One and Done: Heluva Good Sour Cream Dips at The Glen

Christopher LeoneAug 5, 2009

Hello everybody, this is Chris Leone.

Some of you might remember me from having written about NASCAR for this site in the past. Others might have read some of my hockey articles for this site. I haven't been a consistent poster on here since last summer, however, when I packed up my act and took it to OnPitRow.com.

Over the past year with OnPitRow, my role has evolved from a features writer, to a columnist and sort of ombudsman for NASCAR, to a fantasy racing specialist: I write a weekly column there recommending picks for the site's One and Done fantasy racing game.

With my return to Bleacher Report, you'll see all of my columns from OnPitRow posted here, including the aforementioned weekly fantasy racing column (which starts on the next page). You will see my stuff on here at least twice a week.

Speaking of One and Done, let me explain the rules of the game and the column. The column is written to apply to just about any fantasy racing game, with an emphasis on One and Done.

There are three portions of the One and Done season: The first 13 races of the year (ending after Dover), the second half of the regular season (ending after Richmond), and the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Each week, players pick one driver (the "One") to represent them in the game. The player then receives as many points as the driver scores in the race. The player cannot pick that driver again (the "Done") for that portion of the season. So if I was to pick Kyle Busch at Indianapolis, I wouldn't be able to pick him again until the first race of the Chase, at New Hampshire.

Now that you know the rules of the game, I hope you'll go to OnPitRow.com and sign up. Even if you don't, if you're in a fantasy racing league that allows for weekly driver picks, I hope my column will be of some use to you.

See you around—Chris.

This weekend, the Sprint Cup Series travels to western New York for the Heluva Good! Sour Cream Dips at the Glen. The second and final road course race of the year, Watkins Glen offers a chance for the road-course ringers of the world to show their stuff in a stock car.

Making fantasy picks at a track like The Glen can be difficult, because momentum from tracks like Indianapolis and Pocono doesn’t necessarily transfer for poor road course drivers. At the same time, some drivers who have been in the cellar all season can use the two road course races every year to get some solid finishes and help their owners’ points situations.

Watkins Glen has never had quite as many road course ringers as Infineon Raceway, especially in the Car of Tomorrow era. While P.J. Jones, Brian Simo, and Andy Lally will be along for the ride, none are in competitive cars, and all will be forced to qualify for the race on time. It seems as if the days of the competitive road course ringer are over, making them poor fantasy racing picks.

The biggest keys to the Glen are twofold. First, effective race management can win or lose a race for a driver (see Robby Gordon at Infineon a couple of months ago). Second, getting used to the new double-file restarts on the road course will be key, especially with drivers racing into the 90-degree right-hander that is Turn 1. We’ll probably see at least one wreck there coming off a restart.

So who looks like a solid fantasy pick this weekend?

Robby Gordon: This is one of Robby’s best Sprint Cup tracks, given his 10.6 average finish , one win, and seven top fives in 10 starts here. Three of those top fives were with his own team as well, so it’s not as if he simply milked Richard Childress’ equipment.

Kyle Busch: His average finish at the Glen is only 12.5 because of a 33rd-place run in 2005. He won this race last year after leading 52 of 90 laps. Busch's other two races here resulted in ninth and seventh-place runs. As the series inches closer and closer to the Chase cutoff, Rowdy needs this race to work out for him to stay in contention.

Mark Martin: He hasn’t run at the Glen since 2006, led a lap there since 2000, or won at the track since 1995, a race which capped a streak of three straight Glen wins for The Kid. But given Martin’s recent momentum and general consistency at the track in the past (16 top 10s in 19 starts for an average finish of 6.9), it shouldn’t be a stretch to expect him in victory lane this weekend.

Juan Montoya: After fantastic runs at both Indianapolis and Pocono, he’s got the momentum. A road-course win is never out of the former Formula 1 driver’s reach, given his experience on the tracks. A win here could help propel the Colombian into the Chase.

Denny Hamlin: While he’s never led a lap at the Glen, Hamlin’s worst finish there is 10th. His other two starts here have resulted in a second and eighth. Combine that with his momentum from Pocono, and Denny looks like a solid pick for two wins in a row this weekend.