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August 29, 2007

Why I Hate California Speedway
Fantasy Insight-California 2
By Dennis Michelsen
My hatred for California is not fair! I realize that going in but I cannot help myself either. It was not California Speedway's fault that we no longer get the Southern 500 on this weekend. But I will always hate this track because of what we lost more so than for what California Speedway itself is all about. Maybe it's like that guy that married your favorite girl you always dreamed of having in your life. He might have been a friend too but you resent him for stealing your lady! The racing here is not spectacular but it isn't awful either. In fact the racing at California Speedway might be better than the racing at Darlington sometimes. But the Southern 500 was tradition! The Southern 500 was OUR tradition! A thief stole it from us that thought growing the sport meant trashing tradition. Too bad we couldn't have both. I miss our tradition of the Southern 500 every time this holiday weekend rolls around. THAT is why I hate California Speedway!

Fast Facts of the Week Presented by www.nascapper.com
In fourteen races the front row starters have never won

Jeff Gordon leads in most wins and top fives; and shares the lead in most top 10s

Almost as many winners have come from outside the top 20 (5) as have started in the top five (5) here

This is one of four tracks where Tony Stewart has never won

Hendrick and Roush are tied for most owner wins at 5 each

Eleven different winners have won the pole and the race in fourteen starts

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!

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Fan1st Fantasy Racing
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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-Clint Bowyer
Last Week 39th
OK one of these times Bowyer will be the next first time winner

Place-Kyle Busch
Last Week 6th
90 plus rating in all three categories

Show-Jimmie Johnson
Last Week 9th
Team needs to gain momentum heading to the Chase

Top Rookie-Juan Pablo Montoya
Last Week 41st
Has impressed me with his versatility

Outside Top 20 in Points-Reed Sorenson
Last Week 2nd
Not expecting much more than 15th-20th though