Saturday, May 05, 2018

2018 Fantasy Nascar Update (Dover)

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Update -

1. Kevin Harvick - A lot of people been over looking the SHR cars this week for some reason. At least that what I had gathered from forums, social media platforms and such. They are some love, but not what I would had expected. They deserve more attention and they all look very fast. And the man to beat entering Sunday's race is Kevin Harvick. The 4 car had the best-10, 15 and 20 lap average in the early morning session. That session will likely be closer to race conditions. In the final session, he was 4th on the ten-lap average. He ran a lot of laps in both sessions, which means he probably pretty please with his car. A lot of teams in the garage has pointed at the 4 car as the odds-on favorite. And I agree!

2. Kyle Busch - Rowdy has one of the best cars in the field, but he has shit luck in the spring races here at Dover of late. So much better in the fall races. If he can shake the bad luck, then he may just go back to victory lane. He has really good speed in his car, but was looking for a better balance in his car during practice. His lap times were good on the speed charts for the most part. And a guy like Rowdy does not need much to contend for the win. He don't need for his car to perfect to be a threat. But he would be a whole lot better pick, if he did have a dominant car. I think Rowdy will hang from 2nd-5th for most of the race. If given the chance, I think he can steal the win. And that might just be decided on pit road. No pit crew has gotten their driver off faster than the 18 team. Another advantage to be starting up front and have a top tier pit stall.

3. Martin Truex Jr - Truex Jr is having a great season and is looking to get back on track at his home state track. He loves Dover and has ran very well in recent years. He dominanted here a few years ago in the fall time. Truex Jr is starting up front and has plenty of speed in his car. I think the question is: Does he has enough to beat Harvick or even Busch. The answer is probably no, but I don't think the difference is all too much. He is easily in the ballpark. If you were to select him as a fantasy pick, you should probably expect at least at top 5 run with upside to finish in the top 3.

4. Brad Keselowski - Keselowski looked very good this weekend at Dover. He stood out on Saturday and displayed solid speed. The Penske cars are good like rest of the Fords. I don't think Keselowski has the speed to go up there and win, but he has a very savvy crew. They will do everything that they can to put him the best position possible. I think the Penske cars were overlooked this week because they haven't been anything flashy in 2018 so far. They are consistent and that's good. You want a fantasy pick that will be predictable. Keselowski top 10 each and every week and usually have something for the top 5 more times than not.

5. Kyle Larson - Larson has ran very well at Dover in his career and he is starting on the pole. I don't think Larson will be able to outrun Harvick for long, as I think the 4 car will eat him up with his consistent lap times.  He should be top 5 good or at worst top 10 good. In last season's races here, he was amazing. One of the things about Larson is that he really strong at his best tracks. Such as Miami, Dover, Michigan, Cali and Bristol. This weekend, I don't think will be much difference honestly. In the first practice, he didn't make many laps at start of practice. First two runs, he made 9 total laps. Then he made a very long run to end practice. It was over 20 laps. He was ranked 5th on the 15-lap average chart and 3rd on the 20-best lap average chart. He didn't sound very confident in his car after final practice though, nor did he look that good in final practice. He never made a 15 or 20 lap run in that final session. A lot of short runs, which is usually a bad sign, in my opinion. That means, his team was working on his car more than he was on the track. Still, it is hard to bet against him. Based on what we know, he is a top 5 guy heading in. He might fall out of the top 5, but I think he will be there at the end though. And keep in mind, he has a great rack record and a great starting position. I think that pit stall will come into play, too.

6. Joey Logano - Logano is looking good this weekend. After winning at Dega, he looking like a top 10 driver after practice and qualifying. I think Logano is one of those drivers, where he is consistent most weekends. But does not have the speed to be a factor in the win. Just outside of that range, in my opinion. There is nothing that I have seen from him give me reasons to believe otherwise. If you are looking for a solid pick, it is hard to go wrong with Logano. His upside is kinda limited though.

7. Chase Elliott - I am a bit lower than most people probably, but I love getting younger drivers some room for error. That always been my thing. Elliott looks every bit of a top 5 driver on pure speed in the morning session and he will start in the top 6. Not to mention, he has not finished outside of the top 5 in his young career here. Pretty impressive, but he does driver for HMS. Guys like Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon for years has held down the fork at Dover. Chase Time in Delaware?

8. Clint Bowyer - I lover the SHR cars a lot heading into this week and I love them even more after practice. All 4 cars showed speed on Friday and Saturday. And Bowyer looks like the 2nd-best driver of the 4. Bowyer was pretty good in both sessions on Saturday and he will start from 12th. I really love Bowyer for the race. I personally think he can have one his best races of the season.

9. Jimmie Johnson - Johnson is a 11-time winner and a lot of people think he can win. I personally don't think he will or would I recommend using him. He is not the old Jimmie Johnson we are thinking of. He has not led more than 91 laps in a single race in his last 52 races, dating back to October 2016. Johnson is a top 10 driver, regardless of his track history. That history not gonna take him to the top. It is obvious that he not on the same as JGR, Elliott, SHR or Larson. There is a reason why, he has struggled to contend for wins lately. If you are looking for a top 10 with upside, then Johnson could be your guy. You are looking for someone who will for sure contend for the win? Look at the 8 drivers above.

10. Ryan Blaney - I cannot say that I am low on Blaney, but I cannot say that I am high on him, either. I am in the middle. He haven't had any blistering speed, but he has been in the mix though. I think it is gonna be another one of those races, where Blaney is good but not great. He is super talented, but he is a young driver. So we should know the risks that comes with him. He not always gonna live up to our standards. I think this is one of those weekends. He will be in latter part of the top 10, but that's most likely far as he will make it.

Just missed -

Daniel Suarez
Aric Almirola
William Byron
Erik Jones
Ryan Newman
Ricky Stenhouse Jr

****All stats from FantasyRacingCheatSheet.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18