Momentum could lead to strong run for Edwards

This week, several major announcements are being made about the 2011 schedule. While the full list isn't available, nuggets such as Chicagoland Speedway hosting the first Chase race and Kentucky Speedway being added to the current list of NASCAR venues are tantalizing suggestions that next year's campaign could be radically different in terms of where certain tracks fall on the schedule.

The timing is fortunate because we are currently in a very interesting part of the schedule. NASCAR boasts a lot of diversity, with races being held on superspeedways, unrestricted intermediate speedway, short tracks, and road courses. You have to set rosters for flat tracks, high banks, and dog-legged ovals all with an eye toward which drivers have developed specialties on that diverse group of courses, but from June through mid-August, six of 10 races are closely related.

Michigan

This week's fantasy studs, duds and sleepers.

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From the time NASCAR rolled out of Pocono Raceway until they returned two weeks ago, only five races were contested. Only five weeks separated the two road course events at Infineon and Watkins Glen and now, we return to Michigan International Speedway with only seven events dividing its two races.

While the casual fan might not care if these venues are so closely placed, that has been a blessing for fantasy owners because it allows them to use fresh notes and capitalize on drivers with momentum that was built in the short space of two months.

The Favorites

Momentum will be critical this week, and our three favorite drivers have it to spare.

Carl Edwards is not the first driver who comes to mind on road courses, so when he won the pole at Watkins Glen, ran with the leaders all afternoon, and secured his fifth consecutive result of seventh or better, it was well worth noting. Now he comes to a track where he has practically never struggled. Edwards' 12th-place finish at Michigan eight weeks ago was only the second time in his 12-race career that he failed to crack the top 10 and with a pair of victories and seven top-fives, he's more than made up for his transitory struggles. The entire Roush Fenway Racing organization was besieged when we visited this track for the first time this year, and now that they have momentum, this will once more be the "House of Roush."

Jeff Gordon also has momentum on his side. Last year, he not only finished second in both Michigan races, he was also second at the other 2-mile oval, Auto Club Speedway. He backed that up with a fourth-place finish this spring at Michigan, which kicked off a five-race streak of top-fives. He chose the wrong tire strategy at Pocono two weeks ago and narrowly missed adding another top five before going to Watkins Glen and scoring his seventh top-10 in the past eight weeks. His winless streak continues to grow, but this could be the week it is broken.

If summer ever needed a spokesperson, it would choose Tony Stewart. This is the time of year that he always heats up -- both figuratively and literally -- and he's made a career out of finishing in the top 10 when tracks are at their slickest. Beginning with a third at Pocono, he's earned eight top-10s in his past nine attempts, with the only poor result coming on the unpredictable restrictor-plate superspeedway race at Daytona. Since both Michigan races traditionally fall in the summer months, it will come as no surprise that he's exceptional there. Since the beginning of the 2002 season, he's earned top-10 finishes in 70.6 percent of his attempts and the only driver with a better average is Edwards. (Continued)