The fix is not in for Dale Jr. to win ... and picks

One of the funniest things to read about in various NASCAR articles, or the comments that follow them, is that NASCAR is trying to fix races so Dale Earnhardt Jr. can get a win.Yes, there's probably a good amount of truth to it that NASCAR's leaders would love to see their most popular driver win for the first time in nearly four years in the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday at Charlotte (6 p.m., FOX).
And yes, there is reason for optimism for Junior fans as he led all 40 laps of the Sprint Showdown (although admittedly against a weak field) and 19 of 20 laps to win the fourth segment of the All-Star race. And yes,  Junior's crew chief Steve Letarte is using a bit of common sense by bringing back the all-star car for the 400-lap event at the 1.5-mile track.
But even with all of this, the fact remains Junior has not won a race since June 15, 2008. That's a total of 140 Sprint Cup points races without a win, yes, for those of you still snoring at home. Obviously, that's a long time for a driver of an elite team to go without a win. There are Junior fans who have started families and have yet  to share the joy of victory with their children.
And that's the point.
While all of this makes for good speculation for the Junior haters out there, I have to break the bad news to you.  If NASCAR could actually put the fix in for Junior to win a points race, he wouldn't be winless in his last 140 tries. I'm on neutral ground when it comes to Junior. Not my favorite. Don't hate him either. That's probably rare territory - almost as a rare as seeing him in Victory Lane.
So the question remains, will we see him there sometime late Sunday night?
Here are my picks for this week:
 Jimmie Johnson - He's won this race six times. It's at Charlotte. He could drive a scooter around the place and probably figure out a way to win.
Jeff Gordon - He's been the king of bad luck this season. It's hard to believe he is 24th in the points standings. But Charlotte has been good to him, too. He won his first race here and has five victories in this race. In spite of the bad luck, just a feeling this could be a real good day for him.
Kasey Kahne - Yes, I k now, another Hendrick car, and it's still not Junior. But Kahne has won this race three times and has been eighth or better in the last five races.
Matt Kenseth - He was strong in the All-Star race and has won the 600-miler once, too. He's got the necessary patience needed to make it to the end.
Mark Martin - All right, I know, he's bit of a sentimental pick here, but he's in better shape than most 20-somethings out there, so forget about his age. He's also won this race four times with an astounding 18 top-five finishes. And the No. 55 car he is has been strong all year.
Should, woulda, coulda - OK Junior fans. I couldn't pull the trigger on him winning this one. Hendrick cars at great at Charlotte, but I can't pick all four of them, so no, not this week.

ACCOUNTABILITY GROUP
Even though they don't count in the points standings, or on my record, Here's a look at how last week's picks fared in the All-Star race.
Jimmie Johnson:  1st. It's Charlotte, No brainer.
Brad Keselowski: 2nd. No shame in being No. 2 behind No. 48.
Kyle Busch: 4th. Was strong all night, but couldn't mount challenge in final 10 laps.

  Here's a look at my results after 11 races and 55 picks.
 5 wins
19 top fives
23 top 10s
Grade for the week: A. OK, that's four winners in a row now and also a 1-2-4 finish. Not much room for improvement..
One Last Thing:  A NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race/Coca-Cola 600 sweep has occurred seven times. Johnson has a chance to be the first to accomplish the feat twice. The drivers who have accomplished and the years they did it were Darrell Waltrip (1985), Davey Allison (’91), Dale Earnhardt (’93), Jeff Gordon (’97), Jimmie Johnson (2003), Kasey Kahne (’08), Kurt Busch (’10).
 

Watching the wheels in Vegas

The Sprint Cup series heads to the city of Lost Wages (OK, most people call it Las Vegas, but let's be real here) and the city likes to brag that what happens there stays there. What has happened a lot at Las Vegas Motor Speedway is Roush Racing cars have had a ton of success. In 65 starts at Las Vegas, Roush cars have seven wins, 17 top-five and 34 top-10 finishes and have led more than 1,200 laps. Also, the Roushkateers have finished in the top 10 in each of the 14 Sprint Cup races at the track and have finished in the top five 12 times.
So, yes, you'll see a bit of theme in these upcoming picks for the 3 p.m. Sunday race to be shown on FOX.

Matt Kenseth - Roush selection No. 1 has a chance to get off to a great start after winning at Daytona. Winning two of the first three is a real possibility here. He's already got two wins at this track.
Carl Edwards - Roush selection No. 2. He's also got two wins here and has a series high 486 green flag passes at Las Vegas.

Kyle Busch - He does have one win here. This is also his hometown, so you know, it's one of those cases where you just have to pick him.

Jimmie Johnson - Mr. Five-Timer's got four wins here and you know this team is on a mission to eventually get back into the top 10 in points. The No. 48 is 35 points away from that top 10 spot going into Sunday. It wouldn't be a surprise to see him take a big chunk out of that gap.

Mark Martin - So, the former Roush driver is a little old at 53, but he's proven he can still drive. He's also got a quality car in the Michael Waltrip Racing No. 55. And he's also won here once and has six top five finishes. And really, wouldn't it be nice to see him hit Victory Lane at least one more time?


Shoulda, woulda, coulda, but didn't pick: It probably makes all the sense in the world to pick Greg Biffle. He's contended to win the first two races and he's a Roush driver coming to Las Vegas. He hasn't won there yet, but there's a first time for everything.

ACCOUNTABILITY GROUP
Here's a review of last week's picks at Phoenix and how they finished.
Kasey Kahne - 34th. Early mechanical issues doomed his day. He did finish, but was 28 laps down at the end.
Carl Edwards - 17th. He challenged to be in the top 10 a couple of times, but was not a serious contender all day.
Tony Stewart - 22nd. Seemed to be primed for at least a top 10 finish, and maybe top 5. But when he shut off engine to save gas it wouldn't start back up right away. He was two laps down by the time they got the car started again.
Jimmie Johnson - 4th. Looked like he might run away with the win early, leading 55 laps. Had a tire issue that cost him key places midway through.
Kyle Busch - 6th. He did lead 52 laps, but wasn't in contention to win at the end.
The overall grade is a C again.
Here's a look at my stats after two races and 10 picks.

O wins
2 top fives
2 top 10s

Maybe Vegas will bring some better luck
Until next time

Pickin' for Pocono and flag stand crash

The last couple of weeks the end game has been the tricky part of the race, so maybe there will be more fuel strategy in the final laps at Pocono's Tricky Triangle Sunday. Last week Jeff Gordon unquestionably had the fastest car, but settled for second as Paul Menard combined a good car with better fuel mileage. So, as has been the case in racing for years, the fastest car doesn't always see the checkered flag first. Since Pocono is 500 miles (whether you like it or not), and because of the three distinctly different turns, there can be more accidents than usual.
Hopefully, a truck series hauler demoloshing the flag stand is not a sign of things to come. My guess is we could see more fuel mileage games in the final 50 laps on the 2.5-mile track Sunday afternoon. And with a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms, somebody could try and steal a win by not pitting when the raindrops start to fall.
So with all that in mind, here are my Pocono picks:

1) Denny Hamlin - Four wins in young career at Pocono.
2) Jeff Gordon - Is tied for most wins at Pocono with five.
3) Carl Edwards - The potential No. 1 free agent just announced he's returning to Roush, so there's all kind of positive vibes for this team.
4) Tony Stewart - He's got two wins here, desperately looking for a third to help his Chase chances.
5) Mark Martin - When you're talking fuel mileage, and endurance tests, he's one of the best at saving fuel and still is in great physical condition for his age.
Until next time