SCC Preview: Gordon an excellent bet this weekend

So far in the 2009 season, Jeff Gordon has been the next best thing to gold for ESPN Stock Car Challenge players. In the opening six events, the DuPont Chevy driver is averaging 159 points a race and scoring at an even greater clip on the intermediate superspeedways like Texas Motor Speedway, where we're heading this week for the Samsung 500.

So far this year, there have been three outings on tracks from one-and-a-half to two miles in length that dominate the schedule on NASCAR's top circuit. Gordon was the runner-up at Fontana and Atlanta, with a sixth-place run in Las Vegas. Accumulating a total of 505 points, his scoring average in that trio of shootouts is 168, and that, my friends, is money. The 37-year-old driver appears to be back in the same mode he was in 2007 when he collected 21 top-5s, 30 top-10s and had an average finish for the year of 7.3. Is he going to win at Texas? Probably not, but Gordon will probably be looking at the leader out the front windshield when he crosses the finish line.

Who are second and third in points scored on the intermediate speedways in 2009? It's none other than the Busch Brothers. Kyle Busch has scored 10 more points than his older sibling, 464 to 454, yet has led only one of those races, while Kurt Busch has been out front in all three. Each has a win, but each has also stubbed his toe; Kyle finished 18th at Atlanta and Kurt stumbled home 23rd in Vegas.

After winning both Texas races last year, a lot of people are looking at this being the week that Carl Edwards gets back in the win column. While possible, I'm not sure I see that happening. Cousin Carl has scored a fairly solid 438 points to rank fourth in the first three intermediate superspeedway encounters but his finishes of seventh, 17th and third seem rather pedestrian. In 2008, Edwards had already won California and Las Vegas before he even rolled into Fort Worth. He'll be decent, but I don't see the Missouri driver putting on a cowboy hat and shooting a six-gun in victory lane a third straight time in Texas.

Clint Bowyer is tied for fifth in points scored to date this year on intermediate tracks, which is a bit of surprise in that few people expected him to charge out of the gate this fast with a brand new team. Crew chief Shane Wilson used pit strategy to get him up front near the end of the race in Vegas, where he would eventually finish second. Proving, though, that was no fluke, Bowyer finished sixth the following week at Atlanta. He appears to be stronger than he was in 2008 when he zipped home 10th and fourth at Texas.

Like Bowyer, Brian Vickers has scored 431 points on the intermediate tracks, finishing all three races in the top 10. The only other driver to tally more than 400 points is Kasey Kahne. Jimmie Johnson is eighth with a couple of ninths and a 24th. He's scored 20 bonus points compared to Greg Biffle's five, which is why "The Bif" sits behind Johnson with a pair of fifth-place runs and 24th. Ranked 10th, Tony Stewart has averaged 125 points a shot.

Rounding out the top 20 at the three intermediate speedway races are Denny Hamlin, Jamie McMurray, Jeff Burton, Matt Kenseth, David Reutimann, Kevin Harvick, David Stremme, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Bobby Labonte and Martin Truex Jr.

Big bucks (SCC Value 22.0 and up)

Even though I don't see him winning, Jeff Gordon (24.2) is, again, money and should finish in the top three. I can see Kyle Busch (23.5) making the trip to Victory Lane. With his value down just a little bit following Martinsville, now might be the time to put him back in your lineup. Carl Edwards (23.4) will be solid, but is that too much money for someone I expect to finish no better than fourth? Maybe.

Serious coin (SCC Value 19.0 to 21.9)

I think the best buy in this group is Kurt Busch (20.0). Forget about what happened at Martinsville. Remember the Atlanta demolition job. Now that Mark Martin (19.2) is beginning to turn a fast race car into one that can also finish up front, he's the other bargain in this group. Greg Biffle (21.9) could finish in the top-5. Clint Bowyer (20.9) should have another top-10 day.

Budget boys (SCC Value 13 .0 to 18.9)

Ryan Newman (17.8) has begun to find his groove and his value is going to continue to climb. I also like Brian Vickers (17.6) a lot. David Reutimann (17.2) will be worth some consideration too. Going lower, we'll have to see how qualifying and practices go, but A.J. Allmendinger (16.2) and Marcos Ambrose (15.8) might be of some help.

Debit … not credit

Up on top, Denny Hamlin (22.7), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (22.1) and Kevin Harvick (22.5) haven't set the world on fire on this size of track so far this year. In the middle, if you have Tony Stewart (21.7), he might be worth a "hold," but I don't think you buy him this week because I can see him getting outrun by a few drivers who are cheaper. I feel the same way about Jeff Burton (20.7), Jamie McMurray (20.6) and probably Matt Kenseth (20.2), who feels off-balance after winning the first two races of the year. Down near the bottom, some folks might be tempted to go with Juan Pablo Montoya (17.6), but don't, because he's the same value of Brian Vickers, who will finish better.

Garrow's gang

Last week, the pre-qualifying team I picked out was Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman and Aric Almirola. After the Sunday morning chats with various crew chiefs, though, I made some last-minute changes. Feeling it would be Gordon's day, I dropped Johnson and Almirola, adding Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Marcos Ambrose. Even though Gordon-Johnson didn't quite work out, I still scored 758.

This week, for my pre-qualifying team I'm going to keep Gordon, but I'm going to drop Junior and Hamlin, picking up Kurt and Kyle Busch. For the time being, I'm going to stand pat with Newman and Ambrose, but, as usual, I'll likely be revamping come Sunday morning.

Mark Garrow covers fantasy racing for ESPN.com.