Fantasy Preview: Chicago

The six similarly-configured, 1.5-mile tracks -- Chicago, Atlanta, Charlotte, Texas, Las Vegas and Kansas -- may lack originality in their design, but fantasy owners have never been happier to see one roll around on the calendar.

With nine races contested on these tracks, plus another four at 2-mile Michigan and California, one-third of NASCAR's schedule is run on unrestricted, intermediate speedways, which gives both fantasy owners and drivers a wealth of information from which to work. These tracks are where the cream rises to the top, so your roster should be filled with marquee drivers and proven dark horses.

Tony Stewart

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Marquee Favorites
There may be a changing of the guard on the "cookie-cutter" courses, or the first four races of this season may simply be what economists call a "correction."

Traditional favorites like Jimmie Johnson and Tony Stewart have earned only three top-10s and four top-15s in eight starts on the similarly-configured, 1.5-mile tracks this season and their combined average finish is a dismal 19.1. Meanwhile, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch have collectively swept the top 15 after posting a combined average of 19.1 last season.

Of course, Busch and Earnhardt have been hot on every type of track this year, so their mastery of the "cookie-cutter" courses will come as no shocker and Chicagoland should not hold any huge surprises either. At the best of times and worst of times, Busch has been able to sweep the top 15 on this track, and when he brought his A game, he finished third in 2006.

Earnhardt has had an up and down relationship with the track. In 2003, 2004 and last year he finished outside the top 20, but his other four efforts have all been 11th or better. He was the happiest man at Chicagoland in 2005 in victory lane and he followed that up with a fifth-place finish the following year. He's never had this much momentum on his side, so another top-five is certainly in the cards.

As much as his relationship with them is mercurial, Stewart thrives on media attention and it will be aimed fully at him this week in light of his announcement to leave Joe Gibbs Racing and become a part owner at Haas CNC. The remainder of the 2008 season is going to be critical for Stewart, because next year he will be moving to an organization with teams either barely in or outside the top 35 in owner points and there will be a lot of work to do to make them a weekly threat. Stewart is also traditionally a late bloomer who improves his average finish by more than three positions in the second half of the season --which is the most among all active drivers -- and Chicagoland has been a big part of that mystique. In the seven races held on this track, he's won twice and finished in the top-five on five occasions. The only times he failed to finish that well, was because of trouble.

If not for what he considered to be a retaliatory bump from Jeff Gordon in 2006, Matt Kenseth would have a perfect record of top-15s at Chicagoland and would likely enter the weekend with three consecutive runner-up finishes. The No. 24 sent the 17 spinning late in the 2006 race as the two battled for the lead. In 2005, Kenseth finished second to Earnhardt; last year he crossed the finish line behind Stewart. He's tired of being the bridesmaid on this track after also finishing second in the Nationwide Series companion race last year, and is in a position to do something about it. The only time he's finished worse than 10th in the past eight races of 2008 was because of the rain at New Hampshire two weeks ago.

Proven Dark Horses
It's too soon to tell if the No. 24 team has turned a corner, so we have to call Gordon a dark horse this week. They have struggled to stay on top of the razor's edge setup demanded by the new racecar and that has been most apparent on the similarly-configured, 1.5- and two-mile tracks. He's had some good finishes, but too often they have come because of a late-race surge -- and memories of his miserable run at Texas still haunt the fantasy owner. Ironically, two of his best runs in the last couple of months came in the last two weeks, but bad luck late in the going each time robbed him of top-five finishes. He sounds confident coming into Chicagoland and has every right to. His last six starts there have produced a victory, four top-fives and five top-10s.

Another driver who has been struggling recently, Kevin Harvick, is a strong candidate for your roster this week. He's been streaky and strong at Chicagoland by winning the first two races held there and finishing fourth in his last two outings. He gets relegated to dark horse status, however, because he hasn't had a top-10 in eight weeks or a top-five in 13. He hasn't missed by much, however, with eight top-15s in that span.

It is commonplace for a driver recently released from a team to run strong. The pressure is off their shoulders and they have something to prove to prospective owners. Joe Nemechek won for this very organization as a lame duck in 2003 and Casey Mears had some strong runs for Chip Ganassi Racing just before joining Hendrick Motorsports. Now that he is on his way out of the No. 5 car, Mears has run stronger than anytime all season. With back-to-back top-10s at Infineon and New Hampshire, fantasy owners got a lot of bang for their buck and Chicagoland has nearly always been kind to him. His last four efforts there have produced one top-five, two top-10s and three top-15s, but the best news may be that his fifth came last year.

Brian Vickers is slowly ascending to the top 12 in points and he may just make it. He's run consistently strong both at Chicagoland and in recent weeks. On this week's track, Vickers has swept the top 15 in three races and his last six efforts of 2008 have ended in a result of 16th or better. As a mid-cap driver, he is also capable of earning top-five points: Vickers finished fourth at Chicagoland in 2005 and he has a second and fourth this year at Pocono Raceway and Michigan in recent weeks.