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Usually I have some extra time to answer fantasy nascar questions , but unfortunately I am in South Carolina racing at a short track. So in today's update , I will give a rundown of how I thought the drivers faired overall. Since Yahoo fantasy racing is the most popular format , I will put it in grouping tiers. Let get started!
A Grouping Tier:
1. 4-Kevin Harvick: Harvick was the man to beat in my opinion. His lap times were impressive all around. He posted fast laps late in a run. Harvick really likes his car for Sunday. If I had two or starts left , I would use one here.
Overall Ranking: 1st
2. 48-Jimmie Johnson: I think Johnson have one of his best races of 2014 on Sunday. He looked very strong all weekend. The 48 always seems to show up at Texas with an awesome car. This week no different really. Happy hour , comments around the track was that 48 had a super bad fast piece. He starts 3rd. Take a guess what starting position have produced the wins? 3rd. Johnson ironically won from 3rd last November. Johnson had one of the fastest cars on the long runs.
Overall Ranking: 2nd
3. 24-Jeff Gordon: If you follow my fantasy nascar content , then you have realized I been extremely high on the 24 all year. This week I was little disappointed though. I thought he was just pretty good. But not a winning potential car. I say he was about top 5 overall.
Overall Ranking: 4th
4. 18-Kyle Busch: I like Kyle Busch this week. He was bad fast since unloading. I believe he will be legit contender and least score a top 10 on Sunday. His lap times were very consistent all day on Saturday. I am higher on Kyle then most , but I was pretty impressed. I am sure I am not the only one either.
Overall Ranking: 7th
5. 88-Dale Jr: Dale like his teammates showed nice speed since unloading. The 88 looked top 10 at end of happy hour. I wouldn't rule out a top 5 from Dale futures either though. Dale was pretty good late in a run unsurprising. I really like him as a fantasy pick.
Overall Rank: 9th
B Grouping Tier:
1. 22-Joey Logano: I thought Logano not only had the best car in this grouping , but one of the best in the field on Saturday. Logano was fast all day Saturday. Just didn't look good on the lap average board. He got faster as a run went on. Don't overlook my championship pick from January. He will be a threat all day long. He won earlier this year at Texas.
Overall Ranking: 3rd
2. 31-Ryan Newman: Mr.Consistency doing consistency things. Throughout the chase Newman have been a threat for a top 10. More often then not he delivered a top 10. He looked very fast on Saturday. Posted great laps times throughout a run. Including solid 10 and 15-lap average. Which indicates he should be one of the best guys on the long runs.
Overall Ranking: 5th
3. 2-Brad Keselowski: Okay the 2 car wasn't very impressive on Friday nor Saturday. But you cannot hate Brad as a fantasy pick this week. I mean he been fast all year long on the 1.5 mile layouts. I thought he was pretty good at end of happy hour. Definitely good enough to be a top 10 guy. Wolfe and 2 crew will get Brad to the front. Don't worry about that. The question is do you have starts left with him?
Overall Ranking: 6th
4. 99-Carl Edwards: Edwards to me was good for a short period of time , then faded after that. He didn't make any real long runs in practice , but there a good chance that the case. Edwards and his RFR teammates seems to lack long run speed all season long. Why would that change now? He probably a top 15 option nevertheless.
Overall Ranking: 13th
5. 11-Denny Hamlin: Meh..not crazy about the 11 of Hamlin this week. To me , Denny been off all weekend. Never showed the speed that you need to run competitively here. Most other experts tend to agree with me. Haven't seen a set of rankings that has him inside the top 10 yet.
Overall Ranking: 14th
6. 14-Tony Stewart: Smoke finished 3rd at Martinsville and now got some mojo. As he qualified well at Texas. Usually Smoke doesn't qualified well. But when he does , Smoke typically runs well. In practice he looked very strong. Thought about ranking him higher , but decided give him a high ceiling. I think he's an top 15 option , but with top 10 potential.
Overall Ranking: 15th
7. 1-Jamie Mac: JMac was one of my sleepers in the Preview. Haven't quite lived up to that , but Jamie should be fine. On Saturday , JMac got better as the day went on. By end of Happy hour , Jamie had a top 15 car. Not sure about top 10 though. My only concern is the fall off on the 1 car honestly.
Overall Ranking: 17th
8. 27-Paul Menard: Menard..Menard! Paul loves playing mind games with us fantasy folks. He so Matt Kenseth 2.0! He looked averaged in practice , so I bet he scores a top 10 on Sunday. Lol but who know , he Paul Menard. Take a chance with him , it might pay off. Or the exact opposite.
Overall Ranking: 18th
C Grouping Tier:
1. 42-Kyle Larson: Larson is unbelievable and he gonna be tough to beat. This kid is so fun to watch. He's have close to top 10 car. Usually that alone will get him a shot at a top 5. Larson was very good on the long runs in practice. I been saying for weeks..no months Texas is the place he will win. I wouldn't rule it out either.
Overall Ranking: 8th
2. 3-Austin Dillon: Dillon was about average in my opinion. Didn't stand out too much. But that part of his charm. Look okay in practice and then bang outrace everyone realistic standards. But it so Austin Dillon. I think he finishes inside the top 20 on Sunday. If not better.
Overall Ranking: 20th
3. 10-Danica Patrick: Danica wasn't bad I guess. Wasn't good either though. Usually if she have a top 25 car in practice , then she will have a chance for a top 20. I am optimistic that Danica could score a quality finish for us fantasy folks. I expect a finish between 18th - 22nd realistically.
Overall Ranking: 22nd
4. 51-Justin Alliager: Alliager wasn't bad at all. Not anything special , but I think an top 25 on Sunday possible. The 51 car been running very well lately. He should be able to keep that up at Texas.
Overall Ranking: 24th
Twitter - @JeffNathans
