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More Action at the Monster Mile!!!

What:MBNA Gold 400 (Race 27 of 34)
Where:Dover Downs Intergalactic Speedway
When:Sunday, Sept. 26, 12:30 pm; TNN

(Don't want to read my insightful and witty comments? Click here to go straight to making your picks.)

Lots of concrete. Lots of walls. Lots of turns. We're talking the Monster Mile, folks, so get ready for NASCAR at its most exciting. This is the kind of place where drivers can put the pedal to the metal and have some fun. It's also a place where people wreck like there's no tomorrow. It's the kind of place where you have to qualify well to have a shot at winning (of the 59 races at Dover, 49 of the winners started in the top 10).

Why do you have to qualify high? First of all, it's always best to start high on a short track. It's so easy to get lapped on tracks a mile or less, and once you're a lap down, it's like you're in a whole other race. You have to race the top 10 drivers just to get to the back of the pack. It's a mess. At Dover, in the first third of the race or so, there's only two grooves. You don't want to try to do a whole lot of passing with only two grooves out there, so you're in a lot of trouble if you're trying to move up from deep in the pack. After a while it isn't a problem, but by that time you could already be a lap down.

So you need to think about who qualifies well. That's right, you should all be picking Texas Thunder to win this race. He won here in the spring, he finished last week's race third, and he finished the prior race second. He's got the most pole position starts of anyone this year, and he's got a great teammate to back him up.

Gordon is also real good at this track. He usually qualifies well, and unless he DNFs, he's a real threat. Jarrett could cause some trouble, but I don't see him doing so great this week. Martin may qualify well, but this track may be too physically demanding for him to race the way he usually does on short tracks. He'll have a great car, but that may not be enough to keep him in the top five -- especially with the lesser known drivers turning up the heat on short tracks lately. We may see more from Nemechek, and even Kenny Wallace could get in the mix. You've got to like the Roush Fords, and now that someone's been chosen to replace Kenny Irwin in the 28 car, I wouldn't be surprised if he scores well.

Yep, this is going to be a tough week for picks. Sure, you've got Bobby locked in to win, but what about the rest? I haven't heard Rusty Wallace even mentioned in the last three months. Will Earnhardt cheat his way up front? Can any of the older drivers handle the strain this track will put on them (note: if DW qualifies for this one, I bet you a quarter he finishes at least 15 laps behind the leader)? Will the no-names ugly up the top five? Will Tony Stewart get his second win of his rookie season? And what happened to Mayfield, Schrader, Hamilton, and Andretti? Are they anywhere to be seen?

Good luck. You're going to need it.

Instructions

First of all, choose your name from the pull-down list. Then pick the names of the drivers that you think will finish in the top five. After that, you get to make your surprise pick, where you'll name a guy who isn't high in the points, but you think has a shot to get into this week's top five. It doesn't have to be one of the names you've already put in your top five. Now that the season is in full swing, let's use the current Winston Cup Points standings. Click here to check out the nicely done standings page at nascar.com. Remember, your surprise pick can't be any of the names listed in the TOP TEN of the points standings.

And hey, don't forget to pick a DNF. That's the guy you think will get a big fat Did Not Finish.

Click on the upside-down triangle at the right margin of each blank to see a list of drivers, then select a name. No typing necessary. Don't forget to tell me your name!

What's your name?

Name of First Place Driver:

Name of Second Place Driver:

Name of Third Place Driver:

Name of Fourth Place Driver:

Name of Fifth Place Driver:

Name of your surprise pick:

Choose your "DNF of the Week"

Controversial Topic of the Week

I don't think we can top last week's controversial topic. Let's get a little serious this week. Should there be more rules about who can sponsor NASCAR teams? The tobacco industry is already having to tone down their sponsorship, but what about the others? Should beer, a leading cause of drunk driving, be advertised on a car that goes 200 miles per hour? And what about the cars sponsored by gun makers? Should guns be associated with NASCAR? Is it a First Amendment issue?