leading 10 Australians atop the first-round leaderboard.Houston ea

In this space last week, I waxed poetic about the strength of Joe Gibbs Racing, as I have been apt to do all season. Over the weekend, I broke down short, flat tracks, and still came out with picks consisting of the JGR team and JGR-powered Furniture Row car, with a little Kevin Harvick sprinkled in.I then led the weekend picks off with Denny Hamlin, despite him not putting up the gaudy numbers all season that his teammates were, but Im sure glad I did. Hamlin won from the pole, leading 189 laps for 125.25 points.JGR-powered Martin Truex Jr. one-upped him, leading 193 laps for 136.25 points.Those two dominated, as nobody else put up more than 63 DraftKings points.Lets move on to this weeks race. We have 10 races to go on the season, and some good news for those that pay attention: half of the remaining races will be held on 1.5-mile tracks. Its the most common track type on the schedule, but weve gone more than two months since racing at one.NASCAR only races once a year at Chicago, but weve had six races on this track type already this season. And what have we learned?Start/finish differential, always a favorite when making my picks, doesnt bode as well for the longshots here. There have only been four instances in the six races at those tracks this season of a driver moving up 20 or more spots. Three of those four were top-level drivers, costing at least $9,900.What about laps led? Well, weve had an instance of a driver leading more than 100 (actually more than 120) in all six such races this season. Truex did it three times, Harvick twice and Carl Edwards the other.Last year at Chicago, JGR looked tremendous in this race. Kyle Busch led the most laps, but finished ninth, clearing the way for ANOTHER JGR driver to get the win in Hamlin.Maybe I shouldnt ask what driver Im starting my team with. Maybe its which Gibbs-powered (or Furniture Row) car Im going to start my team with.Here are my picks to get you started this week, but check back again after qualifying for my final picks and fades.Im starting my team with:Its possible that Martin Truex Jr. wont win Sunday, but chances are, hell be a factor up front most of the day. Truex has averaged 130.8 laps led per race in the six 1.5-mile races this season. Which is silly good when you consider that second is at 43.5, and two-to-five combined is 127.5. His 56.7 fastest laps and 94.4 fantasy points per race also lead all drivers.Hes even better recently, as he led at least 140 laps in three of the last four 1.5-mile races. With Chicago being a once-a-year stop, his career numbers arent going to be great there. Weve only seen this version of Truex for a couple seasons, and he did lead 39 laps in this race last season.Keep an eye on these four:Kevin Harvick: In the last 20 races on 1.5-mile tracks, Harvick has only twice finished outside the top 10, with three wins and eight runner-up finishes. So, more than half the time, hes giving you a top-two finish. One of those wasnt the last 1.5-mile race at Kentucky, but he led 128 laps in that race. Truex leads in everything on 1.5-mile tracks this year, but Harvick is second in everything.Kyle Busch: Youre not going to be able to get all three of these on your roster, unless you just absolutely punt on the last three spots, but its important to consider Busch too. Before his last two races on 1.5-mile tracks (finishes of 12th and 33rd, but with 29 fastest laps combined), Busch had a run of seven straight top fives on these sorts of courses, with three wins.Ryan Newman: Now to drop down the cost levels to find some drivers to fill your roster. Newman will be in the middle of the pack, but has top-10 finishes in the last three 1.5-mile races. Specifically at Chicago, Newman ran fourth last year, and has averaged an 8.4 finish and 40.7 DraftKings points per race in the last five years at the track.Austin Dillon: Dillon was the only driver from his team that made the Chase, so all the resources will be going to his car. Dillon has a top-20 finish in all six 1.5-mile races this season, and is coming off his strongest effort in the six at Kentucky, with 16 fastest laps. He also has a combined +23 start/finish differential in the last three such races.Thats all I have for you this week. Its Chicago, get yourself a deep dish pizza. Im going to get myself a deep dish pizza! Scarpe Adidas Outlet . Murray beat Sam Querrey 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-3 to clinch Britains opening-round victory against the United States on Sunday at Petco Park. "Im proud of the way Im playing just now, because I had to do a lot of work to get back to where I want to be," Murray said after celebrating with his teammates on the red clay court in a temporary stadium in left field of the downtown home of baseballs San Diego Padres. Scarpe Adidas Offerte .com) - The Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks both take aim at their first wins of the season on Saturday, as the Canucks open their home slate at Rogers Arena. http://www.adidasscarpescontate.it/ . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. Scarpe Adidas Italia .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. Vendita Ingrosso Scarpe Adidas . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. NATADOLA, Fiji -- Anthony Houston shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday in the Fiji International, leading 10 Australians atop the first-round leaderboard.Houston eagled the par-5 17th and had six birdies and a bogey at Vijay Singh-designed Natadola Bay.You think I might have played aggressive, but I didnt, Houston said. I just played to where I thought I should and just holed a few putts.He closed with a birdie on the par-4 ninth.Its always nice to birdie the last, Houston said. Its nerve-wracking but its where you want to be.The European Tour is sanctioning the event for the first time, teaming with the PGA Tour of Australasia.Stephen Leaney and Jake Higginbottom were a stroke back, Jason Norris, Damien Jordaan, Matthew Giles, Aaron Pike and Aaron Wilkin shot 67, and Ryan Haller and Matthew Griffin followed at 68.ddddddddddddI didnt do anything spectacular, Leaney said. I just did a lot of things well.At 47 years old, hes playing a limited schedule.Id rather watch my kids grow up, but I still work hard, Leaney said.Brandt Snedeker, coming off the United States Ryder Cup victory Sunday in Minnesota, topped the group at 69 along with fellow Americans Boo Weekley and Ryan Carter.Singh had a 70. The 53-year-old Fijian is a three-time major champion.American Heath Slocum also shot 70. ' ' '