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2007 Allstate 400 Auto Racing at the Brickyard

By Fabian Hagar

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With seven NASCAR races remaining before The Chase begins, NASCAR rolls into Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

Jeff Gordon continues to hold a comfortable lead in the driver standings heading into the weekend and he's the favorite at the Brickyard, but not just because of his points lead. Ever since NASCAR started holding a race at Indy in 1994, Gordon has had the most success of any driver on the track. Since winning NASCAR's inaugural race at Indy in 1994, Gordon has seen the checkered flag at the Brickyard three more times with his last win coming there in 2004. The only other driver to win more than once at Indy during that span was Dale Jarrett, who crossed the finish line first in both 1996 and 1999.

Last season, the fastest driver at Indianapolis was Jimmie Johnson. Johnson has run into some bad luck recently and after finishing 37th at Chicagoland two weeks ago and has fallen down to seventh place in the driver standings. The reigning Nextel Cup champion had been sitting in the Top 3 for most of the season.

The biggest threat to Gordon adding a fifth Brickyard victory to his tally this weekend looks to be Tony Stewart. After a frustrating first half of the season, Stewart finally posted his first win of the year two weeks ago at Chicagoland in the USG Sheetrock 400. Stewart has tasted victory at Indy before having won there in 2004. As long as Stewart's car doesn't give him anymore problems like it did too frequently early in the season, you should find him near or at the front of the pack most of the day Sunday.

With the Chase just around the corner, the drivers to watch this weekend are the ones sitting on the bubble in the driver standings. The No. 12 overall spot (and the final one in the Chase) currently belongs to Dale Earnhardt Jr., but he holds just a 30-point lead over 13th-place Ryan Newman. Kurt Busch, in 14th place, is also well within striking distance at only 77 points back of Junior.

2007 NASCAR Pepsi 400

By Fabian Hagar

The Nextel Cup Series returns to Daytona International Speedway this weekend, where Kevin Harvick will be looking for his second win at Daytona this season in the Pepsi 400.

Five months ago Harvick won the Daytona 500 by a fender over Mark Martin at the finish line. Harvick hasn't claimed the checkered flag on the Nextel Cup circuit since, but he does have seven Top 10 finishes and a pair of victories in the Busch Series.

The favorite in the second go-round at Daytona will likely be Jeff Gordon or Tony Stewart. Points leader Jeff Gordon just missed his fifth win of the season at New Hampshire last weekend and had to settle for second place behind Denny Hamlin. Gordon has the most wins of any active driver at Daytona, having won there six times during his career. The last time Gordon saw the checkered flag at Daytona was in the 2005 Daytona 500, while his last 400-mile race win at Daytona came back in 2004.

Stewart has been the best driver in the Pepsi 400 the last two years, having won the auto race in 2006 and 2005. Those are Stewart's only two victories at Daytona, as his best-ever finish in the 500 was a second place in 2005. Stewart has had an up-and-down season so far and is still looking for his first victory. Despite the bad luck and sometimes bad results, Stewart is still in the hunt for the championship and sits sixth in points with nine racing remaining before The Chase begins. Stewart's chances in The Chase would be much better if he could get a few wins under his belt, considering reigning Cup champion Jimmie Johnson and four-time Cup winner Gordon both have four wins already this season.

One driver everyone will be watching out for this weekend is Hamlin, who closed the gap on Gordon in the point?s standings with his first win of the season last weekend at New Hampshire. Hamlin now sits only 156 points back of Gordon, thanks to his win and NASCAR subtracting 100 points from Gordon over violations at Infineon a week earlier. Hamlin hasn't had much success at Daytona, with his best finish in three races being a 17th place, but he's been one of the most consistent drivers on the circuit this season and will likely challenge for the race lead at some point on Saturday night.

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2007 NASCAR Lenox Industrial Tools 300

By Fabian Hagar

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The crews for NASCAR drivers Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson better read over their rulebooks again and make sure they get everything right at New Hampshire International Speedway this weekend. Both Gordon and Johnson's auto racing cars failed inspection at Infineon Raceway last weekend, and it ended up costing each driver 100 points in the standings and their crew chiefs for the next six car races.

For Gordon the points drop wasn't a huge loss, as he still leads the point's standings with a 171-point lead over Denny Hamlin. The loss hurt a little bit more for Johnson, who dropped from third place to fifth in the standings.

Both Gordon and Johnson should have a good chance at getting back some of their points in this weekend's Lenox Industrial Tools 300 at New Hampshire. Both Hendricks drivers have had success at New Hampshire before, with Gordon winning there three times in his career while Johnson has a pair of wins on the New Hampshire track. However, it?s been quite awhile since Gordon has seen the checkered flag at New Hampshire, with his last win there coming back in 1998. Johnson's two wins came in 2003 when he swept both races at New Hampshire.

The driver with the most career wins at New Hampshire that will be racing this weekend is Jeff Burton. Burton has four wins at New Hampshire, including winning this race in three straight years from 1997-99. Like Gordon, Burton hasn't won at New Hampshire in ages, with his last win coming back in 2000.

The more recent winners at New Hampshire last season were Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick. Busch has one win this season and has finished in the Top 10 in the last three races. Harvick also has a single win this season, but came close last week with a second-place finish at Infineon.

One other multiple winner at New Hampshire that bettors may want to consider this weekend is Tony Stewart. Stewart has two NASCAR wins at New Hampshire and last won there in 2005. Stewart also has an open-wheel racing win at New Hampshire which he earned while driving on the IRL Circuit in 1998.

The auto race goes Sunday at 1 pm ET.

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2007 NASCAR Pocono 500

For the second week in a row a NASCAR driver claimed his first career win on the Nextel Cup circuit last week. Martin Truex Jr. took the lead late in last week?s Autism Speaks 400 at Dover International Raceway a week after Casey Mears made his first stop at victory lane at Lowe?s Motorspeedway. For another first-timer to win the Pocono 500 this weekend, they?ll have to successfully navigate the always-interesting Pocono triangle, while competing with the Nextel Cup circuit speed demons on the extra-long straightaway.

Last year Denny Hamlin swept Pocono with a victory in the Pocono 500 and a win in the Pennsylvania 500 a few weeks later. Hamlin has come close numerous times this year, but is still looking for his first win this season and the Pocono triangle could be the stage he needs to do it.

Point?s leader Jeff Gordon still has a very comfortable lead over second-place Jimmie Johnson by 152 points. Gordon has three career wins at Pocono, but the last one came way back in 1998. Johnson pulled of a Hamlin-like sweep of his own at Pocono when he won both races that were held there in 2004. Johnson?s car has performed so well this year that he seems to be challenging for the race car lead every week. If he gets the lead at Pocono he may be hard to catch due to the very long straightaway.

Aside from Gordon the only other three-time winner at Pocono expected to race this weekend is Dale Jarrett. It would be practically a miracle if Jarrett ended up leading the pack across the finish line at Pocono again this week, considering his best finish of the season so far is 22nd in the Daytona 500.

Before Hamlin dominated Pocono in 2006, Kurt Busch and Carl Edwards won there in 2005 but both drivers haven?t had much luck this season and are still looking for their first victory. Also looking for a little luck is Tony Stewart. The former Nextel Cup champion has been dogged by bad luck and bad cars repeatedly this season and it?s likely cost him a couple wins. Stewart tamed the Pocono triangle back in 2003 and a win there this weekend would vault him back into the Race for the Chase.

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