When I set out to compile a list of the outlets at which one could play fantasy NASCAR (for the Sprint Cup season opening Sunday), I expected to come up with roughly the same number as I did for golf.

What I actually found was that about three times as many game providers like to go fast.

There are no fewer than 30 interfaces for the left-turning fan to choose his or her fantasy game from — varying, of course, in quality, style, price and prize level — and that’s not even counting a few who have already cut off entries for this season.

I’ll admit right here that I’ve never partaken in any fantasy NASCAR contest. (I’ve never even watched a whole race on TV for that matter. I’ve tried to, but it’s tough to concentrate after reading about how the drivers deal with the lack of bathroom breaks.)

Anyhow, because I haven’t played any of these games, I offer no review of their quality or recommendation for top choices. As a result of that and the various contest formats, the following is the entire list of hosts in alphabetical order with a brief description of the games where necessary.

If you don’t see your site or the one at which you play, let us know.

BenchSports.com (pricing varies) — allows users to set up pools in Pick ‘Em or Survivor style; pricing depends on size and type of pool, with a pricing simulator to figure it out for you before signup

CBSSports.com – Fantasy Racing Challenge (free) — pick five drivers

Chad’s Fantasy NASCAR 2009 ($11) — pick lineup of four drivers

ESPN.com –
Fantasy Stock Car 2009 (free) — league management
Stock Car Challenge (free) — salary cap
Driver Pick ‘Em (free) — Nationwide Series

Fanball.com –
Draft & Play ($25, $10, free with different prize levels)
7 challenge games for Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series (2 free, pay from $4.95 to $39.95)

FanStar.com — League Manager ($89)

FantasyCup.com – owned by same parent company as Fanball, operates same games

Fantasy Thunder — league management ($89.95)

Fantrax.com — NASCAR Commissioner (free)

Fox Valley Racing ($50) — pick top five finishers in each race

Frontstretch.com –
Game of Tomorrow (free) — pick drivers from five groups
Hat Dance Dynasty (free) — salary cap
NASCAR Knockout (free) — survivor style
Frontstretch Fourplay (free) — pick a driver from each of the four manufacturers
Ultimate Fantasy Challenge ($10) — combines results from the four free games

MGT NFRL (free) — divides season into four segments, you pick six drivers for each; can follow Sprint, Nationwide and Craftsman Truck Series

NASCAR.com – breaks it down by difficulty of play
Easy — Streak to the Finish (free) — survivor
Intermediate — Fantasy Cap Challenge ($12.95) — salary cap
Advanced — Draft & Play (free)

OnPitRow.com — One and Done (free) — survivor

P10 Select Fantasy Racing — Sprint Cup & Nationwide Series
Team Challenge — five-member teams
Beat the Streak — survivor

PaytheFan.com — 2009 Fantasy Racing Championship ($39.95)

PitPup.com — Six-Pack o’ Puppies Fantasy Racing ($20 per segment or $100 for season) — season in six segments; salary cap

Race to the Checkers (free) –
Battleship — 5 drivers, survivor
Horse Race — pick 3 a week
Start/Finish — random assignment based on starting position
Top 10 — pick top 10 and last place finishers

RadmaxFantasySports.com — NASCAR Challenge — rank 12 drivers, autodraft assigns one per race
Dash for the Cash ($99)
Winner Take All ($10)
Free

RealTime Sports –
Pole Position Challenge ($24.95) — league management, no draft
RealTime Fantasy Racing League ($49.95) — customizable scoring that can incorporate Sprint and Nationwide — 1 month free trial

RidetheFury.com — theFury (free) — salary cap

Rotoplay.com — NASCAR Challenge ($24.95) — pick driver from 12 different groups plus 13th flex spot

Speedpicks.com –
Classic ($10) — one “captain” on team all year, four others can be changed out
Speedpicks Countdown ($5) — survivor

Sports Fantasy Leagues — SFL500 NASCAR Challenge ($50)

SportShares (free) — stock market game based on driver results

Trading Paint ($30) - salary cap

Virtual Thunder (free) - says it “follows every form of racing from NASCAR to your local speedway”

Wallbanger Fantasy Racing –
Head 2 Head Driver Match-ups (free) — limited to 500 entries
Fantasy Racing for Rednecks (free) — “extreme” scoring
Fantasy Racing League Management ($99)

Yahoo — Auto Racing ‘09 (free) — league management

YourFantasyTeamSucks.com — Fantasy NASCAR League Manager ($89)

A roundup of recent posts on the FSB News page.

– Fantrax announced today the addition of commissioner NASCAR leagues to its platform that already included baseball, football, basketball and hockey.

– Fake Teams is running its fourth annual contest to determine the best fantasy baseball team names. Entries have to be in by Sunday, and you have to register with the site to enter. Past winners include: Itchy Buchholz (2008), Schoenweiss and the Seven Dwarves (2007) and, my favorite, I’m Bill James, B****! (2006).

– Scroll down toward the bottom of this PGATour.com interview with Matt Jones and you’ll see that the professional golfer also loves to play fantasy football. He says he’ll never draft the Jaguars receiver who shares his name, though.

A roundup of recent posts on the FSB News page.

– OnPitRow.com is relaunching a survivor sort of fantasy NASCAR game that had been on hiatus. Players pick a single driver each week and can’t use a driver more than once.

– Minor League Baseball Analyst by Deric McKamey purports to combine sabermetrics with traditionally trained scouting to look at more than 1,000 diamond prospects.

Jobs — Bruno Boys is looking for fantasy football writers. SportingNews.com needs an intern.

A roundup of recent posts on the FSB News page.

– Today officially opened the new year for the BASS Fantasy Fishing game.

– Here’s the story of a fantasy NASCAR convert. (The sport ain’t just for rednecks, y’all.)

– Major League Baseball’s cable outlet has finally brought Bob Costas aboard. Of course, that won’t do anything to help the perception of sports bloggers or fantasy on the league’s network.

Be sure to check out our Jobs page for recent additions.