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Fantasy Nascar Update -
1. Kyle Busch - I think there are many things you need to take into consideration when making our fantasy picks. Such as momentum, track record, consistency, equipment, track-type success and among other things. Kyle Busch certainly check off most of those boxes. Rowdy may not finish in the top 5 every week, but he is typically one of the best on the 1.5 mile tracks. Charlotte is one of the track that he is usually a race-winning contender. This weekend so far haven't been any different. He will roll off from 2nd and has shown a lot of speed since unloading on Thursday. When the 18 is fast off the truck, it is a good sign of things to come. Rowdy was very strong in the ASR (not that it is that important to me) and been solid top 5 driver on the other 1.5 mile tracks, too. On Saturday, he was really good to me. In the first session (on Saturday), he was one of the quicker cars overall. He worked on the long runs and displayed strong laps throughout practice. He wasn't nearly as good in final practice, but I still think he will be one of the drivers to beat. That car have plenty of speed and I think he can get to the lead early. If he does, then you better watch out!
2. Martin Truex Jr - I think a lot of people will overlook the driver of the No.78 car, after he's qualified 8th. There was a lot of hype around him entering Thursday's evening qualifying session and he kinda disappointed. I am not concerned one bit though. It is the longest race of the year and the 78 car will quickly make his way to the front. He didn't get all of it in the final round of qualifying and I think he have a much better car than that. Truex Jr been a stud all year long on the 1.5 mile tracks and last season, too. Not to mention, he won a few weeks ago at Kansas and then again earlier in the year at Vegas. Also, don't forget that beatdown he delivered in last season's Coke 600. I am not going to sit here and sell you on Truex Jr. His numbers and record sells itself. Even Truex's biggest doubters probably believe he will be up front at some point on Sunday. I have him leading some laps and contending for at least a top 5 finish!
3. Kevin Harvick - Most fantasy experts probably have Harvick in their top 2, but for whatever reason, I am not buying the hype in Harvick quite as much. Sure, he is starting on the pole and sure he will likely hang towards the front. But I haven't seen that Harvick from the past couple seasons. I haven't seen that guy that can go out there and dominate. I am sure, he will lead some laps from the pole. But I personally think there a few better cars than the No.4 car this weekend. Kinda reminds me of the Texas race. When he started on the pole. Pretty good car, a car that is capable of running solid, but I think he will eventually fade a little. Hence why I am ranking him 3rd in my rankings. His record is pretty good here, so I wouldn't shocked if he proves me wrong and lead the most laps. But winning from the pole in a 600 mile race is a very tall task!
4. Brad Keselowski - Keselowski been pretty good since unloading and will roll off from inside the top 10. Keselowski been pretty good all season long and this weekend haven't been any difference really. I don't think he have the car to beat, but he usually runs well at this place. Also, Keselowski haven't had many bad races this season. On this type of track in general, he have not finished worse than 6th place this season. In fact, there have only been three drivers to win on the 1.5 mile tracks in 2017. Two of those drivers were the top 2 finishers from Kansas. So far this weekend, Keselowski have looked pretty good. I wouldn't call him a standout driver on the charts, but I think he is someone that will be overlooked. If I had to guess, I would say that Keselowski is 4th-8th place driver headed into the event. More on the top 5 side though, when you consider all of the factors that goes into it.
5. Jimmie Johnson - Johnson haven't been bad since unloading, but I think he is in the lower end of the top 5/top half of the top 10 overall. We are practicing during the daytime, so it is hard to truly get a feel of what a driver have. However, Johnson haven't stood out to me. He was very strong in the all-star race, but to me that is not very important. Different race, different setup, different kind of event. You get the point, right? Good. As for the race, I do feel good about Jimmie Johnson as a possible fantasy pick of mine. Johnson always runs pretty well here and his team always find a way to get his car pretty good. It never fail with Jimmie, as Chad always get a handle on it at the end. Just like at Texas, they weren't great at the start. But they figured it out at the end. Look at a few weeks ago, Johnson was contending for the win before getting in a wreck. You get the point here, Johnson will be in contention on Sunday night. Bank on it. Heading into the race, I think he is in the top 5 or 7 pretty easily. Between practices on Saturday, It was reported on FS1 that Johnson was getting happier with his racecar.
6. Matt Kenseth - Kenseth will start from inside the top 10 and that is commonly a good sign from him. Last year, this was where he started to run much better and led to him getting his season turned around. Can he repeat that same success on Sunday night? I would not rule it out by any means, as the Joe Gibbs cars as a whole are looking better than they did earlier in the year. I doubt we see Kenseth go out there and lead any laps, but he is a solid top 10 driver based on everything I seen from him this weekend. Kenseth always pretty good at this place and I think he will somewhere in the 6th-11th place finish range when it is all over. Of course, Matt Kenseth love being a mystery to me, so take that information how you want.
7. Kyle Larson - Larson will start dead last, but I am not concerned about his starting position. It did affect my overall ranking for him. Much like it did at Texas in my fantasy nascar update. However, like Texas, I don't think it will hurt him much. He has a fast car and he has a car that is very capable of winning. He displayed good long run speed in the first practice session on Saturday, despite being held out of the first 15 minutes. Which meant he was further down on the speed charts. Kyle Larson was pretty happy with his car in that session, he said in an interview. Many in the garage thought that Kyle Larson had the car to beat. He was very good in final practice, too. He topped that practice session and showed really good speed out of his car. Kyle Larson finished the final practice session about 11 minutes early and said it was the same car as the all-star race. He also added that his handling is good, a little better than last Saturday.
8. Ryan Blaney - Blaney have been at his strongest this season on the 1.5 mile tracks and that is no different this weekend, either. Blaney will start in the top 10 and has top 10 speed in his car, too. I don't think he will be nearly as good as he was at Texas and Kansas. But I kinda had that feeling headed into the weekend. I didn't think he would be able to back it up and it was kinda obviously when you think about it. As for this weekend, you can expect Blaney to run anywhere from about 6th to 9th on Sunday night. That team is poised for another solid run, if everything goes to according to plan. In the first session on Saturday, Blaney topped the speed charts but he did not make any long runs. It seemed to me that they were just trying to get their car right for the race, rather than focusing on working on the long runs. They would do a few laps here and then bring it in. Make changes and do another couple laps. He was near top of the charts once again in final practice, too. His car looked okay. He was asked in final practice, if he was closed and he said no they weren't. Pretty loose was the word. I still think he will be a top 10 driver though.
9. Chase Elliott - You know something, I have been really tough on Elliott this season. Especially over the past month or so. But I think the 24 team will turn it around this weekend some and get out that funk. He have been pretty good since unloading Thursday. They had a pretty good piece on Saturday. He's showed good speed throughout the day. In the first practice on Saturday, I thought he had one of the better cars in that practice session. In the final 10 minutes of practice, he posted a pretty solid long run. I believe he made a 15+ lap run and the lap times were really good. During that long run, he posted the 7th-best ten lap average. It was later in the session than any other driver did. In final practice, I didn't think he was quite as good
10. Joey Logano - Logano struggled this weekend. He qualified outside of the top 20 and wasn't really that good in the first practice session on Saturday morning. Logano was better in the second practice session and looked closer to be competitive (or least what we were expecting from him). I think he will be in the top 10 at some point on Sunday night, but I still think there is some work to do with that car. But they are making some progress since Thursday.
11-20:
11. Jamie Mac
12. Kurt Busch
13. Clint Bowyer
14. Dale Jr
15. Erik Jones
16. Denny Hamlin
17. Ryan Newman
18. Austin Dillon
19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
20. Daniel Suarez
Twitter - @JeffNathans18
Fantasy Nascar Update -
1. Kyle Busch - I think there are many things you need to take into consideration when making our fantasy picks. Such as momentum, track record, consistency, equipment, track-type success and among other things. Kyle Busch certainly check off most of those boxes. Rowdy may not finish in the top 5 every week, but he is typically one of the best on the 1.5 mile tracks. Charlotte is one of the track that he is usually a race-winning contender. This weekend so far haven't been any different. He will roll off from 2nd and has shown a lot of speed since unloading on Thursday. When the 18 is fast off the truck, it is a good sign of things to come. Rowdy was very strong in the ASR (not that it is that important to me) and been solid top 5 driver on the other 1.5 mile tracks, too. On Saturday, he was really good to me. In the first session (on Saturday), he was one of the quicker cars overall. He worked on the long runs and displayed strong laps throughout practice. He wasn't nearly as good in final practice, but I still think he will be one of the drivers to beat. That car have plenty of speed and I think he can get to the lead early. If he does, then you better watch out!
2. Martin Truex Jr - I think a lot of people will overlook the driver of the No.78 car, after he's qualified 8th. There was a lot of hype around him entering Thursday's evening qualifying session and he kinda disappointed. I am not concerned one bit though. It is the longest race of the year and the 78 car will quickly make his way to the front. He didn't get all of it in the final round of qualifying and I think he have a much better car than that. Truex Jr been a stud all year long on the 1.5 mile tracks and last season, too. Not to mention, he won a few weeks ago at Kansas and then again earlier in the year at Vegas. Also, don't forget that beatdown he delivered in last season's Coke 600. I am not going to sit here and sell you on Truex Jr. His numbers and record sells itself. Even Truex's biggest doubters probably believe he will be up front at some point on Sunday. I have him leading some laps and contending for at least a top 5 finish!
3. Kevin Harvick - Most fantasy experts probably have Harvick in their top 2, but for whatever reason, I am not buying the hype in Harvick quite as much. Sure, he is starting on the pole and sure he will likely hang towards the front. But I haven't seen that Harvick from the past couple seasons. I haven't seen that guy that can go out there and dominate. I am sure, he will lead some laps from the pole. But I personally think there a few better cars than the No.4 car this weekend. Kinda reminds me of the Texas race. When he started on the pole. Pretty good car, a car that is capable of running solid, but I think he will eventually fade a little. Hence why I am ranking him 3rd in my rankings. His record is pretty good here, so I wouldn't shocked if he proves me wrong and lead the most laps. But winning from the pole in a 600 mile race is a very tall task!
4. Brad Keselowski - Keselowski been pretty good since unloading and will roll off from inside the top 10. Keselowski been pretty good all season long and this weekend haven't been any difference really. I don't think he have the car to beat, but he usually runs well at this place. Also, Keselowski haven't had many bad races this season. On this type of track in general, he have not finished worse than 6th place this season. In fact, there have only been three drivers to win on the 1.5 mile tracks in 2017. Two of those drivers were the top 2 finishers from Kansas. So far this weekend, Keselowski have looked pretty good. I wouldn't call him a standout driver on the charts, but I think he is someone that will be overlooked. If I had to guess, I would say that Keselowski is 4th-8th place driver headed into the event. More on the top 5 side though, when you consider all of the factors that goes into it.
5. Jimmie Johnson - Johnson haven't been bad since unloading, but I think he is in the lower end of the top 5/top half of the top 10 overall. We are practicing during the daytime, so it is hard to truly get a feel of what a driver have. However, Johnson haven't stood out to me. He was very strong in the all-star race, but to me that is not very important. Different race, different setup, different kind of event. You get the point, right? Good. As for the race, I do feel good about Jimmie Johnson as a possible fantasy pick of mine. Johnson always runs pretty well here and his team always find a way to get his car pretty good. It never fail with Jimmie, as Chad always get a handle on it at the end. Just like at Texas, they weren't great at the start. But they figured it out at the end. Look at a few weeks ago, Johnson was contending for the win before getting in a wreck. You get the point here, Johnson will be in contention on Sunday night. Bank on it. Heading into the race, I think he is in the top 5 or 7 pretty easily. Between practices on Saturday, It was reported on FS1 that Johnson was getting happier with his racecar.
6. Matt Kenseth - Kenseth will start from inside the top 10 and that is commonly a good sign from him. Last year, this was where he started to run much better and led to him getting his season turned around. Can he repeat that same success on Sunday night? I would not rule it out by any means, as the Joe Gibbs cars as a whole are looking better than they did earlier in the year. I doubt we see Kenseth go out there and lead any laps, but he is a solid top 10 driver based on everything I seen from him this weekend. Kenseth always pretty good at this place and I think he will somewhere in the 6th-11th place finish range when it is all over. Of course, Matt Kenseth love being a mystery to me, so take that information how you want.
7. Kyle Larson - Larson will start dead last, but I am not concerned about his starting position. It did affect my overall ranking for him. Much like it did at Texas in my fantasy nascar update. However, like Texas, I don't think it will hurt him much. He has a fast car and he has a car that is very capable of winning. He displayed good long run speed in the first practice session on Saturday, despite being held out of the first 15 minutes. Which meant he was further down on the speed charts. Kyle Larson was pretty happy with his car in that session, he said in an interview. Many in the garage thought that Kyle Larson had the car to beat. He was very good in final practice, too. He topped that practice session and showed really good speed out of his car. Kyle Larson finished the final practice session about 11 minutes early and said it was the same car as the all-star race. He also added that his handling is good, a little better than last Saturday.
8. Ryan Blaney - Blaney have been at his strongest this season on the 1.5 mile tracks and that is no different this weekend, either. Blaney will start in the top 10 and has top 10 speed in his car, too. I don't think he will be nearly as good as he was at Texas and Kansas. But I kinda had that feeling headed into the weekend. I didn't think he would be able to back it up and it was kinda obviously when you think about it. As for this weekend, you can expect Blaney to run anywhere from about 6th to 9th on Sunday night. That team is poised for another solid run, if everything goes to according to plan. In the first session on Saturday, Blaney topped the speed charts but he did not make any long runs. It seemed to me that they were just trying to get their car right for the race, rather than focusing on working on the long runs. They would do a few laps here and then bring it in. Make changes and do another couple laps. He was near top of the charts once again in final practice, too. His car looked okay. He was asked in final practice, if he was closed and he said no they weren't. Pretty loose was the word. I still think he will be a top 10 driver though.
9. Chase Elliott - You know something, I have been really tough on Elliott this season. Especially over the past month or so. But I think the 24 team will turn it around this weekend some and get out that funk. He have been pretty good since unloading Thursday. They had a pretty good piece on Saturday. He's showed good speed throughout the day. In the first practice on Saturday, I thought he had one of the better cars in that practice session. In the final 10 minutes of practice, he posted a pretty solid long run. I believe he made a 15+ lap run and the lap times were really good. During that long run, he posted the 7th-best ten lap average. It was later in the session than any other driver did. In final practice, I didn't think he was quite as good
10. Joey Logano - Logano struggled this weekend. He qualified outside of the top 20 and wasn't really that good in the first practice session on Saturday morning. Logano was better in the second practice session and looked closer to be competitive (or least what we were expecting from him). I think he will be in the top 10 at some point on Sunday night, but I still think there is some work to do with that car. But they are making some progress since Thursday.
11-20:
11. Jamie Mac
12. Kurt Busch
13. Clint Bowyer
14. Dale Jr
15. Erik Jones
16. Denny Hamlin
17. Ryan Newman
18. Austin Dillon
19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
20. Daniel Suarez
Twitter - @JeffNathans18