Fantasy Report: Dickies 500

There's only three races left in the 2008 season and Carl Edwards isn't going out without a fight. While Johnson still has the edge, Edwards has to really capitalize in the last few races to have a shot at the championship — and hope that Johnson finishes terribly. We'll all know soon enough. Onto the picks:

Brandon's picks:

Jeff Burton✔, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr.✔, Mark Martin✔, David Ragan, Ryan Newman, Travis Kvapil✔ and AJ Allmendinger.

Erik's picks:

Jeff Burton✔, Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman✔, Jamie McMurray✔, David Ragan, Bobby Labonte, Paul Menard✔ and David Reutimann.

Use 'em, if you got 'em: If you still have Johnson and Edwards available put at least one of them in this weekend. Johnson has the best average here but only has one win to Carl Edwards' two. I would still think that Johnson is the favorite but if Edwards' ride is anything like it was this past weekend then he'll be hard to beat. Of course, I give this advice and I can't use either driver — I'm putting in Jeff Burton.

Honorable mentions: Burton has 2 wins and 7 top tens at Texas and could be an excellent pick this weekend. Matt Kenseth has also done very well here in the past with a win and 5 top five finishes and after looking strong in Atlanta he might have a shot at the checkered flag this weekend. Don't ever count Mark Martin out either. Even though he's heading to Hendrick Motorsports in 2009 the veteran is still looking to post his first win of 2008.

The unpredictable: What can you say? This stuff is hard. We've said time and time again that what might seem like a lock can quickly deteriorate into a 40th or worse finish. I had a pretty bad week in Atlanta and dropped to 6th spot. I'm hoping to have a solid finish this weekend even though I'm going to have to pick my drivers well before any practice or qualifying since your humble narrator will be spending the weekend in New Orleans.

Good luck race fans!

Michael McDowell crash in qualifying

This is about the most horrendous crash I've ever seen. It really speaks to the safety of the soft walls and COT cars that he is still alive. Believe it or not, he walked away from the crash and never lost consciousness.

You have to see it to believe it:

Fantasy Report: Samsung 500

This week NASCAR moves to Texas Motor Speedway for the Samsung 500. The 1.5 mile paved oval should make for some electrifying racing.

Our picks:

Erik's picks: Matt Kenseth✔, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch✔, Jamie McMurray, Casey Mears, Martin Truex Jr.✔, David Reutimann✔ and Travis Kvapil.

Brandon's picks: Jeff Burton, Denny Hamlin✔, Martin Truex Jr., Dale Earnhardt Jr.✔, Ryan Newman✔, Casey Mears, Paul Menard✔ and Brian Vickers.

Fantasy hint: It will be worthy of note to see how Jeff Burton defends his current Sprint Cup lead. He has had great success at Texas over the past few seasons. Adding Burton to your drivers this week could give you much needed fantasy points.