OPR Staff and Fan Fantasy Picks for NCWTS, NNS and NSCS at Dover

After a sweet home coming two weeks at Charlotte Motor Speedway, it’s time for all three divisions to kick up the action a notch and tackle the Monster – the Monster Mile that is. Miles the Monster is set to greet the drivers as they enter the gates of Dover International Speedway, before they tackle his concrete mountain.

So who does everybody think will be successful this weekend? Let’s rumble!

NASCAR Camping World Truck Series 

Managing Editor: Ashley McCubbin
Pick #1: Kyle Busch – Anytime Mr. Busch runs a truck race, he is in contention to win. Need I say more?
Pick #2: Matt Crafton – Known as Mr. Consistancy, Crafton is certain to run up front this weekend as he has qualified second. 

NASCAR Journalist Tayler Stiles
Picks: Matt Crafton and Kyle Busch 

NASCAR Journalist Kreistina Blinova
Kreistina did not file her picks, so we will be using her Charlotte picks, which were Matt Crafton and Ron Hornaday
Ashley’s Comments: Hornaday has been quick in each start this year with Turner-Scott Motorsports – though has found some bad luck along the way. Perhaps Miles will catch him a break this weekend.

ARCA Journalist: Kyle Magda
Picks: Darrell Wallace Jr. and Kyle Busch
Ashley’s Comments: Darrell Wallace Jr. has been looking for a break this year as he has the speed – but no luck. 15th isn’t the best starting spot, persay, but he could still contend on Friday afternoon.

Photographer: Ronald Costigan
Picks: Kyle Busch and Matt Crafton

SpeedwayMedia.com Journalist Marshall Gabell
Marshall did not file his picks, so we will use his Charlotte picks, which were Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski.
Keselowski is not running the race this weekend as Tyler Reddick is driving the No. 19 Ford. As a result, Gabell’s picks will be Kyle Busch and Tyler Reddick.
Ashley’s Comments: In each race that Reddick has ran this year, he has been a solid top-15 contender. Dover seems to bring out the best in young drivers so that should play true this weekend as Reddick will start fifth.

Frontstretch.com Journalist: Justin Tucker
Picks: Kyle Busch and Matt Crafton

Fan #1: Terry Wagner
Picks: Matt Crafton and Kyle Busch

Fan #2: Christina Cordner
Picks: Ryan Blaney and Matt Crafton
Ashley’s comments: Blaney has shown the speed that led him to a great finish in points last year, though caught an unlucky break with a wreck a couple weeks ago. The second generation driver is due for a good run and will start 14th on Friday.

Fan #3: Billy Stiles Jr.
Billy did not file his picks, so we will use his Charlotte picks, which were Ben Kennedy and Ron Hornaday
Ashley’s comments: Even though he’s only a rookie, Kennedy has been quick so far this year. Dover sometimes produces a young surprise winner (Anybody remember Scott Speed’s win?) and starting 10th means that he is off to a good start.

Fan #4: Billy Zardo has not sent in any Truck picks so we will not be able to count for her if none are received. To keep him in the running in the combined standings, we will give him the lowest total.

Fan #5: Robert Hill
Picks: Kyle Busch and Ben Rhodes
Ashley’s Comments: Hill is going off the basis of the “young surprise winner” theory and Rhodes is a solid pick. Rhodes had success at Dover in the K&N ranks and starting ninth means he is also off to a good start.

Fan #6: Joni Stiles
Joni did not file her picks, so we will use her Charlotte picks, which were Kyle Busch and Johnny Sauter
Ashley’s Comments: Sauter is quickly showing that he can be consistent like his teammate Crafton – as long as he keeps his head straight. Starting sixth, let’s hope that he does.

Truck Series Points

1. Ashley McCubbin and Ronald Costigan – 90+89=179
2. Justin Tucker – 90+88=178
3. Kyle Magda – 84+88=172
4. Joni Stiles – 84+85=169
5. Marshall Gabell and Tayler Stiles – 78+88=166
6. Robert Hill – 86+76=162
7. Christina Cordner  – 65+81=146
8. Kreistina Blinova – 78+67=145
9. Terry Wagner – 65+79=144
10. Billy Stiles Jr – 60+61=121

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, and even with the hiccup last weekend at Charlotte, he should get back on track this weekend with posting solid finishes.
Pick #3 – Kyle Busch – Nine races this year. Two wins. Nine top-fives. Expect success from Rowdy.

Journalist: Tayler Stiles
Picks: Regan Smith, Kyle Busch and Kyle Larson
Ashley’s Comments: Regan is the consistent man of the Nationwide Series so consistency should lead to some solid points for Tayler. As far as Larson, he’s on a roll, coming off a strong performance at Charlotte with the win.

Journalist: Kreistina Blinova
Kreistina did not file her picks once again, 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 so expect another top 10 finish this weekend.

Journalist: Kyle Magda
Picks: Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch and Regan Smith
Ashley’s Comments: Keselowski has rocked Dover in the past and with consistancy on his side, it should continue this weekend.

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

SpeedwayMedia.com Journalist: Marshall Gabell
Gabell did not file his picks once again 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 good once again this weekend for Gabell as he has been quick at Dover in the past.

Frontstretch.com Journalist: Justin Tucker
Picks: Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch

Fan #1: Terry Wagner
Picks: Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski

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 as Dover is one of his best tracks.

Fan #3: Billy Stiles Jr.
Billy did not file his picks, so he will have the same as last week – 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: Matt Kenseth, Elliott Sadler and Chase Elliott
Ashley’s Comments: Sadler is another driver to watch at Dover, considering his past success there and given the fact that he has been on a roll this year.

Fan #6: Joni Stiles
Joni did not file her picks, so we will use her Charlotte Picks, which were 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 – 634+89=723
2. Ronald Costigan – 584+89=673
3. Tayler Stiles – 581+89=670
4. Billy Zardo – 565+83=658
5. Terry Wagner – 557+90=647
6. Robert Hill – 549+90=639
7. Billy Stiles Jr. – 552+84=636
8. Marshall Gabell – 547+87=634
9. Christina Cordner – 543+83=626
10. Justin Tucker – 536+89=625
11. Kyle Magda – 512+89=601
12. Joni Stiles – 474+81=565
13. Kreistina Blinova – 473+65=538

Sprint Cup Series Picks

Managing Editor: Ashley McCubbin
Pick #1 – Kyle Busch – Dover seems like it’d be the perfect Kyle Busch track with the fact that you’re tackling the track and it’s short. Look for Busch to get some success going.
Pick #2: Jeff Gordon – Gordon is a veteran with experience. If you add this year’s speed to that, he should make it good this weekend.
Pick #3: Jimmie Johnson – So last week we made a big deal as to how Charlotte was Jimmie’s track. Well, that panned out well. Now, I could give you the same type of explanation for this weekend as Johnson has won at Dover before – numerous times. We’ll see if it pans out well two weeks in a row.

NASCAR Journalist Tayler Stiles
Picks: Matt Kenseth, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson
Ashley’s comments: Kenseth  badly needs a win to get into the Chase. He got close last week but came up short. We’ll see how close he comes this week as he has a pair of wins at Dover.

NASCAR Journalist Kreistina Blinova
Kreistina did not file her picks once again so we will be using her Kansas picks – Jeff Gordon, Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson

ARCA Journalist Kyle Magda
Picks: Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson

Photographer: Ronald Costigan
Picks: Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr
Ashley’s comments: Dover hasn’t been all too kind to Earnhardt Jr. over the years, but he does have a win there. Beyond that, he badly wants to have a good run after his struggles at Charlotte so look for the No. 88 team to come out swinging.

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: Consistancy and Bowyer seem to go together at Dover as he has nine top 10s in 16 starts.

Frontstretch.com Journalist: Justin Tucker
Picks: Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson
Ashley’s Comments: Harvick hasn’t been the most successful driver at Dover. However, he’s on a roll this year and that roll should carry into Dover and out of Dover as Harvick seems like the perfect driver to tackle the monster.

Fan #1: Terry Wagner
Picks: Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson
Ashley’s comments: Dover + Keselowski = only two top 10s in eight starts. Can this year be an improvement? Considering the Penske speed this year, I say yes.

Fan #2: Christina Cordner
Picks: Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth

Fan #3: Billy Stiles Jr.
Billy did not file his picks so we will be using his Charlotte 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: Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth

Fan #6: Joni Stiles
Joni did not file her picks so we will be using her Charlotte picks – Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch and Martin Truex Jr.
Ashley’s comments: Kasey Kahne needs a good run and a good run here could perhaps help Kahne’s relationship with Miles as he only has five top 10s in 20 starts. For Kurt Busch, he could use a boost as well considering his blown engine last week and the fact that Dover hasn’t treated him well, either. Truex, meanwhile, loves this place as it’s his home track. Success? Mixed. Only six top 10s in 16 starts, but he does have a Nationwide Series win at Dover.

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 – 472+131=603
2. Billy Stiles Jr. – 450+117=567
3. Tayler Stiles – 435+129=564
4. Ronald Costigan – 428+109=537
5. Billy Zardo – 409+102=511
6. Marshall Gabell – 391+117=508
7. Terry Wagner – 398+108=506
8. Justin Tucker – 367+121=488
9. Christina Cordner – 377+104=481
10. Kreistina Blinova – 256+123=379
11. Kyle Magda – 254+121=375
12. Robert Hill – 273+88=361
13. Joni Stiles – 229+53=282

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 –1285+89+131=1505
2. Ronald Costigan – 1213+89+109=1411
3. Tayler Stiles – 1182+89+129=1400
4. Justin Tucker – 1136+89+121=1346
5. Billy Stiles Jr. – 1145+84+117=1346
6. Robert Hill – 1145+90+88=1334
7. Kyle Magda – 1109+89+121=1319
8. Terry Wagner – 1121+90+108=1319
9. Marshall Gabell – 1104+87+117=1308
10. Billy Zardo – 1117+83+102=1302
11. Christina Cordner – 1086+83+104=1273
12. Kreistina Blinova – 1035+65+123=1223
13. Joni Stiles – 1042+81+53=1176

PICKERS: As previously announced about two weeks ago – 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 sectionand thenreset the points to give everybody a clean slate to get after it. 

Please Note: DOVER WILL BE THE FINAL ROUND OF THE ONPITROAD.COM SPRING FANTASY PICK ‘EM CHAMPIONSHIP. Then next weekend – Pocono weekend – we will reset everybody to 0 to see how this fun goes.

With that said……

NEXT UP: DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

Those placing picks for this weekend are asked to choose TWO DRIVERS for the Camping World Truck Series race on Friday, THREE DRIVERS (one not being a Cup regular) for theNATIONWIDE SERIES race on Saturday and THREE DRIVERS for the SPRINT CUP SERIES race on Sunday. ALL PICKS ARE DUE THURSDAY BY MIDNIGHT.

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