Fantasy NASCAR Preview: Charlotte

Earnhardt led 62 laps and finished 3rd in Atlanta, 2nd in Las Vegas, 12th in Texas, and 5th in Charlotte after leading 75 laps before blowing a tire. Still, his last two races on the 1.5 mile tracks have been mediocre at best. He struggled at Chicago and finished 13th at Kansas, making several class B drivers better options.

Truex has recently started to turn around his season (a little late, except for fantasy purposes). He got his first top 10 on a 1.5 mile track this season at Chicago with a 9th place effort. He then led 27 laps at Kansas before his transmission failed. He may be an interesting class B choice this week.

Bowyer is coming off a 12th place run at Kansas. He was also 6th in Atlanta after leading 52 laps and 10th in Texas, but just 25th in Charlotte, 28th in Las Vegas, and 22nd in Chicago. He's too risky to place on your class A roster.

Newman was 4th at Texas and 14th at both Atlanta and Las Vegas. He was also 10th in Chicago and 16th in Kansas. He has been really consistent all season and has flown largely under the radar with his team change upcoming. If there is a negative, it is that he struggled at Charlotte and finished 21st.

Hamlin was 11th in Kansas, but a risky bet coming off his hard crash at Talladega (the main reason for his low ranking). His luck during the Chase has been absolutely terrible, and there are much better class A choices. He has had some strong runs at Texas, Las Vegas, and Atlanta as well but finished poorly in Chicago.

Sadler is inconsistent, but sometimes worth the risk. He was 12th in Vegas, 8th in Charlotte, 12th in Chicago, and 10th in Kansas. However, he also looked terrible at Atlanta and Texas. If you tally up the results, the positives are starting to outweigh the negatives.

This is a team that scored top 10's in Las Vegas and Texas, but has also endured some sub-par finishes. Martin was 22nd in Atlanta, 15th in Charlotte, 17th in Chicago, and 18th in Kansas. There are better class B choices this weekend.

Mears has been solid, but never spectacular. He was 13th and 17th at Las Vegas and Atlanta, but then things started going downhill. He was 22nd in Texas, 29th in Charlotte, and 33rd in Chicago before bouncing back with a 14th place run at Kansas.

Reutimann was 10th in Charlotte, 14th in Chicago, and 19th in Kansas, making him an excellent class C choice this weekend.

Labonte was a solid 11th in Charlotte, 17th in Vegas, 20th in Texas, and 12th at Atlanta. He took steps in the wrong direction with a 29th in Chicago and a 24th in Kansas. The Petty teams are just overmatched on a weekly basis.

Busch's 11th in Atlanta and 16th in Charlotte are the closest things he has to highlights on the 1.5 mile tracks this season. His 28th place run in Chicago and 30th place finish in Kansas are just two more disappointments to add to his 2008 season. It's shocking that he has fallen this far driving for the Penske organization.