Fantasy Racing Preview, California

By Mark Young

This week the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup teams go to their first "real" race of the year.  I call it a real race because there are no restrictor plates, NASCAR distributed shocks, or drafting deals to be made in order to advance.  This race is going to require an aerodynamically agile car and a notebook full of information about car setups.  As for picking drivers to look for there are about eight or nine cars you can throw a blanket over and several that history states you should stay away from when picking your teams.

Matt Kenseth won this race last year and even though Robbie Riser is going to be absent I wouldn't be surprised to see the #17 up front most of the day.

Kasey Kahne visited victory lane last September and his team's history shows that they run extremely well on this high downforce tracks.  Kasey is my personal pick to win on Sunday.

Kyle Busch, though able to short circuit at anytime, is the class of the Hendrick fold right now and I expect him to continue the momentum he gained in Daytona.

Carl Edwards is hungry to get back into victory lane and this could be the place he does it.

Greg Biffle is the second highest rated driver at California behind Kenseth but the wild card here is the fact that he has a new crew chief and I am not sure how good the chemistry is right now.

Now some of the drivers to stay away from this weekend may surprise some of you but this is my gut feeling.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. though better last year at this type of track still hasn't shown any dominance in a couple of years and I would just stay clear of the red #8 on Sunday for your picks.

Jimmie Johnson might prove me wrong on this one but I wonder if the the team still has a hangover from the banquet in New York.  Maybe it is too hard to get the car balanced with that guy strapped in next to him clutching the NEXTEL Cup.

Juan Pablo Montoya is the media darling for NASCAR but remember that even though he is a F-1 champion and IRL/CART champion he is still a rookie and is going to take his lumps.

Wild Card picks for the week include Ryan Newman (hard to call him a wild card), Kurt Busch, David Stremme, Casey Mears,  and Clint Bowyer.

This race will show the world who has done their homework during the off-season and who is behind the eight ball.  Enjoy the race my friends.....