Welcome to TimersSports
Before I start digging into Fantasy sleepers, I would like to thank everyone who have checked out the content (aka posts) on this site. As of a few weeks ago (June 18th), we have reached the 2 years milestone. I thought that was a really cool milestone to hit, as this blog have unintentionally became part of my life. I am definitely excited for what the future brings, so again big thanks to all the people who make it worth while.
Okay onto Fantasy Sleepers at Daytona! I don't think there a good way to set your fantasy lineup this weekend, other than trusting your gut. There will be wrecked cars and they'll more than likely include some of your fantasy picks. Just face the fact, that you'll most likely exit Daytona will least 1 or 2 poor picks. That just how these restrictor plate races pan out most of the time, and I have fully accepted that. With that being said, I am not a fan of restrictor plate racing. Never understood why so many fans love it. But hey we all cannot agree on everything. As for sleepers this Saturday night, I think there are a wide-range of potential candidate to consider. Some will be more appealing than other, how much risk you want to offer up is to you though. The ''Big one'' will surface regardless how risky or safe of a lineup you choose to make.
Sleepers -
Aric Almirola - Aric Almirola disappointed me with 28th place finish at Talladega, but I think he can rebound nicely at Daytona. People don't realize that Aric is one of the best drivers in the series at consistency finishing on the lead lap at the restrictor plates (Daytona and Talladega) over the past 2 seasons. Over the past 9 restrictor plate races, he have posted 6 finishes of 16th place or better. One of them includes his lone career victory in 2014 in this very event. Of course that was a nutty race that ended rain-shortened, but still a win is a win and he led 14 laps in that event as well. I think Aric is a little better at Daytona than Talladega. His overall numbers recently suggest as well. He have finished 12th and 15th in 2 of his past 3 races at Daytona. He finished 12th back in the 500 and long as he can avoid trouble, he will likely finish somewhere in the low to middle teens once again. I wouldn't expect anything better than 12th place to be honest. More times than not, that seems to be where he ends up as the best-case possible finish.
Casey Mears - Mears have finally fell off most people fantasy radars as a top-tier sleeper at Daytona and I over here looking like the joker with an evil grin on my face. Why? Well because Mears just have had dumb luck recently at the restrictor plates. I mean seriously, this dude cannot catch a break and what makes it so funny is he have only been caught up in the ''big one'' once since the end of 2013 season. Pretty amazing that he haven't finished on the lead lap in his past three restrictor plate races, but there are reasons for that though. Back at Talladega (Spring 2016 in May), he was having a pretty good race. But Waltrip lost control of his car and went spinning and collected Mears. That pretty much ended his day as his car received good amount of damage. Back at the Daytona 500 (in February), he didn't get in any wrecks but he had to make an unscheduled pit stop. That eventually caused him to be put a lap down and there weren't many cautions either for him to catch up. He finished 32nd (-1 lap). Then last October at Talladega, he spun and went through the grass. He eventually went a lap down late in the event and never recovered. With that aside, Mears have mastered 5 Top 11 finishes over his past 6 Daytona starts. I guess my point about Mears is, he is a very quality sleeper and just needs things to go his way. Don't let the bitter taste from earlier this season, get in the way of selecting Mears. If there 10 laps to go and he is still on the lead lap, good chance he will be up toward the front. That's what I am hoping, too!
Cole Whitt - My gut back at Talladega said to trust Cole Whitt (I trusted it) and he eventually finished 18th place on that day. Guess what? It telling me again that Cole will be a solid fantasy option once again and that isn't too crazy when you think about it, either. He have been very consistent of late. In fact, 7 of the past 9 restrictor plate races for him have ended in 25th or better. His is better at Talladega, but he have finishes of 22nd and 25th at the Daytona though. It should be noted that Whitt did miss the show at the Daytona 500. As he had to race his way into the race, but spun in his duel race and missed the cut-off. He will have to race his way into Saturday's night race as well. But realistically the only driver he have to beat is Josh Wise and he have out-qualified him in both restrictor plates this season. So I would feel good about Cole making the show this time around and I would expect an top 25 finish from him. Whitt is one of the drivers who hang out at the back and let the drivers up ahead of him wreck out. It not a bad strategy, especially if there a lot of wrecks on Saturday night. Overall, Cole Whitt fantasy pick may not be a terrible one. Then again with all the wrecking going on, it also increase that he get involved as well. Who knows really, but he is a option if you need him.
Landon Cassill - I usually don't list 4-drivers on my sleeper list, but it Daytona so I figured I would give a bonus pick. I really like Cassill this week and he would be my prefer choice over Whitt, if you are looking at a deep fantasy option but an consistent finisher. Cassill is actually a pretty solid driver overall (in terms of finishes) at Daytona. He been good at Talladega too, but I feel much more comfortable with him at Daytona. In 6 of his 9 career starts at Daytona, Landon have finished between 12th-26th place. If you take out his debut (26th place), he have finished 5 of the past 8 races in 12th-24th place. More recently, he have finished 4 of the past 6 races in 24th place or better. Yes, I know it doesn't sound impressive. But when you can consistency finish well, it makes us (fantasy players) feel a lot better come raceday. To a certain extent, it something we look at to make ourselves believe we are making the right choice. Also drivers who have habit of finishing out races are likely to finish on raceday at the plate tracks. They are far from locks, but least it something. Cassill likely will finish in the 15th-25th place range.
Have a question?
Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com
Twitter - @Garryy12
Thanks for reading,
Garry Briggs
Before I start digging into Fantasy sleepers, I would like to thank everyone who have checked out the content (aka posts) on this site. As of a few weeks ago (June 18th), we have reached the 2 years milestone. I thought that was a really cool milestone to hit, as this blog have unintentionally became part of my life. I am definitely excited for what the future brings, so again big thanks to all the people who make it worth while.
Okay onto Fantasy Sleepers at Daytona! I don't think there a good way to set your fantasy lineup this weekend, other than trusting your gut. There will be wrecked cars and they'll more than likely include some of your fantasy picks. Just face the fact, that you'll most likely exit Daytona will least 1 or 2 poor picks. That just how these restrictor plate races pan out most of the time, and I have fully accepted that. With that being said, I am not a fan of restrictor plate racing. Never understood why so many fans love it. But hey we all cannot agree on everything. As for sleepers this Saturday night, I think there are a wide-range of potential candidate to consider. Some will be more appealing than other, how much risk you want to offer up is to you though. The ''Big one'' will surface regardless how risky or safe of a lineup you choose to make.
Sleepers -
Aric Almirola - Aric Almirola disappointed me with 28th place finish at Talladega, but I think he can rebound nicely at Daytona. People don't realize that Aric is one of the best drivers in the series at consistency finishing on the lead lap at the restrictor plates (Daytona and Talladega) over the past 2 seasons. Over the past 9 restrictor plate races, he have posted 6 finishes of 16th place or better. One of them includes his lone career victory in 2014 in this very event. Of course that was a nutty race that ended rain-shortened, but still a win is a win and he led 14 laps in that event as well. I think Aric is a little better at Daytona than Talladega. His overall numbers recently suggest as well. He have finished 12th and 15th in 2 of his past 3 races at Daytona. He finished 12th back in the 500 and long as he can avoid trouble, he will likely finish somewhere in the low to middle teens once again. I wouldn't expect anything better than 12th place to be honest. More times than not, that seems to be where he ends up as the best-case possible finish.
Casey Mears - Mears have finally fell off most people fantasy radars as a top-tier sleeper at Daytona and I over here looking like the joker with an evil grin on my face. Why? Well because Mears just have had dumb luck recently at the restrictor plates. I mean seriously, this dude cannot catch a break and what makes it so funny is he have only been caught up in the ''big one'' once since the end of 2013 season. Pretty amazing that he haven't finished on the lead lap in his past three restrictor plate races, but there are reasons for that though. Back at Talladega (Spring 2016 in May), he was having a pretty good race. But Waltrip lost control of his car and went spinning and collected Mears. That pretty much ended his day as his car received good amount of damage. Back at the Daytona 500 (in February), he didn't get in any wrecks but he had to make an unscheduled pit stop. That eventually caused him to be put a lap down and there weren't many cautions either for him to catch up. He finished 32nd (-1 lap). Then last October at Talladega, he spun and went through the grass. He eventually went a lap down late in the event and never recovered. With that aside, Mears have mastered 5 Top 11 finishes over his past 6 Daytona starts. I guess my point about Mears is, he is a very quality sleeper and just needs things to go his way. Don't let the bitter taste from earlier this season, get in the way of selecting Mears. If there 10 laps to go and he is still on the lead lap, good chance he will be up toward the front. That's what I am hoping, too!
Cole Whitt - My gut back at Talladega said to trust Cole Whitt (I trusted it) and he eventually finished 18th place on that day. Guess what? It telling me again that Cole will be a solid fantasy option once again and that isn't too crazy when you think about it, either. He have been very consistent of late. In fact, 7 of the past 9 restrictor plate races for him have ended in 25th or better. His is better at Talladega, but he have finishes of 22nd and 25th at the Daytona though. It should be noted that Whitt did miss the show at the Daytona 500. As he had to race his way into the race, but spun in his duel race and missed the cut-off. He will have to race his way into Saturday's night race as well. But realistically the only driver he have to beat is Josh Wise and he have out-qualified him in both restrictor plates this season. So I would feel good about Cole making the show this time around and I would expect an top 25 finish from him. Whitt is one of the drivers who hang out at the back and let the drivers up ahead of him wreck out. It not a bad strategy, especially if there a lot of wrecks on Saturday night. Overall, Cole Whitt fantasy pick may not be a terrible one. Then again with all the wrecking going on, it also increase that he get involved as well. Who knows really, but he is a option if you need him.
Landon Cassill - I usually don't list 4-drivers on my sleeper list, but it Daytona so I figured I would give a bonus pick. I really like Cassill this week and he would be my prefer choice over Whitt, if you are looking at a deep fantasy option but an consistent finisher. Cassill is actually a pretty solid driver overall (in terms of finishes) at Daytona. He been good at Talladega too, but I feel much more comfortable with him at Daytona. In 6 of his 9 career starts at Daytona, Landon have finished between 12th-26th place. If you take out his debut (26th place), he have finished 5 of the past 8 races in 12th-24th place. More recently, he have finished 4 of the past 6 races in 24th place or better. Yes, I know it doesn't sound impressive. But when you can consistency finish well, it makes us (fantasy players) feel a lot better come raceday. To a certain extent, it something we look at to make ourselves believe we are making the right choice. Also drivers who have habit of finishing out races are likely to finish on raceday at the plate tracks. They are far from locks, but least it something. Cassill likely will finish in the 15th-25th place range.
Have a question?
Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com
Twitter - @Garryy12
Thanks for reading,
Garry Briggs
