2018 Fantasy Nascar Profile: Kasey Kahne

Welcome to TimersSports

Driver Name: Kasey Kahne

Car #: 95

Make: Chevy

Season Debut: 2004 (First-Full Season)

Number of Championships: 0

# of Career Starts: 504

# of Career Poles: 27

# of Career Wins: 18

# of Career Top 5s: 92 

# of Career Top 10s: 175

# of Career DNFs: 66

# of Career laps led: 4,648

Career Average Finish: 17.4  

Career Average Start: 14.0

# of 2017 Wins: 1

# of 2017 Top 5s: 3

# of 2017 Top 10s: 6

# of 2017 Poles: 0

# of 2017 DNFs: 7

# of 2017 laps led: 41

2017 Average Finish: 19.4

2017 Average Start: 17.9

2017 Fantasy Recap -  Things came to an end for Kasey Kahne at Hendrick Motorsports in the No.5 car. I thought it was pretty easy decision for Rick Hendrick to make overall. You have a struggling driver in one of your cup rides and then there's a rising star. You pick the young rising star every single time. Nothing aganst Kasey, but he just wore out his welcome in the No.5 car. Not like he wasn't given chances and us fantasy players know all about him. If you played fantasy nascar long enough, you learn to stay away from him. Because he loves burning us on a consistent basis. I don't blame it all on him though. Some of the stuff was bad luck throughout his years with the 5 team, but at some point you have to be accountable. Rick wanted his bill at end of the 2017 season. It's not all bad news though. He did score his first win since the 2014 season and made the playoffs for the first time in 3 seasons. Bad news? He had his worst year with Hendrick Motorsports. 3 Top 5 finishes and 6 Top 10 finishes with 19.4 average finish are all career-worst with the no. 5 team. Statistically speaking, it was his second worst season to his 2007 season of his entire career. I think switching teams will be the best thing for him. He isn't in the spot light anymore and going to be with the 95 team with HMS funding behind him. It's not a bad thing at all to have some connections with a guy like Mr. Hendrick.

Strong Tracks -  Dover, Richmond and Atlanta 

Weak Tracks -  Watkins Glen and Daytona  

2018 Fantasy Outlook - The 95 team ran very well in 2017 with Michael McDowell, so for Kasey's sake hopefully it is even better in 2018. Which I wouldn't be shocked by with some backing from Hendrick Motorsports. Will it be significantly better? I don't think so, but I think the cars will be faster than they were in 2017 with McDowell. But honestly it is really hard to tell how a driver will do with a whole new team. A lot of times, these drivers will struggle in that first year, with them trying to get use to the new crew and everything else. Personally, I am not going get too much into Kasey. However, I think within 12 races, we will have a pretty good feel on him and his new team. For now, all we can do is take a stab on some predictions. I really hope things work out for him and the 95 team. Both sides deserve to have something special!

*All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2018 Fantasy Nascar Profile: Martin Truex Jr

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Driver Name: Martin Truex Jr

Car #: 78

Make: Toyota 

Season Debut: 2006 (First-Full Season)

Number of Championships: 1

# of Career Starts: 441

# of Career Poles: 15

# of Career Wins: 15

# of Career Top 5s: 67 

# of Career Top 10s: 160

# of Career DNFs: 52

# of Career laps led: 6,519

Career Average Finish: 16.6  

Career Average Start: 14.9

# of 2017 Wins: 8

# of 2017 Top 5s: 19

# of 2017 Top 10s: 26

# of 2017 Poles: 3

# of 2017 DNFs: 3

# of 2017 laps led: 2,253

2017 Average Finish: 9.4

2017 Average Start: 6.8

2017 Fantasy Recap - Truex Jr winning the championship finally came full circle after years of struggling. In early days of his career, his trademark was bad luck. He would more than not have some sort of bad luck, when he would get close to accomplishing something. In the most recent years, we saw that same trademark reoccur once again. Like 2016 as we all saw, he was the best driver all year long. He just couldn't put it altogether. But over the previous two seasons (prior to 2017), you could get the feeling it would be only time before he win a championship. 2017 was just fate, in my opinion. He was so dominance throughout the season, you could have rewarded him the championship halfway through the year. He posted 8 wins, 19 Top 5 finishes, 26 Top 10 finishes with 9.4 average finish. Truly it was an impressive year for the driver of the 78 car. I was really blown away by him from the start. And it obviously just wasn't on the intermediate track like your ''average'' fan like to think. Even in 2016, you could tell that he was strong on several type of tracks. Sure his numbers on the intermediate clearly stand out, but he's really good everywhere really.

Strong Tracks - Charlotte, Texas, Chicago, Dover and Las Vegas 

Weak Tracks - Bristol and Daytona   

2018 Fantasy Outlook - After winning the championship in 2017, what's next for Martin Truex Jr and the single car team out of Colorado? I think a lot of great things are still ahead for this team. They have been so impressive since joining forces with JGR and Toyota, I find it really hard to believe that they will take a major back in 2018. While I do believe that Truex Jr won't repeat his 2017 season, because that's just using logic. 8 wins, 19 Top 5 finishes and 26 Top 10 finishes just in my opinion will be way too hard to repeat. This goes for any great driver coming off a really impressive year. I said with Kenseth after his monster 2014 season, Keselowski and Harvick after the 2015 season. In the day and age we live in, you cannot expect to retain a level of dominance year in and year out. At some point, you will get knock off top of the mountain by the guy under you. In my opinion, it is unavoidable. But if you are a Martin Truex Jr fan, don't get down or think I am hating on him though. I love Martin and think he is in for another great season with bunch of wins and top 5 finishes. But I personally just don't see him doing what he did to the field last year.

*All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2018 Fantasy Nascar Profile: Jimmie Johnson

Welcome to TimersSports

Driver Name: Jimmie Johnson

Car #: 48

Make: Chevy

Season Debut: 2002 (First-Full Season)

Number of Championships: 7

# of Career Starts: 579

# of Career Poles: 34

# of Career Wins: 83

# of Career Top 5s: 222 

# of Career Top 10s: 341

# of Career DNFs: 55

# of Career laps led: 18,663

Career Average Finish: 12.4  

Career Average Start: 11.5

# of 2017 Wins: 3

# of 2017 Top 5s: 4

# of 2017 Top 10s: 11

# of 2017 Poles: 0

# of 2017 DNFs: 7 

# of 2017 laps led: 217

2017 Average Finish: 16.9

2017 Average Start: 16.9

2017 Fantasy Recap - I heard it all year long, ''Oh Jimmie is gonna break out during the playoffs!'' or ''Don't worry, Johnson will turn it on when it matters!'' or however you want to put it. It just doesn't work like that, especially when you aren't the dominant team anymore. In 2016, sure he turned it on during the playoffs. But I think a lot of that had to with HMS as a whole finding something in a test just prior to the playoffs. In 2017, things just didn't work out. He posted 3 wins in the first 13 races,, but after that he didn't contend for many top 5 at all. In fact, outside of his wins, he was barely ever a factor at the front. Even in his wins, he wasn't dominating. He showed up late in the race and was there when it mattered. Overall you just had a different feeling about him and the 48 team. I would consider it one of his worst seasons of his career. Actually, his numbers were straight down awful. He posted 3 wins, 4 Top 5 finishes and 11 Top 10 finishes. How does that stack of to rest of his career. From 2002 to 2015, he posted at least 11 Top 5 finishes and 20 Top 10 finishes. We saw a different Jimmie in 2017 for sure, the question is will he rebound?

Strong Tracks - Martinsville, Texas, Cali, Dover, Chicago, Atlanta and Kansas 

Weak Tracks - Watkins Glen and Pocono   

2018 Fantasy Outlook - I went over a lot of what happened with Jimmie last year, so there's no point of restating it. The question on everyone's mind: How will the 48 team do in 2018? Hard to say, but I would be shocked if he managed to regress though. Statistically, he is coming off his 2nd worst season since 2002. And unless he has ''lost'' it, then you can expect him to post his usual numbers. Obviously how well the 48 team does will be determined by HMS performance as a whole. They struggled from time to time last year and it showed. They need to get off to a running start and stay ahead of the curve we always speak of. I will save all of the good stuff for the preview, but I think Johnson will rebound in 2018. But I will be honest, I am not high on him as most are. A lot of people are expecting him to return to being one of the best drivers in the series. And to be honest, I don't know if that will happen. Am I saying he is in for a big-time drop in numbers? Nah. I think he will get his wins as he always does. But I am not convinced he is up at the top anymore. New blood and new dogs are up above him right now. When you factor in his last two seasons are considered his worst two seasons since his rookie year in terms of overall numbers. You get a very interesting debate on your hands. I am very interesting to see how it plays out for Jimmie and Chad. One thing for sure, never count those guys out of it!

*All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNanthans

2018 Fantasy Nascar Profile: AJ Dinger

Welcome to TimersSports

Driver Name: AJ Dinger

Car #: 47

Make: Chevy

Season Debut: 2008 (First-Full Season)

Number of Championships: 0 

# of Career Starts: 335

# of Career Poles: 4

# of Career Wins: 1

# of Career Top 5s: 10 

# of Career Top 10s: 52

# of Career DNFs: 33

# of Career laps led: 501

Career Average Finish: 21.1  

Career Average Start: 20.3

# of 2017 Wins: 0

# of 2017 Top 5s: 1

# of 2017 Top 10s: 5

# of 2017 Poles: 0

# of 2017 DNFs: 5

# of 2017 laps led: 7

2017 Average Finish: 22.0

2017 Average Start: 23.9

2017 Fantasy Recap - After a really solid 2016 season, AJ Dinger took a big step back in the 2017 season. It was pretty obvious that Dinger was bound to regress after such a consistent season in 2016. But he took a bigger step back than I expected. He had one top 5 finish, 5 Top 10 finishes with 22.0 average finish. Aside from 2015, I would consider this is worst year with the #47 team. One thing stands out in 2017 compare to his season past? His average finish. That 22.0 average finish was his third-worst average finish since the 2010 season. It should be noted, 2012 and 2013 he only ran a part-schedule each season. Aside from his stats history, I never was super impressed with Dinger. He always was running in the low to mid 20s every time I would look up at the tv. In 36 races, he only posted 14 finishes in the top 20. Of those 14 top 20 finishes, he only posted 8 finishes of 17th or better. He also had 5 Top 10 finishes in 2017, three of them came at Watkins Glen, Daytona and Martinsville. I consider these ''special'' tracks. For obvious reasons, I don't think I have go into details about. And more times than not, Dinger seem to be at his best at those of tracks.

Strong Tracks - Martinsville, Daytona and Watkins Glen

Weak Tracks - Darlington and Kentucky   

2018 Fantasy Outlook - Dinger did not have a good 2017 season, so he is probably due for some sort of a rebound year. I don't think it will be huge or anything, but he should see some kind of improvement in 2018. I think it is pretty obvious at the tracks that he excels on, with Dinger is pretty clear. He is known to be a road course racer, so obvious Sonoma and Watkins Glen will be the first places to use him. Even though, he has really sucked it up at Sonoma in the #47 car. A lot of that could have to do with his equipment though. Another great track for him? Martinsville. Some would say that it is his best track not named Watkins Glen! In terms of consistency, Homestead and Cali are really decent track for him. In 22 combined starts, he has only 5 finishes outside of the top 20. In general, the intermediate tracks will be overall weak spot. The shorter flats on the other hand points to a possible strength. Over the past three seasons, Dinger has posted 10 finishes of 21st or better at Richmond, Phoenix and New Hampshire. That's pretty solid considering, he finished  outside of the top 20 in 5 of 6 races on shorter flats in 2016. My point being? With all of the success recently at the shorter flats, he is due to bounce back on this kind of track. I personally think he will have very surprising runs at the shorter flats. The plate tracks will another kind of track that, I think Dinger will surprise people. He has been a very effective fantasy option at both Daytona and Talladega! I don't want to give too much away from my preview of him, so i will leave it at that!

*All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2018 Fantasy Nascar Profile: Kyle Larson

Welcome to TimersSports

Driver Name: Kyle Larson

Car #: 42

Make: Chevy 

Season Debut: 2014 (First-Full Season)

Number of Championships: 0

# of Career Starts: 147

# of Career Poles: 4

# of Career Wins: 5

# of Career Top 5s: 35 

# of Career Top 10s: 62

# of Career DNFs: 20

# of Career laps led: 1,900

Career Average Finish: 15.7  

Career Average Start: 14.3

# of 2017 Wins: 4

# of 2017 Top 5s: 15

# of 2017 Top 10s: 20

# of 2017 Poles: 3

# of 2017 DNFs: 7

# of 2017 laps led: 1,352

2017 Average Finish: 13.3

2017 Average Start: 11.3

2017 Fantasy Recap -  Kyle Larson really took that next step as a driver and inserted him as the superstar that many of us already thought he was. He was good in 2016, but in 2017 he was simply amazing. He had career-highs across the board and was the 3rd-best driver in the series for most of the year. Outside of Martin Truex Jr and Kyle Busch (in the 2nd-half), no driver was better than him. He impressed me a lot and I think the improvements at CGR has some to do with that. CGR was a lot better than they were the last couple year and Larson really benefited him. Weird what happens when a driver get cars that actually match his talent behind the wheel. Larson had a lot of DNFs in the playoffs, but that wasn't his fault. None of them were his fault, in my opinion. You cannot predict mechanical failures or blown tires. It was a year to remember for Kyle Larson!

Strong Tracks - Homestead, Michigan, New Hampshire, Dover, Richmond and Pocono  

Weak Tracks - Daytona, Martinsville and Kansas  

2018 Fantasy Outlook - I think Kyle Larson will be very good in 2018, this kid is here to stay. CGR were producing a lot of good racecars throughout 2017 and unless something changes, then you can expect more of the same. Larson is one of those drivers who can drive above his equipment level. He is one of those guys who can flat-out driver anything. The difference from a couple years ago? He has better racecars and now has the experience to go along with it. If there was one thing I notice about him, it was that he couldn't close out races in 2017. If he can start to close out races, then he becomes even more dangerous. I wouldn't say that Larson has a specific area that he is weak on, but there are certain tracks. Such as Martinsville, Daytona and Kansas. Three tracks that he seemed to struggle on throughout his career so far. He had that really good year in 2016 at Daytona, but we saw how it was in 2017. A lot of bad luck. Martinsville always has been a weak point for him and Kansas is just a bad track for him. As for intermediate tracks in general, I think that will once again be his strongest area. He was extremely consistent in the top 3 when he had a car to finish with in 2017.

*All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2018 Fantasy Nascar Profile: Kurt Busch

Welcome to TimersSports

Driver Name: Kurt Busch

Car #: 41

Make: Ford

Season Debut: 2001 (First-Full Season)

Number of Championships: 1

# of Career Starts: 612

# of Career Poles: 22

# of Career Wins: 29

# of Career Top 5s: 131 

# of Career Top 10s: 258

# of Career DNFs: 67

# of Career laps led: 8,874

Career Average Finish: 16.6  

Career Average Start: 15.0

# of 2017 Wins: 1

# of 2017 Top 5s: 6

# of 2017 Top 10s: 15

# of 2017 Poles: 1

# of 2017 DNFs: 7

# of 2017 laps led: 16

2017 Average Finish: 16.5

2017 Average Start: 11.8

2017 Fantasy Recap -  I wouldn't say that 2017 was a bad year for Kurt Busch as he was pretty good at times, but it was an interesting one to say the least. Personally, I was never attractive to him as a fantasy option. He just gave me a bad vibe overall. It didn't hope, he never really was that consistent for more than a couple races. He would have a solid race and then follow it up with a couple bad ones. So you never knew, if you could trust. There was a stench later in the season, where he started to fire off some strong finishes. I remember that because soon as I jumped on the bandwagon, he shit the bed on me. He posted 6 Top 5 finishes, 15 Top 10 finishes and 16.5 average finish. Those kind of numbers say it all from a driver in his level of equipment. He did score a win, but it was pretty obvious most of the year that Kurt and the 41 team was off. They rarely showed the speed to legit contend for top 5 finishes on a regular basis. From Bristol to Richmond, he posted three straight top 5 finishes. That was by far his best three-race span of the season. During the season, he only posted back-to-back top 10 finishes two other times. Something even more scary? In the final 10 races of the season, he only had 2 finishes BETTER than 19th place. So he finished 19th or worse in 8 of his final 10 races in 2017! It was a up and down year in 2017 for Kurt Busch and the 41 team!

Strong Tracks -  Cali, Sonoma, Phoenix and Richmond

Weak Tracks - Martinsville and Las Vegas  

2018 Fantasy Outlook - It is so hard to tell what to expect from Kurt Busch in 2018, but I would have to say that he is due for some improvements. In 2017, he posted one of his worst years as driver. Statistically, he only had two worst seasons as driver in last 9 seasons or so. Yeah, that's pretty bad. I think SHR was behind for most of the year as well. We never seen SHR really catch up to the competition and be on that same level. Obviously them switching to Ford had a lot to do with that though. So with a year at Ford, I would think they would all be better in 2018. In fact, I am banking on that to happen. Kurt will have a new man on the pitbox in 2018 as well. I think that change will do nothing but good for Kurt. Sometimes change is good, we see it all the time with driver/crew combinations. Hopefully it works out well for him, too.


*All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2018 Fantasy Nascar Profile: Ryan Newman

Welcome to TimersSports

Driver Name: Ryan Newman

Car #: 31

Make: Chevy

Season Debut: 2002 (First-Full Season)

Number of Championships: 0

# of Career Starts: 584

# of Career Poles: 51

# of Career Wins: 18

# of Career Top 5s: 112 

# of Career Top 10s: 238

# of Career DNFs: 66

# of Career laps led: 4,748

Career Average Finish: 15.9  

Career Average Start: 12.3

# of 2017 Wins: 1

# of 2017 Top 5s: 7

# of 2017 Top 10s: 13

# of 2017 Poles: 0

# of 2017 DNFs: 4

# of 2017 laps led: 46

2017 Average Finish: 15.8

2017 Average Start: 17.1

2017 Fantasy Recap - In 2014 and 2015, Newman was considered one of the most consistent drivers in the series. He posted very good numbers overall, but over the past two seasons he has been in more middle of the road. He improved in 2017 compared to 2016, but still he was lackluster at times. In 2017, he had one win, 7 top 5 finishes and 13 Top 10 finishes as well. His win total, top 5 total and top 10 total all were improved from a year ago. The thing I noticed about him is you couldn't figure out, if he was gonna be really good or just average. Most of his top 5 and top 10 finishes were kind out of nowhere. I think the lack of speed at RCR also was a factor in Newman's decline over the past couple years, too. But still, it is hard to say it was a ''bad'' year for Newman when looking at his numbers. Actually it was by far one of his better years in overall production. He won a race and posted the most top 5 finishes since the 2011 season. I guess I was just looking more from him entering the season. And I am not talking about from the win or top 5/top 10 departments, either. I am talking about his average finish and quality finishes. For me that right there is what gives him value. If he is gonna be considered a legit option in most formats, he needs to be extremely consistent. Because he doesn't usually have enough ''potential'' to overcome it. Unless from year to year, he can post numbers like he did in 2017. If he can, then I guess I can live with him having some off-races. But personally, I don't know if he can though

Strong Tracks - 

Weak Tracks -  

2018 Fantasy Outlook - What can you expect from Ryan Newman in 2018? Hard to say, in my honest opinion. He posted some very good numbers in 2017 and just couple years ago he was very consistent. If he can put both of those together, then Newman can have quite the season. But I think that will be tough to accomplish though. Personally, I am hoping Newman can return to some sort of consistency in 2018, just because I think that will give him the best chance of being a reliable fantasy option in general. It is hard to depend on a driver like Newman to produce top 5 and top 10 finishes on a regular basis. Since 2011, he have never posted more than 17 top 10 finishes. In the two years, he posted just 13 Top 10 finishes and 10 Top 10 finishes. Those are career-lows since the 2008 season. 2016 was in my opinion his worst season in nearly a entire decade! His best days will likely be on the short tracks and flats tracks in general. His intermediate races will be good, but you can definitely expect some average days. Honestly, I really don't know what to totally expect from him aside from guessing. A lot of that will be decided with how well RCR start the year running.
 

*All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2018 Fantasy Nascar Profile: Chase Elliott

Welcome to TimersSports

 Driver Name: Chase Elliott

Car #: 9

Make: Chevy

Season Debut: 2016 (First-Full Season)

Number of Championships: 0

# of Career Starts: 77

# of Career Poles: 3

# of Career Wins: 0

# of Career Top 5s: 22 

# of Career Top 10s: 38 

# of Career DNFs: 7

# of Career laps led: 918

Career Average Finish: 14.1  

Career Average Start: 11.9

# of 2017 Wins: 0

# of 2017 Top 5s: 12

# of 2017 Top 10s: 21

# of 2017 Poles: 0

# of 2017 DNFs: 4

# of 2017 laps led: 560 

2017 Average Finish: 12.0

2017 Average Start: 10.8

2017 Fantasy Recap - I was kinda surprise by Elliott numbers as whole in 2017, he had a better 2017 than he did 2016. Even though at times, it did feel like Elliott has taken a step back in his second year at the cup level. I also felt like (throughout the year) that Elliott didn't truly take off until we got into the Nascar playoffs. The driver of the No.24 car was a force to be reckon with and a common name in drama down the stench. In those ten final races, he had five top 5 finishes. And some would agrue it should had been six, including an win and shot at the championship. You want to know the truth about those three races at Martinsville, Texas and Phoenix? He failed to win. Not like he didn't have shots. He had a shot at Martinsville, he finished 27th after that incident with Hamlin. He had another shot at Phoenix. He didn't win there, either. Weather you want to blame Hamlin for his failure of advance or not, in the end it rested on Chase Elliott to go out and win. Still, it was a very good year by Chase Elliott. He didn't get that first career win, but it was a great year for him. Career-best across the board for him is nothing to be sad about!

Strong Tracks - Dover, Atlanta, Martinsville, Texas and Michigan 

Weak Tracks - Indy and Richmond   

2018 Fantasy Outlook - I expect Elliott to have another solid year, but I think we ''may'' see some sort of decline in production though. Nothing says he will take a step back after how he ended in 2017. But one have to wonder if he can outproduce what was a pretty damn good year in 2017. 12 Top 5 finishes and 21 Top 10 finishes with 12.0 is pretty solid, too. And some young driver hit that ''rough'' patch as they search for that first win. Year 3 could be that year for him. Hendrick Motorsports isn't on top of the mountain right now, either. If you ask most people out there, if Elliott doesn't win, it would be considered a disappointment season. I don't think Elliott have to win, in order to have a successful season. All Elliott needs to do is run well every week and pile up confident. That all Elliott needs to do and the wins will come down the road. Elliott will be very good at both places we go to, but obviously the intermediate tracks has been a sweet spot for him. Along with places such as Martinsville. I think the paperclip is where his first most likely will come on.

*All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2018 Fantasy Nascar Profile: Joey Logano

Welcome to TimersSports

Driver Name: Joey Logano

Car #: 22

Make: Ford

Season Debut: 2009 (First-Full Season)

Number of Championships: 0

# of Career Starts: 327

# of Career Poles: 19

# of Career Wins: 18

# of Career Top 5s: 91 

# of Career Top 10s: 153

# of Career DNFs: 27

# of Career laps led: 4,163

Career Average Finish: 15.0  

Career Average Start: 13.1

# of 2017 Wins: 1 (win was disqualified) 

# of 2017 Top 5s: 10 

# of 2017 Top 10s: 17

# of 2017 Poles: 2

# of 2017 DNFs: 4

# of 2017 laps led: 376

2017 Average Finish: 15.2

2017 Average Start: 12.4

2017 Fantasy Recap - Logano had a very strong season going in 2017 up until the Richmond's race. After having his win disqualified and not be eligible for the playoffs. After that race, he just was not the same driver. Weather it was the team fear of not pushing it or their fear Nascar would treat them differently, they really fell off track. It wasn't 100% their fault, as sometimes they just had bad luck. But overall, it wasn't a good season for Joey Logano. He had 10 Top 5 finishes and 17 Top 10 finishes which is considered his worst season since joining Penske. It was his worst season in average finish, average start, top 5 finishes, top 10 finishes since 2013 season. The 2013 season was his first season with the No.22 team. Just looking at the numbers, you cannot tell how bad of a season it was. But if you watched the races every week, then you saw how far behind that 22 car was compared to other years. They were obviously missing something from the previous years.

Strong Tracks - Michigan, Texas, Indy, Richmond and Homestead 

Weak Tracks - Pocono and Kansas    

2018 Fantasy Outlook - It is impossible to think that Joey Logano won't have a better season in 2018. I am sitting here and I cannot come up with any reason that Logano won't bounce back in 2018. He is coming off his worst season since joining Penske and Nascar is a unique sport. There's only so long you can stay down, before you eventually find a way to crawl back to the top. And if you pair Logano talent and the equipment, then you get some special potential! I wouldn't say that I am picking him to win the championship, but I would expect his numbers a lot closer to what we saw in 2016 or those couple years beforehand. I will save all of the gravy for the preview next month, but you can expect some good things in 2018!

*All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2018 Fantasy Nascar Profile: Paul Menard

Welcome to TimersSports

Driver Name: Paul Menard

Car #: 21

Make: Ford

Season Debut: 2007 (First-Full Season)

Number of Championships: 0

# of Career Starts: 399

# of Career Poles:1 

# of Career Wins: 1

# of Career Top 5s: 19 

# of Career Top 10s: 58

# of Career DNFs: 30

# of Career laps led: 317

Career Average Finish: 20.6  

Career Average Start: 20.5

# of 2017 Wins: 0

# of 2017 Top 5s: 2

# of 2017 Top 10s: 3

# of 2017 Poles: 0

# of 2017 DNFs: 3

# of 2017 laps led: 5

2017 Average Finish: 19.6

2017 Average Start: 21.7

2017 Fantasy Recap - In 2017, Paul Menard had better numbers than I actually thought he did. Folks and his numbers were pretty average. Driving for RCR and he posted 19.6 average finish with just 3 Top 10 finishes. I think what stands out the most is he only had 3 DNFs, despite only posting 19.6 average finish on the year. That says a lot about how he performed throughout the season. So it is no surprise that he only had 10 Top 15 finishes (28%). Menard just wasn't very good with RCR in 2017, I think that some to do with the lack of speed, too. However, he was the worst driver in that stable though. Every time I looked up at the t.v, I would see the 27 car running in the 20s somewhere. I just wasn't impressed by Menard. In 2017 or in 2016 very much. I think him moving on to a new team was the best move for him and RCR!

Strong Tracks - Sonoma, Talladega and Las Vegas 

Weak Tracks - Texas and Richmond  

2018 Fantasy Outlook - In 2018, Paul Menard will join the No.21 team and the wood brothers. After Ryan Blaney moved over to Penske. I mean no disrespect to Paul, but the real reason he got this ride is because of his funding. There's no logic reason other than that! Again, I am not trying to take a stab at Paul, but I don't he is talented enough to go out and make the 21 team super competitive. Paul is just another driver out there, in my opinion. I think he will run a little better with the 21 car than with the 27 car, but that's not saying a whole lot though. If Paul can get back to a couple years ago, then he is a decent driver. But if he post numbers like the past two seasons, then I doubt it is even worth considering him in fantasy Nascar. Overall, I am not very high on him.

*All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2018 Fantasy Nascar Profile: Erik Jones

Welcome to Timerssports

Driver Name: Erik Jones

Car #: 20

Make: Toyota 

Season Debut: 2017 (First-Full Season)

Number of Championships: 0

# of Career Starts: 39

# of Career Poles: 1  

# of Career Wins: 0

# of Career Top 5s: 5 

# of Career Top 10s: 14

# of Career DNFs: 8

# of Career laps led: 310

Career Average Finish: 17.5  

Career Average Start: 14.1

# of 2017 Wins: 0

# of 2017 Top 5s: 5

# of 2017 Top 10s: 14

# of 2017 Poles: 0

# of 2017 DNFs: 8

# of 2017 laps led: 310

2017 Average Finish: 17.5

2017 Average Start: 14.1

2017 Fantasy Recap - Jones had a very good rookie season overall! He posted 5 top 5 finishes and 14 top 10 finishes with 25 Top 20 finishes as well. Those are very hard numbers to complain about. Not quite as good as rookie seasons that Larson or Elliott had, but still heck of a year for him. I think his 310 laps stand out to me. Not because that is pretty for rookie, but I recall multiple races where he up front contending for top 5 finishes. In all honestly, I am sort of disappointed that he didn't have more top 5 finishes or led more laps. Every week it seemed this kid was the edge of breaking out a win. Especially just before the playoffs there. From Michigan to Richmond, as he finished 6th or better in every single race. Why did he go cold after that? I think a lot of that had to do with Martin Truex Jr getting all of the top equipment. I think FRR was giving Jones the best stuff possible just before the playoffs cut-off to improve his chances of winning. Still it was a solid year for Jones, he have nothing to be disappointed in!

Strong Tracks -  Pocono, Bristol and Michigan 

Weak Tracks - Talladega, Kansas and Sonoma  

2018 Fantasy Outlook - Erik Jones will take over the No.20 car in 2018 and replacing former series champion Matt Kenseth! Jones has big shoes to fill, but he is no doubt talented enough to get the job done. Heading into last season's offseason, I had very high hopes for Jones. I thought he could go to victory lane in 2017. And boy oh boy, he was close so many times. But let's be honest, his chances of going to victory lane in 2018 are far better than it was last year. He's in one of the top cars in Nascar and now he has more experience at all of those tracks. Coming to these tracks for the second and third time will help him out a lot. I have no doubt in my mind that Jones will flirt with some wins in 2018. Question is will he hit that 2nd year wall? Who knows, but I am willing to bet that Jones can back up last year's numbers. One of the biggest reasons for that is he is in the No.20 this year. The No.77 team was a bit shaky. It was basically just thrown together. The 20 team is a bit more stable and more reliable. They won't have slow pit stops and they will give him a better shot to win. You can expect him to have his best days on the intermediate tracks. That's the bread and butter of this series right now and Joe Gibbs Racing excel at these tracks, too. The flats in general should be a strong point for him, too. Outside of accidents in 2017, he finished top 8 in every flat track. Road courses and plate tracks in general will likely be the wildcards for him.

*All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2018 Fantasy Nascar Profile: Daniel Suarez

Welcome to TimersSports

Driver Name: Daniel Suarez

Car #: 19

Make: Toyota 

Season Debut: 2017 (First-Full Season)

Number of Championships: 0

# of Career Starts: 36

# of Career Poles: 0

# of Career Wins: 0

# of Career Top 5s: 1 

# of Career Top 10s: 12

# of Career DNFs: 6

# of Career laps led: 40

Career Average Finish: 16.2  

Career Average Start: 13.9

# of 2017 Wins:0

# of 2017 Top 5s: 1

# of 2017 Top 10s: 12

# of 2017 Poles: 0

# of 2017 DNFs: 6

# of 2017 laps led: 40

2017 Average Finish: 16.2

2017 Average Start: 13.9

2017 Fantasy Recap - Heading into the 2017 season, Daniel was expecting to be driving the #19 car in NXS. That was until about an month before the season, when Carl Edwards decided to suddenly step away from the racecar. Which pretty much forced Joe Gibbs to move up his young driver. Daniel did well overall. He didn't have the season that Jones did, but nobody expected him to. One thing he did very well? He improved throughout the season on a consistent basis. Early in the year, he lucked into some finishes. And a lot of experts (including myself) had harsh words for him about his performances. So yeah, he struggled early on with running well. But again, he did get good finishes. However, as the season went on, it seemed like Daniel was running a lot better. As 8 of his 12 top 10 finishes were after the Kentucky's race in July. Why is that important? Because it says a lot of his potential. If he kept lucking into good finishes, his future potential isn't as intriguing. Because let's be honest, we love drivers who show that they can run up front. Daniel didn't always get top 10 finishes, but he showed he is capable being a solid cup driver.

Strong Tracks - Dover, New Hampshire and WGI 

Weak Tracks - Michigan and Martinsville  

2018 Fantasy Outlook - Daniel now have a full-season under his belt at the cup level and I would like to believe that he will be even better in 2018. With that said, many drivers hit that 2nd-year wall at the cup level. However, I get the feeling that Daniel will be different. I don't think the pressure will be on Daniel like been on other young drivers. Such as guys like Larson and Elliott. I don't think nobody is expecting Daniel to win just yet. With that said, I wouldn't be shocked if Daniel did win. In his final 17 races, he posted 13 Top 15 finishes and 8 Top 10 finishes. He showed us that he only got better as the season went on. In first half of the year, he was good but not quite at the competitive level. But as we entered second half of the year, he really turned it on and looked very solid. At one point in 2017, I asked myself if Suarez was actually better than Erik Jones. He was that good in latter part of the season. And I think that second-half of the season's momentum will be one of the reasons that he excels in 2018. Not only that, but he drives for Joe Gibbs Racing. The best team in Nascar currently. And if you look at his numbers from 2017, you would think he can easily outproduce 1 top 5 and 12 top 10 finishes.

*All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2018 Fantasy Nascar Profile: Kyle Busch

Welcome to TimersSports

Driver Name: Kyle Busch

Car #: 18

Make: Toyota 

Season Debut: 2005 (First-Full Season)

Number of Championships: 1

# of Career Starts: 462

# of Career Poles: 25

# of Career Wins: 43

# of Career Top 5s: 161 

# of Career Top 10s: 241

# of Career DNFs: 50

# of Career laps led: 14,382

Career Average Finish: 14.4  

Career Average Start: 12.7

# of 2017 wins: 5

# of 2017 Top 5s: 14

# of 2017 Top 10s: 22

# of 2017 Poles: 8

# of 2017 DNFs: 4

# of 2017 laps led: 2,023

2017 Average Finish: 11.5

2017 Average Start: 7.2

2017 Fantasy Recap -  I had high hopes for Kyle Busch in 2017, I was so high on him that i picked him to win the championship before the season started. It took until Pocono, for Kyle to win. But he really started to roll after that. For the first time in his career, he won multiple races after the month of August. It was truly impressive what he did during the 2nd half of the year. The 18 team was close as you could get in 2017 to the 78 team. As the season winded down, it was clear that Kyle Busch would be the biggest threat to Martin Truex Jr's chances to win it all at Miami. To nobody's suprise, him and Truex Jr battled it at end of the Miami race. I think the difference in that race could had been Busch's inability to get around Joey Logano. Did it actually decide the championship? We will never know. Regardless, it was an awesome season by Kyle Busch!

Strong Tracks -  Martinsville, Texas, Darlington, Phoenix, Kentucky, Watkins Glen and Richmond

Weak Tracks - Michigan  

2018 Fantasy Outlook - Kyle Busch is in the prime of his career with an organization who is seem to be going in a younger direction. That means almost nothing for Kyle Busch as he is obviously the top driver at Gibbs. But he is a leader from these younger guys who are still getting their feet wet at the cup level. Personally, I think Busch will be able to repeat his recent success. In the last three seasons, he has at least 4 wins every year. While posting at least 12 top 5 finishes and 16 top 10 finishes as well. History is one his side to score at least three race wins, too. Other than 2012 and 2014, he has scored 3+ wins since joining Gibbs in 2008. Also, it doesn't hurt that Rowdy is racing for the top team in Nascar right now. Toyota obviously has had the advantage over the competition. Unless something change majorly in 2018 than you can expect Busch to contend for a lot of wins.

*All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2018 Fantasy Nascar Profile: Ricky Stenhouse Jr

Welcome to TimersSports

Driver Name: Ricky Stenhouse Jr

Car #: 17

Make: Ford

Season Debut: 2013 (First-Full Season)

Number of Championships: 0

# of Career Starts: 184

# of Career Poles: 2

# of Career Wins: 2

# of Career Top 5s: 11 

# of Career Top 10s: 26

# of Career DNFs: 18

# of Career laps led: 100

Career Average Finish: 20.5  

Career Average Start: 19.4

# of 2017 Wins: 2

# of 2017 Top 5s: 4

# of 2017 Top 10s: 9

# of 2017 Poles: 1

# of 2017 DNFs: 6 

# of 2017 laps led: 56

2017 Average Finish: 17.1

2017 Average Start: 15.9

2017 Fantasy Recap - It was a career year for Ricky Stenhouse Jr. He posted highs in wins, top 5 finishes, top 10 finishes, average finish, average start, top 20 finishes and laps led. And he had a really strong run in 2016 season, too. Obviously, his two wins in 2017 was what really set him apart from any other season he had though. Those two wins were on Daytona and Talladega, so some people will say it was just luck. But I don't believe that. Ricky is a talented wheelman with skills behind the wheel. Even at the plate tracks, it takes skill to work the draft and move through the field and then win. And not like Ricky wasn't good at other venues. He was very consistent all season long. He had a lot of good runs throughout season, he just didn't have many top 10 finishes to show. And that's okay. He's better than a lot of drivers out there!

Strong Tracks - Talladega, Bristol, Daytona, Texas and New Hampshire  

Weak Tracks - Sonoma, Watkins Glen and Indy  

Yahoo Grouping Tier Prediction: B-list Grouping

2018 Fantasy Outlook - I don't think Ricky Stenhouse Jr will back up his 2017 season. He had a career-year across the board. Not only in wins, but pretty much everywhere in terms of major stats. I just don't think he will win in 2017, but I also think his number of top 10 finishes and top 20 finishes will decrease from last season. This is not any direspect towards Ricky Stenhouse Jr and I really mean that. It is just logic that Ricky won't be able to produce the numbers he had from a year ago. He had 23 Top 15 finishes and 26 Top 20 finishes. See that consistency right there? About 3/4 of the season, he finished inside the top 15! And it doesn't help much that RFR is still a question mark overall. They have easily shown improvement from a couple years ago, but you get my point though. Stenhouse will no doubt have a really good season, but you can expect some decline in production.

*All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2018 Fantasy Nascar Profile: Clint Bowyer

Welcome to TimersSports

Driver Name: Clint Bowyer

Car #: 14

Make: Ford

Season Debut: 2006 (First-Full Season)

Number of Championships: 0

# of Career Starts: 433

# of Career Poles: 2

# of Career Wins: 8

# of Career Top 5s: 64 

# of Career Top 10s: 180

# of Career DNFs: 34

# of Career laps led: 2,360

Career Average Finish: 15.9  

Career Average Start: 17.8

# of 2017 Wins: 0

# of 2017 Top 5s: 6

# of 2017 Top 10s: 13

# of 2017 Poles: 0

# of 2017 DNFs: 4 

# of 2017 laps led: 22

2017 Average Finish: 15.5

2017 Average Start: 13.2

2017 Fantasy Recap - Bowyer returned to a big-time team in 2017 and it didn't exactly go as Bowyer so much expected. He didn't return to victory lane or really contend for top 5 finishes often. As he only produced 6 Top 5 finishes on the season. And 5 of those 6 top 5 finishes were on a short tracks, road courses and a plate track. Notice something? None of those tracks are the bread and butter of the intermediate tracks. That's not surprising. Excluding his top 5 finish at Cali (2.0 mile intermediate track), he didn't have any finishes better than 9th. Unless you want to add Dover to that list. Then you there's two. But still, most of his best runs were on the flats, short tracks, road courses and plate tracks. 9 top 10 finishes between Martinsville, Watkins Glenn, Sonoma, Daytona, Bristol, Pocono and New Hampshire. You get where Bowyer was good and where he had some issues. Also, I would like to point out that Bowyer ended the season good. He had 3 Top 13 finishes in the last four races in the 2017 season.

Strong Tracks - Sonoma, Watkins Glen, Bristol, Dover, Richmond and Martinsville

Weak Tracks - Michigan and Darlington 

Yahoo Grouping Tier Prediction: B-list Grouping

2018 Fantasy Outlook - I think Bowyer can (and will) improve on his first year with SHR. I felt like last year, he started out really consistent through the month of May. He only had one finish outside of the top 15. Then we enter June and he really started to fall off the map there. Dover and beyond where the wheels went off the track for him, in my opinion. He showed a lot of inconsistency after that point. But one thing remained consistent throughout 2017 and that was lackluster performances and results on the intermediate tracks in general. Statistically, Bowyer have never ran well on the intermediate in his career. When looking at his career average finishes, his 8 of 9 worst tracks are intermediate tracks. While places like Dover, Sonoma, Watkins Glen, Richmond, Martinsville, New Hampshire, Bristol, etc are at the top. What happen last season? All of those tracks I mentioned, he scored at least one top 10 finish. History says he will be good at these tracks once again and career trends like the ones we are seeing don't break overnight. If you are good at certain tracks for a decade or so, usually you don't lose a step from one year to another. Unless, something changes about you or the track.

*All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2018 Fantasy Nascar Profile: Ty Dillon

Welcome to TimersSports

Driver Name: Ty Dillon

Car #: 13

Make: Chevy

Season Debut: 2017 (First-Full Season)

Number of Championships: 0

# of Career Starts: 54

# of Career Poles: 0

# of Career Wins: 0

# of Career Top 5s: 0 

# of Career Top 10s: 0

# of Career DNFs: 4

# of Career laps led: 43

Career Average Finish: 21.7  

Career Average Start: 26.6

# of 2017 Wins: 0

# of 2017 Top 5s: 0

# of 2017 Top 10s: 0

# of 2017 Poles: 0

# of 2017 DNFs: 3

# of 2017 laps led: 40

2017 Average Finish: 20.2

2017 Average Start: 26.2

2017 Fantasy Recap - Ty Dillon didn't have a rookie season of Erik Jones or Daniel Suarez, but it wasn't terrible by any means. Considering the equipment that he is in, I would say that it was a decent run for the younger Dillon brother. In 36 starts in 2017, he posted 20 Top 20 finishes. Which is little over half of his starts overall. Early on in the season, he seemed to accumulate those top 20 finishes at a higher rate though. In his final 14 starts, he only had 4 finishes inside the top 20. During his first 22 starts, he had 16 Top 20 finishes. See the fall-off from the first stench of races compare to the second group? That is typically backwards. Usually, a rookie will start off slow and progressively get better as the season goes on. With Dillon, his better days were early in the year. Still, 20 Top 20 finishes for the entire season with the #13 team is a upgrade over what Mears typically did. Then again, Dillon brings backing from RCR. So I am sure that helped a lot a bunch, too. 

Strong Tracks - Phoenix, Pocono and Atlanta 

Weak Tracks -  Sonoma and Martinsville 

Yahoo Grouping Tier Prediction: B-list grouping

2018 Fantasy Outlook - After a quality rookie season, Dillon will look to bulid on that in his second-full season as a cup driver. Despite the No.27 car being empty in 2018, Ty Dillon will stay put with the #13 team. Good for Ty though. I think him getting put in the 27 car would put a bad taste in some people mouths. One thing I noticed about Ty Dillon last year (and pretty much expected to happen too), was that he had his best days on the shorter tracks in general. More specially, his numbers on the shorter flats. He finished 22nd or better at both Phoenix and New Hampshire. In 3 of those 4 races, he finished 16th or better. In general, Dillon was amazing on the flats in 2017. He finished inside the top 20 at both larger flats. In three races, he finished 18th or better all three times. If there was a consistent strong spot for Dillon last year, it had to be on the flats in general. No other type of track, where there any real consistency. At other type of tracks, it a good result here, followed by a bad result at times. Overall, I think Dillon will have a shot to improve on his numbers in 2018. But I don't think it really about that though. For Dillon to have success, it is not about having 20 Top 20 finishes again. It is about having some top 5 and top 10 finishes. Even if he adds 1 or 2 top 10 finishes and retain some consistency along with that, then I think 2018 will be success. If there's one thing I want to see from him, then it being consistent. I can live with him not scoring any top 10 finishes, but he needs to be consistent. That for me will be the biggest thing!

*All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2018 Fantasy Nascar Profile: Ryan Blaney

Welcome to TimersSports

Driver Name: Ryan Blaney

Car #: 12

Make: Ford

Season Debut: 2016 (First-Full Season)

Number of Championships: 0

# of Career Starts: 90

# of Career Poles: 2

# of Career Wins: 1

# of Career Top 5s: 8 

# of Career Top 10s: 25

# of Career DNFs: 12

# of Career laps led: 332 

Career Average Finish: 19.3  

Career Average Start: 12.9

# of 2017 Wins: 1

# of 2017 Top 5s: 4

# of 2017 Top 10s: 14

# of 2017 Poles: 2

# of 2017 DNFs: 5

# of 2017 laps led: 301

2017 Average Finish: 17.2

2017 Average Start: 10.3

2017 Fantasy Recap -  It was a very interesting 2017 for Ryan Blaney. He was wildly inconsistent for most of the season, but still posted his first career win at Pocono. I will be honest, I was little surprised that his career win came at Pocono. Logically, you would have thought it would have been at an intermediate-type of track. But instead, it finally came on a flat track in Pocono. Otherwise, he had some really good runs early in the year. He was very strong at places such as Texas and Kansas. He led the most laps in both races, but never could put it altogether though. Still, he still really potential. After Pocono, he never really showed that same level of competitiveness. Sure, he was good but I don't recall him truly contending for another race win after the month of June. He had some good runs, but not that good. As the season progressed (especially during the playoffs), it seemed like Blaney was more predictable and got the finishes he deserved!

Strong Tracks - Chicago, Kansas, Talladega and Pocono  

Weak Tracks -  Homestead, Richmond and Dover 

Yahoo Grouping Tier prediction: A-list grouping tier

2018 Fantasy Outlook - Blaney will move to Team Penske in 2018 from the Wood brothers. This was pretty much expected from Penske to make this move, as they didn't want him escaping them to some other team. And to be fair, Blaney has earned his shot with Penske. He deserves to be in that 12 car full-time. Where can you expect to Blaney to be strongest? I would have to say the intermediate tracks and the plate tracks. Both kind of venues stand out as the strongest for Blaney so far in his career. I think he will also have some really good runs on both kind of flats. With that said, I also think there will be some inconsistency as well. It is pretty much expected that he will make mix results from time to time though. Personally, I would be disappointed if he didn't get back to victory after the year he had in 2017. He is more than capable of winning a race and adding on his numbers from that solid 2017

*All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2018 Fantasy Nascar Profile: Denny Hamlin

Welcome to TimersSports

Driver Name: Denny Hamlin

Car #: 11

Make: Toyota 

Season Debut: 2006 (First-Full Season)

Number of Championships: 0

# of Career Starts: 434

# of Career Poles: 25

# of Career Wins: 31

# of Career Top 5s: 132 

# of Career Top 10s: 218

# of Career DNFs: 37

# of Career laps led: 8,884

Career Average Finish: 14.1  

Career Average Start: 12.8

# of 2017 Wins: 2

# of 2017 Top 5s: 15

# of 2017 Top 10s: 22

# of 2017 Poles: 2

# of 2017 DNFs: 4

# of 2017 laps led: 710

2017 Average Finish: 11.6

2017 Average Start: 8.4

2017 Fantasy Recap - I know a lot of people will solely remember his rivalry with Chase Elliott, but it goes much deeper than that. He had a great season in 2017. Not only did he make the chase again, but he was one of the hottest drivers in the series in 2nd half of the season again. That trend has been obvious over the past couple seasons. He start off slow, but after the month of May, then he really start to put together the finishes. In 2017, he was on quite of tear. From Michigan (15th race of the season) through Texas (34th race of the season), he was nearly unstoppable. During that 20-race span, he compiled 15 Top 7 finishes. While 13 of those 15 finishes ended up inside the top 5! That's 65% of the time during that 20-race span. He ended up finishing 6th in the standings, after being eliminated after the Phoenix race. I think a lot of that has to do with his battle with Chase Elliott. If Elliott didn't race him like he did (saw that coming, too), then maybe he would have found a way to advance. But in Elliott's defense, he only raced him like he felt he was raced at Martinsville. So I cannot blame him, but still that rivalry had an impact on the playoffs'. Overall, it was a very solid season for Denny Hamlin!

Strong Tracks - Darlington, Martinsville, New Hampshire, Chicago, Kentucky and Homestead 

Weak Tracks -  Cali and Kansas  

Yahoo Grouping Tier: A-list Grouping

2018 Fantasy Outlook - I am sort of interested how quickly Hamlin will start off in 2018, because the last couple seasons he has started off really slow. Of course, then he really started to wheel off the top 5 finishes and wins. Will that be the same trend in 2018? As much as I hate agreeing with trends like this, he haven't given us anything to believe otherwise though. When do I expect him to be strongest at? I think he will be stout as usually on the intermediate tracks. You can expect some inconsistency early on, but I do think he will eventually find his footing as we further into the season. But places like Martinsville, New Hampshire, Phoneix and Richmond are the tracks where I think he will be a stud on. For years, he has proven he is one of the best series on. At times, he may have lost the edge at these places. But personally, I think he at the peak of his career after those down years in 2013 and 2014.

*All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2018 Fantasy Nascar Profile: Aric Almirola

Welcome to TimersSports

Driver Name: Aric Almirola

Car #: 10

Make: Ford

Season Debut: 2012 (First-Full Season)

Number of Championships: 0

# of Career Starts: 244

# of Career Poles: 1

# of Career Wins: 1

# of Career Top 5s: 11 

# of Career Top 10s: 32

# of Career DNFs: 34

# of Career laps led: 176

Career Average Finish: 21.4  

Career Average Start: 21.2

# of 2017 Wins: 0

# of 2017 Top 5s: 3

# of 2017 Top 10s: 6

# of 2017 Poles: 0

# of 2017 DNFs: 3

# of 2017 laps led: 2

2017 Average Finish: 18.8

2017 Average Start: 22.4

2017 Fantasy Recap -  I know a lot of people will say that Aric had another bad season, but I have to disagree very much on that. It is highlighted by his big crash at Kansas, but aside from that it was pretty consistent. In fact, it was his third-best season of his full-time cup career. He posted 3 top 5 finishes (tied for 2nd-most in his career) and 6 Top 10 finishes as well (also tied for 2nd-most in his career). And his 18.8 average finish was his 3rd-best average finish of his career with RPM. However, at end of the season, he decided to part ways with the 43 team and move on. I think a lot of that was where the money was headed, too. All-in-all, Aric had a fine career with Richard Petty Motorsports. If I take one thing away from 2017 for Aric it is that he was predicable. He had good and bad runs at 1.5 mile tracks, but excelled and had his best runs at the tracks we expected him to. In his level of equipment, I think that all we could ever ask for.

Strong Tracks - Bristol, Martinsville, Phoenix, Talladega and Dover

Weak Tracks - Pocono, Kansas and Las Vegas   

Yahoo Grouping Tier: B-list grouping

2018 Fantasy Outlook - It is hard to say what to expect out of Aric Almirola with his new team at SHR. I would say that Aric's expectations should be grounded switching over to SHR. You cannot expect too much out of him overall. It seems like new drivers at SHR have a slow first season overall. Look at Kurt Busch and Clint Bowyer as good examples recently. With that said, he is in good equipment compared to what he had at RPM. Even if the #10 car get the leftovers, it is a upgrade over the stuff he typically would get at RPM. I guess to a certain extent though. I wouldn't say that I have super high expectations for Aric, but I think he will get better as the season goes on. He will have his opportunities, but he's a really good short track racer. I expect places like Martinsville, Phoenix, New Hampshire, etc will once again be where he has the most success. You can also expect that Aric will see some sort of uptick in production on the intermediate tracks.

*All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2018 Fantasy Nascar Profile: Trevor Bayne

Welcome to TimersSports

Driver Name: Trevor Bayne

Car #: 6

Make: Ford

Season Debut: 2015 (First-Full Season)

Number of Championships: 0

# of Career Starts: 166

# of Career Poles: 0

# of Career Wins: 1

# of Career Top 5s: 5 

# of Career Top 10s: 71

# of Career DNFs: 22

# of Career laps led: 71

Career Average Finish: 23.2  

Career Average Start: 22.0

# of 2017 Wins: 0

# of 2017 Top 5s: 2

# of 2017 Top 10s: 6

# of 2017 Poles: 0

# of 2017 DNFs: 5

# of 2017 laps led: 8

2017 Average Finish: 19.5

2017 Average Start: 21.1 

2017 Fantasy Recap - In last offseason's profile's of Trevor Bayne, I projected him to have 0 wins, 2-4 top 5 finishes, 3-6 top 10 finishes and 18-22 top 20 finishes. Well, I nailed every single of those total right there. It doesn't take a rocket science to figure out what Bayne is probably capable of. Still, it is nice to have a set of prediction to plan out according. In 2016, Bayne had a career-year in his young cup career. He posted slightly even better numbers in 2017. He had same amount of top 5 finishes, one more top 10 finish and a slightly better average finish of 19.5 compared to his 19.9 in 2016. My biggest thing heading into the season with Bayne was not decending in 2017. I thought early in the season, he showed real potential and promise with all of those top 10 and top 15 finishes he had in the first 11 races. In those first 11 races, he had 8(!!) top 13 finishes!

Strong Tracks - Bristol, Michigan and Atlanta  

Weak Tracks - Sonoma, Indy and Darlington   

Yahoo Grouping Tier: B-list grouping

2018 Fantasy Outlook - Over the last two seasons, Bayne has shown something as driver. He is showing us that he belong at this level and is capable of being in the #6 car. Early last season, he started off very strong. Similarly to how good he was to start off in 2016 as well. I know a lot of people will say that RFR is slow and Bayne is talentless and whatever nonsense is out there. But I don't believe that stuff. RFR is slowly getting back to being more competitive than it was three years ago and Bayne is also starting to improve as a driver, too. Bayne will be capable of running well and of course he will have his share of bad races, as well. In 2018, I think he will have a similar season to the last two seasons he had. And like the past two seasons, I think he will continue to improve. He was good in 2016, but slightly better in 2017. For Bayne's sake, I hope he is slightly better in 2018. And if he can have a strong start to the season like in 2017, then he has a chance to have really good year. Because believe it or not, I think RFR will be better than it has been over the past two seasons and we all know they have came quite long ways from 2014 and 2015.

*All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2018 Fantasy Nascar Profile: Kevin Harvick

Welcome to TimersSports

Driver Name: Kevin Harvick

Car #: 4

Make: Ford

Season Debut: 2001 (First-Full Season)

Number of Championships: 1

# of Career Starts: 610

# of Career Poles: 21

# of Career Wins: 37

# of Career Top 5s: 168 

# of Career Top 10s: 307

# of Career DNFs: 31

# of Career laps led: 11,091

Career Average Finish: 13.4  

Career Average Start: 15.9

# of 2017 Wins: 2

# of 2017 Top 5s: 14

# of 2017 Top 10s: 23

# of 2017 Poles:  4

# of 2017 DNFs: 4  

# of 2017 laps led: 850

2017 Average Finish: 11.1

2017 Average Start: 8.8

2017 Fantasy Recap -  During the 2017 season, Harvick was very good overall. He wasn't always a top tier contender for wins, especially early in the season. He had that really strong race at Atlanta, but then he was just top 10 good or so for awhile. I think SHR switching to Ford in 2017, it was a huge transition period for Harvick and everyone else at SHR. So it only made sense that the drivers and teams were a little behind the pitch. But as the season progressed, Harvick started to get on a roll. He ended up winning 2 races and was actually outperforming drivers that were consistently outrunning him early in the year. He punched his ticket to Homestead with a win at Texas and could had a shot at winning, if things played out a little differently. No shame in the season that he had!

Strong Tracks - Homestead, Texas, Phoenix, Michigan and Pocono 

Weak Tracks - Daytona and Martinsville  

Yahoo Grouping Tier: A-list Grouping 

2018 Fantasy Outlook - I have high hopes for Kevin Harvick in 2018! I don't think SHR will start off as slow as they did in 2017. Now that they have a year at Ford, I think they will have a better idea where they need to improve and work on that to have more speed off the truck in 2018. As usaul, you can expect Harvick to be very strong at every type of track. He will be strong on the intermediate tracks and most likely offer possible winning upside most races. He will be really solid on the flats tracks. In my opinion, he is the most underrated driver in the series on them. Phoenix, Richmond, Indy and Pocono. He is pretty phenomenal on all those tracks. As for weak links, I would say that the plate tracks and maybe the road courses. I think this can be said about most drivers out there. It is so unpredictable, anything can go wrong. He's a skilled driver at both kind of tracks, but far from flawless though.

*All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2018 Fantasy Nascar Profile: Austin Dillon

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Driver Name: Austin Dillon

Car #: 3

Make: Chevy

Season Debut: 2014 (First-Full Season)

Number of Championships: 0

# of Career Starts: 157

# of Career Poles: 3

# of Career Wins: 1

# of Career Top 5s: 9 

# of Career Top 10s: 26

# of Career DNFs: 12

# of Career laps led: 78

Career Average Finish: 18.7  

Career Average Start: 17.7

# of 2017 Wins: 1

# of 2017 Top 5s: 3

# of 2017 Top 10s: 4

# of 2017 Poles: 0  

# of 2017 DNFs: 5

# of 2017 laps led: 12

2017 Average Finish: 18.6

2017 Average Start: 19.1

2017 Fantasy Recap - Heading into the 2017 season, there were very high hopes for Austin Dillon. He was coming off a very strong and consistent season, where he appeared to be making that ''next step'' as I referred to as. Did he actually take the next step in 2017? It is very debatable. A lot of people say he did since he won a race. But for me, it is only part of it. Minus his win, his numbers across the board dipped dramatically. His top 5 went down from 4 to 3. His top 10 went down from 13 to 4. His average finish in 2016 was 14.8, in 2017 it was 18.6. While his average start in 2016 was 14.0, in 2017 it was 19.1. Dillon also saw his number of poles and laps led drop, too. So aside from wins, it is hard to say that Dillon really took that next step. It is great he scored the win, even though it was probably pure. Still, he need to prove himself before he is taken seriously as a top driver in Nascar.

Strong Tracks - Kansas, Charlotte, Michigan and Daytona  

Weak Tracks - Watkins Glenn and Richmond 

Yahoo Grouping Tier: B-list Grouping Tier 

2018 Fantasy Outlook - It is hard to say what to expect from Austin Dillon in 2018. He had a great 2016 and then had up and down 2017 season. His highlight was obviously his win, but other than he had very few good thing happen for him. His average finish of 18.6 says a lot about him last year and I don't really blame him for it though. RCR's speed was clearly a big factor for the lack of contention throughout 2017. Will it see improvement in 2018? I think there is the chance of that. The greatest thing about racing, it is always room for improvement and there are always room for thinking ways to improvement. It doesn't take much to find it, either. I think Dillon's success will have a lot to do with how quick they come out of the gate.

*All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2018 Fantasy Nascar Profile: Brad Keselowski

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Driver Name: Brad Keselowski

Car #: 2

Make: Ford

Season Debut: 2010  (First-Full Season)

Number of Championships: 1

# of Career Starts: 305

# of Career Poles: 14

# of Career Wins: 24

# of Career Top 5s: 90 

# of Career Top 10s: 247

# of Career DNFs: 20

# of Career laps led: 5,610

Career Average Finish: 14.2 

Career Average Start: 13.3

# of 2017 Wins: 3

# of 2017 Top 5s: 15

# of 2017 Top 10s: 21

# of 2017 Poles: 2

# of 2017 DNFs: 5

# of 2017 laps led: 778

2017 Average Finish: 12.4

2017 Average Start: 8.8

2017 Fantasy Recap -  I was pretty tough on Brad Keselowski throughout the 2017 season and for the most part it was because I knew what he was capable of. Overall, Keselowski wasn't in that top 3 or 4 group of drivers in terms of speed. But what he did very well was finish. He finished and he was very consistent. If you notice, he had 15 top 5 finishes and 21 top 10 finishes. He wasn't always a top 5 contender, but he almost always was close to that top 5 mark at end of the race though. His numbers were slighter better in 2016 than it was in 2017, but overall they are pretty similar. For comparison, his 2016 season was his second-best season in terms of stats overall.

Strong Tracks -  New Hampshire, Richmond, Chicago, Kentucky and Watkins Glenn

Weak Tracks - Sonoma and Daytona   

Yahoo Grouping Tier: A-list grouping tier

2018 Fantasy Outlook - Over 3 of the last 4 seasons, Keselowski has produced at least 3 wins with 15+ Top 5 finishes and 20+ Top 10 finishes. That's right up there among the elite in Nascar! I have high expectations for Brad Keselowski and the 2 team in 2018. He will be very consistent on a weekly basis and won't have many bad races. Keselowski's biggest advantage is probably his ability to qualify up front and to turn them into quality finishes. That's the model of the 2 team. Start up front and finish there, too. His strongest tracks will be the intermediate tracks, shorter tracks, flats and Watkins Glenn. I would have to say that Kentucky is his very best racetrack though. There or Watkins Glenn, really. Aside from those tracks, I really love him on the shorter flats, too. He's really good at places such as Phoenix, Richmond and Martinsville. He has had a lot of success at these tracks in seasons past.

*All stats are from DriverAverages.com


Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2018 Fantasy Nascar Profile: JMac

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Driver Name: Jamie Mac

Car #: 1

Make: Chevy

Season Debut: 2003 (First-Full Season)

Number of Championships: 0

# of Career Starts: 546

# of Career Poles: 11

# of Career Wins: 7

# of Career Top 5s:  61

# of Career Top 10s: 160

# of Career DNFs: 55

# of Career laps led: 1,888

Career Average Finish: 18.2 

Career Average Start: 18.1

# of 2017 Wins: 0

# of 2017 Top 5s: 3

# of 2017 Top 10s: 17

# of 2017 Poles: 0

# of 2017 DNFs: 5

# of 2017 laps led: 21

2017 Average Finish: 14.6

2017 Average Start: 10.1

2017 Fantasy Recap - Jamie Mac had incredible 2017 season. He posted a career high-17 Top 10 finishes and career-best 14.6 average finish. While posting his best mark of 3 top 5 finishes in the last three seasons and his career second-best average starting position of 10.1. Just by looking at those numbers, it is safe to say that he had a pretty productive season. He wasn't contending for top 5 runs often, but he was very consistent. Over the last few seasons, that has been Jamie's trademark. It is what has given him solid fantasy value. if you take away his consistent, I don't think he would offer much because of his lackluster upside. Overall, he had heck of a season in 2017!

Strong Tracks -  Bristol, Martinsville, Dover, Richmond and Michigan

Weak Tracks - Kansas and Pocono 

Yahoo Grouping Tier: B-list grouping tier

2018 Fantasy Outlook -Jamie's 2018 season will most likely look very similar to 2017's numbers. He will have to remind consistent throughout the season to contuine to offer up solid fantasy value. If he isn't consistent, then he probably won't be a realistic option in most formats. Even if he is consistent, I am not sure if there are many games out there where he will be considered on a weekly basis. His lackluster upside will always be his biggest disavdantage. That doesn't mean, he is a bad option though. I love what he brings to a table. He is that ''safe and reablible option who can pretty much be counted on a weekly basis to deliver a top 12. He won't have many bad races, either. His best days will be on the shorter flats and intermediate tracks. I think he will be a wildcard on the plate tracks and road courses.

*All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2017 Fantasy Nascar Sleepers & Dark Horses (Homestead)

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First off, I want to thank every single person who clicked on a link or checked this site for Fantasy Nascar content! Thank you! You guys are the reason this website has been so successful. I hope it has been as fun reading as it been writing them up.

It always give me mix feelings when we come to Homestead, the final race of the Nascar season. I get excited because of the championship being determined. However, it also make me sad to know that we won't any cars on track until Daytona, again. That how it goes though. We have a lot of great content coming up for this off-season, too. So it is not all bad.

Like everyone else, I am looking forward to see who wins the championship. Martin Truex Jr, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick or Brad Keselowski? Obviously, Truex Jr is the odds-on favorite. But personally, I hope it is a good battle and keep us guessing until the final laps. Kinda like last year race at Homestead.

Of course, that is not what article is about though. You are reading this to see how I like for Sleepers and Dark horses! So let's start digging into that!

Sleepers -

Ricky Stenhouse Jr - I like Ricky this week and I liked him most weeks this season. The 1.5 mile tracks are pretty underrated for this 17 car, too. He has a lot of good runs on this type of track in 2017. And Homestead is a place where I think he will definitely excel on. He is starting from the 6th position in the race and is someone who can stay in the top 15, I think. And it helps, he is coming off top 10 finish at Phoenix, as well. In final practice, I thought he was pretty damn decent overall.

Jamie Mac - Jamie Mac has had a very good season, but things have fallen off for him here in the playoffs. He has been a bit more inconsistent than earlier in the season, too. I think his inconsistency has really hurt his fantasy value overall. Which is why I decided to list him as a sleeper. While there's a few reasons to believe that he will struggle at Homestead, I cannot convince myself he won't be at least top 10 or top 12 good though. He has been most consistent on the 1.5 mile tracks throughout the 2017 season. I got to believe things will go his way at Homestead. He's starting from 13th position

Dark Horses -

Erik Jones - Erik Jones will make his final start for the 77 team this weekend, before going over to the 20 team in 2018. Jones has been close to wins several times in 2017 and last week was the most recent race. I personally don't think he will win the race in Homestead, I do think he will be a solid contender. He's fast enough to challenge for a top 10 run and maybe more than that. He's a really good dark horse pick to consider.

Ryan Blaney - Blaney has ran well at times this season and he has ran inconsistent at times this season. I think earlier in the season, he was still trying to find himself as a driver. He was more up and down because he's a young driver trying to figure things out. As the season progressed into the playoffs, he gained confidences and been one of the more reliable drivers in the series. He is good enough this weekend to have potential to contend for a low-high top 10 finish. I would say about 8th or so place is his ceiling though.

Have a question or want to chat?

Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2017 Fantasy Nascar RaceDay Thoughts (Homestead)

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RaceDay Thoughts -

Jeff Nathans (@JeffNathans18):

- I think Truex Jr and Kyle Busch will be the biggest threats to each others

- Kyle Larson loves Homestead and he may be the guy to watch out for when it comes down to the win

-Fall-off here is pretty noticeable. Having a good-long run car is a requirement or you aren't going anywhere but backwards

-Ricky Stenhouse Jr is a good sleeper to consider for the race. He is starting 5th and this a Ricky kind of track.

Matt Aleza (@MattAleza):

- Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson and Erik Jones are a few drivers to watch out for who looking to spoil the championship party

- Clint Bowyer is under the radar, but he is having a decent end to the season and could be a very good option

- We will never see Matt Kenseth, Dale Jr and Danica Patrick on the same track at the same time again. Hard to believe, isn't it?

- Pit road may just decide the championship. A couple years ago, Joey Logano eliminated himself from the championship hunt on pit road.

Yahoo lineups -

Jeff's lineup - 18,42,21,19

Matt's lineup - 11,42,21,13

Dark Horse -

Jeff's Pick - Erik Jones

Matt's Pick - Erik Jones

Winner -

Jeff's Pick - Kyle Busch

Matt's Pick - Martin Truex Jr 

2017 Fantasy Nascar Picks (Homestead)

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Fantasy Nascar Picks -

Yahoo -

A:

Start - Denny Hamlin

Bench - Kevin Harvick 

Reasons -My plan was to use Kevin Harvick, but there's no chance that I am giving away 10 bonus points for leading a lap. Hamlin will start from the pole and it is almost impossible to bench the pole sitter. I just cannot do it

B:

Start - Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson

Bench - Ryan Newman , Kurt Busch

Reasons -Not a lot of hard calls for me this week. Kyle Larson has been very fast all year long on these 1.5 mile tracks and Homestead is considered his best track. He should be very good once again on Sunday. Blaney has been consistent of late and offer more upside than guys like Newman and Busch.



C:

Start - Ty Dillon

Bench - Michael McDowell

Reasons - I don't really like either of these drivers, but Ty Dillon is the better option probably. I think best-case possible will be for a top 22 to top 25 finish here for either of these drivers.

Dark Horse - Erik Jones

Winner - Martin Truex Jr

Twitter - @MattAleza

2017 Fantasy Nascar Final Rankings (Homestead)

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Final Rankings -

1. Martin Truex Jr
2. Kyle Busch
3. Kyle Larson
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Denny Hamlin
6. Brad Keslowski
7. Matt Kenseth
8 Chase Elliott
9. Ryan Blaney
10. Jimmie Johnson
11. Kurt Busch
12. Joey Logano
13. Clint Bowyer
14. Erik Jones
15. Jamie Mac
16. Daniel Suarez
17. Ryan Newman
18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
19. Dale Jr
20.  Kasey Kahne
21. Austin Dillon
22. Treovr Bayne
23. Aric Almirola
24. Paul Menard
25. Ty Dillon
26. Michael McDowell
27. AJ Dinger
28. Danica Patrick
29. Chris Buescher
30. Landon Cassill

Twitter - @MattAleza
 

2017 Fantasy Nascar Update (Homestead)

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Fantasy Nascar Update -

1. Martin Truex Jr - Truex Jr has been a stud on this type of track all season long and was the guy to beat for most of the Texas race, just few races ago. He will roll off 2nd and I consider him the odds on favorite to bring home the championship. He topped final practice on Saturday afternoon, too. There's not a lot to say about him, you probably haven't heard in recent weeks. He's simply the best driver in the series with the fastest car. Nothing has changed about that. Enjoy another strong points day with the 78 team.

2. Kyle Busch - Heading into this week, my thinking was that Kyle Busch would be Martin Truex Jr's best threat. So far this weekend, that exactly what it has looked like. I think the 18 car is right there with the 78 car. The biggest problem for me is that Truex Jr has made it a habit of winning on these 1.5 mile tracks this season. He has been nearly unstoppable. Can Kyle Busch find a way to win on Sunday? I think he's talent enough with more than speed to get it done. But it won't be easy. I think it will be down to the 78 and 18 at the end regardless though.

3. Denny Hamlin - Hamlin have been very fast this weekend and he is starting on the pole. He has been on a torn for most of 2nd half of the year. Last week, he had one of the best cars in the field. But his incident with Chase Elliott basically ruined his chances to race for a championship. Still, he has a fast car for this weekend's race. He's very good here at Homestead, some would say it is his best intermediate track. I wouldn't disagree with that, either. His numbers here are solid, no doubt. He is one of the drivers to keep an eye on, at least among the non-championship contenders.

4. Kevin Harvick - No disrespect to Harvick, but I don't think he will be able to stay with the 18 and 78. Two weeks ago at Texas, he won but I don't have that same feeling about him. It's just different to me this week. I think he can stay about 2-3 spots within striking distance, but that's not good enough. For him to have a really good shot at winning the championship, he will need something to go really well for him. I think Harvick is back-end top 5 or top-half of top 10 kind of driver for Sunday's race.

5. Kyle Larson -  Four weeks ago at Kansas, he had a fast car but he had mechanical issues. Two weeks ago, he was fast but had a tire go down, and last week he probably had the best car in the field. For the last four weeks, the final result has been the same: DNF. For Kyle Larson, it's no longer about speed. He has that now. For the last four weeks, it has been about having some good luck. Something, Larson has lacked lately. For most of the year, it was something that Larson was blessed with. Considered he has been having a career year in every single category. But if there was a track that I believe in him, then it's Homestead. He was leading very late two seasons ago, but a caution screwed that up. Then last year, he was dominant and put an ass whopping on the field. Until that final restart, when Jimmie Johnson did his thing. You get the point, right?

6. Brad Keselowski - I am not super high on Brad Keselowski here at Homestead. I wouldn't say that he no shot at winning the championship, but he is the clear underdog here. He has even admitted that they don't have the speed here on the 1.5 mile tracks. That have matched the theme so far this weekend, too. He is a driver that usually improves throughout the race. He's steady and don't make many mistakes. I think he and the No.2 team will have do that and some strategies to get off-schedule with everyone else. If the No.2 team end up winning the championship, I think a lot of that will have to do with from the elite calls from the pit box. This team know how to win a race or two from being different. His crew chief has made a living off it!  

7 Matt Kenseth - For the final time (for at least the time being), Matt Kenseth will prepare to get behind a wheel of cup car. What a amazing and pretty underappericated career, he has had. There's a lot of things you say about Matt's career in Nascar. But personally, I will always remember his constant bad luck with Joe Gibbs Raacing. It always seemed to happen at the worst possible times, too. So last week's win was pretty big for him.  If I were him, I would had said fuck it and not show up at Homestead. But that's just me though. Kenseth will be in the mix for a top 5 finish before end of the race on Sunday afternoon.

8. Ryan Blaney - Blaney has been a major question mark this season, but he is getting better as far as consistency goes. For this weekend, I say that he is a top 10 driver with that always high upside to be very dangerous. Other than those few early race in first half of the season, we haven't Blaney contend for wins or even top 5 very often. With that said, we have seen him become more predicable with his finishes than he was early in the season. I have him finishing between 7th-12th place. That has been the main finish range for him this season on the 1.5 mile tracks. More of the same for him in Sunday's race.

9. Chase Elliott - Elliott will start from outside of the top 15, but he will move up and likely challenge for a top 10 run. For the past month or so, Elliott has had several races where he was just laps away from grabbing his first career win. But each time, he failed to get the checkers flag. So he will have one more shot to win in the No.24 car, before he will switch over to the No.9 car in 2018. Can he get to victory lane on Sunday's afternoon? Personally, I haven't seen enough out of him. However, that doesn't mean he won't be good on Sunday. I think him having a solid run at Homestead is important. Ending on a high-note is something I think Elliott really wants after how these last few races ended for him. There's no stress now or high expectations. He can now, go out there and just race for a solid finish.

10. Jimmie Johnson - I said for most of the year, I didn't think that Jimmie Johnson would be racing for a championship. And how many points he was off from the cut-off was just telling how far the competition was ahead of the 48 car throughout this season. Johnson will set career-lows in many categories across the board, regardless how well he will finish. Johnson's biggest weakness this season probably has been on the 1.5 mile tracks. Last year, he wasn't really a factor for the win until very late in the race. This year, I think he will be just top 10 good. Like most of the season, top 10 good with pretty limited upside.

Just missed - 

Kurt Busch
Daniel Suarez
Clint Bowyer
Erik Jones
Jamie Mac
Ryan Newman

****All stats are from FantasyRacingCheatSheet.com and DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2017 Fantasy Nascar Early Rankings (Homestead)

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Fantasy Nascar Early Rankings -

1. Martin Truex Jr
2. Kyle Larson
3. Kyle Busch
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Chase Elliott
6. Denny Hamlin
7. Brad Keselowski
8. Matt Kenseth
9. Jimmie Johnson
10. Ryan Blaney
11. Jamie Mac
12. Joey Logano
13. Kurt Busch
14. Erik Jones
15. Ryan Newman
16. Clint Bowyer
17. Daniel Suarez
18. Kasey Kahne
19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
20. Dale Jr
21. Trevor Bayne
22. Austin Dillon
23. Paul Menard
24. Aric Almirola
25. Ty Dillon
26. Michael McDowell
27. AJ Dinger
28. Chris Buescher
29. Danica Patrick
30. Landon Cassill

Twitter - @MattAleza
 

2017 Fantasy Nascar Sleepers & Dark Horses (Phoenix)

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Most people at 5 a.m in the morning are still sleeping on a Sunday morning, but I am not most people. I am making an early breakfast and prepping to start writing up this article. I am not the kind of person to sleep in on any day of the week. Even when my day job use to be 2nd shift. I would get home at nearly midnight and I would be up at 6 or 7 a.m the next morning. Which is why I prefer to write up my articles at this time in the morning. Is that weird? Probably. But I don't really care and that really bring me to my point of all of this. Never be afraid to be yourself. Never afraid to be different, my friends. And that's exactly the mindset I have when I make my fantasy picks. I always look for that ''difference maker'' pick who can potentially set me apart. That usually where these sleepers and dark horses come into play. Am I saying to go out and make bunch of homer picks? Nope, but if the potential is there, then you take that shot.

Sleepers -

Aric Almirola - I have always has been a big supporter of Aric and I was very happy to hear that he got a quality ride for next season. It will be interesting to see what he can do with the No.10 ride in 2018. As for this weekend, I probably like him more than most do. He is starting from 22nd and has 9 Top 20 finishes in 10 career starts at Phoenix. He is the model of consistency at this track. He just lack the upside, that we are always craving and looking for. I say that he can finish in the top 20 again in today's race, but I think that's it. He's finished 18th or better at every race on Phoenix, Martinsville and Richmond this season. In his last four races this season, he has finishes of 18th or better in all four races, dating back to Talladega.

Ty Dillon - I know a lot of people will just look at Ty Dillon and say, ''meh he's just another driver out there.'' And yeah, he is just another driver out there for the most part. But he is someone who can make a very good value pick for today's race. In 7 of his last 10 races this season, Ty Dillon has finishes of 22nd or better. While finishing 15th and 16th in his last two races at Phoenix. Dillon finished 16th earlier this season at this track. The 13 team has a history of finishing well in recent seasons with their former driver, Casey Mears, too. Obviously, they will have some work to do today to get finish like that. However, I wouldn't count a possible top 20 finish out. I say a low-end twenty to high teen-like finish is very likely. So 17th-22nd is the likely area that I am thinking of for him.

Other Sleepers - Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Austin Dillon

Dark Horses -

Ryan Blaney - Blaney is starting on the pole for today's race and he have a shot at possibly winning, too. I would say it's likely he end actually winning the race, but he should be able to stay around for awhile. If Blaney and the 21 team can keep up with the track position, then it's a good possibility that he can contend for at least a top 10 finish. Personally, I think he can finish in the top 5, but he will need to have some things go into his favor though. That's just me being realistic. In three career starts at this track, he has two top 10 finishes. Earlier this season, he was very strong and was in contention for a top 5 finish. But he had an issue late in the race and finished 23rd. I think we all know what kind of potential he has. Now, it is all about putting that ponetial together for a full-race on a consistent basis.

Chase Elliott - Elliott will need to win today in order to advance to Homestead. I think that will be a very tall order for him to accomplish, but it is not the craziest thing to happen. Still, I think he will need a lot to go right today. He is starting from inside the top 5 with a pretty damn good car though. His numbers at Phoenix are quite good, too. In three career starts, Elliott has never finished worse than 12th. However, his finishes has gotten worse in each start. He finished 8th in his debut at this track, 9th in last fall race and 12th in this past spring race. He did lead a lot of laps this past spring though. He led 106 laps on his way to a disappointing 12th place finish. He also led 123 laps at Martinsville, a couple weeks ago, for what little that means.

Other Dark horses - Jamie Mac, Kurt Busch, Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones

****All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Have a question or would like to chat?

Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2017 Fantasy Nascar RaceDay Thoughts (PIR)

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RaceDay Thoughts -

Garry Briggs (@Garryy12):

-Track position will be key

- I think Kyle Larson get back on track and have a really strong race today

-Hamlin will do enough to advance to the next round as the last driver to get in

- People are sleeping on Truex Jr this weekend and I love it! Rookie mistake right there


Jeff Nathans (@JeffNathans18):

- Gibbs cars will be strong again in today's race.

- I think Blaney will hang up front long as he can, before fading to the top 10

- I wonder if Kevin Harvick will return to his winning ways at Phoenix? He just might

-I am interested in how Chase Elliott does today! He is one of those must-win drivers and something tells me that he might be in a gambling mood. It might make or break his day, too

Yahoo lineups -

Garry's lineup - 18,1,21,19

Jeff's lineup - 4,21,24,77

Dark horse -

Garry's Pick - Blaney

Jeff's Pick - Blaney

Winner -

Garry's Pick - Kyle Busch

Jeff's Pick - Kevin Harvick