First segment planner: Picking 18 races

by Roger Rotter

Roger is a senior editor for the FOXSports.com fantasy group. Read his blog for more analysis. Have a question or comment? Send them!


Updated: April 30, 2008, 12:08 PM EST 4 comments

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Owners must pick four drivers for each of the 18 races in the first segment. But a driver may be selected only a maximum of four times, Below is an 18-race plan designating the four drivers for every race. Also included is a chart showing how many times each driver has been chosen.

How successful can be planning an entire segment spanning 18 races of four drivers?

It can be excellent by virtue of last year's second-segment results. My picks finished in the top five percent of all entries, clinching first in the second segment of our fantasy experts pool.

Wins were accurately predicted nearly 10 percent of the races. Top fives were projected correctly more than a third (36 percent); Top 10s were accurate more than three-fifths (63 percent); and Top 15s were predicted correctly nearly three-quarters (74 percent) of the races.

2007 second segment: Success rate
Nos. Wins 2nds Top 5s Top 10s Top 15s
Category 7 4 15 198
Total 7 4 26 4553
Accuracy 9.7% 18.1 % 36.1% 62.5%73.6%

Here's a chart showing how many times each driver has been picked and his chosen races.

Drivers appear in order of final 2007 Cup standings

First segment: Roger Rotter's picks by driver
Driver No. Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Race 4
Jimmie Johnson 4 Daytona 500 California Las Vegas Atlanta
Jeff Gordon 4 Daytona 500 Martinsville Phoenix Talladega
Clint Bowyer 4 California Martinsville Phoenix Daytona (July)
Matt Kenseth 4 Las Vegas California Bristol Michigan
Kyle Busch 4 Bristol Martinsville Phoenix Richmond
Tony Stewart 4 Daytona 500 Las Vegas Atlanta Daytona (July)
Kurt Busch 4 Bristol Talladega Pocono Daytona (July)
Jeff Burton 4 Atlanta Texas Lowe's New Hampshire
Carl Edwards 4 California Atlanta Dover Michigan
Kevin Harvick 4 Texas Talladega Richmond Lowe's
Martin Truex Jr. 4 Dover Pocono Michigan New Hampshire
Denny Hamlin 4 Phoenix Richmond Pocono New Hampshire
Ryan Newman 4 Richmond Darlington Dover New Hampshire
Greg Biffle 2 Darlington Michigan    
Casey Mears 1 Lowe's      
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 4 Daytona 500 Bristol Talladega Daytona (July)
Jamie McMurray 1 Texas      
Kasey Kahne 2 Lowe's Texas    
Juan Pablo Montoya 2 Martinsville Darlington Infineon  
Robby Gordon 1 Infineon      
Mark Martin 4 Las Vegas Texas Dover Pocono
Ricky Rudd 1 Infineon      
Boris Said 1 Infineon      

Review the four drivers chosen for all 18 races of the first segment.

1. Daytona International Speedway, Feb. 17
No. Driver Comment
1 Jimmie Johnson Won Dayton 500 in '06
3 Jeff Gordon Won Daytona 500 in '05
2 Tony Stewart Won July's Daytona race in '06, '05
4 Dale Earnhardt Jr. Won Daytona 500 in '04 and Shootout in '08

2. California Speedway, Feb. 24
No. Driver Comment
1 Jimmie Johnson Won in '02 and Sept. '07; Finished 3rd in Feb. last year
2 Clint Bowyer Clinched sixth last Feb. and third Sept. '06
3 Matt Kenseth Won in Feb. '07 and '06; Finished 7th in Sept.'07, '06 and '05
4 Carl Edwards Finished 2nd in Sept. '07, 3rd in Feb. '06 & 4th in in Sept. '06

3. Las Vegas Motor Speedway, March 2
No. Driver Comment
1 Jimmie Johnson Has dominated with 3 straight wins ('07, '06 and '05)
2 Matt Kenseth Won in '04 and '03; finished 2nd in '06 & 4th in '07
3 Tony Stewart Has top 10s in 2 of the past 3 races; has top 5s in '04, '03, '02 and '00
4 Mark Martin Has a win, 8 top 10s & 5 top 5s in 10 races, incl. 5th last year

4. Atlanta Motor Speedway, March 9
No. Driver Comment
1 Jimmie Johnson Won both '07 races and Oct. '04; Was 2nd in Oct. '06
2 Tony Stewart Won in Oct. '06 and was 2nd last March
3 Jeff Burton Clinched 4th last March and 5th last Oct.
4 Carl Edwards Won both races in '05 and was 2nd last Oct.

5. Bristol Motor Speedway, March 16
No. Driver Comment
1 Matt Kenseth Won Aug. races in '05 and '06
2 Kyle Busch Won in March '07 and placed 2nd in Aug. '06
3 Kurt Busch Has won 5 times, including victory in March '06
4 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Won in Aug. '04; finished 7th in March and 5th in Aug. last year

6. Martinsville Speedway, March 30
No. Driver Comment
1 Jeff Gordon Owns most career wins (7); Was 2nd in April and 3rd in Oct. last year
2 Clint Bowyer Finished 11th in April and 9th in Oct.
3 Kyle Busch Dominates short tracks; finished 4th in both '07 races
4 Juan Pablo Montoya Was 8th last Oct. and led for 9 laps; F1 skills help at tight, short track

7. Texas Motor Speedway, April 6
No. Driver Comment
1 Jeff Burton Has won twice, including last April '07; Was 6th last Nov.
2 Kevin Harvick Was 10th last Nov., 3rd in Nov. '06 and 5th in April '06
3 Jamie McMurray Was 5th in April and 9th in Nov. last year
4 Kasey Kahne Won April '06 race and finished 2nd in April '04

8. Phoenix International Raceway, April 12
No. Driver Comment
1 Jeff Gordon Won last April's race and finished 4th in Nov. '06
2 Clint Bowyer Was 5th in April '06 and 11th in Nov. '07
3 Kyle Busch Won in Nov. '05; Was 7th last April and 8th last Nov.
4 Denny Hamlin Finished 3rd in 2 of last 3 races

9. Talladega Superspeedway, April 27
No. Driver Comment
1 Jeff Gordon Owns most career wins (6) among active drivers, including both in '07
2 Kurt Busch Has 11 Top 10s in 14 races; Clinched 3rds in 2 of last 3 events
3 Kevin Harvick Finished 6th in April '07 and Oct. '06
4 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Owns 5 wins and finished 7th last April

10. Richmond International Raceway, May 3
No. Driver Comment
1 Kyle Busch Has clinched Top 5s in of 6 races, including 2nds in 2 of last 3 events
2 Kevin Harvick Won Sept. '06 race; owns 6 straight Top 10s
3 Denny Hamlin Owns Top 6s in 3 of 4 races, incl. 6th last Oct., 3rd last May and 2nd May '06
4 Ryan Newman Won in Sept. '03; Was 6th last May, 11th last Sept.

11. Darlington Raceway, May 10
No. Driver Comment
1 Ryan Newman Has recorded 4 top 6s in last 5 races, including 4th last year
2 Greg Biffle Won in '05 and '06
3 Juan Pablo Montoya Started 41st but climbed to 23rd in first race
4 Mark Martin Owns top 10s in 4 of last 5 races

12. Lowe's Motor Speedway, May 25
No. Driver Comment
1 Jeff Burton Clinched 4th last Oct & 3rd Oct. '06; Owns 3 Top 10s in past 4 races
2 Kevin Harvick Won Challenge at track last year and was 2nd in '06 at same event
3 Casey Mears Won last May's race; Has three Top 12s in past 6 races
4 Kasey Kahne Won both races in '06 and was 8th last Oct.; Started 1st once and 2nd twice

13. Dover International Speedway, June 1
No. Driver Comment
1 Carl Edwards Won last Sept.'s race, placed 3rd in June's race & 2nd in Sept. '06 event
2 Martin Truex Jr. Won last June's race and placed 6th in Sept. '06 event
3 Ryan Newman Won 3 three times and placed 4th last May
4 Mark Martin Has won a Cup-high 4 times among active drivers and was 4th last Sept.

14. Pocono Raceway, June 8
No. Driver Comment
1 Kurt Busch Won in '05, was 2nd in both '06 races and won in Sept. '07
2 Martin Truex, Jr. Finished Top 10 in 2 of 4 races, including 3rd last June
3 Denny Hamlin Won both races in '06, was 6th last June & 3rd in Aug.
4 Mark Martin Has 2 top 10s in '07 and 5 top 10s in last 7 races

15. Michigan International Speedway, June 15
No. Driver Comment
1 Matt Kenseth Won in Aug. '06 rac and was 4th last Aug. Has 4 Top 5s in last six races
2 Kurt Busch Won last Aug. and June '03
3 Carl Edwards Won last June's race and was 7th in Aug.; has 6 top 10s and 4 top 5s in 7 races
4 Martin Truex, Jr. Clinched 2nd in both '07 races

16. Infineon Raceway, June 22
No. Driver Comment
1 Juan Pablo Montoya Win in first start despite beginning 32nd
2 Robby Gordon Won in '03 and has 2 top 16s in last 3 races; also started 2nd last year
3 Ricky Rudd Has 4 Top 5s and 5 Top 11s in last 7 races, including an '02 win
4 Boris Said Has compiled 4 Top 10s in last 5 races, including 2 straight 9ths

17. New Hampshire Motor Speedway, June 29
No. Driver Comment
1 Jeff Burton Has 4 Top 10s in last 5 races, including 3 7ths in last 4 events
2 Martin Truex Jr. Recorded 2 top 5s last year with a 3rd and 5th
3 Denny Hamlin Won last July's race and has 3 Top 10s and 2 Top 5s in 4 events
4 Ryan Newman Won in Sept. '05. Has 9 Top 10s and 5 Top 5s in 12 races, incl. 9th & 10th in '07

18. Daytona International Speedway, July 5
No. Driver Comment
1 Clint Bowyer Has 3 Top 10s in 4 races, including 7th last July when he led for 55 laps
2 Kyle Busch Has two straight 2nds in July's race
3 Tony Stewart Won July's race in '06 and '05; has 5 Top 5s in last 8 races
4 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Won July '01 and has 5 top 10s and 3 Top 5s in last 7 July races

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