Rusty Reckons: Watkins Glen

Yawn . . . Another boring road course race this coming weekend. Maybe Rusty'll watch the PGA Championship instead. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Yeah, who am I kidding. Well, if you are going to race on a road course, Watkins Glen ain't a bad one to choose.

It's a fast road course located in the redneck section of upstate New York (or so I'm told). The long straightaways allow the drivers to go quite fast at this track. It provides a little more excitement than the snail's pace Sonoma. So, who to pick for the fantasy pick?

On the A Team, I'm going to pick a hot driver, who's had a modicum of success at the Glen. Carl Edwards coming off a win at Pocono is on the rise, and I think he could run well if not challenge for the victory at the Glen.

The B Team presents a whole host of potential. I'm hearing word that Robby Gordon is the man to go with, and while I'll put him in my stable, not sure it's a good pick to start, and here's why. Robby's got consistency issues. Yeah, he runs well from time to time, especially on road courses, but his hot headed nature seems to keep him from consistent top finishes. That being said, I'm going to go with last year's winner of the hot-head award, Juan Pablo Montoya. Last year, JPM got his first and only win at Infineon. With his road course experience, he may get his second this coming week. At very least, look for him to run strong and be in contention towards the end.

Lastly, the C list. Not having a great deal of options, I'm sticking with Kvapil. He's running pretty good for an "also-ran", and as momma always says, if it ain't broke don't fix it.

So, there's your picks for Watkins Glen.

A List
- C Edwards (99)
B List
- J P Montoya (42)
C List
- T Kvapil (28)

Rusty Reckons: Pocono

Man, am I glad to be back in the Commonwealth. A few days in New York's retirement community (i.e. Florida) had ole Rusty singing "Carry Me Home to Ole Virginee". Let's just say coons, alligators, crazy birds, and Rusty don't mix.

Rusty's travels kept predictions for the Brickyard from materializing, but if you watched that debacle of a race, don't reckon it much mattered. Goodyear really screwed us on that deal, and it's a real shame NASCAR's taking the blame. Shame on you, tire boy!

Now, we're coming back to Pocono and the rolling hills of Pennsyl-tucky. This is perhaps the oddest shaped track on the circuit. There's only 3 turns, and the infamous "tunnel turn" seems to always reak havoc on drivers. Pocono is a flat track with very very long straightaways. To run well here, you've gotta have a lotta horses under the hood, and an ability to make the car turn through the corners very well.

After his 2nd win of the season, and a uber-dominant one at that, Ole Jimmie's starting to show his true championship caliber. He runs well at Pocono, so Rusty's going to get on the bandwagon and pick him for this week's A List.

The B list is a bit more of a crap shoot. There are several drivers in that list who would run well, but as we get later into the season, I'm using up my good drivers. So, this week, I'm going to pull a new pony out of the stable. David Regan, who took over the #6 Roush Ford for the elder statesman Mark Martin, a few years ago, is slowly improving week to week. I'm gonna go with a longshot and put him in the mix for this week.

C List is Travis Kvapil. Poor fellow is so ugly it's funny. Reckon that's not a bad reason to pick'em.
A List
- J Johnson (48)
B List
- D Regan (6)
C List
- T Kvapil. (28)