming, “Well of course he has been able to finish on the lead lap he can get the ‘Lucky Dog’ every race so it really doesn’t mean anything.” Would it surprise you to hear that only one time all season Earnhardt Jr needed the “Lucky Dog” to get back on the lead lap? (Darlington) This rule is also available to every single driver in NASCAR but not a single one of his fellow drivers has finished all of the laps. Only Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle come close, missing one and two laps, respectively. How do the other drivers in Cup compare on “Lucky Dog” usage this season?

Seventeen drivers have used three or more “Lucky Dog” awards this year with Ryan Newman leading the league with seven. Thirty-six different drivers have used the award in the first nineteen races of the season. Carl Edwards, last year’s runnerup in the NASCAR Sprint Cup division has used the award four times. Only two drivers in the top 25 in points have not used a “Lucky Dog” all season. (Kenseth and Martin Truex Jr.) Here is a list of the cars that have used the “Lucky Dog” three or more times this year.

Car	Total
39	7
22	5
10	4
27	4
36	4
47	4
83	4
93	4
99	4
11	3
14	3
15	3
20	3
34	3
42	3
51	3
55	3

Earnhardt Jr. isn’t getting to Victory Lane with the regularity the Junior Nation would like to see, but consistency pays off in NASCAR Fantasy Racing. Finishing on the lead lap in each of the first 19 races might be one of the more amazing feats accomplished in NASCAR for us stats freaks. Can he keep this streak going all season? Until this team has a bad race you better include Junior on your fantasy racing team each and every week no matter which track the series is visiting.

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 the big race at Indy.

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.

Whiteboard Fantasy Racing Winner Last Week

Mike N picked the winner at New Hampshire

Whiteboard Fantasy Racing Top Ten After New Hampshire

Rank	Player	Total
1	RA	38
2	Gertie	35
3	LAM	33
4T	Carbon	31
4T	Grainger	31
6T	Rick	24
6T	Chris U	24
8	Aaron C	22
9T	DMIC	21
9T	Mike N	21

 

Weather Report

Mostly sunny with a green flag temperature of 84F and a high temperature of 87F 

If you have a question about Fantasy Racing send it to dennis@racetalkradio.com and get it answered next week. 

NASCAR by the Numbers- Lubricated by TheOilMedics.com

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
J Gordon	93
M Kenseth	92
B Keselowski	92
T Stewart	91
D Earnhardt Jr	91
J Johnson	89
K Kahne	89
C Bowyer	89
G Biffle	88
J Logano	87

Horses for Courses (Track Rating)

Driver	Course
G Biffle	93
T Stewart	92
M Martin	92
J Gordon	92
K Harvick	89
C Edwards	89
J McMurray	88
M Kenseth	87
C Bowyer	87
Ky Busch	87

Type Casting (Track Type Factor)

Driver	Type
J Johnson	95
T Stewart	95
D Earnhardt Jr	93
R Newman	91
M Kenseth	90
C Bowyer	90
B Keselowski	89
M Martin	88
G Biffle	88
J Gordon	87

Power Rating (240 Minimum to Qualify as Contender)

 

Driver	Power
T Stewart	278
J Gordon	272
J Johnson	270
M Kenseth	268
G Biffle	268
C Bowyer	265
K Harvick	262
M Martin	261
C Edwards	261
D Earnhardt Jr	261
R Newman	258
B Keselowski	258
Ky Busch	254
K Kahne	253
J McMurray	252
M Truex	251
J Burton	250
P Menard	247
J Logano	245
D Hamlin	244
Ku Busch	242
M Ambrose	241
JP Montoya	239
B Labonte	238
D Ragan	229
C Mears	228
R Smith	227
S Hornish	224
T Kvapil	221
A Almirola	220
D Gilliland	220
D Blaney	219
L Cassill	219

DMIC’s Fantasy Picks

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 6^th)  

Jimmie Johnson- Not his most consistent track but has won three times here

(5 to 1 Odds)

Best Long Shot (Odds of 20-1 or More) (Last Week 10^th)        

Mark Martin- No worse than 11^th in last seven races at Indy

(20 to 1 Odds)

Top Dogs (Group A in Yahoo) (Last Week 7^th)         

Tony Stewart- Back home again in Indiana and Victory Lane is often his home

(6 to 1 Odds)

Second Class (Group B in Yahoo) (Last Week 3^rd)       

Dale Earnhardt Jr. – His consistency is the best in NASCAR right now

(9 to 1 Odds)

Middle Packer (Group C in Yahoo) (Last Week 28^th)        

Trevor Bayne- The kid knows how to pull off a huge upset

(125 to 1 Odds)

Crazy 8s for Indy

Each week Lori Munro and Dennis Michelsen battle in the most unique racing game around! We pick one driver each from each 8 driver group using the current points’ standings. Our picks can help you round out your fantasy racing lineup!

Last Race at New Hampshire: Lori won the matchup 3-2

Season Record: Lori leads Dennis at 12-7

Group 1: Lori picks Tony Stewart and Dennis picks Jimmie Johnson

Group 2: Dennis picks Clint Bowyer and Lori picks Kasey Kahne

Group 3: Lori picks Jeff Gordon and Dennis picks Marcos Ambrose

Group 4: Dennis picks Mark Martin and Lori picks Regan Smith

Group 5: Lori picks Sam Hornish Jr and Dennis picks Trevor Bayne

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