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Fantasy Nascar Update -
A:
1. Joey Logano - Since joining Penske, Joey have dominated at Michigan when he have started up front. I went in great detail on him how he have performed recently at Michigan, when he starts inside the top 3 at Michigan in my Fantasy Nascar Preview on Tuesday:
What does all of that means exactly? Well it pretty much means that Logano simply goes out and dominates races at Michigan, when he starts up front. Plain and simple, he get results at this place when he has the track position to start the race. Since joining Penske, he have started on the pole twice previously. He went on to win both of those races. Including earlier this season. Where does he starts for Sunday's race? Oh what do you know, he starts from the pole! This may not end too well for the competition. If he can get out front and hold the field off, then he will likely lead a lot of laps on Sunday afternoon. He wasn't a top of the speed charts in either practice session, but he rarely have been this season it seems. But come raceday, that 22 car seems to really take off and contends for wins. Especially on the intermediate tracks. He seems to struggled more to stay up front on the short tracks, but big and fast tracks he seems to do a better much job at. Both Penske drivers seems to love this race package they have this weekend. Headed into the race, I view Joey as the odds-on favorite. Not only because he has a good car, but he starts up front. Then there the momentum part, he have compiled 9 Top 10 finishes over his past 11 races this season. Including 6 Top 5 finishes among those 9 Top 10 finishes. He also have fair very well this season when starting from the front row (1st or 2nd). He have compiled 7 Top 2 starting positions this season and have finished 3rd or better in 4 of those races. Only once have he finished worse than 9th place in those race? Thats was at Martinsville, where he finished 11th. He's my pick this race on Sunday!
My Overall Ranking: 1st
2. Kevin Harvick - I wish we would have gotten more Cup Final practice than we did, as I would have liked to see the #4 car more in that final practice. But I am not too concerned about it, because Harvick usually has a pretty fast racecar for the race and usually have good long run speed. I think that will be the case come Sunday as well. He didn't make any long runs in final practice (didn't have time), but I feel very good about him though. He has ran very well at Michigan in the past and is coming off an win at Bristol. That alone should be a confident booster for him, as he have struggled to finish out races in the past since joining SHR. He also qualified very well (4th) and that have been a bit of a struggle at times for him this season.When he have qualified up front, he have turned it into strong results. In 5 races this season that he have started inside the top 5, he have translated them into 4 Top 9 finishes this season. He have started inside the top 10 in 11 races this season, he have finished 10 of those races in 9th or better. Great to have that consistency, on top of bunch of speed each week. I really like that Harvick is starting up front, because at Michigan is usually leads to strong results more times than not for him. 3 of his past 4 races, he have qualified least inside the top 10, he have finished inside the top 2. Lone race he didn't finish inside the top 2? 29th in last August's race. He had a dominating car before have a flat tire though. Harvick is good pick as anyone this weekend at Michigan. He's a solid top 5 guy to me, headed into the race!
My Overall Ranking: 2nd
3. Denny Hamlin - Hamlin have been very fast since unloading off the truck and will start from the 3rd starting spot. I have been eying him all week as a possible sleeper pick and he have not disappointed me. In final practice, he topped the practice session but only was able to complete about 6 laps and that was his opening run. He was gonna try to make another run before the caution came out. However, he spun and slid through the infield grass and received some front-end damage. It was just minored and his team was able to fix it though. Before that, I thought he was very fast compared to the competition. In general, the public think that Hamlin isn't good at Michigan because have had a bad stench of finishes. Reality is, he have gotten some solid finishes recently at this track and have been fast. Not only that, but he has a lot of momentum recently. He have finished 6 of the past 8 races inside the top 9. Including 4 straight Top 7 finishes, dating back to the Indianapolis race. I honestly figured JGR would have looked better than they did. They have struggled as a organization (like he they did a bit in June), but Hamlin have stood out to me though. He's a top 5 pick in my opinion headed into the race!
My Overall Ranking: 3rd
4. Brad Keselowski - Keselowski was one of the favorites headed into the weekend and really much haven't changed other than his poor qualifying effort. I will admit that have bumped him down quite a few spots, but I remain high on Keselowski. He had a good car in practice (in my opinion) and will start from the 18th starting position. Keselowski and Penske always seems to come to Michigan with a pretty good car. Back in June, he had top 5 speed and finished just inside the top 5. He was never as good as his teammate was, but still very good. Keselowski also have been very consistent at this track. He finished 4th back in June and have collected 10 straight Top 13 finishes this track. Including 5 straight Top 9 finishes overall. I don't think he will win on Sunday, but I do believe he will be able to contend for a top 5 or at worst a top 10 finish. Remember this is fuel-mileage type track. Brad Keselowski's Crew Cheif is mastermind when it comes these type of races. If Keselowski doesn't have enough speed to get to the front on his own, then they will do it in the pits.
My Overall Ranking: 4th
5. Jimmie Johnson - This final spot came down to Johnson or Kyle Busch. I think Busch is more trustworthy and has a higher ceiling than Jimmie Johnson. However, Johnson have had more speed and starts much higher for Sunday's race. Johnson have not found a lot of success at Michigan lately, other than his win in June 2014. Over the past 8 races overall, he have only 2 top 15 finishes (both ended in 9th or better though). So it been tough to be Jimmie Johnson at Michigan lately. This season have not been much kinder to him. He finished inside the top 10 last week at Bristol, but that only marks his 4 Top 10 finish over his past 16(!) races. His finishes have improved a bit lately though. Over the past 5 races this season, he have posted 4 Top 16 finishes. Including 3 Top 12 finishes over that 5-race span. I don't hate Jimmie this weekend to be honest, he has showed good speed but I don't trust him. With that said, it seems like all of the HMS cars have speed this time around at Michigan. Teammate Chase Elliott looked like he had the best car in final practice, which is encouraging for Johnson. Because he didn't looked too far behind. He posted about 15 laps in that final practice session on Saturday. His lap times looked quite good (right up there with the best) and finished 3rd-fastest. Hard to say how good he is, since there was only about 20 minutes of practice though. Still I like that he starts from 2nd. He should be a top 10 guy headed into Sunday race and possibly even more.
My Overall Ranking: 5th
Other Options - Kyle Busch (8th), Kurt Busch (9th) and Matt Kenseth (11th)
B:
1. Carl Edwards - Joe Gibbs Racing have looked a little off this weekend, as you can see by just looking at the speed charts. That doesn't always tell the full-story, but for JGR it does. Other than Hamlin, I don't think any of them will be contending the win. I didn't think Edwards was too bad overall in the two practice sessions on Saturday. But he wasn't really pleased with his car and wasn't at top of the speed charts as we normally see when he has a great car. I think he has a solid car, but a car that will contend for a top 10 finish. Back in June, it should be noted that he was the highest finishing JGR car. Headed into the race, I think Edwards will be a top 10 driver with upside to finish inside the top 5. Honestly, there isn't a lot to say about him. He will start from the 9th starting position and will likely finish about 2-3 spots of that. I have him crossing the line somewhere between 6th-10th place. From a fantasy point of view, I am not sure if I would want him as a fanasy pick in most formats. No disrespect to him, but when he doesn't have potential to win then he becomes useless in my opinion. He's good at too many other places to waste here (in my opinion). Especially in Yahoo. Even in points differential leagues such as Fantasy Live, he doesn't really have that much value when he doesn't dominate or finish top 5. Simply because he's a little pricey.
My Overall Ranking: 6th
2. Martin Truex Jr - Much like Edwards (I listed above), I don't think Truex Jr will dominate. He doesn't start up front and at Michigan, I think it important to start inside the top 5. If you start inside the top 5 here recently, you have a chance to dominate it seems. Truex Jr will start from outside of the top 12. He has enough of speed to be a top 10 contender, but I don't see him being anything beyond that though. For a couple reason actually. He haven't had much success at Michigan overall. He has 3 straight Top 12 finishes here, but only 7 Top 10 finishes over his past 17 races overall. Earlier this season here, he wasn't bad I guess. He was just top 10 good, much like he have showed me this weekend so far. Another reason I don't like him (and haven't liked him this season) this weekend? He have terrible luck and cannot ever catch a break for some reason. Every week, it seems like the 78 team get screwed over somehow. How will it happen this week? I don't know, but I am sure we all will be amazed though. I have him across the line somewhere between 7th-12th place range.
My Overall Ranking: 7th
3. Kyle Larson - My dark horse pick this weekend? Kyle Larson. The 42 car have shown a lot of speed and he have been near top of the charts all weekend. The more downforce they take away from these cars, the more it favorites Larson. He loves this package and was awesome back at Michigan. Looked very strong in practice back at Kentucky, too but couldn't translate it to the race though. This weekend, he have looked every bit of least a top 10 driver with major upside as well. Larson has enough speed to contend for the win and I think he will contend for the win. However, like much of his career, I think bad luck will eventually do him in. I really do like him though. Of the drivers starting outside of the top 10, he is at top of my list.
My Overall Ranking: 11th
4. Tony Stewart - Smoke have shown speed all weekend and will start inside the top 15 for Sunday's race. Smoke topped the morning session on Saturday and finished 12th-fastest in later morning session, which was rain shortened. Smoke is a great driver here at Michigan and was very good back in the June's race. I don't think he can back up that performance, but it hard to deny that he has top 10 potential. Minus his poor finish last week (at Bristol), he have been pretty impressive with consistent good finishes. Before Bristol, he have finished 7 of his previous 8 races inside the top 11. Including 6 of 8 ending inside the the top 7. I like him a lot right now, he has good finishes this season with his package and showed good speed in practice. Entering the race, I would say he is a top 15 driver with enough upside to finish inside the top 10. But I would keep my standards around the 12th place range though.
My Overall Ranking: 13th
5. JMac - Alright I will show some love to JMac this weekend, he been running well enough to warrant acknowledgement in my weekly post. Him and teammate Kyle Larson both have speed this weekend, much like the past few weeks. As JMac have finished 4 of the past 6 races inside the top 8. Including back-to-back 8th place finishes at Bristol and WGI. He also finished 9th place back in this race in June and finished inside the top 10 back at Kentucky as well. He also been pretty good at Michigan. As he have posted 5 straight Top 16 finishes at this track. In fact, he have compiled 7 Top 16 finishes over his past 9 races. 6 of those 7 races have ended in 14th or better overall. Very consistent with his outcomes. In practice, he was good (in my opinion). He started off final practice with an 21-lap run. Him and Larson were the only driver to start off practice with 20+ laps runs. I thought Larson was a little better, but he wasn't terribly far off him. Entering the race, JMac is a top 15 driver with upside to be a solid top 12 driver.
My Overall Ranking: 14th
Other Options - Ryan Newman (15th), Kasey Kahne (17th), Austin Dillon (18th) and Paul Menard (20th)
C:
1. Chase Elliott - People around the garage area on Saturday pointed at the 24 car as the driver to beat and he looked very good since unloading off the truck. I don't think anyone is surprised by how good the 24 car is this weekend. He have been impressive with this race package. Almost won this race back in June (finished 2nd to Logano) and was poised to run well at Kentucky, but got wrecked with Blaney. He qualified 6th for Sunday's race and should be a heavy contender as well. There weren't enough practice for me to say that he is legit a favorite headed into the race, but I am sure he will outproduced my personal ranking. I would actually be very disappointed, if he didn't finished inside the top 10. Unless something crazy happens, I don't see that happening. All of the Hendrick cars seems to be pretty good and Chase probably have been the best overall (in my opinion).
My Overall Ranking: 12th
2. Ryan Blaney - Blaney was one of the drivers who I expected to be fast this weekend with this low-downforce package and he haven't really disappointed that much. Blaney qualified inside the top 10 and have showed good speed in practice as well. He haven't been quite as good as fellow rookie Chase Elliott, but I do believe he will be able to contend inside the top 10 or top 12 for much of Sunday's race. My concern is he will make a mistake and get behind like what happened in June. Seems like that's a common theme for the 21 team this season, they have blown many races this season because of mistakes such on pit road or on the track. If Blaney can have a clean race, then I believe he can possibly take the checkers inside the top 10. However, he drops in my rankings because of inexperience and inconsistency. I have him across the line in about 15th or 16th in my personal rankings.
My Overall Ranking: 16th
3. Alex Bowman - Bowman will round out my rankings this weekend. He have looked good and showed top 10 speed in pretty much everything this week. A lot of people are shocked, but I am not though. He filled in for Dale Jr earlier this season and contended for a top 10 finish before him and Elliott got into each other late in the race. Bowman qualified 10th for Sunday's race and should be able to least be a top 15 contender. But much like the two above, he lacks experience in the Cup series and that alone usually get a negative bump in my rankings. On pure potential he has top 10 to top 15 abilities in a solid racecar. If he can stay out of trouble and be mostly mistake-free, then I think he have a legit shot at scoring a top 10 finish. As of right now, I view him as top 20 driver though. I think he will outproduce that mark fairly easy. But like most weeks, I like giving younger drivers a higher ceiling. Because let's be honest, they will make mistake more often than not.
My Overall Ranking: 19th
Twitter - @JeffNathans18
Fantasy Nascar Update -
A:
1. Joey Logano - Since joining Penske, Joey have dominated at Michigan when he have started up front. I went in great detail on him how he have performed recently at Michigan, when he starts inside the top 3 at Michigan in my Fantasy Nascar Preview on Tuesday:
''Historically speaking, when Logano starts up front at Michigan, he goes on to dominate and finish inside the top 3. He have started inside the top 3 in 3 races (June 2016, August 2014, August 2013) and his numbers are unreal. In those 3 races, he have compiled 1.7 average finish, 1.3 average starting position, 3.0 average running position, 275 laps led and 140.5 driver rating. So how good have been in those races compared to the field? His 1.7 average finish ranks as the series-best (Harvick is second with 3.0 - min. 3 starts). His 1.3 average starting position ranks as series-best. Second-best (among driver who qualify - 3 starts min.)? Brad Keselowski at 9.7 and Carl Edwards at 11.0. His average running position is once again a series-best (3.0). Second-best is a full-3 positions behind (drivers who qualify with 3 starts min.). His 275 laps led and 106 fast laps are also series-best. Of drivers who ran all three races, nobody else have more than 46 of either. And finally his driver rating also ranks as series-best at 140.7.''
What does all of that means exactly? Well it pretty much means that Logano simply goes out and dominates races at Michigan, when he starts up front. Plain and simple, he get results at this place when he has the track position to start the race. Since joining Penske, he have started on the pole twice previously. He went on to win both of those races. Including earlier this season. Where does he starts for Sunday's race? Oh what do you know, he starts from the pole! This may not end too well for the competition. If he can get out front and hold the field off, then he will likely lead a lot of laps on Sunday afternoon. He wasn't a top of the speed charts in either practice session, but he rarely have been this season it seems. But come raceday, that 22 car seems to really take off and contends for wins. Especially on the intermediate tracks. He seems to struggled more to stay up front on the short tracks, but big and fast tracks he seems to do a better much job at. Both Penske drivers seems to love this race package they have this weekend. Headed into the race, I view Joey as the odds-on favorite. Not only because he has a good car, but he starts up front. Then there the momentum part, he have compiled 9 Top 10 finishes over his past 11 races this season. Including 6 Top 5 finishes among those 9 Top 10 finishes. He also have fair very well this season when starting from the front row (1st or 2nd). He have compiled 7 Top 2 starting positions this season and have finished 3rd or better in 4 of those races. Only once have he finished worse than 9th place in those race? Thats was at Martinsville, where he finished 11th. He's my pick this race on Sunday!
My Overall Ranking: 1st
2. Kevin Harvick - I wish we would have gotten more Cup Final practice than we did, as I would have liked to see the #4 car more in that final practice. But I am not too concerned about it, because Harvick usually has a pretty fast racecar for the race and usually have good long run speed. I think that will be the case come Sunday as well. He didn't make any long runs in final practice (didn't have time), but I feel very good about him though. He has ran very well at Michigan in the past and is coming off an win at Bristol. That alone should be a confident booster for him, as he have struggled to finish out races in the past since joining SHR. He also qualified very well (4th) and that have been a bit of a struggle at times for him this season.When he have qualified up front, he have turned it into strong results. In 5 races this season that he have started inside the top 5, he have translated them into 4 Top 9 finishes this season. He have started inside the top 10 in 11 races this season, he have finished 10 of those races in 9th or better. Great to have that consistency, on top of bunch of speed each week. I really like that Harvick is starting up front, because at Michigan is usually leads to strong results more times than not for him. 3 of his past 4 races, he have qualified least inside the top 10, he have finished inside the top 2. Lone race he didn't finish inside the top 2? 29th in last August's race. He had a dominating car before have a flat tire though. Harvick is good pick as anyone this weekend at Michigan. He's a solid top 5 guy to me, headed into the race!
My Overall Ranking: 2nd
3. Denny Hamlin - Hamlin have been very fast since unloading off the truck and will start from the 3rd starting spot. I have been eying him all week as a possible sleeper pick and he have not disappointed me. In final practice, he topped the practice session but only was able to complete about 6 laps and that was his opening run. He was gonna try to make another run before the caution came out. However, he spun and slid through the infield grass and received some front-end damage. It was just minored and his team was able to fix it though. Before that, I thought he was very fast compared to the competition. In general, the public think that Hamlin isn't good at Michigan because have had a bad stench of finishes. Reality is, he have gotten some solid finishes recently at this track and have been fast. Not only that, but he has a lot of momentum recently. He have finished 6 of the past 8 races inside the top 9. Including 4 straight Top 7 finishes, dating back to the Indianapolis race. I honestly figured JGR would have looked better than they did. They have struggled as a organization (like he they did a bit in June), but Hamlin have stood out to me though. He's a top 5 pick in my opinion headed into the race!
My Overall Ranking: 3rd
4. Brad Keselowski - Keselowski was one of the favorites headed into the weekend and really much haven't changed other than his poor qualifying effort. I will admit that have bumped him down quite a few spots, but I remain high on Keselowski. He had a good car in practice (in my opinion) and will start from the 18th starting position. Keselowski and Penske always seems to come to Michigan with a pretty good car. Back in June, he had top 5 speed and finished just inside the top 5. He was never as good as his teammate was, but still very good. Keselowski also have been very consistent at this track. He finished 4th back in June and have collected 10 straight Top 13 finishes this track. Including 5 straight Top 9 finishes overall. I don't think he will win on Sunday, but I do believe he will be able to contend for a top 5 or at worst a top 10 finish. Remember this is fuel-mileage type track. Brad Keselowski's Crew Cheif is mastermind when it comes these type of races. If Keselowski doesn't have enough speed to get to the front on his own, then they will do it in the pits.
My Overall Ranking: 4th
5. Jimmie Johnson - This final spot came down to Johnson or Kyle Busch. I think Busch is more trustworthy and has a higher ceiling than Jimmie Johnson. However, Johnson have had more speed and starts much higher for Sunday's race. Johnson have not found a lot of success at Michigan lately, other than his win in June 2014. Over the past 8 races overall, he have only 2 top 15 finishes (both ended in 9th or better though). So it been tough to be Jimmie Johnson at Michigan lately. This season have not been much kinder to him. He finished inside the top 10 last week at Bristol, but that only marks his 4 Top 10 finish over his past 16(!) races. His finishes have improved a bit lately though. Over the past 5 races this season, he have posted 4 Top 16 finishes. Including 3 Top 12 finishes over that 5-race span. I don't hate Jimmie this weekend to be honest, he has showed good speed but I don't trust him. With that said, it seems like all of the HMS cars have speed this time around at Michigan. Teammate Chase Elliott looked like he had the best car in final practice, which is encouraging for Johnson. Because he didn't looked too far behind. He posted about 15 laps in that final practice session on Saturday. His lap times looked quite good (right up there with the best) and finished 3rd-fastest. Hard to say how good he is, since there was only about 20 minutes of practice though. Still I like that he starts from 2nd. He should be a top 10 guy headed into Sunday race and possibly even more.
My Overall Ranking: 5th
Other Options - Kyle Busch (8th), Kurt Busch (9th) and Matt Kenseth (11th)
B:
1. Carl Edwards - Joe Gibbs Racing have looked a little off this weekend, as you can see by just looking at the speed charts. That doesn't always tell the full-story, but for JGR it does. Other than Hamlin, I don't think any of them will be contending the win. I didn't think Edwards was too bad overall in the two practice sessions on Saturday. But he wasn't really pleased with his car and wasn't at top of the speed charts as we normally see when he has a great car. I think he has a solid car, but a car that will contend for a top 10 finish. Back in June, it should be noted that he was the highest finishing JGR car. Headed into the race, I think Edwards will be a top 10 driver with upside to finish inside the top 5. Honestly, there isn't a lot to say about him. He will start from the 9th starting position and will likely finish about 2-3 spots of that. I have him crossing the line somewhere between 6th-10th place. From a fantasy point of view, I am not sure if I would want him as a fanasy pick in most formats. No disrespect to him, but when he doesn't have potential to win then he becomes useless in my opinion. He's good at too many other places to waste here (in my opinion). Especially in Yahoo. Even in points differential leagues such as Fantasy Live, he doesn't really have that much value when he doesn't dominate or finish top 5. Simply because he's a little pricey.
My Overall Ranking: 6th
2. Martin Truex Jr - Much like Edwards (I listed above), I don't think Truex Jr will dominate. He doesn't start up front and at Michigan, I think it important to start inside the top 5. If you start inside the top 5 here recently, you have a chance to dominate it seems. Truex Jr will start from outside of the top 12. He has enough of speed to be a top 10 contender, but I don't see him being anything beyond that though. For a couple reason actually. He haven't had much success at Michigan overall. He has 3 straight Top 12 finishes here, but only 7 Top 10 finishes over his past 17 races overall. Earlier this season here, he wasn't bad I guess. He was just top 10 good, much like he have showed me this weekend so far. Another reason I don't like him (and haven't liked him this season) this weekend? He have terrible luck and cannot ever catch a break for some reason. Every week, it seems like the 78 team get screwed over somehow. How will it happen this week? I don't know, but I am sure we all will be amazed though. I have him across the line somewhere between 7th-12th place range.
My Overall Ranking: 7th
3. Kyle Larson - My dark horse pick this weekend? Kyle Larson. The 42 car have shown a lot of speed and he have been near top of the charts all weekend. The more downforce they take away from these cars, the more it favorites Larson. He loves this package and was awesome back at Michigan. Looked very strong in practice back at Kentucky, too but couldn't translate it to the race though. This weekend, he have looked every bit of least a top 10 driver with major upside as well. Larson has enough speed to contend for the win and I think he will contend for the win. However, like much of his career, I think bad luck will eventually do him in. I really do like him though. Of the drivers starting outside of the top 10, he is at top of my list.
My Overall Ranking: 11th
4. Tony Stewart - Smoke have shown speed all weekend and will start inside the top 15 for Sunday's race. Smoke topped the morning session on Saturday and finished 12th-fastest in later morning session, which was rain shortened. Smoke is a great driver here at Michigan and was very good back in the June's race. I don't think he can back up that performance, but it hard to deny that he has top 10 potential. Minus his poor finish last week (at Bristol), he have been pretty impressive with consistent good finishes. Before Bristol, he have finished 7 of his previous 8 races inside the top 11. Including 6 of 8 ending inside the the top 7. I like him a lot right now, he has good finishes this season with his package and showed good speed in practice. Entering the race, I would say he is a top 15 driver with enough upside to finish inside the top 10. But I would keep my standards around the 12th place range though.
My Overall Ranking: 13th
5. JMac - Alright I will show some love to JMac this weekend, he been running well enough to warrant acknowledgement in my weekly post. Him and teammate Kyle Larson both have speed this weekend, much like the past few weeks. As JMac have finished 4 of the past 6 races inside the top 8. Including back-to-back 8th place finishes at Bristol and WGI. He also finished 9th place back in this race in June and finished inside the top 10 back at Kentucky as well. He also been pretty good at Michigan. As he have posted 5 straight Top 16 finishes at this track. In fact, he have compiled 7 Top 16 finishes over his past 9 races. 6 of those 7 races have ended in 14th or better overall. Very consistent with his outcomes. In practice, he was good (in my opinion). He started off final practice with an 21-lap run. Him and Larson were the only driver to start off practice with 20+ laps runs. I thought Larson was a little better, but he wasn't terribly far off him. Entering the race, JMac is a top 15 driver with upside to be a solid top 12 driver.
My Overall Ranking: 14th
Other Options - Ryan Newman (15th), Kasey Kahne (17th), Austin Dillon (18th) and Paul Menard (20th)
C:
1. Chase Elliott - People around the garage area on Saturday pointed at the 24 car as the driver to beat and he looked very good since unloading off the truck. I don't think anyone is surprised by how good the 24 car is this weekend. He have been impressive with this race package. Almost won this race back in June (finished 2nd to Logano) and was poised to run well at Kentucky, but got wrecked with Blaney. He qualified 6th for Sunday's race and should be a heavy contender as well. There weren't enough practice for me to say that he is legit a favorite headed into the race, but I am sure he will outproduced my personal ranking. I would actually be very disappointed, if he didn't finished inside the top 10. Unless something crazy happens, I don't see that happening. All of the Hendrick cars seems to be pretty good and Chase probably have been the best overall (in my opinion).
My Overall Ranking: 12th
2. Ryan Blaney - Blaney was one of the drivers who I expected to be fast this weekend with this low-downforce package and he haven't really disappointed that much. Blaney qualified inside the top 10 and have showed good speed in practice as well. He haven't been quite as good as fellow rookie Chase Elliott, but I do believe he will be able to contend inside the top 10 or top 12 for much of Sunday's race. My concern is he will make a mistake and get behind like what happened in June. Seems like that's a common theme for the 21 team this season, they have blown many races this season because of mistakes such on pit road or on the track. If Blaney can have a clean race, then I believe he can possibly take the checkers inside the top 10. However, he drops in my rankings because of inexperience and inconsistency. I have him across the line in about 15th or 16th in my personal rankings.
My Overall Ranking: 16th
3. Alex Bowman - Bowman will round out my rankings this weekend. He have looked good and showed top 10 speed in pretty much everything this week. A lot of people are shocked, but I am not though. He filled in for Dale Jr earlier this season and contended for a top 10 finish before him and Elliott got into each other late in the race. Bowman qualified 10th for Sunday's race and should be able to least be a top 15 contender. But much like the two above, he lacks experience in the Cup series and that alone usually get a negative bump in my rankings. On pure potential he has top 10 to top 15 abilities in a solid racecar. If he can stay out of trouble and be mostly mistake-free, then I think he have a legit shot at scoring a top 10 finish. As of right now, I view him as top 20 driver though. I think he will outproduce that mark fairly easy. But like most weeks, I like giving younger drivers a higher ceiling. Because let's be honest, they will make mistake more often than not.
My Overall Ranking: 19th
Twitter - @JeffNathans18