Fantasy tips for 2004.

To succeed at Fantasy Stock Car Challenge--a SPORTING NEWS fantasy game--you have to spend wisely beneath your $50 million salary cap and identify low-cost sleepers whose values will rise throughout the season. A $5,000 prize for being No. 1 in the' world is on the line, so you'll appreciate some advice on how to get to victory lane.

1. Winning means more--or does it? NASCAR's new points structure gives five additional points to each race winner. The change means the winner always will have at least five more points than the runner-up and possibly as many as 20 more. The spread depends on bonus points (each driver who leads a lap gets five points, and the driver who leads the most taps gets five more). The Fantasy Stock Car Challenge points system mirrors NASCAR's system, meaning you would think Ryan Newman (eight wins in 2003) and Kurt Busch (four wins) would be worth having each week. But be careful--both drivers had problems with consistency last year. You're better off selecting Matt Kenseth or Jimmie Johnson, who don't win as many races but are consistent. It all depends on the strength of your stomach lining.

2. One is the loneliest number. One-car teams typically are competitive only at short tracks and road courses because they can't spend as much money as multicar teams on wind-tunnel testing. Aerodynamics play a large part in success on high-speed tracks, and multicar teams have more resources to find that edge. Ricky Rudd, Ricky Craven, Ward Burton, Jimmy Spencer and Johnny Benson have won and have name recognition, but their one-car operations mean they should be avoided on intermediate tracks, superspeed-ways and long, flat tracks such as Pocono and Indianapolis.

3. The new blood. Of the rookies, 20-year-old Brian Vickers will have the most immediate impact. Some question whether ...