The short track racing is done (for now) and the Cup series is back in the gas this weekend at the wide-open Texas Motor Speedway. Texas is like a combination of Atlanta and California - it takes the speed and high-banked corners of Atlanta and throws in the wide, bumpy track surface and flat straightaways of Cali - so it might be a "cookie cutter" intermediate track, but it is still unique.

Here are my top picks for this weekend's race:

Carl Edwards



Ford has struggled recently, scoring only two top-10's in the past three races from all of their drivers combined, but this Texas should be the place where they break out of their slump. Edwards won both races here last year, leads all drivers with three Texas wins, and should be near the front this Sunday.

Jimmie Johnson



Jimmie won last week at Martinsville, and he is just as strong at Texas. Johnson only has one win here, but averages a 9th place finish, and if last week was any indication, he is already back in championship form after a rough start the first few weeks of the season

Matt Kenseth



Another Ford driver that has struggled - Kenseth has just about fallen off the map after winning the first two races of the season. This should be a comeback week for Matt, though - he is great at Texas, and Roush Racing will be focused in on getting the No. 17 to the front.

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We're headed to Martinsville this weekend, and while it is a half-mile track just like we saw last week at Bristol, that is about all these two places have in common. Where Bristol calls itself the fastest half-mile in NASCAR, Martinsville might as well call itself the toughest. Not only does Martinsville not have any banking, but the track is entirelly different - with long straights and really tight turns - and because of that, it is tough on everything: brakes, the suspension, driveline components, drivers' nerves.

So who will win this weekend's race? Here are my to picks for Martinsville!:

Jimmie Johnson



Johnson hasn't won a race this season, but that could change Sunday. He's won four of the last five Martinsville races, and has an average career finish of 5th (at one of the toughest tracks in NASCAR). Johnson will be the driver to beat.

Jeff Gordon



If anybody knows how to win at Martinsville, it is Jeff Gordon. He's got seven wins here (he must have an entire wing in his house for all the Grandfater clocks he has won), and although he hasn't won a race for more than a year, he is the hottest driver in NASCAR right now. With qualifying rained out, Gordon will start at the front, and he'll be hart to beat.

Denny Hamlin



Usually young drivers don't do well at Martinsville, but Hamlin is an exception. Denny is the defending race winner, and has only finished outside the top-10 here once in his career. Hamlin was great last week at Bristol, and Martinsville is an even better track for him. If anyone can beat Johnson and Gordon, it is the No. 11 car.

All three should have a strong run, but I'm going with Hamlin after his strong weekend at Bristol.

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The Story: Another week, and another win for Matt Kenseth. On the heels of last week's Daytona 500 victory, Kenseth made it back-to-back wins by holding off Jeff Gordon in the closing laps of the Auto Club 500 yesterday in California.


With the win, Kenseth becomes the first driver to win the first two races of the season since Gordon accomplished the same feat back in 1997. Kenseth also joins Gordon, Cale Yaroborough and Richard Petty as the only drivers to win the Daytona 500 as well as the next Cup series race. (Click the picture below to watch Kenseth talk about the win!)


There wasn't much action during the race until the closing laps, when Kenseth traded position back and forth with Gordon both on the track and in the pits, but while it looked initially like Gordon had the better car, the No.24 started to lose grip on the front end in the final 15 laps, and couldn't keep up with Kenseth as the race came to a close. (Click below to watch Jeff Gordon talk about Kenseth's win, and how he'll be a championship contender all season long!)



While the Daytona 500 win was a big boost for Kenseth and Roush Racing - the win at California gives the team momentum - with two more intermediate tracks in the next two weeks (Las Vegas and Atlanta), Kenseth takes the points lead and a lot of confidence into next weekend's race.


Wilson's Take: Talk about breaking out of a slump - Kenseth didn't win a single race in 2008, and now he's already got two straight this season. This win is really important for Kenseth, too - the past few seasons, we've seen drivers like Ryan Newman and Kevin Harvick win the Daytona 500, then not really do much else during the year - so not only does this victory reassure the team that they won't be a one-hit wonder, but it also gives Kenseth the confidence that he can go out and win at intermediate tracks - and with Vegas and Atlanta up next, that is a big boost.

The race was typical California - boring until the very end, but there were a few drivers who suprised at California that we should keep an eye out for next week at Vegas (which should be a much more exciting race):

Jeff Gordon: Like Kenseth, Gordon didn't win a single race in 2008, but don't expect that streak to last much longer - Gordon had a great car yesterday, and with two similar tracks coming up, don't be suprised to see Gordon get to victory lane very soon.

Kyle Busch: Busch had an incredible weekend - he set a NASCAR record winning the Truck AND Nationwide series races - in the same day - and finished third Sunday. Busch is 18th in the point standings, but that is deceptive - he led the most laps in the Daytona 500 before getting caught up in the big wreck - it is only a matter of time before he is battling for the top spot.

Juan Montoya: Not many people expected Montoya to be competitive at a place like California, but the car got better as the race progressed, and he looked comfortable racing side-by-side with Tony Stewart and Kasey Kahne lat in the race. Montoya is in the top-10 in the standings right now, and if he races at the other intermediate tracks as well as he did at California - he'll stay there.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Mark Martin: two weeks of bad luck, and both drivers are outside the top-25 in the points right now. Both suffered engine failures Sunday, and while that is a rare occurance for a Hendrick engine - both need to turn their fortunes around starting next week, before they get far enough behind that making the Chase comes into question.

The Story: For most NASCAR drivers, finishing third in the Daytona 500 would be a pretty big accomplishment, but for A.J. Allmendinger - he hopes it is just the first step in something much bigger.

Allmendinger showed up at Daytona last weekend with only one thing in mind - getting somebody's attention. After being released late last year from Red bull Racing, it has been a rollercoaster offseason for the former open-wheel driver - at one point, it looked like he would take over for Elliott Sadler full-time in the No. 19 car at Richard Petty Motorsports, but eventually signed a deal to drive Petty's No.44 car - without proper sponsorship, though, Allmendinger had to deal with the uncertainty of whether the team would be able to run a full schedule.

So, showing up to Daytona with no guarantee of what would happen the rest of the season - Allmendinger knew that the better he ran, the better the chance he could help his own cause. After struggling in qualifying, Allmendinger raced his way into the Daytona 500 in the Gatorade Duel races, then did even better in the Great American Race - avoiding the big wreck, and finishing 3rd. (Click the picture below to watch video of Allmendinger talking about going all-out for his third-place finish).



The strong showing by Allmendinger and his Petty Motorsports teammates should go a long way towards getting Allmendinger enough sponsorship to expand his 2009 schedule - but even with his third place finish at Daytona, there are no guarantees - and with the current economic conditions, Allmendinger knows that all he can do is race hard every chance he gets - and just hope for the best. (Click below to watch video of Allmendinger talking about the rest of the 2009 season):



Right now, Allmendinger only has a guaranteed ride for the first eight races of the season and the July Daytona race, but if he keeps racing like he did last weekend - then his Daytona 500 finish will only be the start of much bigger.

Wilson's Take: Allmendinger got stuck in a tough situation last year at Red Bull Racing - by the time he started to really show his potential late in the season - Red Bull had already made the decision to replace him in the No.82 car with Scott Speed.

Allmendinger has a ton of talent, and is capable of driving full-time in the series. He made the right decision to commit to a part-time schedule with a better team (Petty Motorsports) rather than a full-time schedule with a single-car operation, and so far - it looks like it will pay off. The Daytona 500 is only one race, though - and Allmendinger will have to race even harder over the next seven weeks if he wants to get full-time sponsorship. If he can get sponsorship, though - Allmendinger could improve greatly between now and the end of the season.

The Story: If you are a fan of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. or Kyle Busch (or Carl Edwards or Denny Hamlin) - you already know what happened in yesterday's Daytona 500, but for everryone else: Junior got together with the No.83 car of Brian Vickers while both were racing to try to get back on the lead lap late in the race - and the resulting wreck not only took out about 10 cars, but many of the race leader (Busch, Edwards and Hamlin).


It wouldn't be the Daytona 500 without some controversy, and Junior's wreck provided exactly that - both Junior and Vickers were a lap down at the time of the wreck, yet they were battling like the entire race was on the line. Junior had a great run on Vickers, who tried to block - forcing both cars below the double yellow line. Earnhardt, Jr., upset over being blocked, tried to push Vickers out of the way, and the resulting contact started the wreck.


Vickers maintains that he had a right to block Junior from passing, but what did Dale have to say - click the picture below to listen to his comments (spoiler alert - he's not too happy!):



Wilson's Take: There's a little Daytona controversy for you! The wreck changed the complexion of the entire race - and Matt Kenseth's ability to pick his way through the wreckage unharmed was the key to his Daytona 500 championship.

So who was really at fault? Both drivers were pushing WAY too hard being a lap down, but when it comes down to it - Vickers was blocking too agressively. He was beat by the 88 car, which was clearly faster - call me old-school, but the right thing to do there was to let the faster car by, and then find a chance to pass him later in the race.

Sometimes being smart is way better than being wrecked - and that is what happened to Vickers. Both drivers should have been more courteous - but (sorry Kyle fans) if I gotta pick a side, I'm leaning towards Junior on this one.

The Story: Matt Kenseth went winless in 2008, but he won't have to worry about his losing streak continuing in 2009 - Kenseth was at the right place at the right time, and won NASCAR's biggest race - taking the checkered flag in a rain-shortened Daytona 500.



Kenseth had to start at the back of the field, but worked his way progressively towards the front until he got his break at Lap 125 - Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Brian Vickers got together while racing to be the first car a lap down, and the resulting wreck took out several of the race's top contenders, including Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, and Denny Hamlin.



Kenseth narrowly escaped the wreck himself, and on the ensuing restart found himself battling for the lead with the No. 19 car of Elliott Sadler. With a push from Kevin Harvick and A.J. Allmendinger, Kenseth dove to the bottom and streaked past Sadler - just one lap later, the caution flag came out for rain, and the ensuing showers ended up ending the race, with Kenseth declared the winner.



Wilson's Take: Kenseth was definitely the right person in the right place at the right time. But more often than not - that is what Daytona is all about - outsurvivng more than outrunning the competition. Kenseth did a great job avoiding the 'Big One', especially considering that the car in front of him (Kyle Busch) and the car behind him (Carl Edwards) both got collected up in the wreck.

Tony Stewart did an awesome job in his first points race as an owner-driver in the No.14 car, but the stars of the day were the drivers at Richard Petty Motorsports. Nobody expected the Petty teams to do, well - anything, really - but they turned in an incredible showing: A.J. Allmendinger finished third, Elliott Sadler fifth, Reed Sorenson ninth, and Juan Montoya 14th - they stole the show.