Author: Jeff Gluck

We’re not all going to agree on every NASCAR-related issue, and Sunday’s incident between Matt Kenseth and Joey Logano at Martinsville certainly falls into that category.

For my column in today’s USA TODAY Sports section, I said NASCAR should suspend Kenseth because the sport is in danger of becoming too much of a sideshow demolition derby otherwise. If you want to read the column, the link is here.

Anyway, some people get a lot more upset about those disagreements, and it can be quite hilarious. This kind of stuff used to bother me, but now I just laugh.

So let’s laugh together!

 

The third round of the Fantasy Chase is already off to a bad start for some of you.

As you may or may not recall, the rules for this year’s Fantasy Chase include this line: If you pick a driver who has already been eliminated from the real-life Chase, you get zero points for the week. That’s what makes the Fantasy Chase extra tricky.

Anyway, check out the picks chart below. If you see a ** by your pick…well, it’s not going to be a good week. You’ll probably have to win a race in one of the next two weeks to make the finals.

Here are your picks for Martinsville:

Twitter ID	Points	Martinsville
2xMrK	0	Gordon
ahaywood7	0	Hamlin **
AndrewWaldrop	0	Hamlin **
b_Verba	0	Hamlin **
benthurman	0	Johnson **
bharden94	0	Harvick
bobdare18	0	Hamlin **
briang3386	0	Gordon
bshell00	0	Hamlin **
BZieg66	0	Hamlin **
chekrs_or_rekrs	0	Johnson **
chrisonethree	0	Logano
CJSully	0	Hamlin **
clarinetbiter13	0	Hamlin **
claytonroots	0	Johnson **
cool1982	0	Harvick
Cracks1313	0	Harvick
dabrowmatt	0	Johnson **
dgoodin24	0	Gordon
dickiep1018	0	Johnson **
dmcgrew	0	Gordon
Gary88Marion	0	Busch (Kurt)
hellrod4	0	Hamlin **
jay_wilkins17	0	Logano
Jayua	0	Johnson **
jcnewton42	0	Johnson **
jenbrott	0	Hamlin **
jflittle	0	Kenseth **
JimHogle	0	Johnson **
jjrs18	0	Hamlin **
JohnsonErikM	0	Gordon
jojoluvs18	0	Busch (Kyle)
jordanthenascar	0	Gordon
Kathy	0	Gordon
KJL1521	0	Harvick
kristidbm	0	Johnson **
krsheart	0	Hamlin **
Macd_6	0	Busch (Kyle)
marc_b	0	Hamlin **
Matthew_Ryan4	0	Busch (Kurt)
mattyg00dtimes	0	Hamlin **
maureenholt	0	Hamlin **
Mhouser88	0	Harvick
NSCRtruckFAN	0	Kenseth **
PackerDuke	0	Kenseth **
Peidelaney	0	Busch (Kyle)
RMOOREJR99	0	Johnson **
Senna94	0	Hamlin **
sewacter	0	Earnhardt **
ShowtimeChase	0	Hamlin **
SubmarineMike88	0	Johnson **
The_GreenFlag	0	Logano
ztew	0	Johnson **

Talladega marked the end of the road for 49 of our Fantasy Chase players, and we’re down to the final 53 after a tie decided the final spot (see standings below).

There were 24 people who picked Joey Logano for at least one of the three races — which is all they needed, as it turned out. That created some odd situations like with @Peidelaney, who had Logano at Charlotte to advance but then scored zero points the next two races (but it didn’t matter).

Many players were banking on a Dale Earnhardt Jr. victory at Talladega to help them move on, but he came up short — costing them a chance to move on. Send your angry letters to Kevin Harvick if you’re upset about being eliminated from the Fantasy Chase.

Anyway, here’s how the standings for Round 2 shook out:

Twitter ID	Points
bshell00	1086
BZieg66	1086
Matthew_Ryan4	1086
2xMrK	1086
Senna94	1086
sewacter	1086
SubmarineMike88	1086
b_Verba	1080
jay_wilkins17	1079
Jayua	1076
jflittle	1076
The_GreenFlag	1076
chekrs_or_rekrs	1069
claytonroots	1069
bharden94	1066
dmcgrew	1064
briang3386	1047
hellrod4	1044
jojoluvs18	1044
JimHogle	1044
dgoodin24	1040
benthurman	1040
cool1982	1030
Peidelaney	1000
jcnewton42	125
jjrs18	122
ztew	122
RMOOREJR99	122
KJL1521	119
ShowtimeChase	119
bobdare18	118
kristidbm	118
marc_b	115
AndrewWaldrop	115
Macd_6	115
Mhouser88	115
jenbrott	115
clarinetbiter13	115
jordanthenascar	114
krsheart	114
mattyg00dtimes	114
NSCRtruckFAN	114
CJSully	113
chrisonethree	112
Cracks1313	111
dabrowmatt	111
JohnsonErikM	110
Gary88Marion	109
Kathy	108
dickiep1018	108
maureenholt	108
ahaywood7	108
PackerDuke	108

——- CUTOFF ———

fatbuzz66	105
codydawg	102
Mrittenhouse84	101
shaneiliff	101
BScharfschwerdt	100
1Outlawbandit	98
AndyDow13	98
kimery	98
nancymcb88	96
Nickler6	94
ryanhorne1028	90
PhotoMatt_KCCO	89
idkadte	86
spalmer88	86
DRM3CIX	84
YragNodrog	84
mrirond	84
rlberryyogi	83
klund29	83
joebeck24	83
ChrisHarvey33	82
LSHenshaw	82
Andrea__Marie	81
Chargin_Chuck	81
dallasjunebug	80
rblgrl95	80
prettymonkey	79
theglenprez	79
cinmenn	79
wdoyle66	76
ILuvthe88and78	76
hoopngoofy73	73
ShaunPresley48	73
BradBoggz	73
Speedway_Steve	73
JAGillespie90	72
bite	69
Chad_Reno13	69
DRLDeBoer	69
cdaviswx	69
snowybwm	63
hzirbel	58
cswiecki84	57
CodfishCodfish	54
jeffgh24	47
Jblohse	47
WGI	44
jke_4	42
Ahsumdude	35

 

 

 

 

We’re on the verge of eliminating half the Fantasy Chase field, and 21 spots have already been secured.

Many people are riding with Dale Jr. for Talladega. So that means if he wins, there will likely be NO spots available on points in the top 50 (that’s the number of people who advance, plus ties). But if he doesn’t win, it could be a mad scramble on points.

Here’s the current playoff picture (plus your Talladega picks), plus the “points as they run” cutoff line:

Twitter ID	Points	Charlotte	Kansas	Talladega
bshell00	1042	42	1000	Earnhardt
BZieg66	1042	42	1000	Earnhardt
Jayua	1042	42	1000	Busch (Kyle)
jflittle	1042	42	1000	Busch (Kyle)
Matthew_Ryan4	1042	42	1000	Earnhardt
2xMrK	1042	42	1000	Earnhardt
Senna94	1042	42	1000	Earnhardt
sewacter	1042	42	1000	Earnhardt
SubmarineMike88	1042	42	1000	Earnhardt
b_Verba	1040	40	1000	Keselowski
jay_wilkins17	1039	39	1000	Keselowski
The_GreenFlag	1032	1000	32	Earnhardt
bharden94	1029	1000	29	Truex
chekrs_or_rekrs	1025	25	1000	Earnhardt
JimHogle	1025	25	1000	Kenseth
briang3386	1003	3	1000	Earnhardt
Peidelaney	1000	1000	0	Johnson
hellrod4	1000	1000	0	Earnhardt
cool1982	1000	0	1000	Harvick
dgoodin24	1000	0	1000	Keselowski
jojoluvs18	1000	0	1000	Earnhardt
BScharfschwerdt	81	42	39	Kenseth
Chargin_Chuck	81	42	39	Johnson
jcnewton42	81	42	39	Earnhardt
marc_b	81	42	39	Busch (Kyle)
CJSully	78	39	39	Busch (Kurt)
jjrs18	78	39	39	Earnhardt
ztew	78	39	39	Earnhardt
chrisonethree	78	42	36	Busch (Kyle)
PackerDuke	78	42	36	Harvick
RMOOREJR99	78	42	36	Earnhardt
clarinetbiter13	76	39	37	Edwards
joebeck24	75	39	36	Hamlin
KJL1521	75	39	36	Earnhardt
ShowtimeChase	75	39	36	Earnhardt
krsheart	74	37	37	Keselowski
bobdare18	74	42	32	Earnhardt
Kathy	74	42	32	Busch (Kyle)
kristidbm	74	42	32	Earnhardt
mattyg00dtimes	74	42	32	Keselowski
NSCRtruckFAN	74	42	32	Keselowski
rblgrl95	72	35	37	Hamlin
AndrewWaldrop	71	42	29	Earnhardt
Macd_6	71	42	29	Earnhardt
Mhouser88	71	42	29	Earnhardt
Mrittenhouse84	71	42	29	Harvick
jenbrott	71	39	32	Earnhardt
prettymonkey	71	39	32	Hamlin
ryanhorne1028	71	42	29	Kenseth
jordanthenascar	70	41	29	Earnhardt

———————————————————————————–

cdaviswx	69	40	29	Johnson
claytonroots	69	40	29	Logano
shaneiliff	68	39	29	Newman
Cracks1313	67	25	42	Earnhardt
dabrowmatt	67	35	32	Earnhardt
JohnsonErikM	66	37	29	Earnhardt
Gary88Marion	65	42	23	Earnhardt
dickiep1018	64	25	39	Earnhardt
dmcgrew	64	25	39	Logano
maureenholt	64	25	39	Earnhardt
ahaywood7	64	35	29	Earnhardt
fatbuzz66	61	25	36	Earnhardt
codydawg	60	37	23	Gordon
cswiecki84	57	25	32	Johnson
1Outlawbandit	54	25	29	Earnhardt
AndyDow13	54	25	29	Earnhardt
BradBoggz	54	25	29	Kenseth
kimery	54	25	29	Earnhardt
Speedway_Steve	54	25	29	Kenseth
nancymcb88	52	16	36	Earnhardt
Nickler6	50	16	34	Earnhardt
PhotoMatt_KCCO	45	16	29	Earnhardt
YragNodrog	45	16	29	Edwards
JAGillespie90	42	3	39	Harvick
Andrea__Marie	42	0	42	Edwards
cinmenn	42	42	0	Truex
idkadte	42	42	0	Earnhardt
jke_4	42	42	0	Bowyer
mrirond	42	42	0	Gordon
spalmer88	42	42	0	Earnhardt
wdoyle66	42	42	0	Busch (Kyle)
benthurman	40	3	37	Logano
DRM3CIX	40	3	37	Earnhardt
bite	39	0	39	Harvick
Chad_Reno13	39	0	39	Harvick
hzirbel	39	0	39	Kenseth
rlberryyogi	39	0	39	Earnhardt
theglenprez	39	0	39	Keselowski
Jblohse	39	39	0	Hamlin
klund29	39	39	0	Earnhardt
DRLDeBoer	39	3	36	Harvick
ChrisHarvey33	38	0	38	Earnhardt
LSHenshaw	38	0	38	Earnhardt
dallasjunebug	36	0	36	Earnhardt
CodfishCodfish	35	35	0	Kenseth
Ahsumdude	35	3	32	McMurray
ILuvthe88and78	32	0	32	Earnhardt
hoopngoofy73	29	0	29	Earnhardt
ShaunPresley48	29	0	29	Earnhardt
snowybwm	29	0	29	Busch (Kyle)
jeffgh24	3	3	0	Earnhardt
WGI	0	0	0	Earnhardt

 

 

 

Some of you are in desperate need of a win this week after you picked either Matt Kenseth (three points) or Jimmie Johnson (no points) at Charlotte.

But fear not: If your driver wins Kansas this week, you’re through to the next round no matter what.

Kevin Harvick is the most popular pick at Kansas. Here’s the full list:

Twitter ID	Points	Kansas
1Outlawbandit	25	Harvick
ahaywood7	35	Harvick
Ahsumdude	3	Kenseth
Andrea__Marie	0	Hamlin
AndrewWaldrop	42	Harvick
AndyDow13	25	Harvick
b_Verba	40	Logano
benthurman	3	Edwards
bharden94	1000	Harvick
bite	0	Busch (Kyle)
bobdare18	42	Kenseth
BradBoggz	25	Harvick
briang3386	3	Logano
BScharfschwerdt	42	Busch (Kyle)
bshell00	42	Logano
BZieg66	42	Logano
cdaviswx	40	Harvick
Chad_Reno13	0	Busch (Kyle)
Chargin_Chuck	42	Busch (Kyle)
chekrs_or_rekrs	25	Logano
ChrisHarvey33	0	Busch (Kurt)
chrisonethree	42	Keselowski
cinmenn	42	Johnson
CJSully	39	Busch (Kyle)
clarinetbiter13	39	Edwards
claytonroots	40	Harvick
CodfishCodfish	35	Johnson
codydawg	37	Earnhardt
cool1982	0	Logano
Cracks1313	25	Hamlin
cswiecki84	25	Kenseth
dabrowmatt	35	Kenseth
dallasjunebug	0	Keselowski
dgoodin24	0	Logano
dickiep1018	25	Busch (Kyle)
dmcgrew	25	Busch (Kyle)
DRLDeBoer	3	Keselowski
DRM3CIX	3	Edwards
fatbuzz66	25	Keselowski
Gary88Marion	42	Earnhardt
hellrod4	1000	Johnson
hoopngoofy73	0	Harvick
hzirbel	0	Busch (Kyle)
idkadte	42	Johnson
ILuvthe88and78	0	Kenseth
JAGillespie90	3	Busch (Kyle)
jay_wilkins17	39	Logano
Jayua	42	Logano
Jblohse	39	Johnson
jcnewton42	42	Busch (Kyle)
jeffgh24	3	Johnson
jenbrott	39	Kenseth
jflittle	42	Logano
JimHogle	25	Logano
jjrs18	39	Busch (Kyle)
jke_4	42	Johnson
joebeck24	39	Keselowski
JohnsonErikM	37	Harvick
jojoluvs18	0	Logano
jordanthenascar	41	Harvick
Kathy	42	Kenseth
kimery	25	Harvick
KJL1521	39	Keselowski
klund29	39	Johnson
kristidbm	42	Kenseth
krsheart	37	Edwards
LSHenshaw	0	Busch (Kurt)
Macd_6	42	Harvick
marc_b	42	Busch (Kyle)
Matthew_Ryan4	42	Logano
mattyg00dtimes	42	Kenseth
maureenholt	25	Busch (Kyle)
Mhouser88	42	Harvick
mrirond	42	Johnson
Mrittenhouse84	42	Harvick
nancymcb88	16	Keselowski
Nickler6	16	Gordon
NSCRtruckFAN	42	Kenseth
PackerDuke	42	Keselowski
Peidelaney	1000	Bowyer
PhotoMatt_KCCO	16	Harvick
prettymonkey	39	Kenseth
2xMrK	42	Logano
rblgrl95	35	Edwards
rlberryyogi	0	Busch (Kyle)
RMOOREJR99	42	Keselowski
ryanhorne1028	42	Truex
Senna94	42	Logano
sewacter	42	Logano
shaneiliff	39	Harvick
ShaunPresley48	0	Harvick
ShowtimeChase	39	Keselowski
snowybwm	0	Harvick
spalmer88	42	Johnson
Speedway_Steve	25	Harvick
SubmarineMike88	42	Logano
The_GreenFlag	1000	Kenseth
theglenprez	0	Busch (Kyle)
wdoyle66	42	Johnson
WGI	0	Bowyer
YragNodrog	16	Harvick
ztew	39	Busch (Kyle)

It was an interesting first week in Round 2 of the Fantasy Chase, because a bunch of different things happened — just like in the actual Chase.

First of all, congrats to four people — bharden94, hellrod4, Peidelaney and The_GreenFlag — who picked Joey Logano and locked themselves into the next round.

The news wasn’t so good for the 17 people who picked Jimmie Johnson at Charlotte. Since Johnson is no longer in the actual Chase, they got zero points this week for their pick. Ouch!

But they’re only three points behind the people who picked Matt Kenseth (another ouch) and within range of those who had Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch.

So that means this round remains fairly wide open in the points with two races to go.

Here are the standings after Charlotte:

Twitter ID	Points
bharden94	1000
hellrod4	1000
Peidelaney	1000
The_GreenFlag	1000
AndrewWaldrop	42
bobdare18	42
BScharfschwerdt	42
bshell00	42
BZieg66	42
Chargin_Chuck	42
chrisonethree	42
cinmenn	42
Gary88Marion	42
idkadte	42
Jayua	42
jcnewton42	42
jflittle	42
jke_4	42
Kathy	42
kristidbm	42
Macd_6	42
marc_b	42
Matthew_Ryan4	42
mattyg00dtimes	42
Mhouser88	42
mrirond	42
Mrittenhouse84	42
NSCRtruckFAN	42
PackerDuke	42
RatedK13	42
RMOOREJR99	42
ryanhorne1028	42
Senna94	42
sewacter	42
spalmer88	42
SubmarineMike88	42
wdoyle66	42
jordanthenascar	41
b_Verba	40
cdaviswx	40
claytonroots	40
jenbrott	39
jjrs18	39
CJSully	39
clarinetbiter13	39
jay_wilkins17	39
Jblohse	39
joebeck24	39
KJL1521	39
klund29	39
prettymonkey	39
shaneiliff	39
ShowtimeChase	39
ztew	39
codydawg	37
JohnsonErikM	37
krsheart	37
ahaywood7	35
CodfishCodfish	35
dabrowmatt	35
rblgrl95	35
1Outlawbandit	25
AndyDow13	25
BradBoggz	25
chekrs_or_rekrs	25
Cracks1313	25
cswiecki84	25
dickiep1018	25
dmcgrew	25
fatbuzz66	25
JimHogle	25
kimery	25
maureenholt	25
Speedway_Steve	25
nancymcb88	16
Nickler6	16
PhotoMatt_KCCO	16
YragNodrog	16
Ahsumdude	3
benthurman	3
briang3386	3
DRLDeBoer	3
DRM3CIX	3
JAGillespie90	3
jeffgh24	3
Andrea__Marie	0
bite	0
Chad_Reno13	0
ChrisHarvey33	0
cool1982	0
dallasjunebug	0
dgoodin24	0
hoopngoofy73	0
hzirbel	0
ILuvthe88and78	0
jojoluvs18	0
LSHenshaw	0
rlberryyogi	0
ShaunPresley48	0
snowybwm	0
theglenprez	0
WGI	0

Sorry for the last-minute post, but here are the Fantasy Chase picks for today’s race. Good luck!

Twitter ID		Charlotte
1Outlawbandit		Busch (Kyle)
ahaywood7		Keselowski
Ahsumdude		Kenseth
Andrea__Marie		Johnson
AndrewWaldrop		Harvick
AndyDow13		Busch (Kyle)
b_Verba		Hamlin
benthurman		Kenseth
bharden94		Logano
bite		Johnson
bobdare18		Harvick
BradBoggz		Busch (Kyle)
briang3386		Kenseth
BScharfschwerdt		Harvick
bshell00		Harvick
BZieg66		Harvick
cdaviswx		Hamlin
Chad_Reno13		Johnson
Chargin_Chuck		Harvick
chekrs_or_rekrs		Busch (Kyle)
ChrisHarvey33		Johnson
chrisonethree		Harvick
cinmenn		Harvick
CJSully		Edwards
clarinetbiter13		Edwards
claytonroots		Hamlin
CodfishCodfish		Keselowski
codydawg		Gordon
cool1982		Johnson
Cracks1313		Busch (Kyle)
cswiecki84		Busch (Kyle)
dabrowmatt		Keselowski
dallasjunebug		Johnson
dgoodin24		Johnson
dickiep1018		Busch (Kyle)
dmcgrew		Busch (Kyle)
DRLDeBoer		Kenseth
DRM3CIX		Kenseth
fatbuzz66		Busch (Kyle)
Gary88Marion		Harvick
hellrod4		Logano
hoopngoofy73		Johnson
hzirbel		Johnson
idkadte		Harvick
ILuvthe88and78		Johnson
JAGillespie90		Kenseth
jay_wilkins17		Edwards
Jayua		Harvick
Jblohse		Edwards
jcnewton42		Harvick
jeffgh24		Kenseth
jenbrott		Busch (Kurt)
jflittle		Harvick
JimHogle		Busch (Kyle)
jjrs18		Busch (Kurt)
jke_4		Harvick
joebeck24		Edwards
JohnsonErikM		Gordon
jojoluvs18		Johnson
jordanthenascar		Truex
Kathy		Harvick
kimery		Busch (Kyle)
KJL1521		Edwards
klund29		Edwards
kristidbm		Harvick
krsheart		Gordon
LSHenshaw		Johnson
Macd_6		Harvick
marc_b		Harvick
Matthew_Ryan4		Harvick
mattyg00dtimes		Harvick
maureenholt		Busch (Kyle)
Mhouser88		Harvick
mrirond		Harvick
Mrittenhouse84		Harvick
nancymcb88		Earnhardt
Nickler6		Earnhardt
NSCRtruckFAN		Harvick
PackerDuke		Harvick
Peidelaney		Logano
PhotoMatt_KCCO		Earnhardt
prettymonkey		Edwards
RatedK13		Harvick
rblgrl95		Keselowski
rlberryyogi		Johnson
RMOOREJR99		Harvick
ryanhorne1028		Harvick
Senna94		Harvick
sewacter		Harvick
shaneiliff		Edwards
ShaunPresley48		Johnson
ShowtimeChase		Edwards
snowybwm		Johnson
spalmer88		Harvick
Speedway_Steve		Busch (Kyle)
SubmarineMike88		Harvick
The_GreenFlag		Logano
theglenprez		Johnson
wdoyle66		Harvick
WGI		Johnson
YragNodrog		Earnhardt
ztew		Edwards