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Fantasy Nascar Update -
A:
1. Kevin Harvick - Harvick will start from the pole, so that gives him starting position over the field from the start. But I wouldn't call him dominating in practice but I thought he was pretty good overall. Definitely good enough to lead some laps early on and keep the track position. And remember, it is very important to have track position at the track. He will roll off from the pole, in fact starting position is also very huge here. With 96 of the 112 races, ending with a top 10 starter going to victory lane. At end of final practice, it seemed like Harvick and the 4 team found something as their lap times looked to improved from earlier in the session. Also, Harvick have a lot of momentum entering this race. He has the second-best average finish over the past half-dozen of races. Including a win just two races ago. Headed into the race, I think Harvick is one of the heavy favorites to score another top 5 finish.
My Overall Ranking: 1st
2. Denny Hamlin - Hamlin had a fast car in both practices and should be a driver you fear on Sunday night. He was so good, his team decided to pack it up early in final practice. For good reason too. Not many cars were consistent on the speed charts like Hamlin was. He stood out to me in both sessions as one of the favorites. He has solid speed this weekend, but he have a even better track record. In his career, he have never finish outside of the top 20. In fact, he have posted 8 Top 10 finishes in just 10 career races. As I mentioned in my preview, he have finished half of those races inside the top 5. He also has 6 straight Top 9 finishes, entering Sunday's night race. He also completed in Saturday's race, so he got some extra laps in. With limited practice this weekend, I would say that's a good thing no doubt. Headed into the race, I view him as a lock to finish inside the top 10. Personally, I expect him to finish up inside the top 3 or 4. This is his best racetrack and you can expect him to have one of his better performances overall.
My Overall Ranking: 2nd
3. Jimmie Johnson - Alright, I will admit that Jimmie Johnson and that ole 48 team have found something. In practice on Saturday, I thought he had the best car overall. He posted strong lap times in both practice sessions. I compared him and Denny Hamlin in that first practice session. Both made a 20-lap run to open the session. Johnson and him were about even. Very strong laps by both drivers. Then in final practice, he posted the 3rd-best ten lap average. And remember, Johnson is no strange to success at this racetrack, either. In 17 career races, he have posted 9 Top 5 finishes with an 9.0 career average finish. He have had inconsistent results recently, but he has a very fast car. This is a driver's track, not just anyone can run well for 500 miles. I feel pretty comfortable with leaning on Johnson as a fantasy pick. Headed into the race, I view him as one of the favorites to contend for the win. I have no doubt that Jimmie Johnson will be one of the drivers to deal with on Sunday night.
My Overall Ranking: 3rd
4. Brad Keselowski - Keselowski will start from the 2nd starting position and topped the final practice on Saturday early afternoon. Overall, I thought Brad was very good. Far from as good as he was last season. If you remember, he led 196 laps but lost the race lead late under caution (Thanks to Carl Edwards speedy pit stop). He will definitely have something to say about who goes to victory lane. Not only does he have speed in his car, but the 2 team have plenty of momentum as well. Over the past 4 races this season, he have posted 3 Top 3 finishes. Including last week at Michigan. Headed into the weekend, I thought Keselowski would be top 5 material and nothing I have seen have changed my mind so far. Unless something crazy happens on Sunday night, you can expect to see the No.2 car to be up front most of the night.
My Overall Ranking: 4th
5. Kyle Busch - This final spot was down to Kyle Busch and Joey Logano. I haven't been blown away by either driver this weekend so far. So I am going with the driver who have the better track record and who starts further up (by a spot). Busch have struggled the past few race weekends (in terms of speed) and doesn't hold a lot of fantasy value when he struggles. Commonly, when Busch is lower on the charts, the race doesn't usually go his way. Am I counting him out before the green flag? Heck no! But it hard to love him, when he doesn't have the potential to lead a lot of laps. This is a good track for him though. He has a very good record here overall. Since joining JGR in 2008, he have posted 7 finishes of 11th or better. So he very consistent inside the top 10 at this place. I don't count him out by any means, but I just wish I have seen more from him in terms of speed overall. Headed into the race, I expect him to least contend for a top 10 finish.
My Overall Ranking: 6th
Other Options - Logano, Kenseth and Kurt Busch
B:
1. Carl Edwards - Edwards once again looked like the second-best Joe Gibbs car overall on Saturday, much like we saw at Michigan. He wasn't bad at all and showed up inside the top 10 on the speed charts in both practice sessions. Much like his JGR teammates, he also have a pretty good track record overall. Edwards won this race last season, but it was a very up and down event for him though. He was two laps down at one point in that event. Headed into the race, I don't think he's a race-winning threat but I do believe he will easily contend for a top 10 finish and most likely challenge for a top 5 run at some point as well. Joe Gibbs Racing as a whole looks a little off right now, minus Denny Hamlin. But Edwards should keep the competition in-check though.
My Overall Ranking: 5th
2. Kyle Larson - Need a dark horse for Sunday's race? Look no further than last week's winner in Kyle Larson. He showed a lot of speed in practice and I do believe he will challenge for least a top 10 finish. During first practice, Larson's spotted replied to a tweet on twitter saying that Larson's car has a lot of speed and they are working on getting the balance right. In final practice, his team packed up a good 10 minutes early. Him and his team were pretty pleased with their car overall and logged a bunch of laps in that final session. After final practice was over, his spotter said his car was ''very consistent'' on twitter. He also added, he felt as good as last week about a strong run. He posted the 13th-fastest single lap overall and the 10th-best ten lap average. It should be noted, Larson's best ten-lap average came on lap 43 to 52. Most everyone's else came within the first ten laps. Headed into the race, I view him as a top 10 driver with potential to finish inside the top 5. Is another win out of the question? I don't think so, but I wouldn't bank on it in back to back weeks though.
My Overall Ranking: 9th
3. Martin Truex Jr - Martin Truex Jr have good speed this weekend and proabbly will be pretty solid on the long runs. But I don't trust him and as you can tell, I have dropped him behind Larson in my rankings. If you have followed my posts this season, he been top 2 all season in this tier. But I don't trust him to finish out a race. If you cannot finish out races, you lose a lot of value. Truex Jr may have a lot of speed (he does - least top 10 speed again), but that doesn't mean he is a good play. If it was my lineup, he wouldn't come near it. Unless, he looks absolutely dominant. He looks top 10 good, but I don't know if he good enough to go up front and lead laps though. Personally, I expect him to perform in the 7th-12th place range. His constantly bad luck drags his value down as well. On pure speed alone, I would say he has a chance to be a top 5 contender, for whatever it's worth.
My Overall Ranking: 10th
4. Ryan Newman - Newman have had a pretty quiet, but solid day on Saturday. He was 5th-fastest in the first practice session, but then was 26th-fastest in final practice. Also in that first session, he posted the 11th-best ten lap average. In final practice, he was 8th-best in terms of best-ten lap averages. Newman overall posted pretty good but consistent lap times I would say to best describe him. He is one of those guys, who just don't have too many really bad finishes. He cannot afford to either, with Larson's winning last week. He needs to have one of three things to happen between Darlington and Richmond races: 1) Pass Jamie Mac in points. 2) Have Chris Buescher fall outside of the top 30. 3) Win a race. He isn't in enough of a hole, where he is forced to win. I feel like the 31 team will do everything they can to get Ryan an top 10 finish on Sunday night. They will probably wait until Richmond to go swing for the fence. Least I would think so. Headed into the race, I view Newman as a top 15 fantasy option with possible upside to sneak inside the top 10. Most weekends, his ceiling falls in that 12th-16th place range. I say it about the same for him at Darlington!
My Overall Ranking: 12th
5. Tony Stewart - This last spot was down to Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne or JMac. I thought Kahne showed good speed overall, but I don't trust him worth a damn. So let's come back to him. JMac is probably the safest choice, but he looked lost on Saturday overall. So how about Tony Stewart? He struggled somewhat, but Tony said he's happy with his car. His crew chief? Not so much. At end of final practice, he said ''Tony said he's happy, but I am not sure.'' No disrespect to any crew member in the Sprint Cup Series garage, but I will take the driver's word 100% of the time. They are the ones inside the car. I will admit that Tony lap times weren't the greatest. He did post the 17th-best ten lap average in final practice. He posted that later in the session, if you were wondering though. Overall, I don't hate Tony. I guess, I am not sure what to make of him. He have looked lost the past two weeks in the race, so it's a gamble to select him. Realistically, I would say he will finish in the 13th-20th place range.
My Overall Ranking: 16th
Other Options - Kasey Kahne, JMac, Greg Biffle and Austin Dillon
C:
1. Chase Elliott - Elliott have looked very good this weekend once again and should be a solid top 15 bet in my opinion. He almost won his first career race at Michigan, but came up short. Will he contend for a win again on Sunday? I don't think so. He starts further back and doesn't seems to be quite as good as he was last weekend. Still I wouldn't be shocked to see him battling for a top 10 finish, as Hendrick seems to have found something in terms of speed. I don't hate Elliott as a fantasy pick, but you might be disappointed if you base your standards off of his Michigan's performance. Headed into the race, I think he can finish inside the top 10 but I him across the line a little outside of that.
My Overall Ranking: 13th
2. Ryan Blaney - Blaney has speed this weekend much like he have had the past couple weekends, but I am not quite as good high on him. Passing will be quite tough, so it will much harder for him to make his way to the top 10 than fellow rookie Chase Elliott. However, I do feel like Blaney will be within a few spots on Elliott when the checkers waves. He raced in Saturday's race and I thought it was huge for him to gain that extra experience. In practice, I thought he was pretty good. Posted the 3rd and 11th fastest singe laps in the two sessions. My concern? He didn't post an ten-lap average in Saturday's final practice session. Headed into the race, I view him as a top 15 fantasy option. Maybe a little outside of that, if he runs into trouble. Such a flat tire, pit road penalty. He seems to run into a lot of those.
My Overall Ranking: 14th
3. Jeff Gordon - Gordon is back behind the wheel in place of Dale Jr. Earlier this week, Dale Jr announced he would sit out reminder of the season. With Jeff Gordon replacing him in selected few races such as this weekend at Darlington, Dover and Martinsville. While, up and coming (also former full-time driver at TBR) driver Alex Bowman will take care of most of the races. Only makes sense that Bowman get to carry majority of the load going forward. I really liked Gordon headed into the weekend, as he is a 7-time winner at this track. He haven't quite lived up to my high standards I had for him. But overall, he have looked almost good as I expected him to. I don't trust him entirely since, he haven't ran the full-season. But he is more than capbale of delivering a solid top 15 for anyone who selected him. Will he contend for a top 10? I don't know. Maybe, or maybe not. I think it will come down to luck in the end and track position.
My Overall Ranking: 15th
Grouping Tier Rankings -
A:
1. Kevin Harvick
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Brad Keselowski
6. Kyle Busch
7. Joey Logano
8. Matt Kenseth
11. Kurt Busch
B:
5. Carl Edwards
9. Kyle Larson
10. Martin Truex Jr
12. Ryan Newman
16. Tony Stewart
17. Kasey Kahne
18. JMac
19. Greg Biffle
20. Austin Dillon
21. Paul Menard
22. AJ Dinger
C:
13. Chase Elliott
14. Ryan Blaney
15. Jeff Gordon
Twitter - @JeffNathans18
Fantasy Nascar Update -
A:
1. Kevin Harvick - Harvick will start from the pole, so that gives him starting position over the field from the start. But I wouldn't call him dominating in practice but I thought he was pretty good overall. Definitely good enough to lead some laps early on and keep the track position. And remember, it is very important to have track position at the track. He will roll off from the pole, in fact starting position is also very huge here. With 96 of the 112 races, ending with a top 10 starter going to victory lane. At end of final practice, it seemed like Harvick and the 4 team found something as their lap times looked to improved from earlier in the session. Also, Harvick have a lot of momentum entering this race. He has the second-best average finish over the past half-dozen of races. Including a win just two races ago. Headed into the race, I think Harvick is one of the heavy favorites to score another top 5 finish.
My Overall Ranking: 1st
2. Denny Hamlin - Hamlin had a fast car in both practices and should be a driver you fear on Sunday night. He was so good, his team decided to pack it up early in final practice. For good reason too. Not many cars were consistent on the speed charts like Hamlin was. He stood out to me in both sessions as one of the favorites. He has solid speed this weekend, but he have a even better track record. In his career, he have never finish outside of the top 20. In fact, he have posted 8 Top 10 finishes in just 10 career races. As I mentioned in my preview, he have finished half of those races inside the top 5. He also has 6 straight Top 9 finishes, entering Sunday's night race. He also completed in Saturday's race, so he got some extra laps in. With limited practice this weekend, I would say that's a good thing no doubt. Headed into the race, I view him as a lock to finish inside the top 10. Personally, I expect him to finish up inside the top 3 or 4. This is his best racetrack and you can expect him to have one of his better performances overall.
My Overall Ranking: 2nd
3. Jimmie Johnson - Alright, I will admit that Jimmie Johnson and that ole 48 team have found something. In practice on Saturday, I thought he had the best car overall. He posted strong lap times in both practice sessions. I compared him and Denny Hamlin in that first practice session. Both made a 20-lap run to open the session. Johnson and him were about even. Very strong laps by both drivers. Then in final practice, he posted the 3rd-best ten lap average. And remember, Johnson is no strange to success at this racetrack, either. In 17 career races, he have posted 9 Top 5 finishes with an 9.0 career average finish. He have had inconsistent results recently, but he has a very fast car. This is a driver's track, not just anyone can run well for 500 miles. I feel pretty comfortable with leaning on Johnson as a fantasy pick. Headed into the race, I view him as one of the favorites to contend for the win. I have no doubt that Jimmie Johnson will be one of the drivers to deal with on Sunday night.
My Overall Ranking: 3rd
4. Brad Keselowski - Keselowski will start from the 2nd starting position and topped the final practice on Saturday early afternoon. Overall, I thought Brad was very good. Far from as good as he was last season. If you remember, he led 196 laps but lost the race lead late under caution (Thanks to Carl Edwards speedy pit stop). He will definitely have something to say about who goes to victory lane. Not only does he have speed in his car, but the 2 team have plenty of momentum as well. Over the past 4 races this season, he have posted 3 Top 3 finishes. Including last week at Michigan. Headed into the weekend, I thought Keselowski would be top 5 material and nothing I have seen have changed my mind so far. Unless something crazy happens on Sunday night, you can expect to see the No.2 car to be up front most of the night.
My Overall Ranking: 4th
5. Kyle Busch - This final spot was down to Kyle Busch and Joey Logano. I haven't been blown away by either driver this weekend so far. So I am going with the driver who have the better track record and who starts further up (by a spot). Busch have struggled the past few race weekends (in terms of speed) and doesn't hold a lot of fantasy value when he struggles. Commonly, when Busch is lower on the charts, the race doesn't usually go his way. Am I counting him out before the green flag? Heck no! But it hard to love him, when he doesn't have the potential to lead a lot of laps. This is a good track for him though. He has a very good record here overall. Since joining JGR in 2008, he have posted 7 finishes of 11th or better. So he very consistent inside the top 10 at this place. I don't count him out by any means, but I just wish I have seen more from him in terms of speed overall. Headed into the race, I expect him to least contend for a top 10 finish.
My Overall Ranking: 6th
Other Options - Logano, Kenseth and Kurt Busch
B:
1. Carl Edwards - Edwards once again looked like the second-best Joe Gibbs car overall on Saturday, much like we saw at Michigan. He wasn't bad at all and showed up inside the top 10 on the speed charts in both practice sessions. Much like his JGR teammates, he also have a pretty good track record overall. Edwards won this race last season, but it was a very up and down event for him though. He was two laps down at one point in that event. Headed into the race, I don't think he's a race-winning threat but I do believe he will easily contend for a top 10 finish and most likely challenge for a top 5 run at some point as well. Joe Gibbs Racing as a whole looks a little off right now, minus Denny Hamlin. But Edwards should keep the competition in-check though.
My Overall Ranking: 5th
2. Kyle Larson - Need a dark horse for Sunday's race? Look no further than last week's winner in Kyle Larson. He showed a lot of speed in practice and I do believe he will challenge for least a top 10 finish. During first practice, Larson's spotted replied to a tweet on twitter saying that Larson's car has a lot of speed and they are working on getting the balance right. In final practice, his team packed up a good 10 minutes early. Him and his team were pretty pleased with their car overall and logged a bunch of laps in that final session. After final practice was over, his spotter said his car was ''very consistent'' on twitter. He also added, he felt as good as last week about a strong run. He posted the 13th-fastest single lap overall and the 10th-best ten lap average. It should be noted, Larson's best ten-lap average came on lap 43 to 52. Most everyone's else came within the first ten laps. Headed into the race, I view him as a top 10 driver with potential to finish inside the top 5. Is another win out of the question? I don't think so, but I wouldn't bank on it in back to back weeks though.
My Overall Ranking: 9th
3. Martin Truex Jr - Martin Truex Jr have good speed this weekend and proabbly will be pretty solid on the long runs. But I don't trust him and as you can tell, I have dropped him behind Larson in my rankings. If you have followed my posts this season, he been top 2 all season in this tier. But I don't trust him to finish out a race. If you cannot finish out races, you lose a lot of value. Truex Jr may have a lot of speed (he does - least top 10 speed again), but that doesn't mean he is a good play. If it was my lineup, he wouldn't come near it. Unless, he looks absolutely dominant. He looks top 10 good, but I don't know if he good enough to go up front and lead laps though. Personally, I expect him to perform in the 7th-12th place range. His constantly bad luck drags his value down as well. On pure speed alone, I would say he has a chance to be a top 5 contender, for whatever it's worth.
My Overall Ranking: 10th
4. Ryan Newman - Newman have had a pretty quiet, but solid day on Saturday. He was 5th-fastest in the first practice session, but then was 26th-fastest in final practice. Also in that first session, he posted the 11th-best ten lap average. In final practice, he was 8th-best in terms of best-ten lap averages. Newman overall posted pretty good but consistent lap times I would say to best describe him. He is one of those guys, who just don't have too many really bad finishes. He cannot afford to either, with Larson's winning last week. He needs to have one of three things to happen between Darlington and Richmond races: 1) Pass Jamie Mac in points. 2) Have Chris Buescher fall outside of the top 30. 3) Win a race. He isn't in enough of a hole, where he is forced to win. I feel like the 31 team will do everything they can to get Ryan an top 10 finish on Sunday night. They will probably wait until Richmond to go swing for the fence. Least I would think so. Headed into the race, I view Newman as a top 15 fantasy option with possible upside to sneak inside the top 10. Most weekends, his ceiling falls in that 12th-16th place range. I say it about the same for him at Darlington!
My Overall Ranking: 12th
5. Tony Stewart - This last spot was down to Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne or JMac. I thought Kahne showed good speed overall, but I don't trust him worth a damn. So let's come back to him. JMac is probably the safest choice, but he looked lost on Saturday overall. So how about Tony Stewart? He struggled somewhat, but Tony said he's happy with his car. His crew chief? Not so much. At end of final practice, he said ''Tony said he's happy, but I am not sure.'' No disrespect to any crew member in the Sprint Cup Series garage, but I will take the driver's word 100% of the time. They are the ones inside the car. I will admit that Tony lap times weren't the greatest. He did post the 17th-best ten lap average in final practice. He posted that later in the session, if you were wondering though. Overall, I don't hate Tony. I guess, I am not sure what to make of him. He have looked lost the past two weeks in the race, so it's a gamble to select him. Realistically, I would say he will finish in the 13th-20th place range.
My Overall Ranking: 16th
Other Options - Kasey Kahne, JMac, Greg Biffle and Austin Dillon
C:
1. Chase Elliott - Elliott have looked very good this weekend once again and should be a solid top 15 bet in my opinion. He almost won his first career race at Michigan, but came up short. Will he contend for a win again on Sunday? I don't think so. He starts further back and doesn't seems to be quite as good as he was last weekend. Still I wouldn't be shocked to see him battling for a top 10 finish, as Hendrick seems to have found something in terms of speed. I don't hate Elliott as a fantasy pick, but you might be disappointed if you base your standards off of his Michigan's performance. Headed into the race, I think he can finish inside the top 10 but I him across the line a little outside of that.
My Overall Ranking: 13th
2. Ryan Blaney - Blaney has speed this weekend much like he have had the past couple weekends, but I am not quite as good high on him. Passing will be quite tough, so it will much harder for him to make his way to the top 10 than fellow rookie Chase Elliott. However, I do feel like Blaney will be within a few spots on Elliott when the checkers waves. He raced in Saturday's race and I thought it was huge for him to gain that extra experience. In practice, I thought he was pretty good. Posted the 3rd and 11th fastest singe laps in the two sessions. My concern? He didn't post an ten-lap average in Saturday's final practice session. Headed into the race, I view him as a top 15 fantasy option. Maybe a little outside of that, if he runs into trouble. Such a flat tire, pit road penalty. He seems to run into a lot of those.
My Overall Ranking: 14th
3. Jeff Gordon - Gordon is back behind the wheel in place of Dale Jr. Earlier this week, Dale Jr announced he would sit out reminder of the season. With Jeff Gordon replacing him in selected few races such as this weekend at Darlington, Dover and Martinsville. While, up and coming (also former full-time driver at TBR) driver Alex Bowman will take care of most of the races. Only makes sense that Bowman get to carry majority of the load going forward. I really liked Gordon headed into the weekend, as he is a 7-time winner at this track. He haven't quite lived up to my high standards I had for him. But overall, he have looked almost good as I expected him to. I don't trust him entirely since, he haven't ran the full-season. But he is more than capbale of delivering a solid top 15 for anyone who selected him. Will he contend for a top 10? I don't know. Maybe, or maybe not. I think it will come down to luck in the end and track position.
My Overall Ranking: 15th
Grouping Tier Rankings -
A:
1. Kevin Harvick
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Brad Keselowski
6. Kyle Busch
7. Joey Logano
8. Matt Kenseth
11. Kurt Busch
B:
5. Carl Edwards
9. Kyle Larson
10. Martin Truex Jr
12. Ryan Newman
16. Tony Stewart
17. Kasey Kahne
18. JMac
19. Greg Biffle
20. Austin Dillon
21. Paul Menard
22. AJ Dinger
C:
13. Chase Elliott
14. Ryan Blaney
15. Jeff Gordon
Twitter - @JeffNathans18
