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Fantasy Nascar Preview -
1-JMac: JMac is a underrated plate racer and in my opinion one of the better fantasy option to roll with this week. Him and teammate Kyle Larson were very good at Sonoma earlier this season, different road courses but still cannot discount that they were pretty good. Ironically both drivers got speeding penalty. He been good at The Glen though. Over the past 3 seasons, he have compiled 21.7 average finish with 16.3 average running position and 82.6 driver rating. Last season, he finished 40th place here after finishing 4 laps down. Prior to that, he had finishes of 11th and 14th while posting driver rating above 90 in both of races. Overall, he have finished 17th or better in 4 of his past 6 starts. Also JMac took part in a test session last week at the recently repaved racetrack.
2-Brad Keselowski: Keselowski crashed in a test session last week at WGI, after posting the fastest lap of the day. He was reportedly fast up to that point, so that is great new for anyone considering him as a possible fantasy option. He been a stud in recent season at this place. Over the past 3 seasons here, he have compiled 14.7 average finish with 13.3 average running position and 97.1 driver rating. In 6 career races at this track, he have posted 4 Top 7 finishes. Including 3 straight 2nd place finishes from 2011 to 2013 races. In 2014, he finished 35th place after finishing 5 laps down. I believe he had some sort of mechanical issue during the race. In last season's race, he finished 7th place. A great aspect of Keselowski's fantasy outlook at WGI is how well he have qualified since the 2011 season (5 races ago). He have never started worse than 12th and only once have he finished worse than 7th in that span. In those 4 Top 7 finishes, his lowest driver rating was 105.8 (2013). Which tells me, he haven't lucked into those finishes.
3-Austin Dillon: Dillon took part in the testing held last week at Watkins Glenn and have been one of the best surprises of the season. However, road courses aren't exactly his strong suit. To be honest, I think he has some work to do on this type of track. Like a lot of young drivers, it takes awhile to breakout. Not all these young guns will breakout and dominate like Gordon and Smoke did early in their career. Or more recently guys like Kyle Larson recording a top 5 in track debut. Point being, it takes time to develop. Teams are working harder to get better at the road courses, but it is still a skill. Not just going to happen over night and Dillon's numbers aren't terrible but they could be better though. Over his first 2 starts at WGI, he have compiled 26.0 average finish with 24.0 average running position and 61.9 driver rating. Now, he isn't quite that bad. He finished a career-high 16th on a road course in 2014. Really most of his finishes on the road courses have came between 16th-22nd place. So not like he is terrible, just not quite where they need to be.
4-Kevin Harvick: Harvick have been awesome on the road courses since joining SHR, but his big problem this season have been qualifying though. Over the past three seasons here, he have compiled 7.7 average finish with 11.7 average running position and 104.1 driver rating. In the #4 car, he have made two starts at The Glenn. In those two starts, he have posted finishes of 3rd and 7th. Not only that, but he arguably should have won this race last season. In last season's race, he finished 3rd, started 4th, had race-high 132.9 driver rating and 5.0 average running position. He also led the most laps (29) in that event and had the third-most fast laps (10). Last season's race here was arguably his best ever at this track. Harvick has a great track record at WGI, with 12.0 average finish in 15 career starts. Including 7 Top 15 finishes in his past 8 finishes. On top that, he is a former winner at this racetrack in 2008. Harvick have to be one of the favorites headed into this weekend's race.
5-Kasey Kahne: I am not sure how to feel about Kasey Kahne this week at The Glenn, he have proven in the past that he can be a quality road course racer and is underrated in my opinion. However, he have been far more inconsistent at The Glenn than he have been at Sonoma though. Over the past 3 seasons here, he have compiled 29.3 average finish with 22.3 average running position and 66.3 driver rating. Over his past 4 races, he have finished twice outside of the top 30 and have two finishes of 12th and 13th. In fact, he have finished 12th-17th place in every other race dating back to the 2009 season. The other three finishes? 26th, 42nd and 34th. He finished 42nd place last season here. So he probably due for a quality finish this season then, if the trend continues for him.
11-Denny Hamlin:Hamlin have been bad on the road courses a lot lately in his cup career, after having a very respectable record to start off his record. Everything went south for him quick on both road courses during 2010. He have only produced one top 20 finish over his past 6 starts at WGI and only have 3 Top 20 finishes over his past 13 road course races. However his most recent effort in June at Sonoma ended in 2nd. In fact, his best (and most recent) two finishes have came at Sonoma. Over the past 3 seasons here, he have compiled 23.3 average finish with 18.7 average running position and 72.2 driver rating. Hamlin finishes have gotten better over the past three seasons at The Glenn, but problem is Hamlin just haven't posted many good numbers at road courses in general. I know some people will point out how good he ran at Sonoma. But remember, results at these two tracks don't always translate. Hamlin have been running much better lately (this season), but I would put my money that he hit a bump in the road this week though.
17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr: Stenhouse Jr haven't been good at either road course in his career, so I highly doubt that his luck get turned around this week. Over the past 3 seasons here, he have compiled 24.0 average finish with 27.3 average running position and 51.0 driver rating. He finished 34th (-1 lap down) here last season and posted an dreadful 45.3 driver rating for the event. However, his two starts ended in 18th and 20th place respectably though. With that said, his performance numbers were lackluster. In those two races, he compiled 19.0 average finish with 27.0 average running position and 53.9 driver rating. His driver rating should tell you the entire story, the fact that his driver rating was in the 50 speaks volumes. His best driver rating was in 2014, where he posted an 55.6. For those of you who don't know what a driver rating is, it is simply a tool that measures and judges a driver ''actual performance'' for a race. Anything below about 72.5 is poor for Stenhouse Jr in my personal opinion.
18-Kyle Busch: After winning at Indy, Rowdy backs that up an top 10 finish at Pocono. He wasn't ever great in that race, but he was good enough to be a contender though. Now, he goes to one of his best tracks in The Glenn. Over the past 3 seasons, he have compiled 14.3 average finish with 14.3 average running position and 109.1 driver rating. He much better than those numbers show. He finished 40th in the 2014 race, after making hard contact with Martin Truex Jr, after a pit stop. Which led to a very long day for Rowdy. But that been one of his few bad finishes at this track. In 11 career starts, he have finished 9 of 11 races inside the top 10. Including 5 Top 4 finishes over his past 8 starts. With 2 of his past 3 races ending inside the top 2. He finished 2nd here to Joey Logano in last season's race, while leading 3 laps and have led in 4 of the past 5 races overall. Headed into the weekend, Kyle have finished 4 of the past 5 Sprint Cup races this season inside the top 10. He have to be considered one of the favorites, when the green flag waves.
19-Carl Edwards: Edwards got back on track at Pocono with an top 10 finish, but he never was a factor on Monday afternoon though. He will now turn his attention to the next race on the schedule, where he have been very strong at in recent seasons. Over the past 3 seasons here, he have compiled 5.7 average finish with 11.0 average running position and 97.8 driver rating. Carl finished 8th in his debut with JGR last season. But that just him scratching the surface of his potential
in this caliber of ride. He have been a stud at this track since debuting and only getting better and better. Over his past 10 starts at WGI, he have finished inside the top 10 eight (8) times. The two times he haven't in that span? 12th and 14th place. Like I said he have only gotten better with experience. In his first 4 starts, he only posted 1 Top 5 finish. Over his past 7 races, he have posted 4 Top 5 finishes. Including an 4th place (in 2013) and 5th place (in 2014), so past 2 of 3 races he have finished inside the top 5 overall. Pretty good numbers to have at any racetrack.
20-Matt Kenseth: Kenseth didn't live up our standards last week, but good thing he isn't that high on most people fantasy radars' this week as he isn't known as a road course racer. As most people think as Kenseth as bad road course racer, but reality is he have been pretty good since joining JGR at The Glenn. Over the past 3 seasons here, he have compiled 12.0 average finish with 11.3 average running position and 93.4 driver rating. In fact, Kenseth have posted 8 Top 14 finishes over his past 9 races at this place. Including 3 Top 10 finishes over his past 4 races. With that said, his performance have picked up significantly over the past two races here. Last season, he finished a career-high 4th place and led for only the second time at this track. Noted that it was the first time since leading a lap back in 2001. In 2014 (2 races ago), he had his best performance ever at this track in my opinion. He started 8th, finished 9th and held an career-high 102.1 driver rating. First time since 2004, where he finished and started inside the top 10. That is very encouraging as a fantasy player, even though most of us won't even consider him.
21-Ryan Blaney: Blaney is coming have a good race at Pocono, but problem is he probably dug himself into too much of a hole to point race himself in. As he needs to make up about 40 points to put himself into a position to make the chase. I don't think that will happen and this weekend race at the Glenn won't help him any. I think Blaney will be a little better at WGI than he was at Sonoma, but I have some concerns about him as a fantasy pick though. First being his skillset on the road courses, he really haven't had much experience and young drivers have the tendency to struggle. Also, The Wood bros crews lack experience at this type of track (I mentioned this at Sonoma as well). I don't think Blaney will be terrible this weekend, but I don't have the bar set too high for him. It will take some learning before he is running up near the top 10. I think it will come down how fast he get equipped to this place in a cup car.
22-Joey Logano: Logano is a very underrated road course racer and is the defending race winner. I have been saying for the last couple years that it would only be matter of time before he breaks out. He been great at both track and WGI is probably the better of the two. Over the past 3 seasons here, he have compiled an series-high 4.7 average finish with 11.3 average running position and 100.7 driver rating. Since joining Penske, he have finished 7th or better in every start. Overall he has 4 Top 7 finishes over his past 5 starts, dating back to 2011 season. He won last season race here, but he didn't really have the best car. The only lap he led was the final lap. If you go back and watch that race, it was a fuel mileage event. Several cars had to pit before making it to the finish line. Logano also. Over the past 11 road courses, he have posted 9 Top 11 finishes. With 4 straight Top 6 finishes (3 straight top 5 finishes) and 5 Top 10 finishes over the past 6 races overall. Logano is one of the best in the series and don't be shocked if he is under people radar after last week's poor finish. Perfect chance for us Logano's believer to strike on some great fantasy value!
24-Chase Elliott: Chase Elliott choose the wrong time to have his season to go south, with the chase looming large on the horizon. Before Michigan, he was easily one of the hottest drivers in the series. Since Sonoma? One Top 20 finish (15th - Indy). Rest of his finishes look like this: 21st, 32nd, 31st, 34th and 33rd. Not great numbers to have, which gives me zero confident in him right now to step up and knock out a great finish. He needs to finish inside the top 10 again to get his swagger back. Because he have definitely lost that rookie mojo he had earlier in the season. What are my expectations for him this weekend? Hard to say, much like Blaney I think how he adjust to this track at the cup level. He made two starts here in the Xfinity series, as he posted finishes of 6th and 7th. He about an 8th or 9th place performer in both races. So that probably translates to somewhere in the middle teens at the cup level based off that performance. I think he will get better as the weekend progress, it just depend how much progress he makes throughout the weekend.
31-Ryan Newman: Newman is having another good season with RCR, but he may be on his way out with reports of Ty Dillon heading towards Cup in 2016. I wonder how much that is weighing on his mind? It probably isn't his top priority, but I am sure he is aware of that he may not be at RCR next year. If that the case (note- nothing been confirmed or suggested), then he would want to prove Richard wrong about him. He been pretty good on the road courses over the past couple seasons. Over the past 3 seasons here, he have compiled 23.3 average finish with 19.7 average running position and 74.0 driver rating. His numbers are misleading as he finished 41st back in 2014 at this track. Over the past 6 races here, he have finished 11th-16th place in five (5) of those races. Digging deeper into the data pool, he have finished seven (7) of past ten (10) between 8th-16th place. He should be good for an solid low to middle finish.
41-Kurt Busch: Kurt Busch have lost all of the momentum that he had earlier this season, but he did finish 10th at Pocono. He just need to put consistent finishes together. Good thing, he is pretty great road course racer. Over the past 3 races here, he have compiled 5.7 average finish with 9.7 average running position and 104.1 driver rating. The Glenn have been Kurt's best racetrack (in terms of average finish) over the past two seasons for anyone wondering. He have posted finishes of 5th and 3rd place. Overall he has 5 Top 10 finishes over his past 7 races at this racetrack. Including 3 straight top 9 finishes entering the weekend. Kurt is known to be better at Sonoma, but lately he have been making a great case at WGI. He been a stud at the road courses. Over the past 12 races overall, he have posted 10 Top 12 finishes (in 12 races). With 7 Top 5 finishes in that 12 race span. With 3 of those 7 finishes coming at WGI in the past 6 races at the track.
42-Kyle Larson: Kyle Larson is one of the hottest drivers in the series. Over the past 10 Sprint Cup races, he have posted the 2nd-best average finish (9.4) with both back-to-back top 6 finishes now. Larson is in middle of a stench of great racetracks, so he should be a pretty popular option between now and probably least Darlington. He also is a great road course racer, he is one of the very few young drivers who have been able to succeed. Over the past 2 seasons here, he have compiled 8.0 average finish with 15.0 average running position and 89.7 driver rating. He wasn't great in his debut here, he manage to find a way to finish 4th place after struggling all week. Which is why I have always considered him to be on of the quickest learners in Nascar. Last season, he was much more competitive and finished 12th. In that event, he started 6th, finished 12th, and posted 99.9 driver rating.
47-AJ Dinger: AJ Dinger regardless of his finishes at the road courses the past few seasons will still get credited as a road course ace. Simply because how well he have ran at both Sonoma and WGI. Over the past 2 seasons here, he have compiled 12.5 average finish with 9.5 average running position and 113.2 driver rating. He led 30 laps in 2014 on his way to his first career victory in the Sprint Cup series. He was very strong in last season, until he lost power and had to pit. He eventually got back on the lead lap and try to charge through the field, but had to pit which ended his chance at a great finish. Something always seems to go wrong for the 47 team at the road courses, if he can avoid bad luck then he should be golden. Realistically speaking this this week's race will likely decide Dinger's chase fate.
48-Jimmie Johnson: After Johnson finished 3rd at Indy, he went back to his ways of finishing outside of top 10. Now, he have only posted 3 Top 10 finishes (all 3rd place finishes) over the past 14 races this season. Johnson is one of the most underrated road course racers in the field and doesn't ever seem to be credited as one of the best. I don't know why, because the results are there for him. Over the past 3 seasons here, he have compiled 15.3 average finish with 13.7 average running position and 88.8 driver rating. Overall, he have finished 4 of the past 5 races at WGI inside the top 10. His lone bad finish was in 2014 of 28th place. He was very strong in that race though, as he posted strong numbers across the board. Started 3rd, finished 28th, posted 95.5 driver rating and 9.0 average running position. He also spent 87% of that race inside the top 15. Johnson should be least a top 10 guy headed into this week's race.
78-Martin Truex Jr: Martin Truex Jr have absolutely no luck at all and I felt really bad for the guy at Pocono. He had a dominant racecar and probably gave away a win. But he will try to rebound at WGI though. He is a pretty underrated road course racer in my opinion. Over the past 3 seasons here, he have compiled 13.7 average finish with 11.7 average running position and 94.6 driver rating. Over his past 9 races at this track, he have posted 7 Top 15 finishes. Last season, he eventually finished 25th. But I remember correctly, he hit the wall while running inside the top 5, which resulted him having to pit. Prior to that poor finish, he have posted 6 straight top 13 finishes. Including an 3rd place finish back in 2013. From 2011 to 2013, he posted 3 straight Top 10 finishes. At the moment, I don't trust Martin Truex Jr. However with that being said, it hard for me to sit here and say that he doesn't have major potential this weekend.
***All stats are from DriverAverages.com and FantasyRacingCheatSheet.com
Twitter - @JeffNathans18
Fantasy Nascar Preview -
1-JMac: JMac is a underrated plate racer and in my opinion one of the better fantasy option to roll with this week. Him and teammate Kyle Larson were very good at Sonoma earlier this season, different road courses but still cannot discount that they were pretty good. Ironically both drivers got speeding penalty. He been good at The Glen though. Over the past 3 seasons, he have compiled 21.7 average finish with 16.3 average running position and 82.6 driver rating. Last season, he finished 40th place here after finishing 4 laps down. Prior to that, he had finishes of 11th and 14th while posting driver rating above 90 in both of races. Overall, he have finished 17th or better in 4 of his past 6 starts. Also JMac took part in a test session last week at the recently repaved racetrack.
2-Brad Keselowski: Keselowski crashed in a test session last week at WGI, after posting the fastest lap of the day. He was reportedly fast up to that point, so that is great new for anyone considering him as a possible fantasy option. He been a stud in recent season at this place. Over the past 3 seasons here, he have compiled 14.7 average finish with 13.3 average running position and 97.1 driver rating. In 6 career races at this track, he have posted 4 Top 7 finishes. Including 3 straight 2nd place finishes from 2011 to 2013 races. In 2014, he finished 35th place after finishing 5 laps down. I believe he had some sort of mechanical issue during the race. In last season's race, he finished 7th place. A great aspect of Keselowski's fantasy outlook at WGI is how well he have qualified since the 2011 season (5 races ago). He have never started worse than 12th and only once have he finished worse than 7th in that span. In those 4 Top 7 finishes, his lowest driver rating was 105.8 (2013). Which tells me, he haven't lucked into those finishes.
3-Austin Dillon: Dillon took part in the testing held last week at Watkins Glenn and have been one of the best surprises of the season. However, road courses aren't exactly his strong suit. To be honest, I think he has some work to do on this type of track. Like a lot of young drivers, it takes awhile to breakout. Not all these young guns will breakout and dominate like Gordon and Smoke did early in their career. Or more recently guys like Kyle Larson recording a top 5 in track debut. Point being, it takes time to develop. Teams are working harder to get better at the road courses, but it is still a skill. Not just going to happen over night and Dillon's numbers aren't terrible but they could be better though. Over his first 2 starts at WGI, he have compiled 26.0 average finish with 24.0 average running position and 61.9 driver rating. Now, he isn't quite that bad. He finished a career-high 16th on a road course in 2014. Really most of his finishes on the road courses have came between 16th-22nd place. So not like he is terrible, just not quite where they need to be.
4-Kevin Harvick: Harvick have been awesome on the road courses since joining SHR, but his big problem this season have been qualifying though. Over the past three seasons here, he have compiled 7.7 average finish with 11.7 average running position and 104.1 driver rating. In the #4 car, he have made two starts at The Glenn. In those two starts, he have posted finishes of 3rd and 7th. Not only that, but he arguably should have won this race last season. In last season's race, he finished 3rd, started 4th, had race-high 132.9 driver rating and 5.0 average running position. He also led the most laps (29) in that event and had the third-most fast laps (10). Last season's race here was arguably his best ever at this track. Harvick has a great track record at WGI, with 12.0 average finish in 15 career starts. Including 7 Top 15 finishes in his past 8 finishes. On top that, he is a former winner at this racetrack in 2008. Harvick have to be one of the favorites headed into this weekend's race.
5-Kasey Kahne: I am not sure how to feel about Kasey Kahne this week at The Glenn, he have proven in the past that he can be a quality road course racer and is underrated in my opinion. However, he have been far more inconsistent at The Glenn than he have been at Sonoma though. Over the past 3 seasons here, he have compiled 29.3 average finish with 22.3 average running position and 66.3 driver rating. Over his past 4 races, he have finished twice outside of the top 30 and have two finishes of 12th and 13th. In fact, he have finished 12th-17th place in every other race dating back to the 2009 season. The other three finishes? 26th, 42nd and 34th. He finished 42nd place last season here. So he probably due for a quality finish this season then, if the trend continues for him.
11-Denny Hamlin:Hamlin have been bad on the road courses a lot lately in his cup career, after having a very respectable record to start off his record. Everything went south for him quick on both road courses during 2010. He have only produced one top 20 finish over his past 6 starts at WGI and only have 3 Top 20 finishes over his past 13 road course races. However his most recent effort in June at Sonoma ended in 2nd. In fact, his best (and most recent) two finishes have came at Sonoma. Over the past 3 seasons here, he have compiled 23.3 average finish with 18.7 average running position and 72.2 driver rating. Hamlin finishes have gotten better over the past three seasons at The Glenn, but problem is Hamlin just haven't posted many good numbers at road courses in general. I know some people will point out how good he ran at Sonoma. But remember, results at these two tracks don't always translate. Hamlin have been running much better lately (this season), but I would put my money that he hit a bump in the road this week though.
17-Ricky Stenhouse Jr: Stenhouse Jr haven't been good at either road course in his career, so I highly doubt that his luck get turned around this week. Over the past 3 seasons here, he have compiled 24.0 average finish with 27.3 average running position and 51.0 driver rating. He finished 34th (-1 lap down) here last season and posted an dreadful 45.3 driver rating for the event. However, his two starts ended in 18th and 20th place respectably though. With that said, his performance numbers were lackluster. In those two races, he compiled 19.0 average finish with 27.0 average running position and 53.9 driver rating. His driver rating should tell you the entire story, the fact that his driver rating was in the 50 speaks volumes. His best driver rating was in 2014, where he posted an 55.6. For those of you who don't know what a driver rating is, it is simply a tool that measures and judges a driver ''actual performance'' for a race. Anything below about 72.5 is poor for Stenhouse Jr in my personal opinion.
18-Kyle Busch: After winning at Indy, Rowdy backs that up an top 10 finish at Pocono. He wasn't ever great in that race, but he was good enough to be a contender though. Now, he goes to one of his best tracks in The Glenn. Over the past 3 seasons, he have compiled 14.3 average finish with 14.3 average running position and 109.1 driver rating. He much better than those numbers show. He finished 40th in the 2014 race, after making hard contact with Martin Truex Jr, after a pit stop. Which led to a very long day for Rowdy. But that been one of his few bad finishes at this track. In 11 career starts, he have finished 9 of 11 races inside the top 10. Including 5 Top 4 finishes over his past 8 starts. With 2 of his past 3 races ending inside the top 2. He finished 2nd here to Joey Logano in last season's race, while leading 3 laps and have led in 4 of the past 5 races overall. Headed into the weekend, Kyle have finished 4 of the past 5 Sprint Cup races this season inside the top 10. He have to be considered one of the favorites, when the green flag waves.
19-Carl Edwards: Edwards got back on track at Pocono with an top 10 finish, but he never was a factor on Monday afternoon though. He will now turn his attention to the next race on the schedule, where he have been very strong at in recent seasons. Over the past 3 seasons here, he have compiled 5.7 average finish with 11.0 average running position and 97.8 driver rating. Carl finished 8th in his debut with JGR last season. But that just him scratching the surface of his potential
in this caliber of ride. He have been a stud at this track since debuting and only getting better and better. Over his past 10 starts at WGI, he have finished inside the top 10 eight (8) times. The two times he haven't in that span? 12th and 14th place. Like I said he have only gotten better with experience. In his first 4 starts, he only posted 1 Top 5 finish. Over his past 7 races, he have posted 4 Top 5 finishes. Including an 4th place (in 2013) and 5th place (in 2014), so past 2 of 3 races he have finished inside the top 5 overall. Pretty good numbers to have at any racetrack.
20-Matt Kenseth: Kenseth didn't live up our standards last week, but good thing he isn't that high on most people fantasy radars' this week as he isn't known as a road course racer. As most people think as Kenseth as bad road course racer, but reality is he have been pretty good since joining JGR at The Glenn. Over the past 3 seasons here, he have compiled 12.0 average finish with 11.3 average running position and 93.4 driver rating. In fact, Kenseth have posted 8 Top 14 finishes over his past 9 races at this place. Including 3 Top 10 finishes over his past 4 races. With that said, his performance have picked up significantly over the past two races here. Last season, he finished a career-high 4th place and led for only the second time at this track. Noted that it was the first time since leading a lap back in 2001. In 2014 (2 races ago), he had his best performance ever at this track in my opinion. He started 8th, finished 9th and held an career-high 102.1 driver rating. First time since 2004, where he finished and started inside the top 10. That is very encouraging as a fantasy player, even though most of us won't even consider him.
21-Ryan Blaney: Blaney is coming have a good race at Pocono, but problem is he probably dug himself into too much of a hole to point race himself in. As he needs to make up about 40 points to put himself into a position to make the chase. I don't think that will happen and this weekend race at the Glenn won't help him any. I think Blaney will be a little better at WGI than he was at Sonoma, but I have some concerns about him as a fantasy pick though. First being his skillset on the road courses, he really haven't had much experience and young drivers have the tendency to struggle. Also, The Wood bros crews lack experience at this type of track (I mentioned this at Sonoma as well). I don't think Blaney will be terrible this weekend, but I don't have the bar set too high for him. It will take some learning before he is running up near the top 10. I think it will come down how fast he get equipped to this place in a cup car.
22-Joey Logano: Logano is a very underrated road course racer and is the defending race winner. I have been saying for the last couple years that it would only be matter of time before he breaks out. He been great at both track and WGI is probably the better of the two. Over the past 3 seasons here, he have compiled an series-high 4.7 average finish with 11.3 average running position and 100.7 driver rating. Since joining Penske, he have finished 7th or better in every start. Overall he has 4 Top 7 finishes over his past 5 starts, dating back to 2011 season. He won last season race here, but he didn't really have the best car. The only lap he led was the final lap. If you go back and watch that race, it was a fuel mileage event. Several cars had to pit before making it to the finish line. Logano also. Over the past 11 road courses, he have posted 9 Top 11 finishes. With 4 straight Top 6 finishes (3 straight top 5 finishes) and 5 Top 10 finishes over the past 6 races overall. Logano is one of the best in the series and don't be shocked if he is under people radar after last week's poor finish. Perfect chance for us Logano's believer to strike on some great fantasy value!
24-Chase Elliott: Chase Elliott choose the wrong time to have his season to go south, with the chase looming large on the horizon. Before Michigan, he was easily one of the hottest drivers in the series. Since Sonoma? One Top 20 finish (15th - Indy). Rest of his finishes look like this: 21st, 32nd, 31st, 34th and 33rd. Not great numbers to have, which gives me zero confident in him right now to step up and knock out a great finish. He needs to finish inside the top 10 again to get his swagger back. Because he have definitely lost that rookie mojo he had earlier in the season. What are my expectations for him this weekend? Hard to say, much like Blaney I think how he adjust to this track at the cup level. He made two starts here in the Xfinity series, as he posted finishes of 6th and 7th. He about an 8th or 9th place performer in both races. So that probably translates to somewhere in the middle teens at the cup level based off that performance. I think he will get better as the weekend progress, it just depend how much progress he makes throughout the weekend.
31-Ryan Newman: Newman is having another good season with RCR, but he may be on his way out with reports of Ty Dillon heading towards Cup in 2016. I wonder how much that is weighing on his mind? It probably isn't his top priority, but I am sure he is aware of that he may not be at RCR next year. If that the case (note- nothing been confirmed or suggested), then he would want to prove Richard wrong about him. He been pretty good on the road courses over the past couple seasons. Over the past 3 seasons here, he have compiled 23.3 average finish with 19.7 average running position and 74.0 driver rating. His numbers are misleading as he finished 41st back in 2014 at this track. Over the past 6 races here, he have finished 11th-16th place in five (5) of those races. Digging deeper into the data pool, he have finished seven (7) of past ten (10) between 8th-16th place. He should be good for an solid low to middle finish.
41-Kurt Busch: Kurt Busch have lost all of the momentum that he had earlier this season, but he did finish 10th at Pocono. He just need to put consistent finishes together. Good thing, he is pretty great road course racer. Over the past 3 races here, he have compiled 5.7 average finish with 9.7 average running position and 104.1 driver rating. The Glenn have been Kurt's best racetrack (in terms of average finish) over the past two seasons for anyone wondering. He have posted finishes of 5th and 3rd place. Overall he has 5 Top 10 finishes over his past 7 races at this racetrack. Including 3 straight top 9 finishes entering the weekend. Kurt is known to be better at Sonoma, but lately he have been making a great case at WGI. He been a stud at the road courses. Over the past 12 races overall, he have posted 10 Top 12 finishes (in 12 races). With 7 Top 5 finishes in that 12 race span. With 3 of those 7 finishes coming at WGI in the past 6 races at the track.
42-Kyle Larson: Kyle Larson is one of the hottest drivers in the series. Over the past 10 Sprint Cup races, he have posted the 2nd-best average finish (9.4) with both back-to-back top 6 finishes now. Larson is in middle of a stench of great racetracks, so he should be a pretty popular option between now and probably least Darlington. He also is a great road course racer, he is one of the very few young drivers who have been able to succeed. Over the past 2 seasons here, he have compiled 8.0 average finish with 15.0 average running position and 89.7 driver rating. He wasn't great in his debut here, he manage to find a way to finish 4th place after struggling all week. Which is why I have always considered him to be on of the quickest learners in Nascar. Last season, he was much more competitive and finished 12th. In that event, he started 6th, finished 12th, and posted 99.9 driver rating.
47-AJ Dinger: AJ Dinger regardless of his finishes at the road courses the past few seasons will still get credited as a road course ace. Simply because how well he have ran at both Sonoma and WGI. Over the past 2 seasons here, he have compiled 12.5 average finish with 9.5 average running position and 113.2 driver rating. He led 30 laps in 2014 on his way to his first career victory in the Sprint Cup series. He was very strong in last season, until he lost power and had to pit. He eventually got back on the lead lap and try to charge through the field, but had to pit which ended his chance at a great finish. Something always seems to go wrong for the 47 team at the road courses, if he can avoid bad luck then he should be golden. Realistically speaking this this week's race will likely decide Dinger's chase fate.
48-Jimmie Johnson: After Johnson finished 3rd at Indy, he went back to his ways of finishing outside of top 10. Now, he have only posted 3 Top 10 finishes (all 3rd place finishes) over the past 14 races this season. Johnson is one of the most underrated road course racers in the field and doesn't ever seem to be credited as one of the best. I don't know why, because the results are there for him. Over the past 3 seasons here, he have compiled 15.3 average finish with 13.7 average running position and 88.8 driver rating. Overall, he have finished 4 of the past 5 races at WGI inside the top 10. His lone bad finish was in 2014 of 28th place. He was very strong in that race though, as he posted strong numbers across the board. Started 3rd, finished 28th, posted 95.5 driver rating and 9.0 average running position. He also spent 87% of that race inside the top 15. Johnson should be least a top 10 guy headed into this week's race.
78-Martin Truex Jr: Martin Truex Jr have absolutely no luck at all and I felt really bad for the guy at Pocono. He had a dominant racecar and probably gave away a win. But he will try to rebound at WGI though. He is a pretty underrated road course racer in my opinion. Over the past 3 seasons here, he have compiled 13.7 average finish with 11.7 average running position and 94.6 driver rating. Over his past 9 races at this track, he have posted 7 Top 15 finishes. Last season, he eventually finished 25th. But I remember correctly, he hit the wall while running inside the top 5, which resulted him having to pit. Prior to that poor finish, he have posted 6 straight top 13 finishes. Including an 3rd place finish back in 2013. From 2011 to 2013, he posted 3 straight Top 10 finishes. At the moment, I don't trust Martin Truex Jr. However with that being said, it hard for me to sit here and say that he doesn't have major potential this weekend.
***All stats are from DriverAverages.com and FantasyRacingCheatSheet.com
Twitter - @JeffNathans18
