| |  | | | | Fantasy picks for the Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway
Reid Spencer, Bill Marx and Roger Kuznia of the Sporting News are matching wits in the Pit box in 2008. The rules are different this year.
They can pick a driver only once during the season. But for good measure, each also will pick his favorite to win the race.
REID'S PICK: David Gilliland. Now that I've built a substantial lead over my two rivals -- if you can dignify them with that description -- it's time to go with a relative long shot. Gilliland won the pole in his Talladega debut in 2006 and followed that with a second-place start and fourth-place finish last April. There's still some magic in those Yates restrictor-plate engines, and both Gilliland and teammate Travis Kvapil have run respectably this year without appreciable sponsorship.
Who Reid really thinks will win the race: Jeff Gordon. It's time for the four-time champ to break out of the doldrums. In the process, he will spoil the feel-good story of a win by his teammate, Dale Earnhardt Jr.
ROGER'S PICK: Juan Montoya. Oh Reid, I'm letting you lead because it'll be all the more fun to catch you at the end. My pick this weekend is Montoya, in part because the Ganassi cars ran well at Daytona. And did you know that Montoya has finished 20th or better in the last seven races? I'll take a top
15 finish from Montoya here and maintain my steady pace.
Who Roger really thinks will win the race: Denny Hamlin. He was very strong early at Daytona, leading 32 laps, and he has posted four straight finishes of sixth or better in the last four races. Provided he doesn't get caught up in anyone else's mess, he'll be winning his second race of the season.
BILL'S PICK: Brian Vickers. I think Vickers has the car and ability to deliver a solid finish. I'm so far behind in the standings, I can't afford anything less than top 15s from my "bench" drivers before I hit the big guns later in the season.
Who Bill really thinks will win the race: Dale Earnhardt Jr. To misquote Tony Stewart, "Here karma, karma, karma."
LAST WEEK:
Phoenix was a disaster for Bill. His "calculated" gamble on Elliott Sadler didn't work. Sadler was running in the top five when he lost his engine. He finished 40th. Reid added to his lead when Greg Biffle finished ninth for Reid's third straight top 10. Jamie McMurray delivered Roger a respectable 16th. In the real picks, Bill scored a win with Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards finished fourth for Reid, and Roger got a 10th from Kyle Busch.
POINTS STANDINGS:
One and done: Reid, 1,115; Roger, 952; Bill, 867.
Real picks: Roger 1,244; Bill, 1,215; Reid, 1,114.
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