Three For All Fantasy Picks: Dickies 500

By Eric Ferreira

The Chase is all but over and clearly, Jimmie Johnson is the man. He is having a bad race, hanging out at the back of the pack, then, all of a sudden, he finishes sixth. He’s got it all: luck, talent, and a great team.

Since there isn’t much to talk about in the Chase these days, let’s talk about Three For All. The Unrestricted league is in a close battle with four teams within 100 points of the leader. Who’s the leader, you ask. None other than your favorite NASCAR Prognosticator, and author of one of the most read blog posts on our site—me.

OK, I may have exaggerated the truth a bit, or entirely, but that’s not the point. The point is, my goal was to not embarrass myself by making these picks every week, and maybe even win the league. I’ve got three races to go and I’d love it if I could actually pull this off and win the league.

For the second time this season, we had the same Sporting News member win back-to-back weeks in the league. Steilkie scored 410 points and pulled to within 35 points of first place. His team of Dale Earnhardt Jr, Brian Vickers, and Michael Waltrip beat my team of energy drinkers (Junior, Vickers, Scott Speed).

It was also the second week in a row that I scored low enough to have my score dropped for the week. That’s what happens when you make your picks early. Of course, a Vegas trip trumps everything. I wish I could tell everyone about my weekend in Vegas, but “what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas”. After the weekend I had, I completely agree with that rule. Sorry, everyone.

As I look over this week’s options, I don’t have a lot left. There are only six each in Tiers 1 and 2, and Tier 3 has been thin all season. Most likely Johnson will be in the mix and buddy Jeff Gordon will be right there, as well, considering he is starting on the pole and had the fourth-fastest car in practice. All I am looking for, from here on out, are safe picks.

Tier 1: Last year, Carl Edwards won five out of the nine races that were held on 1.5-mile tracks. We haven’t heard much from him lately, but, he has won at this track three times. He starts sixth and had the fifth-fastest car in practice. That sounds like the best option that I have left.

Tier 2: Kurt Busch has eight top 10s in 13 career races at Texas Motor Speedway. He will also be starting third and had the sixth-fastest car in practice. The bottom of Tier 2 does not look good to me. Kurt’s the best choice for me.

Tier 3: No Tier 3 drivers stand out this week, so I’ll take the highest qualifier I can, Sam Hornish Jr. He starts 11th. Maybe the fact that he won three times at this track on the IndyCar Series will help. Let’s just hope he doesn’t party too hard at the AutoTrader.com 500 Sam Hornish Jr. Celebrity Bowling tournament this week. I’ve heard that party can get out of control fast.

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