Hmmm... I'm not sure I see Lava Man as a "need the lead or die" type. I don't ever recall him being rank whenever he wasn't on the front end but then again I could be suffering from short term memory failure. Even if things don't go entirely his way, LM seems to have the talent and the guts to pull out a win.

If LM does get beaten, I agree Go Between could be one to do it. I'd also keep an eye on Super Strut.