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Usually I have extra time to give a recap of the weekend activities and outline what to look for. Unfortunately I am short on time this weekend. So I am gonna get straight to the relevant information.
A:
1. Jimmie Johnson - Johnson been among the best in the field. Typically when Johnson have a car capable of winning , he usually does. Hard to pick against him in any format. His track record and top picked driver in Yahoo A-Grouping by large margin makes for strong supporting details.
Overall Ranking: 1st
2. Kevin Harvick - Harvick starts 18th , but he have a very fast car. His car was arguably the best on long runs on Saturday. Not saying he gonna win , but don't be shocked if he does. I really like what value he brings overall. Don't worry about Harvick starting position , he should easily slash his way to the front fairly quick. Harvick had one of the best 5 & 10 lap averages on Saturday in both sessions.
Overall Ranking: 2nd
3. Dale Jr- Junior looking really good this weekend which could be very bad news for competition on Sunday. He will start 4th and have a very good car. Especially on the long runs. Dale Jr drove this chassis to victory lane at Pocono (twice) and had stellar performance at Kansas. What not to like? Not a damn thing.
My Overall Ranking: 3rd
4. Joey Logano - Logano starts 2nd and will likely lead some laps early , but I feel like Logano won't be able to keep up with the Hendrick powered cars. I love the speed he has though. I say he makes a great top 5 option in any format. If he can get to lead early , then watch out!
My Overall Ranking: 4th
5. Matt Kenseth - Kenseth was best among JGR. He showed decent speed in every session and starts up front. Two things I like about Kenseth: He reliable and he doesn't abuse his equipment. Kenseth is your man , if you like playing it relatively safe. I see him finishing in the 5th - 8th place range.
My Overall Ranking: 5th
6. Brad Keselowski - Brad isn't super fast this weekend , but I am sure the 2 car will contend for a top 10 Sunday. Brad will start from 12th and will be his strongest on the longer runs. Least that what practice suggests. Honestly I bumped up his rankings a bit because of his equipment and recent track history. Both of those things I consider when finalizing my overall ranking.
My Overall Ranking: 6th
7. Jeff Gordon - Let me be VERY clear , I didn't rank Gordon where I did because of him starting in the back. Its easy to make passes here. I am not convinced Gordon had a top 5 car even before going to backup. He was in the 6th - 10th range in my opinion. Also his recent track record been sluggish (especially as a major driver.) From fantasy vantage point , I want to see him actually finish a race. Its like a black cloud is following the 24 team. Top it all off , he doesn't have any laps in his backup car this weekend. There some red flags in there folks.
My Overall Ranking: 9th
B:
1. Martin Truex Jr - A lot to love about Truex Jr and the 78 car. He was heavily on everyone radar before he qualified inside the top 10. Now he pretty much an automatic start in my opinion. Truex loves his car and I think he is very capable of winning and pulling off the upset. Great speed in every session out of the 78 team. Truex said he was good as the best.
My Overall Ranking: 7th
2. Kasey Kahne - Kahne is someone to watch. He starts 3rd and could easily be a heavy contender for the win. Kahne will have the potential to finish well , but Kahne problem have been his bad luck. Last week we saw it , when he screwed up on pitroad. I see him finishing in the 6th - 15th range. If he stays mistake free (mostly) , I expect a top 10.
My Overall Ranking: 8th
3. Kyle Larson - I am not convinced that CGR cars are legit , but they have qualifying figured out. Based off practice Larson is a top 15 option in my opinion. Last week he was about that after the rubber built up. He shown nice speed on the long run , but I am not so sure he can stick with the Penske , Hendrick powered cars and few JGR cars. Some of it is to do with lack of experience though.
My Overall Ranking: 11th
4. Carl Edwards - The JGR cars still behind the Hendrick powered cars its seems. The good news? There is no Hendrick power cars (minus CGR) in this grouping tier. Las Vegas is considered Edwards best racetrack (or least one of them). Edwards will start from 14th. I believe he is capable of a top 10 on Sunday. Unfortunately two things he was missing in practice: 1) More speed 2) Long run. I thought overall Edwards was decent , but didn't exactly have the speed overall to run with most of the cars in top 10. Which leads us the second part of the equation. No long runs by Edwards (no surprise) on Saturday. Its kinda make us scratch our heads. Nobody knows how good the 19 is.
My Overall Ranking: 13th
5. Tony Stewart - I don't hate Smoke this weekend. Boy been awhile since I said that. Las Vegas is a good place for Smoke to get his season turned around at. He qualified 12th and showed some speed on a few short runs. I am guessing he was trying to get a better hold on the handling mostly. I like the value Smoke is at currently. In most games , he is considered a steal due his price tag. I see a potential top 10 , but giving he have no momentum. I will give him a high ceiling instead.
My Overall Ranking: 14th
6. Jamie Mac - Like I said earlier with Larson , I am not sold on the CGR cars. Jamie didn't exactly kill it in practice , but I like JMac to run competitively in the top 15 most of day and maybe a possible top 10. My Overall ranking is 15th because of his well-known bad. I believe he will just around 12th on Sunday though. Jamie is a decent sleeper option who goes unnoticed a lot. Same goes for Vegas.
My Overall Ranking: 15th
C:
1. Regan Smith - Smith had a terrible qualifying session , but I think he can score a top 25 or better. Love that he will be racing in XRS on Saturday. That will definitely help him for Sunday race. To be honestly I think it will be close between Smith , Ragan and Patrick.
My Overall Ranking: 24th
2. David Ragan - Grouping tier C is a mess right now. A good mess though. Realistically there are 4 options who can be considered useable at Las Vegas. Ragan looked the best among the 4 drivers. Before smashing into the wall during final practice. Despite starting dead last , I think he can make it through the field without much problems at all. I thought he had top 20 potential overall. Now probably more like top 25.
My Overall Ranking: 25th
3. Danica Patrick - I like Danica to run competitively with Smith and Ragan. I definitely could see her finishing ahead of both of them. But I just think there better places to unload her at. Realistically best case possible would be for the Danica taker , is for Smith and Ragan to have issues on Sunday. Otherwise it pretty pointless (especially in Yahoo).
My Overall Ranking: 26th
Other good options - Ryan Blaney
Email - Jeffnathan74@yahoo.com
Twitter - @JeffNathans
