Matty’s Picks – Vol. 1 – DOVER – May 15, 2011

With the discontinuation of the Speedway Media Pick’Um Challenge, I have decided that I like picking drivers so much that I would start my own column each week dedicated to who I think will win the race come Sunday afternoon.

[media-credit id=26 align=”alignright” width=”225″][/media-credit]Now I am not claiming to know everything there is to know about motorsports, but I like to think that I might be a little more knowledgeable about racing than your average fan. I’m not saying to re-mortgage your house on my picks (my apartment is way too small for another guest to move in), but at least you will have something to laugh at following the checkered flag on Sunday.

I seem to have fairly poor luck with picking the driver who I actually think will win on Sunday. If you have a favorite driver that is hurting in the points standings, you may want to let me know before my column is published on Friday, as many of my picks have been seen exiting the track on the back of a wrecker rather than in Victory Lane. My luck has been in my Dark Horse picks as of late (excluding not picking Trevor Bayne at Daytona).

With all this said, I have decided to stick with two picks per week; ‘Who I actually think will win’, and a “Dark-Horse” pick. The Dark Horse may not always be a team that is fighting for the 35th spot in Owner’s Points, but it might be a driver that is due for a win, starting a race for the first time, or it might be a driver that makes people say “not a chance he will have a top-10, what is he thinking?”

I have also decided to include a brief recap of how my picks faired during the prior week, and what my stats have been like up to that point.

Who I really think will win

For my first column, I have decided to pick my mother’s least favorite driver in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He must behave himself this week as he was placed on probation Tuesday for his incident with Kevin Harvick last week at the conclusion of the Southern 500 at Darlington. Kyle Busch is my pick for this week at Dover because of his recent stats at The Monster Mile. I have completely overlooked his less than impressive average finish of 20.8 at Dover, to examine the fact that he has two wins in the last five Sprint Cup races there. I think that Busch really had the car to beat last week and will flex his muscles this week and end up in Victory Lane on Sunday afternoon.

Dark Horse Pick

I have picked this next driver a few times this year, and each time he has impressed. Paul Menard is having a decent year for Richard Childress Racing, with two Top-5’s and 3 Top-10’s so far in 2011. Dover is Menard’s second-best track with respect to average finish (20.43 in 7 starts). He has yet to register a Top 5 but does have a Top 10 at the Monster Mile in the Sprint Cup Series. Menard has become familiar with running in the Top 10 this year, so look for a strong finish for him this week.

Be sure to stop by next week for a preview of both the Sprint Showdown Race as well as my picks for the All-Star Race Saturday night. If you have any insight or would like to help me pick for next week, you may send comments to riotwvu@yahoo.com.

Until next week, you stay classy NASCAR Nation!