Beat The Experts: AAA 400 At Dover
By Cole Mentzel
The Sprint Cup Series has shifted to Dover this weekend for the first elimination race of the Chase. Last weekend at New Hampshire, Matt Kenseth was able to get a win and clinch his spot in the next round while Kevin Harvick ran out of gas and put himself in a huge hole. There will be many storylines for this race such as Hurricane Joaquin, which is headed towards the East coast as we speak.
Last weekend, for the BTF Chase game, staff writer Cole Mentzel scored 37 points followed by staff writer Mike Hutton (34 points), BTF editor Christopher Olmstead (33 points) and staff writer Joseph Shelton with 7 points.
As for the BTF readers involved in the game, Chris Losurdo continues to lead after picking up 37 points and he was followed by Tammy Hemminger (33 points). Linda Lopez Gearst Gerhardt and Mary Jo Korp tied with 25 points each and Rita Stout had 7 points.
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Here are the BTF staff picks for Dover:
Mike Hutton – Kevin Harvick – Harvick’s back is against the wall, and he’s always come through in those situations before. Phoenix last year was a good example. His team also seems remarkably poised and undaunted by the race ahead, and it appears to be just business as usual.
Cole Mentzel – Kyle Busch – As of right now, Busch is one point below the cut-off, meaning he would be eliminated if the Chase ended. That won’t last for the long. The only reason he is in this position is because of a wreck he got into at New Hampshire. He has four wins this season and is a part of Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin and Kenseth have already got wins while Edwards has the most points behind them. Busch won’t be left behind. Expect him to get a big win the weekend.
Joseph Shelton – Jimmie Johnson – You don’t spit in the wind, you don’t tug on Superman’s cape, and you don’t bet against Jimmie Johnson at Dover. His 10 wins there is a hard stat to argue against.
This is the weekend that some drivers could see their season come to an end and if the standings don’t change, we could see some big names out of competition. However, this is NASCAR and nothing ever stays the same. Expect an intense race at “The Monster Mile” due to raised stakes for part of the field.
During the May race at Dover, we saw a crazy ending due to many late cautions that took some key drivers out. With short track racing, you never know when a wreck might happen and it could take out three or four drivers that aren’t even involved. That’s what makes this race so important for drivers below the line and around the line. One mistake could spell disaster for you and your team and there might not be anything you can do about it.
Expect a tense and emotional race this weekend.
Who do you think will win at Dover? Let us know in the comments below!