Edwards: A third driver going for a championship, Ed

Lewis Hamilton has often cited his respect for Ayrton Senna as a man and a racing driver. With that in mind, its interesting to make a comparison between events in Malaysia last Sunday and those following the 1989 Canadian Grand Prix.In a race run under atrocious conditions (it would have been stopped today or, at the very least, run under a Safety Car when the teeming rain was at its worst), Senna had given us an absolutely exquisite display, running slicks for many laps at a time when others could not manage on full wets. Nineteen (19!) of the 26 starters did not make it to the finish, several of them finishing in the wall.Sennas performance that day ranked among the best of many in a spectacular career and merited the victory coming his way as he completed lap 66 with three to go. Then, without warning, his Honda V10 failed in a cloud of smoke similar to the moment of Hamiltons demise last weekend. Senna pulled over to the left, parked the McLaren on the grass, climbed out and walked away without so much as a backward glance.I have to tell you that not only did the press room cheer, but one or two of our more excitable North American cousins jumped to their feet and applauded. To be fair, this was not so much a dislike of Senna as a reflection of weariness with McLarens consistent success, 1989 coming off the back of total domination the previous year. It was also the first time that neither McLaren finished in 1989, Alain Prost having stopped with broken suspension earlier in the race.Senna pushed through a phalanx of photographers assembling at the end of the pit lane in preparation for the finish of the race and made his way briskly to the McLaren office. He spoke to no one, but his thoughts could be imagined.This was Sennas second retirement in a row (an electrical misfire having cost the lead in Phoenix two weeks before). Now, a golden opportunity to gain nine points (awarded for first place) had literally gone up in smoke and left Senna two points behind Prost in the championship.It would get worse. At the next race in France, Sennas differential broke as he accelerated off the line, the race being won by Prost, a result the Frenchman would repeat at Silverstone on a day when a sizeable number in the crowd cheered as Senna, struggling with his brakes, spun out of the lead and into the gravel at Becketts. Prost now led by 20 points.Even allowing for a complicated scoring system in which a driver could count only his best 11 results (from 16 races), Senna would never get back in front. But at no time did he complain. Or, at least, not to the media.You can be sure, however, that Osamu Goto would have received an earful in Montreal as Ayrton let Hondas project leader know about his views on the failure. But there was not a word of dissention reported in either the specialist or national press during the following weeks.In fact, the only complaints in public would come from Prost once he had decided to leave McLaren for Ferrari in 1990 and let it be known that, in his view, Senna was receiving priority treatment from Honda. Which is an interesting twist on todays stupid suggestion that Mercedes is somehow out to knobble Lewis. Air Fear Of God 1 Canada . During the athletes parade, the 23-strong Ukrainian team was represented by a lone flagbearer in an apparent protest at the presence of Russian troops in Ukraines Crimean peninsula. Air Force 1 Just Do It For Sale Canada . 10 VCU 85-67 on Thursday night at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The Seminoles (4-0) have scored at least 80 points in each of their games. http://www.airforce1canadasale.com/nike-air-huarache-canada.html . Calgary scored on the first shift, and Michael Cammalleri scored twice as the Flames cruised to a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday. Air Force Ones Canada . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. Nike Shox Gravity Canada .J. -- Seven games into a disappointing season, New York Giants defensive catalyst Jason Pierre-Paul is getting the feeling hes back. The Sprint Cup Series season draws to a close, but not before we have one more chance to sit down, enjoy a caffeinated beverage and figure out one more fantasy lineup together.Last week, we went racing at Phoenix. I loved Kevin Harvick with all my heart. He had not just won five of the last six Phoenix races but dominated most of them.Harvick had a decent enough day, finishing fourth for 45 points, sixth-best in the field. But he didnt lead a lap.Another driver led more than half of the race, but it was maybe not whom you expected. Alex Bowman, driving in place of the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr., led 194 laps from the pole and added a race-high 58 fastest laps for 110.5 points, 38 more than any other driver.The kicker is Bowman only cost $6,900, and he has the most points of any sub-$7,000 driver this season by far. The second-best day from a DFS option that cheap was Ricky Stenhouse Jr.s run from 25th to second at Bristol.Bowman was my top bargain-basement special of the weekend. Not that Im patting myself on the back, but sometimes I like to give myself a little affirmation.Anyway, weve got one race to go, and its at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Its another 1.5-mile track, the 11th such race this season. Its not a copy of Texas or Charlotte, but your basic principles that lead to success at those tracks hold true.Another plot twist is this is the season finale, and four drivers will be competing for a championship, with the highest finisher among the four taking the title. This is only the third year with this championship format. How has it affected things in the past?In 2014, three of the four drivers going for the championship finished among the top-four fantasy plays. But it was Jeff Gordon, from the pole, who put up a race-best 104.75 points.Last year, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick finished second and fourth as Chase drivers, but both of them were looking up at Kyle Larson, who didnt lead much but drove from 23rd to fifth.None of the drivers had a poor race either, which could make one or two of them excellent fantasy plays this weekend.For more, heres my early-week fantasy picks to get you started at Homestead. But check back after qualifying for my final picks and fades.Im startinng my team with.dddddddddddd..Given that we only run at this track once a year, and even then its under some unusual circumstances as the season finale, its tough to weigh past track performance and the recent showings on similar tracks. But I think the driver whos best weaving those two tapestries together is Joey Logano.In the last 1.5-mile race, Logano led 178 laps and finished second at Texas. Hes had a top-three finish in three of the last four such races. Meanwhile, at Homestead, Logano led 72 laps and finished fourth last year in this race, for 65.5 DraftKings points.Keep an eye on these fourJimmie Johnson: This is a rare track, where Johnson has never won, but in his championship seasons he never really came to the season finale needing to win to clinch a title. Im more interested in the fact that in the four 1.5-mile track races since the start of the Chase, Johnson has twice topped 100 laps led.Carl Edwards: A third driver going for a championship, Edwards has cost less than $9,000 in the last two 1.5-mile track races, so he can fit more easily on your roster than Logano and Johnson. Edwards has won twice at Homestead, and in the last two 1.5-mile track races, he has put up more than 25 fastest laps, 35 laps led, and finished in the top two in both.Kasey Kahne: Four Chase races on 1.5-mile tracks, and its four top-10 finishes for Kahne. And in each of those races, Kahne moved up at least nine spots from his starting position, a combined +54 in those four races. That makes him, on average, the fourth-best fantasy driver.Ryan Newman: An odd little fantasy trend is that in the last six 1.5-mile track races, Newman has been part of the perfect lineup. He enters the weekend on a nine-race stretch of top-20 finishes on 1.5-mile tracks, with five top 10s in the last seven races. Hes not going to give you many laps led -- he has led one in the last 15 1.5-mile track races -- but he is a safe fantasy play.Thats all I have for you today. Check back again this weekend for my season finale. Wishing you a happy offseason filled with scrumptious holiday meals. ' ' '