Things Get Loud in Loudon

Watching one's favorite driver run out of gas seconds before he would have won at Loudon is a rotten way to end a Sunday afternoon, but since there's no crying in fantasy NASCAR, here is the rundown.

Billy Bob -
J Gordon 155
Johnson 88
Harvick 155
Hamlin 170
Ky Busch 138
WEEK 706
TOTAL 17452

Princess A -
Ku Busch 124
Ky Busch 138
Stewart 96
J Gordon 155
Hamlin 170
WEEK 683
TOTAL 17511

Daisy Mae -
Stewart 96
J Gordon 155
Ku Busch 124
Ky Busch 138
Edwards 135
WEEK 648
TOTAL 17539

NASCorolla -
Johnson 88
J Gordon 155
Hamlin 170
Stewart 96
Edwards 135
WEEK 644
TOTAL 17690

1,2,Earnhardt,4 -
Johnson 88
Ku Busch 124
Hamlin 170
Harvick 155
Stewart 96
WEEK 633
TOTAL 17621

Zeeee -
Johnson 88
J Gordon 155
Martin 76
Ky Busch 138
Hamlin 170
WEEK 627
TOTAL 17054

Total Standings, top to bottom -
NASCorolla = 17690
1,2,Earnhardt,4 = -69
Daisy Mae = -151
Princess A = -179
Billy Bob = -238
Zeeee = -636

There are still 9 races. Mathematically, we all have a chance to win, so think about that favorite restaurant.

Recap

This Nascar fantasy season has been better contested than I thought it would be. Early on it looked bad for anyone not named 1,2,Earnhardt,4 as I took an enormous lead and then, true to all of my fantasy seasons, I promptly threw it up all over my shoes. Easy come, easy go. For most of the season NASCorolla has had a monopoly on the pole spot overall. Weekly winners are only fairly spread out. I say only fairly because T-Money has failed to show up on victory lane so far. NASCorolla, Daisy Mae and Princess A are all tied for the most #1 finishes, with 6. Last place finishes are a little more evenly distributed, with everyone except NASCorolla owning 5 cabooses. Last place must smell bad because NASCorolla does not like going there – only 2 epic failures so far this year for NASCARolla.

So with 10 races left, who has a realistic shot at the champeenship? Here are the average totals:

NASCorolla	656
1,2,Earnhardt,4	653
Daisy Mae	650
Princess A	647
Billy Bob	644
Zeeee	632

No surprise here. They play out how the overall standings are. If everyone continues to post their ‘average’ total, the standings stay the same.

To me, so far the story of the season has been what I call ‘The woodshed’. The woodshed is where you get taken when it’s time for a whuppin’. There are just two people there, the whupper and whuppee. Taking people to the woodshed is the only way to make any real gains. If you get taken to the woodshed a lot, then you probably aren’t very good. Going out the woodshed a lot means your team is volatile, which is definitely a good thing. You want wild swings in the score. Scoring somewhere in the middle isn’t going to cut it.

How do you get taken out behind the woodshed? Get beaten by more than 150 points. Any week where the gap between #1 and #6 is more than 150 is a woodshedding. The all-time worst woodshedding was week #1 with Daisy Mae on the wrong end to the tune of 280 points, courtesy of Princess A. Daisy Mae is tied on the list for the team owner who has been taken out there most often. Also on that list are Princess A and NASCorolla. Don’t feel too bad though - Daisy Mae is also the co-leader of the most frequent woodshed-giver. NASCorolla is the co-owner of the Queen of the ‘shed title. Do those names sound familiar? They should – they are the #1 and #3 teams right now. In fact the last three woodsheddings were all handed out by Daisy Mae, all in the last 5 weeks. This is how she has been able to start her improbable run near the top after spending so much time in the cellar.

Is team Daisy Mae too hot? As NASCorolla has shown, a steady hand on the tiller makes for a winning strategy. Daisy Mae is smoking hot right now, but as last week shows she could just as easily cool off with a few mistimed picks. Hoping to steal some NASCorolla thunder, Billy Bob has also stuck with the same drivers. With the exception of last week though, his set of drivers has not shown as much staying power. If he wants to win he will need to make some changes at some point. Zeeee – what can I say? You’re out of it. Start saving up for the season ending dinner. Princess A has a dark horse shot at winning. There are enough races left to make a run, but she needs to post some #1’s soon. 1,2,Earnhardt, 4 has too many 2-3 finishes and not enough 1-2 finishes. Unless he bottles some ‘shed magic, there’s not enough stank in the tank for him. It’s going to come down to Daisy Mae and NASCorolla in a nail biter.

Richmond

The men took the top three places in this week's points' race.

Billy Bob -
J Gordon 127
Johnson 170
Harvick 138
Hamlin 195
Ky Busch 170
WEEK 800
TOTAL 16746

1,2,Earnhardt,4 -
Edwards 139
Ky Busch 170
Hamlin 195
Harvick 138
Burton 129
WEEK 771
TOTAL 16988

Zeeee -
Johnson 170
J Gordon 127
Martin 103
Ky Busch 170
Hamlin 195
WEEK 765
TOTAL 16427

NASCorolla -
Johnson 170
J Gordon 127
Hamlin 195
Stewart 115
Edwards 139
WEEK 746
TOTAL 17046

Princess A -
Burton 129
Ky Busch 170
J Gordon 127
Stewart 115
Bowyer 155
WEEK 696
TOTAL 16828

Daisy Mae -
Stewart 115
J Gordon 127
Ku Busch 109
Ky Busch 170
Edwards 139
WEEK 660
TOTAL 16891

Here are the total points' standings -
NASCorolla = 17046
1,2,Earnhardt,4 = -58
Daisy Mae = -155
Princess A = -218
Billy Bob = -300
Zeeee = -619

Next week is Loudon. If the caravan of RVs with NASCAR decals that was slowing up 495 North yesterday is any indication, there should be plenty of fans in attendance.

Atlanta - Just Peachy!

Race # 25 is in the books! Here we go, top to bottom in the weekly lineup.

Daisy Mae -
Stewart 195
J Gordon 124
Ku Busch 155
Ky Busch 155
Edwards 175
WEEK - 804
TOTAL - 16231

NASCorolla -
Johnson 170
J Gordon 124
Hamlin 39
Stewart 195
Edwards 175
WEEK - 703
TOTAL - 16300

1,2,Earnhardt,4 -
Ku Busch 155
Johnson 170
Montoya 138
Harvick 64
Kenseth 130
WEEK - 657
TOTAL - 16217

Princess A -
Harvick 64
Kenseth 130
J Gordon 124
Stewart 195
Earnhardt 97
WEEK - 610
TOTAL - 16132

Zeeee -
Johnson 170
J Gordon 124
Martin 100
Ky Busch 155
Hamlin 39
WEEK - 588
TOTAL - 15662

Billy Bob -
J Gordon 124
Johnson 170
Harvick 64
Hamlin 39
Ky Busch 155
WEEK - 552
TOTAL - 15946

Here are the current points' standings -
NASCorolla = 16300
Daisy Mae = -69
1,2,Earnhardt,4 = -83
Princess A = -168
Billy Bob = -354
Zeeee = -638

The excitement of it all is making me dizzy. Maybe I need some oxygen. Next week's race is at Richmond, a Saturday night race, and also the birthday of one of the players. First place would be a fine birthday gift!