Welcome to TimersSports
After a rainy and (somewhat) wreck-filled Atlanta race , we swing our attention to the west coast trip. We start the west tour at Las Vegas! Vegas is another 1.5 mile venue, back in January several teams tested. Honestly I felt blindfolded last week at Atlanta , even with testing. Heading into to Las Vegas , I feel a lot better than I did last at Atlanta.
This is the third race of the season! If you're in a hole , than it may be time to take aggressive approach the next few races. Each week that goes by is a waste opportunity , isn't it? Its early in the season , but don't fall too far behind (depending on difficulty of your league.) If you're among the leaders in your respectable league , than it time to stabilize consistency and keep that momentum going forward!
Las Vegas Preview:
1-Jamie Mac: If you have played fantasy racing long enough , then you know JMac biggest flaw is his incredible bad luck. At Atlanta , his flaw was disposed and Jamie finished 40th. Despite being fast all day long. At Vegas , JMac been fairly decent over the past two season. He have compiled an 15.0 average start , 14.0 average finish , 8 laps led and 81.6 driver rating. Since 2010 , Jamie only have recorded 1 Top 10 at Vegas and that was in 2012. I expect him to be a teen-ish driver with top 10 upside (maybe).
2-Brad Keselowski: Brad K looked considerably off at Atlanta. Honestly I didn't expect that out of him. I will assume that was just a fluke by him. Last season at Vegas , Brad didn't have the best car but was able to find Victory Lane. He passed a fading Dale Jr on the final lap. In 2013 , Brad took his Ford to an 3rd-place finish. In fact , Brad have started on the front row in his previous two starts. Over past two seasons , BK have compiled 1 win , 1.5 average start , 2.0 average finish , 65 laps led and 126.4 driver rating. Brad strength in 2014 was on this type track.
3-Austin Dillon: Tough day at Atlanta for Dillon! He didn't blow a tire once , but twice in span of like 10 laps. Before contact with #9 car (I think) , he looked pretty darn good and was competitively in the mid-teens. Dillon have two starts at Vegas , including an 16th place finish early during his rookie campaign last season. Dillon have showed promise on these 1.5ers , but haven't taken that next step.
4-Kevin Harvick: Harvick let another win slip past him at Atlanta after arguably being the man to beat all day. Nothing new for Harvick though. In 2014 , he was the man to beat here at Vegas before a tire hub ruined his day. Over the past 3 seasons , Harvick have an 20.3 average finish. Excluding last season's 41st , Harvick have finishes of 11th and 9th. In 14 career starts , nine times Harvick have finished 13th or better. His best finish came in 2010 of 2nd. Last season he was considered the driver to beat every time we visit an intermediate racetrack.
5-Kasey Kahne: I am a Kahne believer , oh yes! The pairing of Kahne and Rodden gonna bring the 5 back to fantasy relevancy. Last week the 5 car actually looked like a Hendrick car. Only one race , but I liked what I saw. Will it continue? Its definitely could at Las Vegas. Two years ago , Kasey Kahne had a dominating car and finished 2nd! He led almost half that race before Kenseth held him at bay for the remaining 20 or 30 laps. In last season event , Kahne wasn't nearly as good but was able to put together an 8th place effort and held 91.2 driver rating.
10-Danica Patrick: Danica is coming off a very solid 16th place finish at Atlanta. Las Vegas may not be widely known as a "Danica track" , but she did finish 22nd in last season race. These fast intermediate tracks seems to fit her pretty well. But to be completely honest I don't know how you could use her in many formats with better options at much better values.
11-Denny Hamlin: I bet some of us are still pissed at Hamlin for taking out our fantasy picks at Atlanta. Well you can probably leave him off your fantasy lineups if it makes you feel better. Hamlin only finish 4 times in the top 10 in 9 career starts. Surprisingly have completed all but 1 lap and worst finish came in 2009 of 22nd. 4 of 5 finishes outside the top 10 have came in the 12th-20th place range. Past two seasons , Hamlin have finishes of 12th and 15th.
14-Tony Stewart: Smoke is having a bad year and it not even one month old. He wrecked out at Daytona and finished multiple laps down at Atlanta! Good news is he probably hit rock bottom. Las Vegas been a good , but not great track for Smoke. From 2010 to 2012 , Smoke was almost unstoppable. In that 3 race span , he had an 3.3 average finish and posted finishes in the top 2 in 2 of those 3 races. Last season he looked nothing like that Smoke unfortunately. He arguably had worst race of his career. Why? He was extremely non-competitive and wasn't even a top 25 driver. Don't be fooled , Smoke didn't finish 33rd because of a wreck. He was really that bad overall.
15-Clint Bowyer: Not sure what happened to Bowyer at Atlanta , but Bowyer might be a good sleeper pick. Excluding his past two Vegas results , Clint have 4 straight top 15s. Including an 6th run in his MWR debut in 2012. His strength the past two season been qualifying here. Bowyer have an 2.5 average start , but finished outside top 20 in both races.
16-Greg Biffle: The Biff is someone I would avoid (sounds familiar from 2014) , and probably should be said about RFR in general. The Biff actually a little overrated here. People tend to think he a great option here. Actually that's false. Earlier in his career that may have been true , but 3 of his past 4 races have ended in 17th or worse. The past two seasons , the Biff have finishes of 17th and 22nd.
18-David Ragan: Great run by Ragan , and I was impressed. I was a little nervous starting him on my fantasy team , but I was happy with the results. At Las Vegas , he never been that good. Looking back at his Roush days , Ragan didn't have many good results. His only respectable run was 7th in 2008! But he did finish inside the top 25 in 3 of the next 4 races after that 7th place effort in 2008. Maybe he can pick up where he left off?
20-Matt Kenseth: At Atlanta , Kenseth showed a lot of speed and was a legitimate contender all day! At Vegas , he been pretty overall. In 14 career races , MK have finished 17th or better eleven times. Including 3 career wins and 8 Top 10s (6 finishes 5th or better.) Two years ago was Kenseth last win. He didn't have the best car , but was leading when it mattered. In that race he started 18th , but drove quickly through the field on his way to lead 42 laps. Wouldn't mind another similar outcome from the savy veteran!
22-Joey Logano: Logano is coming off an solid top 5 at Atlanta , right where left off in 2014 on this type track. Las Vegas is probably one of his best tracks overall! In 6 career starts , Logano have 5 finishes of 16th or better ( 3 Top 12s) , and is coming off an career-best 4th in 2014! He was my right-hand man when it came to this type track in 2014. That won't change in 2015 as he is off to another hot start.
24-Jeff Gordon: I am was unimpressed by Gordon at Atlanta and I didn't see myself using him anytime soon. You want him? You can have him at Las Vegas! Vegas been a ugly track of late for Gordon. 3 of the past 4 races have ended 12th or worse. He did finish 9th last season. The problem is he wasn't a contender in any of those races. When Gordon isn't a contender , its kind useless to use him. Last week at Atlanta , he wasn't himself either. Went most of that race as a teen driver. Similar how he been at Vegas past few seasons.
27-Paul Menard: Is there a better sleeper than Paul Menard at Vegas? After last season , I say no! He was a standout , because that car was a rocketship on the long run! He may have won last season race if that race went a little longer. Not the first time he found success at though. Menard have 4 straight finishes of 12th or better. Including 3 straight Top 10 and he have posted a driver rating above 90 in every event. So not like he lucked into those finishes either.
31-Ryan Newman: Newman another RCR driver who have the potential to deliver a quality finish this weekend at Vegas. Despite never winning , RN have finished in the top 7 in 3 of his past 4 races. In 2013 (only bad race) , Newman finished 38th due to an blown engine. In his previous two starts (2011 and 2012) , Newman finished inside the top 5! There probably better options with more upside , but he might be the safer and more reliable option.
41-Regan Smith: I wrote Smith off last week , but fought back and finished in 17th I believe! Great race for him and maybe that enough for SHR to keep the 41 around (even if Kurt doesn't return.) There not a lot to go on at this point , and to be honest I actually don't hate using Smith. His last relevant ride was from 2009 to 2012 with FRR (78 team) , and he score 3 Top 21 in 4 starts. Including finishes of 15th (2012) and 19th (2009) with that team. If he can pick up where he left off , he would make a super fine fantasy option.
42-Kyle Larson: Kyle Larson was a disappointment at Atlanta and that's a shame. Once the track rubber up , Larson was a goner unfortunately. At Las Vegas , he only have 1 race under his belt and that is a 19th place finish last season. Kind lost faith in the 42 at the moment , and it not his fault. The CGR cars seems to be lacking speed and that is concerning. Especially once the track rubbered up last Sunday. Neither car looked too good.
47-AJ Dinger: I said the Dinger was a deep sleeper for Atlanta in my update and boy did I nailed that. He was impressive and now goes to Las Vegas where he finished 18th one year ago! I liked that the Dinger tested here in January , but I don't like his track record. While I think there a lot positive for Dinger , there probably better options with more upside.
48-Jimmie Johnson: Johnson wasn't very happy with car to start Atlanta , but Chad (aka the wizard) made that Chevy into a hot rod. Now Jimmie goes to one of his best tracks on the schedule in Vegas. Last season Johnson had one of the better cars. The past 3 seasons can be said of that. How can get worse? Johnson is coming off a win and history say he will make it back-to-back wins. In 13 career races , Johnson have 9 finishes of 11th or better. Including 8 finishes in the top 6. That's counting 4 wins and one 2nd place finish. Over past two seasons , Johnson have back-to-back finishes of 6th. Johnson probably should have won in 2013. If it wasn't due to a bad pit stop.
78-Martin Truex Jr: Truex was one of my sleepers in the offseason and he off to a fast start. Don't expect him to slow down either. Las Vegas been a very good track for driver of the 78 car. FFR actually have been historically good since debuting in the Cup series. Especially over the past 6 races , only once have they finished worse than 21th place. That is crazy good for a single underfunded team. Truex Jr finished 14th last season at Vegas in the 78. He finished 6th at Atlanta last week.
88-Dale Jr: Dale Jr is coming off back-to-back 3rd place finishes and he is probably gonna make it 3 straight Top 5s if the trend continue as it did last season. In 2014 , he accomplished the same feat. He placed in the top 3 in the first 3 races. Last season Dale Jr almost won this race before running out fuel. Since joining HMS , Dale Jr have recorded 6 Top 10s in his past 7 starts and have led least 50 laps in 2 of past 3 Vegas races.
***All stats from Driver averages
Email - JeffNathan74@yahoo.com
Twitter - @JeffNathans
