By Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(July 2, 2010)

For a third straight season, Sporting News’ Reid Spencer, Roger Kuznia and Bill Marx are matching wits in the Pit Box. The format is simple: They can pick a driver only once during the season. But for good measure, each also will pick his favorite to win the race.

Reid’s pick: Kevin Harvick. Why not? The guy can drive, and he’s great at Daytona. Having inherited the pole for Saturday night’s race via rainout, Harvick gets his pick of pit stalls, an important advantage in the case of a late-race caution.

Who Reid really thinks will win: Kevin Harvick. Though my double-up strategy crashed with Juan Pablo Montoya last week, I trust Harvick to deliver a solid finish at a restrictor-plate track. 

Roger’s pick: Reed Sorenson. Racing for Chip Ganassi in 2008, he finished 5th in the Daytona 500. Racing for me, it’s a near guarantee he will wreck. Keeping my expectations very low because I so want to be surprised if he does well.

Who Roger really thinks will win: Tony Stewart. He’s on a roll and coming to a track where he has won the night race three times. Make it four.

Bill’s pick: Brad Keselowski. All I want is for Brad to finish, and if he does, it’s winner, winner, chicken dinner in my mind. This pick, and the next nine, really, is about setting up my picks for the Chase. I have nine drivers set aside for the Chase (I don’t save anyone for Talladega ), and Keselowski isn’t one of them. I know he doesn’t have a top 10 this season, but that’s OK. In a restrictor-plate race, does that really matter?

Who Bill really thinks will win: Jeff Gordon. Gordon, the best plate racer in Cup history, continues to be my pick—for better or worse—until he finally snaps his long winless drought.

Last week: A week of disappointment for Reid and Roger at New Hampshire served as a big gain for Bill. Reid’s selection of Juan Pablo Montoya wrecked out of the race and finished 34th, while Roger was burned by the blown engine of Kasey Kahne, who finished 36th. Meanwhile, Bill got a respectable 15th-place run from David Reutimann to open up a 63-point lead on Reid. Roger’s fortune continues to be much better in the real picks, as he correctly picked Jimmie Johnson to win. That was the third time Roger correctly forecasted the winner this season, and the seventh time in 17 races our panel has nailed the top finisher. Bill’s pick of Jeff Gordon finished 4th and Reid was hurt by his double-up of Montoya.

Points standings
One-and-done: Bill, 2,224; Reid, 2,161; Roger, 1,835.
Real picks: Roger, 2,555; Reid, 2,397; Bill, 2,258.