Win up to $1,000,000 or a new truck with Direct TV's NASCAR Head 2 Head Knock Out!
By Eric McClung
Sponsored post
For the second straight year, DIRECTV is running the NASCAR Head-2-Head Knockout competition. The top-32 Sprint Cup drivers are seeded and spilt into four brackets. For the first three rounds, the driver that finishes the highest wins his matchup and moves onto the next round until the winners of each bracket competes against each other in the final round of the Fastest Four.
In addition to the great prizes being offered, a perfect bracket scores a cool $1 million. Like putting together your March Madness college basketball bracket, there are a lot of ways to get lucky. Better yet, you can do your homework, so let’s get started with the latter.
Look At the Schedule
The four tracks selected for this year’s Head-2-Head Knockout competition are very diverse. The action starts at Pocono Raceway, a flat triangle, before heading to the speedy road course of Watkins Glen International. Round three is hosted on the wide, two-mile track at Michigan International Speedway. The action will culminate at the coliseum of racing, Bristol Motor Speedway, for the finale.
The advantage for players drafting their bracket is that Pocono, Michigan and Bristol have already hosted their first race of the season. For Watkins Glen, you can review the results from last month’s event at Infineon Raceway, the only other road course on the schedule.
Five Alive
The opening round at Pocono contains a pair of No. 5 seeds with very favorable matchups against No. 4 seeds. In fact, I’m projecting one of these drivers to topple the No. 1 seed of their respective bracket in round two.
Although Greg Biffle won at Pocono last August, it’s his only top-10 finish at the site in the last 10 starts. The Biff has also been in a recent slump with only one top-15 over the last six this season. His first round opponent, Martin Truex Jr. owns two consecutive top-10s at Pocono and recently finished a career-best eighth at Sonoma. Look for Truex to squeeze past Biffle and his likely second round matchup, Dale Earnhardt Jr., by far the most vulnerable No. 1 seed. Over the last four races, Earnhardt has tumbled from third to ninth in points and has struggled mightily on road courses in recent years. Meanwhile, Truex has finished 15th or better in three of the last four at The Glen.
The other No. 5 seed that appears safe to advance is David Ragan. Over the last three races, Ragan won his first career Cup race at Daytona International Speedway prior to picking up an eighth-place result at Kentucky Speedway and another top-15 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. In that same span of time, his first round matchup Mark Martin has failed to record a finish better than 22nd. Earlier this season at Pocono, Ragan finished in the 17th position, one spot ahead of Martin. However, the lame duck driver of the No. 5 car did so with a career-worst average running position of 24th.
Looking Out For No. 1
The easiest path to the Fastest Four belongs to a No. 1 seed, Carl Edwards, who has impressive numbers on all four tracks in this competition. His biggest foes are Jeff Gordon and Denny Hamlin, both of whom have been struggling with consistency.
Worried about advancing Jimmie Johnson past the third round? Don’t be. While Michigan is one of only five active tracks the five-time defending champion hasn’t won at, he leads all drivers with a career average running position of eighth at MIS. Admittedly, his likely matchup with Tony Stewart, who has finished seventh or better in four of the last five at MIS, is a tough one and probably the toughest call to make prior to the Fastest Four.
One top seed that won’t make it that far is Kevin Harvick. After edging Paul Menard at Pocono, Juan Pablo Montoya figures to take Harvick out in round two. Montoya has finished eighth or better in four of the last five on the Tricky Triangle with an average running position that has improved in four consecutive starts. Menard, on the other hand, has yet to record a top-10 in nine career starts. While Harvick is a capable driver on road courses, JPM is an absolute ace. Last year at The Glen, Montoya won in dominating fashion after leading 74 of 90 laps.
Brothers in Bristol
Look for the Busch brothers, both No. 2 seeds, to meet in the Fastest Four at Bristol. Kurt Busch qualified on the pole at Pocono in June and finished as the runner-up. He was also the runner-up a year ago at The Glen, giving him four straight finishes of 11th or better. At MIS, Kurt has won two of the last three poles and finished 11th earlier in the year.
Kyle Busch rallied from 34th on the grid at Pocono to finish third and owns five consecutive top-10s at The Glen, including a win from 2008. In June, Rowdy finished third at MIS. He was won four of the last five at Bristol, leading an average of 220.5 laps in those victories. With such an impressive resume over the four tracks in this bracket, the younger Busch brother is the top pick to emerge as the winner of the second annual Head-2-Head Knockout competition.