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April 19, 2007

Back to the Future
Fantasy Insight-Phoenix Spring Race
By Dennis Michelsen
With only twenty-one Cup races under its belt Phoenix International Speedway can't be considered an old-school track. But the fact that it combines the fun stuff with the fans, with decent garage areas for the competitors, with a unique racing surface makes it one of the best stops on the tour! If you have never been to PIR it is worth a visit. Now that they feature night races you don't even have to back in the sun either, although I wouldn't trust Rattle Snake Hill in the dark myself! When new tracks are built I have never understood why more places like PIR aren't considered. The unique track layout puts more of the emphasis on the drivers than just having the greatest car. Now the new Car of Tomorrow design makes its debut on a track of this length. Hendrick and Richard Childress Racing have been the early leaders in the first two Car of Tomorrow races and it will be interesting to see if that trend continues. Separate Car of Tomorrow ratings will be included with all COT races for the rest of the season. Eventually when enough data is accumulated these ratings will also be added to the overall power ratings. Good luck with your Phoenix picks and remember to look out for them rattlers!

Fast Facts of the Week

17 different winners in 21 Cup races at PIR

One of three tracks where Jeff Gordon doesn't know the way to Victory Lane

Pole winner has never won the race in the Cup series

Only 38% of all winners have started in the top 10

14% of winners have started 20th or worse

Rowdy Fantasy
Need more help with your Fantasy games? Check out Rowdy Fantasy at www.rowdy.com for our exclusive weekly feature. Looking for the ultimate source for stock car racing news, even during the off-season? Rowdy has it all--the best news, garage gossip, and insight from drivers, crew chiefs, reporters, and even you fans--all right on your cell phone each and every day! We do more in 5 minutes than most racing sources do in a day!

If you've only got time for one racing show, Rowdy is the real deal. So yes, Rowdy is the only racing show you'll ever need - and it's on your cell every day!

If you want to enjoy the Rowdy show on the phone for free, you can do it any time. Just dial 434-92-ROWDY! Answer 2 easy questions about your phone and you are in.

Fan1st Fantasy Racing
Fan1st is giving race fans a chance to win the greatest prize in Fantasy Racing history. Can you imagine being picked up for the race at your hometown airport in a private jet and flown to Daytona International Speedway? You can invite three people along for the experience of a lifetime learning what it is like to be an owner in the Busch series! Fan1st.com is the sponsor on the No. 32 car driven by driver Dave Blaney in the Busch series for owner Todd Braun. This year their Fantasy Racing game is included in their Diamond Membership package or you can purchase entry to the race game separately. Fan1st puts the fan in charge voting on important team matters! Their Fantasy Racing game has the best prize every offered and is a bargain to enter for $75 for the whole season! You build your team selecting a driver, crew chief, manufacturer, and owner in a salary cap format.

http://www.fan1st.com/index.html

Prize Note: Tom from Connecticut wins a Diamond Membership playing Fantasy Insight's FLIP FLOPS. Listen this week on www.racetalkradio.com Wednesday night at 10pm ET to see how you can play and win this week's prize!

Fantasy Racing by the Numbers
My unique Power Ratings are back and better than ever for 2007! Combining the three most important factors the numbers never lie. Separate the pretenders from the contenders each week with track type, horses for courses, and consistency factored into one easy to use Power Rating. The key numbers to remember are 80 and 250. A rating of 80 is an acceptable risk for any of the individual ratings and 250 is the cut off for the complete Power Rating. Drivers topping these minimums have a much higher percentage of top ten finishes over the past three seasons! (Only drivers meeting the minimum will be shown in the individual ratings with the top 25 for Power Ratings shown)

Picking a Winner
Each week I will attempt to handicap the winners showing the three drivers I think are most likely to come home a winner! Also the TOP ROOKIE and BEST OUTSIDE TOP 20 will be forecast so you get a complete handicapping picture for the upcoming race.

Winner- Jeff Gordon
Someone will have to tell Jeff the way to Victory Lane here

Place- Jeff Burton
Super consistent and has won here before

Show-Dale Earnhardt Jr
Hasn't been able to finish races as strong as he has run at times

Top Rookie-David Ragan
Top 15 would be a great day for the rookies

Outside Top 20 in Points-Kasey Kahne
I would say "His season can't get much worse" but I cursed Michael Waltrip by saying that earlier this month!

Wednesday on Race Talk Radio
8pm Eastern-Fantasy Insight-Need help with your Fantasy Racing lineup? Each week we go beyond the stats to pick winners! Join Dennis Michelsen and Mike Harper every week as they play head to head in Flip Flops. You can win great prizes by picking the winning fantasy handicapper each week.

8:30pm Eastern-Racing Rock Star with Gannon Hollywood-Gannon is the jackman on the No. 47 NASCAR Busch team, and yes that is his real name! His videos will be featured on SPEED CHANNEL and his exclusive radio show will be heard on www.racetalkradio.com every week!

9pm Eastern-Quick Change- Dennis Michelsen, Mike Harper and Lori Munro bring you cutting edge commentary and their own personal unique spins on the world of all things racing. Our weekly guests will try to keep up! Tune in and just try to hang on every Wednesday night.