OPR Staff and Fan Fantasy Picks for NNS and NSCS at Charlotte Motor Speedway

You know the feeling that you get when you’ve been busy all day, or for months on end and you get to come home and relax? That’s the feeling that most of the NASCAR teams are feeling as it’s time for their home coming!

So who will be the homecoming king (or queen)? Our experts dish on who they think will do well.

Nationwide Series Picks

Managing Editor: Ashley McCubbin
Pick #1 – Kevin Harvick – In each race that Kevin Harvick has ran this year for JR Motorsports, he has been in the top-10 with five of those being top-fives. Needless to say, Happy is a safe bet this weekend.
Pick #2 – Chase Elliott – Elliott has been strong in each race this year, leading the points currently. Expect that trend to continue on Saturday afternoon.
Pick #3 – Kyle Busch – Eight races this year. Two wins. Eight top-fives. Expect success from Rowdy despite his practice crash.

Journalist: Tayler Stiles
Picks: Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch

Journalist: Kreistina Blinova
Kreistina did not file her picks, so we will be using his Iowa picks, which were Jeffrey Earnhardt, Landon Cassill and Elliott Sadler
Ashley’s comments: Both Jeffery and Landon have been getting stronger with each race that they run. If either can finish in the top 15 on Saturday, it’ll certainly be a noteworthy accomplishment for them and their small teams. Meanwhile, Sadler has shown speed across the board this year and a second win on the season would certainly boost team morale and championship hopes.

Journalist: Kyle Magda
Picks: Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch

Photographer: Ronald Costigan
Picks: Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch

SpeedwayMedia.com Journalist: Marshall Gabell
Gabell did not file his picks so we will be using his Iowa picks, which were Chase Elliott, Michael McDowell and Sam Hornish Jr. Sam Hornish Jr. is not in No. 54 this week as Kyle Busch takes that ride back over. Michael McDowell is not in the No. 20 this week as Matt Kenseth takes over that ride. As a result, Gabell will have Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth for this weekend.
Ashley’s comments: While not picking forced his hand, Gabell looks to have a strong set of drivers. We’ve discussed already why Elliott and Busch are popular among the picks. Kenseth should be shown a stronger hand than he has as he has ran good in his Nationwide Series starts so far this year and won his first career Cup race in the Coke 600.

Frontstretch.com Journalist: Justin Tucker
Picks: Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch

Fan #1: Terry Wagner
Picks: Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski
Ashley’s comments: Keselowski won the race earlier this year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Las Vegas and Charlotte are both mile and a halves so look for Keselowski to be strong on Saturday.

Fan #2: Christina Cordner
Picks: Brian Scott, Regan Smith and Chase Elliott
Ashley’s comments: Scott continues to grow as a driver with more starts in the series and has contended for race wins this year so far. Look for another solid top-10 by Scott his weekend. Smith should also post a top-1o finish this weekend as he has been very consistent so far this year.

Fan #3: Billy Stiles Jr.
Picks: Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott, Regan Smith

Fan #4: Billy Zardo did not file picks so we will be using his picks that have been used so far this year –  Ty Dillon, Chase Elliott and Sam Hornish Jr. 

Fan #5: Robert Hill
Picks: Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Busch

Fan #6: Joni Stiles
Picks: Ty Dillon, Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott
Ashley’s comments: In the previous intermediate races this year, Dillon has shown speed and posted solid top-10 finishes. For the rookie, that’s not bad at all and the trend should continue this weekend.

Nationwide Series Points:

Those who missed the first four events received an automatic value that is 10 points minus the lowest scored participant.

1. Ashley McCubbin – 514+120=634
2. Ronald Costigan –368+96+120=584
3. Tayler Stiles – 461+120=581
4. Billy Zardo – 441+124=565
5. Terry Wagner – 440+117=557
6. Billy Stiles Jr. – 435+117=552
7. Robert Hill – 424+125=549
8. Marshall Gabell – 422+125=547
9. Christina Cordner – 430+113=543
10. Justin Tucker – 409+127=536
11. Kyle Magda – 389+123=512
12. Joni Stiles – 389+85=474
13. Kreistina Blinova – 399+74=473

Sprint Cup Series Picks

Managing Editor: Ashley McCubbin
Pick #1 – Jamie McMurray – McMurray has had a knack for Charlotte Motor Speedway since the beginning of his career and really,  it hasn’t fazed. He won the Million Dollar bonus last weekend and that speed should make for success this weekend.
Pick #2: Kevin Harvick – When Happy is fast, he’s typically freaky fast. So he had a little hiccup in qualifying. Don’t let that fool you as the “closer” is going to close in on another win this weekend.
Pick #3: Jimmie Johnson – While Charlotte hasn’t treated Johnson well as of late, history is on our side this weekend. When the 48 qualifies well, he runs well. When starting from the pole at Charlotte, Johnson has two wins and a 3.75 average finish! And oh, by the way, he starts on pole on Sunday night.

NASCAR Journalist Tayler Stiles
Picks: Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson
Ashley’s comments: Gordon may not have qualified well, but the speed he has shown all year on the mile and a halves will have Gordon in contention in the second half of this long event.

NASCAR Journalist Kreistina Blinova
Kreistina did not file her picks so we will be using her Kansas picks – Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson
Ashley’s comments: Like McMurray, Kenseth has had a knack for Charlotte since the beginning of his carer. While JGR has had a rocky start to 2014, this could be the start of getting their year back on track.

ARCA Journalist Kyle Magda
Picks: Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson
Ashley’s comments: Oh Kahne and the speed that you have shown at Charlotte in the past. Will that translate to success this year? Quite possibly as he had a solid qualifying effort on Thursday night.

Photographer: Ronald Costigan
Picks: Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr
Ashley’s comments: A track with flat out speed is something with perfection for Busch’s all-out style. If he can hold it together for the course of 600 miles, a top-10 should be there. On the flip side, Earnhardt Jr.’s consistency leads to him being a great pick for the race as he should be near the front in the end. Anybody remember how close he came to winning it with that fuel run not that long ago?

SpeedwayMedia.com Journalist: Marshall Gabell
Gabell failed to file picks so we are using his Kansas picks – Clint Bowyer, Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth
Ashley’s comments: Bowyer hasn’t had hte best success on mile and a halves this year. However, MWR is known for showing speed in the past with Bowyer so perhaps this is their magic weekend to get it back together.

Frontstretch.com Journalist: Justin Tucker
Picks: Kevin Harvick, Kasey Kahne and Jimmie Johnson

Fan #1: Terry Wagner
Picks: Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Carl Edwards
Ashley’s comments: The Penske Racing teammates have been fast all over the board this year so if they can keep it together over 600 miles, they’re a pair to watch. A fifth at Las Vegas and a 10th at Fontana should lead to Edwards finding the top 10 this weekend.

Fan #2: Christina Cordner
Picks: Kasey Kahne, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Fan #3: Billy Stiles Jr.
Picks: Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Fan #4: Billy Zardo did not file picks so we will be using his picks that have been used so far this year –  Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Kyle Busch.

Fan #5: Robert Hill
Picks: Marcos Ambrose, Joey Logano and Carl Edwards
Ashley’s comments; Ambrose’s only two top 10 runs this year have come on the short tracks. Will this be the weekend that Ambrose finds his first top 10 intermediate finish of the year?

Fan #6: Joni Stiles
Picks: Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr.
Ashley’s comments: Kurt Busch is attempting the Memorial Day double this weekend – running both the Indianapolis 500 and the Coca Cola 600. He should pull off a nice top 10 in the Indy 500, and has a good shot at winning the Coke 600 given the speed that he has shown so far this year. On the flip side, Truex’s move to Furniture Row Racing hasn’t gone as planned with only one top 10 this year so far. Perhaps this is the weekend that he turns the tide.

Sprint Cup Points
Note: Those who missed the first four events received an automatic value that is 10 points minus the lowest scored participant.

1. Ashley McCubbin – 345+127=472
2. Billy Stiles Jr. – 334+116=450
3. Tayler Stiles – 330+105=435
4. Ronald Costigan – 267+47+114=428
5. Billy Zardo – 306+103=409
6. Terry Wagner – 306+92=398
7. Marshall Gabell – 299+92=391
8. Christina Cordner – 274+103=377
9. Justin Tucker – 249+118=367
10. Robert Hill – 178+95=273
11. Kreistina Blinova – 138+118=256
12. Kyle Magda – 128+126=254
13. Joni Stiles – 128+101=229

Combined

Note: Those who missed the first four weeks received an automatic value that is 10 points minus the lowest scored participant.

1. Ashley McCubbin – 1076+89+120=1285
2. Ronald Costigan – 1004+89+120=1213
3. Tayler Stiles – 1062+120=1182
4. Billy Stiles Jr. – 967+61+117=1145
5. Robert Hill – 944+76+125=1145
6. Justin Tucker – 921+88+127=1136
7. Terry Wagner – 925+79+117=1121
8. Billy Zardo – 932+61+124=1117
9. Kyle Magda – 898+88+123=1109
10. Marshall Gabell – 891+88+125=1104
11. Christina Cordner – 894+81+113=1086
12. Joni Stiles – 873+85+84=1042
13. Kreistina Blinova – 894+67+74=1035

PICKERS: Due to the odd start this year with people joining at different times, we will declare a CHAMPION at the end of May – basically titled the OnPitRoad.com Spring Fantasy Pick ‘Em Champion for each section and then reset the points to give everybody a clean slate to get after it.

Those placing picks for this weekend are asked to choose THREE DRIVERS for the NATIONWIDE SERIES race at Charlotte Motor Speedway (one not being a Cup regular) on Saturday and THREE DRIVERS for the SPRINT CUP SERIES race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday.

If you would like to play, please send your picks to me at ashleymccubbin@speedwaymedia.com