Okay, before we get started this week, can I ask a question? When we say this week's event is called the "Dickies 500," do we mean to celebrate those really crummy work pants they advertise on the back of Parade Magazine? Are we referring to "The Dickies," the legendary L.A. punk band? Are we simply psyched about the a--holes of sport like Barry Bonds, Terrell Owens and Bill Laimbeer? I truly need help here.

Anyway, there are only three races left in the '05 Nextel Cup season, and with all the trick tracks behind us, we can focus on making money. As I've discussed twice in the past month, Texas Motor Speedway is part of a triumvirate of nearly identical tracks: Atlanta, Charlotte and Texas. They each are 1.5 miles long, and they are each very steep-banked, at 24 degrees in the turns. Guys who run well at one almost always run well at the others, and guys who stink it up in one, well, you get the picture.

Last week's race in Atlanta was a pretty weird one, if only because Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon each made an appearance near the front of a non-restrictor-plate race for the first time all year. Junior was dominant in the race's first half but tailed off, while Gordon was very good all day but couldn't quite catch Carl Edwards (much to my great pleasure, since I picked Edwards). Meanwhile, guys who've performed well on the A-C-T triangle over the past several seasons---guys like Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Tony Stewart and Jamie McMurray---had mixed results. So what gives? Did our A-C-T strategy go the way of the dodo? I mean, after all, Johnson is the unquestioned best A-C-T driver over the past four seasons. How in tarnation did he wind up finishing 16th? And why didn't Stewart or McMurray (who each posted top-10 finishes) ever threaten for the win? What the heck was Jeff Burton doing up near the front?

Rest easy, tenderfoot. The A-C-T is alive and well. It's just that four years' worth of data doesn't give us exactly what we need when we look at these tracks, because car setups on these unrestricted intermediate tracks have changed so much. The spoilers are lower, the tires are softer and more durable. What worked in 2002 doesn't work today. And so rather than get bogged down in data that claims that, for instance, Rusty Wallace should be a real threat on the A-C-T tracks, I've simplified things. As I did with Atlanta last week, I'm going to look only at the Atlanta, Charlotte and Texas races this season, this season of reduced spoilers and twitchy Dodges, to find our prospective winners. Forget what you know about Tony Stewart as cookie-cutter king. Instead, follow the '05 trends, and enjoy the benefits of A-C-T.

Last Week: Another double-win for me, my third in a row, as Carl Edwards pulled away from the field in the Atlanta race's second half, and won pretty easily over Jeff Gordon. I had Edwards both straight-up (at 12-1 odds), and in a head-to-head matchup against his teammate Kurt Busch (at -110), who finished 36th, 55 laps off the pace. If it's possible, I'm actually getting hotter as the season finishes. For the week, I netted you $5,151.51 if you're betting a dime per unit along with me, and for the season, you're up $50,039.30. Pretty good, eh? That's a ridiculous 14 consecutive weeks in the black, and 28 out of 34 weeks overall that we've cashed.

This weeks picks are ready to go!

Christopher Harris covers Nascar for Brian Gabrielle Sports

Christopher Harris is chief nascar correspondant for Brian Gabrielle who is a member of the Professional Handicappers League. Read all of his articles at http://www.procappers.com/Christopher_Harris.htm

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