Fantasy Preview: Talladega 5/3

This weekend, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Talladega for the first restrictor-plate race since the season-opening Daytona 500.

Tier A
Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Photo courtesy Chris Trotman/Getty Images

Earnhardt won the Daytona 500, so he should be strong at the other restrictor-plate track on the schedule.  Earnhardt used to be extremely good at Talladega, but he hasn't won there since 2004.  He did finish second in the last trip there in the fall, so look for Earnhardt to be strong this weekend.

Bench:
Kevin Harvick

Tier B
Greg Biffle
Biffle has been strong during restrictor-plate races, and he finished eighth in the Daytona 500.  Dating back to 2011, Biffle has finished in the Top 15 in every race at Talladega, with the exception of this race last year when he finished 36th.

Tony Stewart
Stewart is always a threat to win at any restrictor-plate track, and he is definitely due for a victory.  Though he has never won the Daytona 500, he is always strong at Talladega, and almost won last year before taking out the entire field.  He is definitely hungry for a win, so I expect him to run well this weekend.

Bench:
Paul Menard
Ryan Newman

Tier C
Michael Waltrip
Waltrip almost pulled off a major upset last year, and I wouldn't be surprised if he does it again this year.  I usually stick with Waltrip as a fantasy pick for restrictor-plate tracks because those are the only races he's in the car and it's a solid pick.  I look for him to finish in the Top 10 this weekend.

Bench:
Austin Dillon

My pick to win the Aaron's 499: Tony Stewart

Photo courtesy Patrick Smith/Getty Images

That's all for this week!  Leave a comment below with who you're picking this weekend, and be sure to catch the Aaron's 499 this Sunday from Talladega Superspeedway at 1:00 p.m. EST, only on FOX.

Ambrose v. Mears: My Take

I’ll start by saying I didn’t see the race at Richmond on Saturday.  I was in Providence, RI for the ECA Convention as part of the social media team from Slippery Rock University.

If you did watch it, you’ll know there was a fight in the garage between Marcos Ambrose and Casey Mears following the race.  I’m not sure what the reason for the fight was, but all I know is that NASCAR should not punish either of the drivers too harshly.

Photo courtesy Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Ambrose punched Mears in the face, and it looked like a pretty good hit.  But we all know that NASCAR is going to use it in their advertisements in the future.  Did anyone notice how similar it looked to Cale Yarborough and Donnie Allison?  

NASCAR wants to let drivers do their thing, but they don’t want them to go too far.  What Ambrose did crossed a line.  You can’t just turn the Sprint Cup garage into Fight Club.  

Fans love short track racing because it leads to fights in the infield.  Fans love to see the drivers show their true emotions after the race has finished.  NASCAR knows what the fans like (sometimes) and uses stuff like this during their ad campaigns on a regular basis.  

But if they decide to punish Ambrose or Mears, they need to be more lenient than they have been in the past.  NASCAR will surely use the “actions detrimental to stock car racing” defense, but if they continually use it in marketing materials it sends mixed messages.

What Ambrose and Mears did was a lot safer than what some other drivers have done.  Remember when Carl Edwards and Brad Keselowski had their feud?  It’s amazing they both didn’t get killed.  They fought each other in their cars, which is not only dangerous to those driving, but also everyone around them.

We could talk about this forever and not solve anything.  But if NASCAR wanted to stop their free fall in attendance and ratings, they would let the drivers retaliate against one another off the track.  A couple shoves?  All good.  A slap in the face?  Bring it on.  But a punch to the face just can’t be ignored, and understandably deserves punishment.  I just hope NASCAR looks at this and doesn’t punish them too harshly.