2019 Fantasy Nascar Sleepers & Dark Horses (Homestead)

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Well folks, we are gonna end the season with bring back one of our most popular fantasy articles. Back in my first couple years of writing fantasy nascar articles, I had a similar weekly feature article and it was called ''Sleepers and Busts''! It was a simple little article that on a weekly basis consisted of 2-3 sleepers and usually 2 Busts. After the 2015 season (I believe), I realized two things: 1) Most people didn't realize that there's a difference between sleepers & dark horses. 2) Busts were to too complicated to write on because some people got their feelings hurt by it. Solution? Exclude the ''busts'' and add a ''dark horse'' portion to go along with the sleepers. It has worked very well over the last 3 seasons! I love writing articles about sleepers and dark horses!

Anyways, I am excited for this weekend's race! I will miss it live, but I am looking forward to watching it when I get home on Sunday night! I cannot say that I enjoyed the 2019 season as much as I did in seasons' past, but I am pretty excited for the off-season! This off-season, we have some incredible stuff planned.

Let's get started!

Sleepers -

Austin Dillon: Dillon isn't someone who will be talked much about this week, but he has been really consistent here and these 1.5 mile tracks has been good to him of late! In his last five 1.5 mile tracks, he has produced 4 top 20 finishes. He has finished 13th (Texas), 20th (Kansas), 12th (Las Vegas), 35th (Kentucky) and 10th (Chicago). So he has 13.75 average finish, if you take out the Kentucky's race! How has he done recently at Homestead? He finished 25th in his first start here in 2014. How about his four races since then? 14th or better in every single race. Another thing I love? He has improved or matched his finish in every start. In 2015, he finished 14th. In 2016, he finished 12th and finished 11th in 2017/2018. Is a top 10 finish in order? It isn't crazy!

Ryan Newman - Newman isn't the sexy fantasy sleeper this week, but he will most ikely be a pretty effective one, though. In 2019, he has been really consistent between 9th and 17th on the ever so popular 1.5 mile racetracks. He has only finished worse than 17th in three races this season on 1.5 mile tracks. Of 10 races on 1.5 mile tracks, he has only one DNF finish. In the other 9 races? He has posted 15.3 average finish with 5 Top 15 finishes. Exlcuding Kansas, he has finished 15th, 10th and 9th in his last three 1.5 mile tracks. He has been a consistent performer at Homestead, too. In 4 of his last 5 races here, he has posted 4 top 16 finishes. With finishes of 16th, 10th, 15th and 2nd in those 4 races. Based on the data, he is probably a teen driver this weekend. For a sleeper, that is usually what we are hoping for and his consistency is what makes him most appealing!

Dark Horses -

Kyle Larson - In my eyes, Kyle Larson is easily a favorite. However, he won't be viewed like by most, though. Why? Because he isn't in the championship race. No driver in the field can run the wall like Kyle Larson can! He's so good at it and he will probably be stupid fast on the long runs! In 2015, he ran down Brad Keselowski in the closing laps but came up short after a late caution came out. In 2016, he dominated but came up short after a late caution. In 2017, he domianted again and came up short. In last season's race, he was very strong again and probably had one of the cars to beat early in the race. Later on in the 3rd stage, he smacked the wall and got a flat tire. He fell from contention and finished 13th. I got my eyes on Kyle Larson this weekend!

Chase Elliott - Elliott is having a similar playoffs to what Kyle Larson had in 2018. So can Chase end it on a high note? I think he can! In his career races at Homestead, he has posted 7.7 average finish with three top 11 finishes in 3 career races. But that's nothing compared to how well Chase Elliott has ran on the 1.5 mile tracks in 2019! He finished 40th at Texas, but he had one of the cars to beat. In 4 of his last 6 races (exlcuding the Texas' race), he has finished 4th or better. During the playoffs, he has finished 2nd and 4th. I really like Chase as a sneaky good fantasy pick this weekend!

Have a question or wanna chat?

Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2019 Fantasy Nascar Early Rankings (Homestead)

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Early Rankings -

1. Martin Truex Jr
2. Kyle Busch
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Kyle Larson
6. Joey Logano
7. Ryan Blaney
8. Erik Jones
9. Chase Elliott
10. Brad Keselowski
11. Kurt Busch
12. Clint Bowyer
13. Aric Almirola
14. Alex Bowman
15. William Byron
16. Ryan Newman
17. Jimmie Johnson
18. Daniel Saurez
19. Chris Buescher
20. Austin Dillon
21. Matt Dibenedetto
22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
23. Paul Menard
24. Ty Dillon
25. Daniel Hermic
26. Ryan Preece
27. David Ragan
28. Michael McDowell
29. Corey LaJoie
30. Darrell Wallace Jr

Have a question or wanna chat?

Email - Briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2019 Fantasy Nascar Early Rankings (ISM)

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Early Rankings -

1. Kyle Busch
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Martin Truex Jr
5. Joey Logano
6. Brad Keselowski
7. Kyle Larson
8. Ryan Blaney
9. Chase Elliott
10. Erik Jones
11. Aric Almirola
12. Kurt Busch
13. Alex Bowman
14. Clint Bowyer
15. William Byron
16. Daniel Saurez
17. Ryan Newman
18. Matt Dibenedetto
19. Jimmie Johnson
20. Chris Buescher
21. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
22. Austin Dillon
23. Paul Menard
24. Ty Dillon
25. Daniel Hemric
26. Ryan Preece
27. Darrell Wallace Jr
28. David Ragan
29. Michael McDowell
30. Corey LaJoie

Have a question or want to chat?

Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2019 Fantasy Nascar Final Rankings (Texas)

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Final Rankings -

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Kyle Busch
4. Martin Truex Jr
5. Joey Logano
6. Brad Keselowski
7. Erik Jones
8. Kyle Larson
9. Kurt Busch
10. Chase Elliott
11. Clint Bowyer
12. Ryan Blaney
13. Aric Almirola
14. Alex Bowman
15. William Byron
16. Ryan Newman
17. Daniel Saurez
18. Jimmie Johnson
19. Austin Dillon
20. Chris Buescher
21. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
22. Paul Menard
23. Matt Dibenedetto
24. Ty Dillon
25. Daniel Hemric
26. Michael McDowell
27. Darrell Wallace Jr
28. Ryan Preece
29. David Ragan
30. Corey LaJoie

Have a question or want to chat?

Email - Briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2019 Fantasy Nascar DGG Picks (Texas)

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DGG Picks -

A:

Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr

Reasons - There are a lot of good choices here at Texas. The top teams will probably bring their best car for Texas as it probably their best chance to punch their ticket to Homestead. A few weeks ago, it was noted that Harvick's team would be bringing their best car for Texas. Info like that, you hear and tuck it away for a rain day. That day just could be on Sunday! Who do I pair him with? How about the best driver in the series right now? Yeah! So Martin Truex Jr it is

B:

Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones, Kurt Busch and William Byron

Reasons - There is a very strong chance that I will be going with both Hamlin and Jones this weekend. Ideally, I would like to use them here and Homestead. But there's always next week, too. I probably should had used Kurt Busch last week like I planned to, but I am okay with getting a top 5 finish from Blaney. If Kurt looks top 10 good, then I might use him on Sunday. I am going with Byron for possible qualifying points. He's been really good at qualifying up front, so why not?

C:

Chris Buescher and Daniel Hermic

Reasons - This is probably the race where I use my last start with Chris Buescher. I wish I had a few more starts with him, but that's totally okay. If I dont use my last start here, then I will use it at Homestead. As I am planning to use the 95 car in next week's race

Dark Horse - TBD

Winnter - TBD

Have a question or want to chat?

Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2019 Fantasy Nascar Early Rankings (Texas)

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1. Martin Truex Jr
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Kye Busch
5. Joey Logano
6. Kyle Larson
7. Ryan Blaney
8. Brad Keselowski
9. Chase Elliott
10. Erik Jones
11. Kurt Busch
12. Clint Bowyer
13. Aric Almirola
14 Alex Bowman
15. William Byron
16. Daniel Saurez
17. Jimmie Johnson
18. Ryan Newman
19. Chris Buescher
20. Austin Dillon
21. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
22. Paul Menard
23. Matt Dibenedetto
24. Daniel Hermic 
25. Darrell Wallace Jr
26. Ty Dillon
27. Ryan Preece
28. Corey LaJoie
29. Michael McDowell
30. David Ragan

Have a question or want to chat? 

Email - Briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2019 Fantasy Nascar Final Rankings (Martinsville)

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Final Rankings -

1. Kyle Busch
2. Denny Hamlin
3. Martin Truex Jr
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Brad Keselowski
6. Joey Logano
7. Ryan Blaney
8. Clint Bowyer
9. Chase Elliott
10. Erik Jones
11. Aric Almirola
12. Kyle Larson
13. Alex Bowman
14. William Byron
15. Kurt Busch
16. Daniel Saurez
17. Jimmie Johnson
18. Ryan Newman
19. Matt Dibenedetto
20. Austin Dillon
21. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
22. Paul Menard
23. Chris Buescher
24. Michael McDowell
25. Ty Dillon
26. Ryan Preece
27. Daniel Hemric
28. Darrell Wallace Jr
29. David Ragan
30. Corey LaJoie

Have a question or want to chat?

Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

Fantasy Nascar DGG Picks (Martinsville)

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Well folks, it has been quite awhile since I posted any articles! I do apologize for that, but I do for free and my main job will always come first. I know Jeff had a lot going on with work and all his kids, so we came to terms it is better to take an extended break. Personally, I am excited to getting back at it for these finally few races! I been doing excellent in the Driver Group Game this season, as I am ranked all the way up in the top 20 in the overall rankings. Maybe the time away from writing has helped with that? Either way, I am super excited for Today's race.

Martinsville is uqiue track in my opinion. I personally wouldn't try to compare to any other track. I know some people like comparing it to Bristol, but they aren't that similar. Some drivers are plainly good here at Martinsville. I personally would look at the last few races here to see who's good and who isn't! Some drivers start off hot here and never really cool down. Others? Simply get better as time goes on with more expereince. Good example of that is Ryan Blaney. He seems to get better the more laps he put around this place. Then there's other championship contenders like Kyle Larson, who just don't get how to get around this place!

Right now (and for remaining of the season), I will only be making picks for the Driver Group Game (DGG). This season that is the only game that I decided to play. I will gladly play additional games, if anyone interested in my picks for them. Just shoot for an email and you can considered it done!

Alright, let's get to this week's Driver Group Game picks!

A:

Starter - Kyle Busch

Bench - Martin Truex Jr

Reasons - Very tough decision to make overall. Both will contend for the win, but I think Kyle's numbers are impossible to ignore for me. In his last 5 races here, he has no finishes worse than 4th place! In his last 8 races, he has no finish worse than 5th place! That's stupid good and he has posted a driver rating above 120.0 in 6 of his last 7 races at the track. Truex Jr has been very good here, but nothing close to that. He has finished 4 straight races in the top 8! You really cannot go wrong with either driver!

B:

Starter - Clint Bowyer, Denny Hamlin

Bench - Kurt Busch, Ryan Blaney

Reasons - I honestly feel good about all four of these options, but I am going with the best two. Denny Hamlin is starting on the pole and I bet he will lead a lot of laps on Sunday's afternoon. At worst, he will get you some bonus points. Who do I pair him with? Clint Bowyer! He loves Martinsville and they said he probably had one of the best cars in racetrim. I really like that! I honestly wanted go with Kurt here, but he has a questionable track record here and I dont really feel like he will give me a shot at a top 5 points day. Blaney is someone I could easily use here, but I have two starts with him and I am saving one of them for Texas. So here, Phoenix or Homestead? With Hamlin and Bowyer looking so strong this weekend, I think they give me the option to save him and hope he finishes worse!

C:

Starter - Ryan Preece

Bench - Daniel Hemric

Reasons - Preece is a short track racer and has expereince at the lower levels here. On top of that, he proved himself earlier this season at Martinsvile. With one start left with the 95 and 37, I think I pretty much have to get myself a start with Preece!

Dark Horse - Erik Jones

Winner - Denny Hamlin

Have a question or want to chat?

Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

We are back!

Welcome to Timerssports

Back at end at June, I decided to crease operations of Timerssports, as myself and Jeff both had a lot going on in our personal lives. Sometimes doing this for free is a real pain in the butt. With having such nice weather (at the time), it is pretty easy to not want to sit down and write up Fantasy Nascar articles. It is really fun to write fantasy Nascar, but it is extremely tough. Especially, when you are trying to keep things in your life balanced!

However, I am very happy to announce that TimerSports will be back under operations and posting content very soon! I cannot say for sure how many articles per week will be posted for the remaining couple races this season. But we have a lot of plans for this off-season and hopefully many more to come for the 2020 season.

Have a question?

Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

Your friend and Site owner,

Garry Briggs

2019 Fantasy Nascar DGG Picks (Chicago)

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Fantasy Nascar Driver Group Picks -

A:

Starter - Kyle Busch

Bench - Martin Truex Jr

Reasons - The Toyotas haven't been at top of the board this weekend, but I think they are set up beffer for the race than qualifying. So while none of them qualified in the top 5, I think a couple of them will end up near there. I have a really good feeling about Kyle Busch, I think that #18 car will be able to march through the field. Him having one of the best pit crews in Nascar will also help him!

B:

Starters - Denny Hamlin and Daniel Saruez

Bench - Erik Jones and Ryan Blaney

Reasons - I really like both Hamlin and Saurez this weekend. Both showed me something in practice and I think each driver will finish in the top 10 in today's race. I think Blaney and Jones won't be far behind. Kurt Busch and Alex Bowman are other drivers who I really like. Also keep an eye on Jimmie Johnson. The HMS cars were showing something in practice this weekend and qualified farily well overall, too.

C:

Starter - Daniel Hemric

Bench - Chris Buescher

Reasons -  I think Buescher will finish better than Hemric, but it will only be by a position or two. You would be shocked by this, since Hemric qualfied 25 spots better than Buescher. However, I believe that Hemric will fade and be around 20th for most of the event. Buescher will be in that same range.

Dark Horse - Denny Hamlin

Winner - Kevin Harvick

Have a question or want to chat?

Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2019 Fantasy Nascar Final Rankings (Chicago)

Welcome to TimersSports

Fantasy Nascar Final Rankings -

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Kyle Busch
3. Martin Truex Jr
4. Joey Logano
5. Brad Keselowski
6. Denny Hamlin
7. Chase Elliott
8. Kyle Larson
9. Kurt Busch
10. Alex Bowman
11. Clint Bowyer
12. Daniel Saurez
13. Ryanh Blaney
14. Austin Dillon
15. Erik Jones
16. Aric Almirola
17. Jimmie Johnson
18. William Byron
19. Ryan Newman
20. Paul Menard
21. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
22. Chris Buescher
23. Daniel Hemric
24. Darrell Wallace Jr
25. Matt Dibenedetto
26. Michael McDowell
27. Ty Dillon
28. David Ragan
29. Corey LaJoie
30. Ryan Preece

Have a question or want to chat?

Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2019 Fantasy Nascar Early Rankings (Chicagoland)

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Early Rankings -

1. Kyle Busch
2. Martin Truex Jr
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Joey Logano
5. Denny Hamlin
6. Chase Elliott
7. Brad Keselowski
8. Kyle Larson
9. Kurt Busch
10. Clint Bowyer
11. Ryan Blaney
12. Aric Almirola
13. Erik Jones
14. Wiliam Byron
15. Alex Bowman
16. Daniel Saurez
17. Jimmie Johnson
18. Ryan Newman
19. Austin Dillon
20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
21. Paul Menard
22. Chris Buescher
23. Daniel Hemric
24. Matt Dibenedetto
25. Darrell Wallace Jr
26. Ty Dillon
27. Michael McDowell
28. David Ragan
29. Ryan Preece
30. Corey LaJoie

Have a question or want to chat?

Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2019 Fantasy Nascar Picks (Sonoma)

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Fantasy Nascar Picks

Driver Group Game -

A:

Starter - Joey Logano

Bench - Kyle Larson

Reasons - I went with the driver who I thought had a strong chance at the pole and the driver who I planned to start. I had a good feeling about Joey all week, so may as well start him. Even though, I probably should had Martin Truex Jr on here instead.

B:

Starters - Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch

Bench - Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer

Reasons - There's a lot of good choices in this grouping tier and there is really not a bad lineup combo. I would love to go with Clint Bowyer as one of my starters, but i am down to just 4 starts. So I will just save him for another day. Johnson on the other hand is probably due for a good race and he is a solid road course racer! So do I pair him with Hamlin or Busch? I think it wiser to pair him with Kurt. I think there is a better chance that Kurt will finish up front. Every time I use Hamlin, he seems to screw it up somehow!

C:

Starter - Michael McDowell

Bench- Matt Dibenedetto

Reasons - Dibenedetto has looked really good so far this weekend, but good chance I will use my remaining 5 starts with him outside of the road courses. McDowell. I will probably use him three times in 2019 and they are all on the road courses. He qualified really well for today's race too. 

Dark Horse - Daniel Saurez

Winner - Martin Truex Jr 

Have a question or want to chat? 

Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2019 Fantasy Nascar Final Rankings (Sonoma)

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Final Rankings -

1. Martin Truex Jr
2. Kyle Busch
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Joey Logano
5. Clint Bowyer
6. Kevin Harvick
7. Chase Eilliott
8. Kyle Larson
9. Kurt Busch
10. Aric Almirola
11. Daniel Saurez
12. Jimmie Johnson
13. Brad Keselowski
14. Ryan Blaney
15. Erik Jones
16. William Byron
17. Alex Bowman
18. Ryan Newman
19. Austin Dillon
20. Chris Buescher
21. Paul Menard
22. Matt Dibenedetto
23. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
24. Michael McDowell
25. Ryan Preece
26. Ty Dillon
27. Darrell Wallace Jr
28. David Ragan 
29. Daniel Hermic
30. Corey LaJoie

Have a question or want to chat? 

Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2019 Fantasy Nascar Update (Sonoma)

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1. Martin Truex Jr - The 19 team has been so fast lately, but they always don't get the results to show for it. But I think that will be different on Sunday's afternoon! Truex Jr has always ran well here at Sonoma. He even scored a win with MWR back in 2013. That #56 car was so good that day, I remember it clearly because I had one of my best scores ever on a road course with him in my lineup. Crazy it has been 6 years since that event! Anyways, he has been really good on the road courses in that span, too. Over the last three seasons, he has posted two top 5 finishes. Including a win in last season's race! Two years ago, he won the first stage and led 25 laps. He ended his day in 37th, but his driver rating was over 100.0. That is typically a strong indication of a driver's performance. Over his last 8 races, he has posted a driver rating above 100 in 6 of those races! The two-time winner is a serious threat to win!

2. Kyle Busch - Busch has had a tough weekend overall, espeically in practice. But he did solid in qualifying and will start inside the top 10! I am not worried about Rowdy at all, he will be just fine in the race. In fact, we seen this before from big name drivers. I think he was simply trying things in practice, he will be a contender on raceday. Over his last four races here at Sonoma, he has not finished worse than 7th place. In those four races, he has posted 3 top 5 finishes. Including a win back in 2015!

3. Kevin Harvick - Harvick is an excellent road course racer and usually have stupid fast long run speed at Sonoma. This weekend is looking like the part and certainly could go to victory lane for the first time in 2019. He has been so close in recent weeks. He had the best car at Kansas and led 104, but finished 13th. Then two weeks ago at Michigan, he had the best car all weekend in my opinion. But in the race, he just couldn't get around the #22 car. I think that and the clean air prevented him from being a strong challenger for the win. Of course, issues in the final stage of the race also had a major factor in him not winning, too. That final stage of the Michigan's race was probably the story of the #4 team's season in 2019! He will have another chance to go to victory lane in Sunday's race, even though he is starting deep in the field. Over the last two races at Sonoma, he has finishes of 1st and 2nd. You cannot get much better than that!

4. Joey Logano - Logano not getting the love that he deserve and that partly because he doesn't have many strong finishes here. But he is very capable of being strong here in the race and I have a feeling he will be very strong. That #22 car is starting up inside the top 5 and they showed good speed in practice, too. I am not too sure how much that will mean in the race as skill typically outweigh lap times. But he has skill behind the wheel on these road courses and let's not forget that.

5. Clint Bowyer - Bowyer is typically really good at these road courses and Sonoma is probably where I have the most faith in him at! He won here in 2012 with MWR (like former teammate Truex Jr did - a year later) and honestly always ran well here. In 13 career starts, he has finished in the top 10 ten times. Yes 10 of 13 races at Sonoma, he has finished in the top 10! Very impressive and the number look better as we dig deeper! In 8 of his last 12 starts here, he has finished in the top 5. That's a 66% clip, folks! Since 2011, he has finished 6 of the last 8 races in the top 5. Including 3 top 5 finishes in his last 4 races here. There might not be a better bet than Clint Bowyer!

6. Denny Hamlin - Hamlin has been really good over the last few seasons on the road courses and especially good at Sonoma! Over his last three starts at Sonoma, he has finished 10th, 4th and 2nd. In general, I think Hamlin can finish in the top 10 on any given weekend. I also think he can take a top 10 can and finish 22nd on any given weekend. And most times it is because he messes up on pit road. If Hamlin does not finish well on Sunday's afternoon, I bet it because something happens on pit road.

7. Chase Elliott - I think Elliott could possibly finish in the top 5, when it all said and done. He has gotten finish in each start here at Sonoma. In his first start, he finised just 21st. In his 2nd start, he was able to finish 8th and improved again by finishing 4th in his most recent start. Could he score a win this weekend? It is very possible. Elliott is one of those drivers that is smooth all-around and typically finishses well on all-types of tracks. He is at the very least good for a top 10 finish!

8. Kyle Larson - Kyle Larson scored his third straight pole here at Sonoma, but history is not on his side though. In the previous two seasons, he has faded pretty quick. And he just doesn't fade, but would be running outside of the top 20 by end of the 2nd segment. Will this weekend be different? Hard to say, but at least they did focus on some racetrim in practice though. That is an improvement over the last couple seasons. Will it be enough for Larson to finish in at least in the top 10? Based on what I seen so far this weekend, I would say he has a pretty good chance.

9. Kurt Busch - Kurt has an amazing record here at Sonoma. He rarely has a bad race at this track and I think he is due for another strong run on Sunday. Him and his CGR teammate looked good so far this weekend. In his last 8 races here at Sonoma, he has not finished worse than 12th place. Over his last 2 races here, he has finished 6th and 7th. That's not quite as good as his 3-race top 4 run between 2011 and 2013. But still, I find it hard to complain about getting top 10 finishes at Sonoma. He will roll off just outisde of the top 15 on Sunday's afternoon!

10. Jimmie Johnson - I actually have a pretty good feeling about Jimmie this weekend and I don't say that very often about the driver No.48 car these days. I think Johnson is very underrated on road courses and I think he can get a solid top 10 finish here at Sonoma. I think the days of hoping for wins out of Jimmie is long gone, but top 10 finishes are not out of the question. I think that is exactly what we should expect from him overall.

Just missed -

Brad Keselowski

Daniel Saurez

Ryan Blaney

Aric Almirola

William Byron

Alex Bowman

Ryan Newman

Erik Jones

****All stats from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2019 Fantasy Final Rankings (Michigan)

Welcome to TimersSports

Final Rankings -

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Kyle Busch
3. Joey Logano
4. Brad Keselowski
5. Denny Hamlin
6. Aric Almirola
7. Kurt Busch
8. Clint Bowyer
9. Chase Elliott
10. Martin Truex Jr
11. Ryan Blaney
12. Erik Jones
13. Kyle Larson
14. Daniel Saurez
15. Austin Dillon
16. Jimmie Johnson
17. Alex Bowman
18. William Byron
19. Ryan Newman
20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
21. Chris Buescher
22. Paul Menard
23. Daniel Hemric
24. Ty Dillon
25. Darrell Wallace Jr
26. Matt Dibenedetto
27. David Ragan
28. Michael McDowell
29. Ryan Preece
30. Corey LaJoie

Have a question or want to chat? 

Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2019 Fantasy Nascar Picks (Michigan)

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Fantasy Nascar Picks -

Driver Group Game -

A:

Starter - Kevin Harvick

Bench - Kyle Busch

Reasons - I went with the top guys this week at Michigan. Two guys who will be among the heavy favorites are Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch. I think both will challenge for a top 5 finish. But I am going with Kevin Harvick. He is way overdue for a win and he can win at Michigan. He has been so good on these interemdaite tracks! I love all of the fords this weekend!

B:

Starters - Aric Almirola and Kurt Busch

Bench - Ryan Blaney and Erik Jones

Reasons - I have saved enough where I am in really good shape and feel good about starting my studs. It is tough to choose just two drivers out of these 4. I love Aric and has had a great feeling about him all week long. Really impressive long speed in practice and qualified 2nd. Then it was between Kurt Busch, Erik Jones and Ryan Blaney. I am going with the most consistent driver of the three. I feel like Blaney is hit or miss right now and same can be said about Jones

C:

Starter - Daniel Hemric

Bench - Matt Dibenedetto

Reasons - I might still go with the 95 car as I actually liked what I saw in practice, but for now, I am going with Hermic because he seems to have a lot speed in his car and has a great starting position in the top dozen! If you have neither of those options, I would go with Chris Buescher. 

Dark Horse - Aric Almirola 

Winner - Kevin Harvick 

Have a question or want to chat?

Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2019 Fantasy Nascar Update (Michigan)

Welcome to Timerssports

Fantasy Nascar Update -

1. Kevin Harvick - I think Kevin will be tough to beat in Sunday's race! He was stupid fast at Kansas and should had won probably. He finished 1st and 2nd in last season's races at Michigan, too. He is really good at both tracks and they happen to be scary similar to each other. This weekend, he is looking stout once again! Lately, it does seem like the #4 team is getting closer to returning to victory. Is this Kevin's time to punch his ticket to the playoffs? I wouldn't be betting against him!

2. Kyle Busch - I wouldn't say that Michigan is one of Kyle's best tracks. It has always been a up and down place for him. He is a former winner here, but he haven't always been very consistent though. This season, he has rarely been off in a race (speed wise), so I would find it hard to bet against him. To top it off, he is coming off a strong finish at Pocono! I sit here and trying to find reasons to not like Kyle as a fantasy pick and frankly that list is very short.

3. Joey Logano - Logano will start from the pole and he will be tough to beat from the front, I think. All of the Fords are all very good. I thought the #22 Ford was solid in practice. I didn't think he had the best car, but he wasn't too far off, either. Michigan is one of Joey's best tracks, too. There are only a few drivers who can say that they are better than Joey Logano at Michigan over the last 5 seasons. It looking like this weekend will be no different!

4. Brad Keselowski - I feel like Michigan is a place where Keselowski should already have a cup win at, because we do see fuel mileage play out at a place like this. Will this be his weekend? It certainly could be! Like I said up above, we have seen a lot of speed out of the Ford camp this weekend and that will most likely be the case during the race, too. Will Ford be quite as domiant as we saw in qualifying? I don't think so, but I am willing to bet that they place at least 2 cars in the top 5 from the Penske and/or SHR camps!

5. Denny Hamlin - Hamlin was a dark horse to me this weekend, I could had seen him doing really well or not well. Overall, that is what I have gotten from him a lot this season. Plenty of speed in that #11 car, but having the car up front at end seems to be his main problem. If nothing happens to him during the race, such as a loose wheel, speed penalty or something like that, then he is normally lock for at least a top 10 finish! He has the speed to at least contend for a top 10 finish, as does rest of the JGR cars!

6. Aric Almirola - I am really high on the #10 car for Sunday's race. He qualfied on the front row and showed the most long run speed in practice. The draft most likely had an effect on that, but it will in the race, too. That #10 car has been so good on intermediate tracks in general over the last year and a half! I am not shocked that he has shown so much speed this weekend. He is long overdue for a trip to victory lane. Is Sunday his day?

7. Kurt Busch - Kurt has been looking solid this season in his new ride with CGR, but he hit a bump at Pocono. He was running in the top 10, when he spun and went multiple laps down. That's okay because he showed up with another really good car this weekend. He looked really good on the lap averages in both practices. On top of that, he also qualified inside the top 10 as well. I think Kurt should at least contend for a top 12 finish but I think it is somewhere between 6th and 9th, though.

8. Clint Bowyer - I love the Stewart Haas Racing cars this weekend. They all have looked very good overall and all have enough to at least contend for top 10 finishes. Clint won here not too long ago and he has ran very well on intermediate tracks. He has 5 top 5 finishes on the season and 3 of them has came on intermediate tracks. Something else that stands out? He has started in the top 10 eight times (excluding Daytona and Talladega) in 2019 and finished 6 of those races in the top 10. He will start from the 5th posiiton on Sunday's afternoon!

9. Chase Elliott - Chase Elliott has a great record here at Michigan and he should be able to contend for a top 10 finish. The HMS cars has been greatly improved since start of the season and we seen big imporvements on this type of track as well. He finished 11th at Cali (another 2-mile track), he has led in the last 3 races on intermediate tracks. He finished top 5 at both Kansas and Charlotte. He has been on a roll since Talladega (6 races ago). In those 6 races, he has finished in the top 5 in five races. Another thing to like about Chase? He has a 5.3 career average finish and that ranks number one in the series currently!

10. Martin Truex Jr - Truex Jr has won 3 of the last 6 races and if the trends stay the same, then he should go to victory lane this weekend. I don't think that will happen though. I am not very high on the #19 team. I thought that they were average last week at Pocono and I haven't overly impressed by the #19 car this weekend. He haven't exactly gotten stellar finishes at Michigan, either. One of the reasons why he wasn't on my fantasy radar, either. He has ran up front at times since switching over to Toyota and collected 3 stage wins in the last two seasons. Problem is? Over the last three seasons, he has finished 4 of 6 races outside of the top 10. And 4 of his last 8 races, he has finished outside of the top 10. It been hit or miss when the checkers waves for Martin Truex Jr!

Just missed -

Ryan Blaney

Erik Jones

Kyle Larson

Daniel Saruez

Austin Dillon

Have a question or want to chat?

Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12 

2019 Fantasy Nascar Early Rankings (Michigan)

Welcome to Timerssports

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Joey Logano
3. Kyle Busch
4. Martin Truex Jr
5. Brad Keselowski
6. Chase Elliott
7. Denny Hamlin
8. Kyle Larson
9. Clint Bowyer
10. Erik Jones
11. Ryan Blaney
12. Aric Almirola
13. Kurt Busch
14. William Byron
15. Jimmie Johnson
16. Daniel Saurez
17. Alex Bowman
18. Austin Dillon
19. Ryan Newman
20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
21. Chris Buescher
22. Paul Menard
23. Daniel Hemric
24. Ty Dillon
25. Matt Dibenedetto
26. Darrell Wallace Jr
27. Ryan Preece
28. David Ragan
29. Michael McDowell
30. Corey LaJoie

Have a question or want to chat?

Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12 

2019 Fantasy Nascar Final Rankings (Dover)

Welcome to Timerssports

Final Rankings-

1. Joey Logano
2. Kyle Larson
3. Martin Truex Jr
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Brad Keselowski
6. Kyle Busch
7. Chase Elliott
8. Jimmie Johnson
9. Erik Jones
10. Aric Almirola
11. Ryan Blaney
12. Clint Bowyer
13. Kurt Busch
14. Daniel Saurez
15. William Byron
16. Denny Hamlin
17. Ryan Newman
18. Alex Bowman
19. Austin Dillon
20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
21. Paul Menard
22. Chris Buescher
23. Ty Dillon
24. Matt Dibenedetto
25. Daniel Hemric
26. David Ragan
27. Michael McDowell
28. Darrell Wallace Jr
29. Ryan Preece
30. Corey Lajoie

Have a question or want to chat?

Email- briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter- @Garryy12

2019 Fantasy Nascar Update (Dover)

Welcome to Timerssports

Fantasy Nascar Update -

1. Joey Logano- Logano has a really strong car this weekend. He qualified well inside the top 5 and displayed impressive fall-off in practice. He's not great on the short run, but the #22 car seems to be stout after 10 to 15 laps. His lap times just didn't fall off like almost everybody else's did. He was 2nd in the best-20 lap average and ranked best in the 30-best lap average chart. He also ran the most laps in Saturday's lone practice session! He was on the track for nearly 40 straight laps at the end.

2. Kevin Harvick- I am not in love with the #4 car this weekend, but I really like him! I think on the long runs, he will be one of the drivers to beat. He has been consistent this season, just not good enough to win races. I dont really think there's a clear favorite, but the #4 car is a very safe pick, overall. I say his ceiling is somewhere in the top 3 and his floor probably about 7th or 8th or so. I think that's fair!

3. Martin Truex Jr- I haven't been on the Truex Jr's bandwagon much this season, but there's plenty to like about him here at Dover. He scored his first cup win here and was very strong the last few seasons at Dover. This weekend, he could had qualified better. But he seem to have good speed, even if he started to fall off more than I liked that he did. He's in top equipment, so that's another thing I like with these insane speeds here at Dover.

4. Kyle Busch- Kyle has finished in the top 10 in every race this season, but he could be in danger, if history has anything to say about it. He haven't better than 16th in his last 5 spring races at Dover. He didn't qualify well, but he will be fine. He showed top 5 speed in practice on Saturday and is probably due for a good race in the spring time. I don't think he has speed to win, but never doubt this #18 team. They are incredible at making adjustments from practice to the race. The kicker? He already pretty good, judging by what he showed in practice.

5. Kyle Larson- The driver to beat maybe the most dangerous fantasy pick in the field. Kyle Larson has been snake bitten this entire season, but Dover has a history of jump starting seasons. Larson qualified 3rd and looked like the driver to beat in practice. His lap times looked very good, and his balance was better than most. After practice, Larson sounded pretty happy about his car. One important thing I took away from his interview? He said his balance didn't change much when he closed in on someone. He noted a lot of other cars didn't handle as well. I think Larson will be difficult to beat, but I also believe he will most likely cost himself a shot at a strong finish.

6. Chase Elliott- If you are buying into Chase Elliott this weekend, then you may want to not hear about history. Historically speaking, no driver has won from the pole since 2010. In the last 9 races, only once has a driver started on the pole and finished in the top 5. In 8 of those 9 races, the pole sitter has finished 7th or worse. In about half of those races, the pole sitter has finished outside the top 10. In practice, I thought Elliott looked good but only top 10 good. I say between 5th and 8th is where he will most likely finish!

7. Brad Keselowski- Keslowski probably should be higher because he probably has a car good enough to be a top 5 contender. There's just some drivers who I never fully get behind or being all-in on. Keselowski is a great wheelman and everything, but you wont see me having him in the top 5 often over the last few seasons. Unless he has a clear stout looking car. This weekend? Bottom top 5 guy to mid-top 10 guy. Good news? I dont have his floor below 9th.

8. Erik Jones- Jones is someone who has had a tough season, but he really haven't been talked about. This week, he has kinda gone under the radar, too. Even after displaying some speed in practice on Saturday. I wouldn't say that he is mega fast, but he is certainly worthy of being a top 10 guy. Jones' inconsistency is what makes me want to steer away from him. Not his speed or track record (which is solid) at Dover.

9. Jimmie Johnson- I know a lot of people are high on Johnson after he posted the fastest lap in practice on Saturday. Bad news? He isnt near that good. He never was on the track for any super long runs. He has a crazy good track record here, but it been awhile since he was considered elite. Top 10? Sure, I will believe that. Johnson does has upside here, but I wouldn't bank on striking gold. I would keep our expectations in check!

10. Aric Almirola- There were quite a few drivers who could had gotten the final spot in my ranking. Including Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Clint Bowyer and Ryan Blaney. That's quite a list! I love Aric a lot and probably showed the most speed of that group. Hamlin has ran very well here in the past, but I think he will hover at backend of the top 10 at best. I just haven't seen "it" out of him since unloading. Bowyer has good speed to start the run, but he is lacking good fall-off. He sounded a little frustrated in practice, which kinda stood with me. Blaney has been a little inconsistent this season and not exactly showing record breaking speed. If you pick Blaney, he need to have a huge upside. He doesn't! Then there's Kurt Busch. I was high on him, but he wasn't exactly happy on Saturday. He wasn't happy with the balance of his car. He was considerably down on all the lap average charts. Kurt has major upside, if they fix him up though.

*****All stats are from Driveraverages.com

Twitter- @JeffNathans18

2019 Fantasy Nascar Final Rankings (Bristol)

Welcome to Timerssports

Final Rankings-

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Kyle Busch
3. Joey Logano
4. Ryan Blaney
5. Kyle Larson
6. Aric Almirola
7. Brad Keselowski
8. Chase Elliott
9. Denny Hamlin
10. Jimmie Johnson
11. Erik Jones
12. Martin Truex Jr
13. Kurt Busch
14. Clint Bowyer
15. Daniel Suarez
16. Ryan Newman
17. Alex Bowman
18. William Byron
19. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
20. Austin Dillon
21. Paul Menard
22. Chris Buescher
23. Ty Dillon
24. Matt Dibenedetto
25. Darrell Wallace Jr
26. Daniel Hermic
27. Ryan Preece
28. David Ragan
29. Michael McDowell
30. Corey Lajoie

Have a question or want to chat?

Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2019 Fantasy Nascar DGG Picks (Bristol)

Welcome to Timerssports

First off, I want to say thank you to everyone who checks out this site every week. I am always so amazed how many people check these posts out, even when I neglect to publish a link on social media. To me, that always tell you if you are doing a good job.

Secondly, I would like to note that there most likely won't be any posts next weekend as Jeff will be out of town and I will be working 8 hours on Saturday. It will be tough to find time. I will try to make a post mid-week with my picks and rankings going into the weekend, though.

Alright, let's get into today's picks!

DGG Picks -

A:

Starter - Kyle Busch

Bench - Joey Logano

Reasons - It's hard to go wrong with either pick, but I think most people will still go with Kyle. And with me going off-sequence in B and C, I want a safe pick in the top grouping tier!

B:

Starters - Jimmie Johnson and Ricky Stenhouse Jr

Bench - Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman

Reasons - There's a lot of good picks among the top picks like Blaney, Hamlin, Almirola, Jones, Bowyer, etc. This week, I planned to save those drivers I mentioned up above. I made my bed, so I may as well lay in it now. I am okay with the Johnson's pick, as he should be somewhere in the middle of those top B-lisr picks. Stenhouse Jr does worry me, as he wasn't super happy with his car. I am just banking that he will improve in the race.

C:

Starter - Ty Dillon

Bench - Ryan Preece

Reasons - I cannot say I love Dillon, but i think he's good enough to be a serviceable pick this week. Honestly, I was planning on using Preece but things just aren't going to work out, though.

Dark Horse - Ryan Blaney

Winner - Kyle Busch

Have a question or want to chat?

Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2019 Fantasy Nascar Update (Bristol)

Welcome to Timerssports

Fantasy Nascar Update-

1. Kyle Busch - Through 7 races, Kyle haven't finished outside of the top 10 and last weekend was his worst race of the season. He had the car to beat, but it was over when he smacked the wall. His car wasn't the same. He was pretty good in Saturday's final practice and showed good long run speed. Kyle's record here is probably what most appealing. He's a seven-time winner and has won 2 of the last 3 races here. Recent history says you can start outside the top 10 and still lead plenty of laps. I think that may be the case with the #18 car!

2. Joey Logano - I don't know why, but I really liked the #22 car all week and he hasn't disappointed me. You didnt have to look at his lap times, you could tell that his car was strong by just watching him. Joey was 3rd on the best 30-lap average in final practice. Bristol is a great place for him, too. He's a former two-time winner here ranked the near the top in all the major categories over the last few seasons here. I am all on board the #22 car and you should be, too!

3. Kevin Harvick - Harvick had a great car in practice and led the 15, 20 and 30 lap averages, but we didn't we see the top come in yet, though. So it will be interesting how much of that long run speed he can sustain throughout the day when the top is rubbed in more. He's excellent on the bottom and that comes as no surprise! Through 7 races, Harvick has been really good. However, he is still searching for that first win of the 2019 season. Could this be the big day?

4. Ryan Blaney - Blaney has been stout this weekend and really that #12 car has been strong over the last several races this season. He has displayed plenty of speed since the Phoenix's race and this weekend has no difference. He will start from 3rd, but he probably should be starting from the pole. I have a feeling it won't take long before he grabs the lead. In last season's race here in the spring, he led a lot of laps before finding trouble!

5. Kyle Larson - Larson was not nearly strong as he should be, but I think he will take the whip out once the top is in. This guy should be better in the race than practice, if recent history is any indication. He's great here at Bristol, even if how he runs is kinda risky. With Larson, he is a high risk guy. However, you know the reward is probably higher than most drivers out there!

6. Brad Keselowski - I like Brad plenty this week, but not much as his two teammates. I think Brad is easily a top 10 driver in today's race. He really isn't a sexy pick because I don't see him possessing enough upside to be a potential race winner. I just don't get that vibe from him overall. Still, you cannot go wrong with the #2 car.

7. Denny Hamlin - Hamlin has been on a roll this season and that #11 car should once again easily finish in the top 10. I am not sure, if he will make it up in the top 3. But I could see him running in latter part of the top 5 at some point. His momentum is also very appealing. He has just been knocking off strong finish after strong finish. He showed good enough speed to be a solid pick at Bristol!

8. Aric Almirola - If you took notes last week, I said Bristol is Aric's as I read several years back in his RPM's days. He is looking very good this weekend and will towards the front. I really liked what I saw on both Friday and Saturday from the #10 team. Honestly, this team has been on it all season. He is just quietly hammering out top 10 finishes!

9. Jimmie Johnson - Johnson had a breakout race at Texas and finished in the top 5. And it seems like he has retained that speed here this weekend at Bristol. I don't think that he's good as last week, but he is a solid top 10 guy, though. I say between 7th and 10th is where he will finish, if I had to guess.

10. Chase Elliott - The final pick came down to Elliott, Jones, Kurt Busch and Truex Jr. It was a really tough call! Jones was really appealing with how good he looked in final practice. Kurt loses a couple spots because starting deep. But I also haven't been blown away with him. Then there's Truex Jr, someone who I am not exactly on the bandwagon with yet. Ultimately, I am giving Elliott the edge over the rest. Starting on the pole and shouldn't fall off too much. I doubt he will finish top 5. I think he will settle in somewhere in the top 10 after awhile!

Just missed-

Erik Jones

Kurt Busch

Martin Truex Jr

Clint Bowyer

Ryan Newman

***All stats from Driveraverages.com

Twitter - @Jeffnathans18

2019 Fantasy Nascar DGG Picks (Texas)

Welcome to Timerssports

Rough weekend for your buddy, Garry. Rough weekend. Stood up until after 12:30 on Friday night, then had to be at work on Saturday at 6 a.m! How often does that work out well? Felt like shit for the next 12 hours. Then came home and slept for another 12 hours. Where would I be without my DVR? Needless to say I am ready for some racing this afternoon! I did manage to do some research and watched practice, so got that going for me!

A couple weeks ago, I got asked why I only make picks for the Driver Group Game? I will be brutally honest, it's the only game that I am playing in 2019. I loved Fantasy Live under the salary cap format, but they changed it. I didn't mind the Fox game, until they discontinued it after 2017 season. As for DFS, I honestly never gotten in it. Would I make posts for these games or other ones out there? Absolutely! If they are requested, I would gladly make posts. I just thought I would finally get that off my chest!

DGG Picks -

A:

Starter - Kyle Busch

Bench - Kevin Harvick

Reasons - A lot of really good options to go with this week, but personally I am going with the hottest driver in the series. I will probably use him until he gives me a reason not to! I also really like Logano, Harvick, Keselowski and Larson.

B:

Starters- Aric Almirola and Ryan Blaney

Bench- Kurt Busch and Erik Jones

Reasons - I think the best three picks are Almirola, Blaney and Kurt Busch in this grouping tier. I think picking any of those three picks would a pretty good combo. I love the speed out of the #1 car, but I would rather save him when he starts closer to the front. Aric starts deep in the field,  but I also have more starts with him!

C:

Starter - Chris Buescher

Bench - Daniel Hermic

Reasons - Honestly this is a tough decision. There isn't a clear cut choice this week. To me, they are pretty even overall. I am going Buescher because I trust him more.

Dark Horse- Aric Almirola

Winner- Joey Logano

Have a question or want to chat?

Email - Briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter- @Garryy12

2019 Fantasy Nascar Final Rankings (Texas)

Welcome to Timerssports

Final Rankings-

1. Kyle Busch
2. Brad Keselowski
3. Joey Logano
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Denny Hamlin
6. Ryan Blaney
7. Kyle Larson
8. Jimmie Johnson
9. Kurt Busch
10. Aric Almirola
11. Martin Truex Jr
12. Chase Elliott
13. Erik Jones
14. Austin Dillon
15. Clint Bowyer
16. Daniel Saurez
17. Ryan Newman
18. Alex Bowman
19. Chris Buescher
20. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
21. Paul Menard
22. William Byron
23. Daniel Hemric
24. Darrell Wallace Jr
25. Matt Dibenedetto
26. Ty Dillon
27. Ryan Preece
28. David Ragan
29. Michael McDowell
30. Corey Lajoie

Twitter- @JeffNathans18

2019 Fantasy Nascar Update (Texas)

Welcome to Timerssports

Fantasy Nascar Update-

1. Kyle Busch- Busch is starting further in the field than usual, but I think he will be strong and ultimately sweep the weekend at Texas. At end of final practice, Jeff Gordon noted that Kyle Busch was one of the strongest drivers in the final 20 minutes. He has been impressive on the intermediate tracks in 2019. If he can reach the front without any indecents, I think he will be back in victory. Kyle haven't finished worse than 6th in a cup race on the season! 

2. Brad Keselowski- Keselowski always shows up fast at Texas and this weekend haven't been any different. That #2 Ford looks fast and Keselowski has been a stud on the other two 1.5 mile tracks in 2019. He finished 1st at Atlanta and 2nd at Las Vegas. Through 6 races, the Penske cars has been the most impressive organization as a whole. These intermediate tracks are where they really separate themselves from the pack!

3. Joey Logano - Last week, I was very surprised that Logano was that far off at Martinsville. Nothing like what we showed on Friday and Saturday. But it is safe to say that he will rebound at a strong track. He is a former winner here and is very capable of winning. Like his teammates, I feel like he is at his best on the intermediate tracks. Logano won at Las Vegas and should had won at Atlanta. That #22 car should have a big say in who wins the race at Texas!

4. Kevin Harvick - Harvick has been fast this season on this type of track, even though he haven't scored a top 3 finish, yet. He will start outside of the top 20, but I feel really good about the #4 car this weekend. In final practice, he was fast as expected. Texas has been a great track for him over the past few seasons. Even before that, going back to the "old Texas". He was great then, too. Honestly, I kinda felt like Harvick has been a little overlooked this weekend. Dont be a fool, he will at the very least be a top 5 contender!

5. Denny Hamlin - Hamlin has displayed some really good speed out of his #11 car, so far this weekend. Honestly, he has impressed here early in 2019. In recent seasons, he has been known as a slow starter. Before, he would get hot in the warmer month. In a sense, he was turning into the new Tony Stewart. In 2019, he kinda has broken that trend. In 6 races, he has posted 5 top 7 finishes and no finishes worse than 11th! Texas can be hit or miss, but I dont see him outside of the top 10. If I had to guess, he will probably finish between 4th and 8th.

6. Ryan Blaney - Blaney is on a 3-race top 5 streak over his last three races. Prior to that, he showed a lot of speed at both Atlanta and Vegas. However, he had issues at both races and finished mid-pack. There has been no secret how much I am loving these Penske Fords. Why shy away now? Especially when Blaney is on fire and going to a great track. Over his last four races here, he has posted 3 top 10 finishes with impressive 112.1 driver rating. For Blaney, that's strong. His consistency usually prevents him from posting numbers like that. It says a lot on how good he has been!

7. Kyle Larson - Larson isnt having a bad season, at least not as bad as everyone makes it. Yet, everyone giving Kurt Busch all this praise? In reality, Larson and Busch been relatively close in performance. Larson just haven't got the finishes that he should had. This weekend, the #42 car is fast. He qualified a lot worse than he should had. He looked strong in final practice. Jeff Gordon thought so, too. He said Larson and Kyle Busch were the two strongest drivers in the final 20 minutes. Need more convincing? He was ranked 3rd in both the best 15 and 20 lap averages.

8. Jimmie Johnson - I am not a big believer in Jimmie Johnson, yet. Sure, he has been the fastest car in practice. But can he back it up? I have a lot of doubts about that. HMS has lacked speed on this type of track throughout 2019, so I am not buying the hype with him. Could they had learned things out west? Absolutely! I am just having hard time believing it was enough to go from a 20th place guy to race-winning. It kinda reminds me of the weekend that Austin Dillon had at Las Vegas. Strong in practice/qualifying, then quietly fell back! Of course, his pit road penalty kinda sealed his fate, though.

9. Kurt Busch - On pure speed, he should be higher. I would say at least a couple spots. Him and his teammate could both be a couple spots higher. But i will give them a little room for error, though. Kurt will start from 30th, but I think he is easily a top 10 driver with upside! He is awesome here at Texas and been really solid over the past few seasons here. The #1 car also haven't finished outside of the top 10 in 2019, minus Daytona and Martinsville!

10. Aric Almirola - This final spot in my ranking came down to Aric Almirola and Martin Truex Jr. I really liked what I saw out of the #10 car in practice. He also has been so damn consistent on these intermediate tracks, too. He was good on the lap average charts as well. He was 5th on the best-15 lap average. He's a good bet to finish in the top 10! As for Truex Jr, I just haven't been on the bandwagon. He has been strong at times in 2019, but overall I just cannot talk myself into him.

Just missed-

Martin Truex Jr

Erik Jones

Chase Elliott

Austin Dillon

Clint Bowyer

****All stats from DriverAverages.com

Twitter- @JeffNathans18 

2019 Fantasy Nascar Final Rankings (Mville)

Welcome to Timerssports

Final Rankings-

1. Kyle Busch
2. Joey Logano
3. Martin Truex Jr
4. Brad Keselowski
5. Denny Hamlin
6. Kevin Harvick
7. Chase Elliott
8. Aric Almirola
9. Clint Bowyer
10. Kyle Larson
11. Ryan Blaney
12. Jimmie Johnson
13. Kurt Busch
14. Erik Jones
15. Alex Bowman
16. Ryan Newman
17. Daniel Suarez
18. William Byron
19 Chris Buescher
20. Austin Dillon
21. Paul Menard
22. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
23. Matt Dibenedetto
24. Ryan Preece
25. Ty Dillon
26. Michael McDowell
27. Daniel Hermic
28. David Ragan
29. Darrell Wallace Jr
30. Corey Lajoie

Twitter - @MattAleza

2019 Fantasy Nascar DGG Picks (Mville)

Welcome to Timerssports

Fantasy Nascar DGG Picks -

A:

Start - Joey Logano

Bench - Chase Elliott

Reasons - A is deep this week. There's five really good choices in this grouping tier. Keselowski, Truex Jr, Logano, Elliott and Busch. So there's plenty of options out there, but personally I am going with the pole sitter and the most recent winner there, Joey Logano!

B:

Start -  Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson

Bench - Ryan Newman and Clint Bowyer

Reasons - A lot of great choices here, too. Hamlin is obviously one of the best choices in the field at Martinsville! His two teammates also are really strong this weekend, if you need some extra convincing! I know many of you are gun shy of Johnson and so am I! But we gotta use some starts with him at some point. I will give him a go at one of his best tracks. Bowyer would be a great option, if you didn't want to roll the dice with Johnson. Aric Almirola is also a very fine choice.

C:

Start - Ryan Preece

Bench - David Ragan

Reasons - I am on the Preece bandwagon this week. He has short track's roots and not looking too bad here at Martinsville. I haven't used a start with him yet, but I will at the paperclip. The only drivers I would use over him are the 37 or maybe 95. There's a lot to love about Ryan Preece!

Dark Horse - Aric Almirola

Winner - Kyle Busch

Have a question or want to chat?

Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2019 Fantasy Nascar Update (Mville)

Welcome to Timerssports

Fantasy Nascar Update -

1. Kyle Busch- Busch is starting deeper in the field than many expected, but he's the hottest driver in the series. Rowdy keep racking up the top 5 finishes (top 6 every race this season) and has two straight wins. More bad news for the competition, he has finished top 5 in his last 7 races here. In final practice, the #18 car looked like the one of the drivers to beat. He was 3rd on the best-20 lap average!

2. Martin Truex Jr - Truex Jr has been really knocking on the door of late and Martinsville could be a great place to do it! Last fall's race, he was in a position until he got into an incident with Logano. That happened on the final lap and he ended up 3rd. On Saturday, he looked like the guy to beat on the long run. He topped the best-20 and best-30 lap averages. More laps that he ran, it seemed like that #19 car just got better and better!

3. Joey Logano - Joey won at this track in the playoffs last season and will start from the pole (given he passes inspection) this weekend! I had said this a lot this season, but I love these Penske Fords. I won't lie, I don't think that they are as good as in recent weeks. I would imagine that at least 1 or 2 finishes in the top 5, but the question is where. Of the three, I give edge to Logano. It's difficult to overlook how much momentum this #22 team has! Through 5 races in 2019, he has 3 top 4 finishes and he should had won at Atlanta, too. He finished 2nd last week and won at ISM!

4. Kevin Harvick - I don't know, I still not feeling the #4 team this season. He's still one of the best in the series, but he has that meh feeling to him, though. I should say "meh" compared to recent seasons. By now, he usually has at least one win and multiple top 3 finishes. Through 5 races, he has no top 3 finishes. He has 2 top 4 finishes in his last 3 races, though. I guess, I am being a hater of some sort. A lot of drivers would love his finishes. He's top 5 guy again this weekend!

5. Brad Keselowski - Keselowski always show up here to Martinsville! In 5 of his last 6 races here, he has finished 5th or better. His lone non-top 5 finish? 10th place. So overall, he has 6 straight top 10 finishes at this track. Brad is having a great season and Penske is running great. Every week one (at least) of these Penske cars are up there battling for the win. I really like the #2 car this weekend. I am not sure if I love him, but I think we will find out more in the race about that!

6. Denny Hamlin - Hamlin has always been stout at Martinsville in his career. The #11 car has been really smooth this weekend and he has been surprisingly pretty consistent in 2019. He will start from the 5th starting position (pending inspection) and should at the very least contend for a top 10 finish. When I say top 10, I mean closer to the top 5. His car is really good, so I would say that he will have a great shot at a top 5. Through 5 races in 2019, he has 6.8 average finish with 4 top 10 finishes. In all five races, he has finished in the top 11!

7. Chase Elliott- I have had a really good feeling about the #9 car all week. I dont say that often, so you know I mean it. I probably like Elliott more than most do. I personally think this will be one of his better races of the season. The HMS haven't been good enough so far this season, but this might be one of the places for them to be solid. I am not expecting any wins, but Elliott gotta be top 10 here or something is really wrong. Dont forget, he was impressive here in 2017 during both races. He wasn't bad in last fall's race, either.

8. Aric Almirola - Aric was looking great in second half of 2018 and has kept that momentum going in 2019. Aric is off to a very strong start in 2019. No top 3 finishes, but boy is he getting closer. In his last 4 races this season, he has 4 top 9 finishes. His best race of the season was at ISM. He led 42 laps on his way to a season-high finish of 4th. He always been a big fan of places like Martinsville and Bristol. Couple years ago, I remember reading quotes he loves both of those tracks. That's something that stick with you!

9. Kyle Larson- Larson never been great here at Martinsville. He always seem to be good to average at this track. This weekend, he has probably shown more promise than I expected. I still believe he will finish worse than he will start (assuming he passes inspection). Larson, in my opinion, is only a driver with potential to finish in latter part of the top 10. I am personally just not very high on him!

10. Clint Bowyer - Bowyer is off to a pretty disappointing start to the 2019 season. In 4 of 5 races, he has finished 11th or worse. So far his finishes are: 20th, 5th, 11th, 14th and 33rd. Not horrible, but you expect more out of him. A lot more, in my opinion. Martinsville is a great track for him. He has always ran well here and should again in Sunday's race. I have high hopes for him, but personally I rather stay away from him as a fantasy pick. I want to see more consistency in the top 10 from him. There's safer options out there!

Just missed-

Ryan Blaney

Jimmie Johnson

Erik Jones

Ryan Newman

Kurt Busch

****All stats from DriverAverages.com

Twitter- @Jeffnathans18

2019 Fantasy Nascar DDG Picks (Auto Club)

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DDG Picks -

A:

Starter - Joey Logano

Bench - Kyle Larson

Reasons - The Penske Fords are fast this weekend and I think at least two of them end up in the top 5 when the checker waves. I love Larson on this type of track, but personally I think Logano will have a better day than Larson. I would put the likes of Keselowski and Kyle Busch up there with Logano in this grouping tier.

B:

Starter - Austin Dillon and Aric Almirola

Bench - Clint Bowyer and Kurt Busch

Reasons - Dillon has been on my radar this week because of his past success at Auto Club and how fast these RCR cars has been. I could easily use Busch or Bowyer, both probably have more upside and safer. However, I am gonna need to rest the big guns at some point. Dillon at Auto Club is good place as any, imo. In 5 career starts, he has 3 top 11 finishes. It would be 4 top 11 finishes, if a pit gun didn't break on the final stop in 2016. Who should I pair him with? That's easy, Aric Almirola! I love Ryan Blaney this weekend, too. Denny Hamlin will be good, as well.

C:

Starter - Daniel Hemric

Bench - Chris Buescher

Reasons - Hemric has looked good this weekend and he was my guy all week long to start. He will start inside the top 20 and has a pretty good chance of finishing there, too. Buescher is probably safer pick to go with, but I have used Buescher twice this season and he will be the top option the whole season. This is as good as any week to use Hemric!

Dark Horse - Ryan Blaney

Winner - Joey Logano

Have a question or want to chat?

Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2019 Fantasy Nascar Sleepers & Dark Horses (Auto Club)

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We are at Auto Club Speedway this weekend. This place can be referred to as Fontona or Cali, as I call it sometimes. A few weeks ago, we saw the ''full package'' on display at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. I know we are suppose to have a better ideal what to expect, but honestly I am still kinda blank from that race. I have a lot better idea who will probably be good, but as for the racing, I think there's still plenty of unknowns. Personally, I think we are gonna need 4 or 5 races of data on this type of track.

Sleepers -

Daniel Hemric - The RCR cars has shown a lot of speed overall this season so far and seem to be one of the team who has got the jump on this package. Hemric didn't qualify quite as well as his teammate did, but Hemric has displayed good speed all weekend long. He didn't make any super long runs in final practice, but he did post the best-ten lap average, though. The #8 car has shown speed all season in practice, but he haven't quite backed it up in the race. He was looking promising at Vegas and Atlanta, but only was able to muster finishes of 20th and 23rd. Those aren't bad finishes, but I think he could do better than that. In one of those races, I believe he had to make a late unscheduled pit stop.

Austin Dillon - There's a few reasons why Austin Dillon has been on my radar this week and one of them I mentioned up above. As I said with Hemric, the RCR cars has shown a lot of peed this season. Specifically two weeks ago, Austin Dillon was impressive in the speed department. But he was never the same, after that pit road penalty. He was fast again last weekend at ISM and should had finished top 10. He is showing good speed again this weekend and will start on the pole. Personally, I don't think anyone believe he will contend for the win. I don't either for the record. He may not even contend for a top 10. But his potential reminds me a lot of the 2016 event here. He was running well in the top 10 before the final pit stop, but then his pit gun broke on the final stop. He finished 24th. He has been very good here at Cali. In the last five races, he has posted 3 finishes of either 10th or 11th. If that pit gun didn't break in 2016, he would have 4 finishes in the top 11 in 5 career starts! 

Dark Horses - 

Ryan Blaney - Blaney should be a great dark horse pick this weekend! He has had a very strong showing so far and has a lot of speed in his #12 car again. I am not sure, if he's good as last weekend. But he's top 5 good on the speed charts, though. His two teammates are really strong, too. This has been the common theme through four races, where all three of the Penske cars has stoodout. My only concern about Blaney? He has a tendency of finding ways to not get the finish that he deserves. 

Aric Almirola - Almirola has never ran well here at Cali, but in 2018 he was very consistent on the 2-mile tracks. In fact, he swept the top 12 at both Cali and Michigan. As for this season, he has been having a strong season. As he has posted 3 straight top 8 finishes. Including two top 10 finishes on each of the first two intermediate tracks. This weekend, he will start from 3rd starting position and should at least contend for a top 10 finish. I honestly wouldn't be shocked, if he ended up in the top 5! Aric has been so smooth since middle of last season overall, I think he's due for another win very soon. 

Have a question or want to chat? 

Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2019 Fantasy Nascar Update (Auto Club)

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Fantasy Nascar Update -

1. Kyle Busch - Say what you want about Kyle Busch, but he has been one of the most consistent, no matter what package we had used this season. He haven't dominated all of the races, but he has been pretty solid all season long. He has ran well here at Cali in the past, too. This weekend, he will start from inside the top 10 and will most likely contend for a top 5 finish, too. At end of the Vegas' race, he was very good. I probably had the best car, in my opinion! When was the last time that Kyle didn't have a top 3 or 5 car on an intermediate track at some point? Him and his team are just that damn good!

2. Brad Keselowski - The Penske cars all has been really fast all season long and that hasn't changed this weekend. The #2 car has stood out to me over the past couple days, though. Keselowski has looked very good and has been good here at Cali over past couple seasons. Prior to 2015, he had zero finishes better than 18th. Since the 2015 seasons (4 races), he has posted 3 top 4 finishes. However, he has only led 1 laps during that span. That one lap was an important one that resulted in a race in 2015. I love the speed in the #2 car and I love his consistency this season. If he get another top 5 finish at Cali, I wouldn't be shocked. In fact, I would actually be surprised!

3. Joey Logano - I have said this a lot this season, but I love these Penske Fords! They are fast and they keep knocking out great finish after great finish! The #22 car is looking great and should be a contender for a win. He was solid in both practices and he will start inside the top 5 on Sunday's afternoon. He won at Atlanta and finished at Vegas. This team has shown a lot of strength on these intermediate tracks this season. In 5 of his last 6 races at Auto Club, he has finished in the top 7. The lone race he didn't? 2014. You newer fans may not remember as much, but 2014 is referred to as the debacle race at Auto Club. There were a lot of tire blowouts in practice and in the race. Logano actually had to start the race in the back in that event because he blew a tire in practice! 

4. Kevin Harvick - I like Harvick this season so far, but I don't love him, though! He is still top 5 good, but he not quite the driver that we had seen over the past couple seasons. He led laps at both Vegas and Atlanta, but i don't know. I am personally not getting the same vibe from him as I do from other top drivers. Maybe that is just me? In final practice, he was 10th in the best-ten lap average. I don't believe he posted any 15 or 20 lap runs in practice, though. I am sure Harvick will be just fine on Sunday and most likely lead some laps in the race. I will say that Auto Club has been a unkind place to him recently. In 4 of his last 6 races here, he has finished 13th or worse. There obviously has been plenty of bad luck for him at this track in that span. But still, you get my point, though.

5. Kyle Larson - Kyle Larson is known as a 2-mile ace, but I haven't seen the speed out of the No.42 car like when he has gone to victory lane in the past! Overall, the No.42 team is still searching for speed for Larson this season. Sure, he showed dominance at Atlanta. However, he looked lost once he got back in dirty air. At Vegas, it hard to say how good that car really was. Last week? He was solid on the short runs, but that car started to fall off on the long runs. 6th place was probably best as he could had expected. As for this weekend, I think he will finish with a spot or two (either way) of this ranking! Kyle Larson will be good, but he will not go to victory lane, though. If I had to guess, I think he finishes between 4th and 7th!

6. Martin Truex Jr - Truex Jr will start deep in the field in today's race, but he's capable of making it to front of the field! Last season, he was stout here at Cali. He dominated this event and he eventually went to victory lane. On the best-ten lap average in final practice, he was 9th on that chart. Aside from Daytona, Truex Jr has quietly has had a pretty solid season. He has finishes of 2nd (Atlanta), 8th (Vegas) and 2nd (ISM) in his last three races this season. He will start further back than any of those races, but I feel like Truex Jr can at least contend for a top 10 today.

7. Aric Almirola - There's a lot to like about Aric this season and this weekend. He was strong a couple weeks ago at Vegas and he's showing plenty of speed this weekend. Overall, this 10 team keep unloading fast cars and keep piling up the good finishes. On this type of track in general, he has finished in the top 10 in his last five races! This weekend, he will start from 3rd and been hovering around the top in the speed department.

8. Ryan Blaney - Blaney has two top 10 finishes in his last two races at Auto Club, but of the three Penske cars I have the least amount of faith in him. That's no hate on Blaney, but he has proven to be the most inconsistent driver of the three. Much like last weekend, I am ranking him lower than he should be because of his inconsistency. If he can put together a few full-race (like last weekend) and retain that speed, then he will be closer to the top 5 in my rankings. On pure speed, he's easily a top 5 driver. He was 2nd-fastest on the best-ten lap average, 2nd-fastest on best-15 lap average and 3rd-fastest on the best-20 lap average. The #12 car could be tough to beat on the long run, if this practice end up meaning anything. 

9. Kurt Busch - Busch is off to a great start this season with his new team and Auto Club is one of his best track. He didn't quite qualify as I would had expected (or wanted) him to, but I think he will be just fine. He will be able to drive up to the top 10. That's the big difference in the #1 car in 2019 compared to in recent years. In recent seasons, if the #1 car started deeper in the field, then it was a wrap. We already knew that he wouldn't probably contend for anything beyond a top 14 or top 15 finish. However, with Kurt behind the wheel, we know he can drive up into the top 10. He's that much better than Jamie was. He has shown us that already and there's no reason to expect anything else this weekend.

10. Denny Hamlin - Hamlin was great last weekend at ISM and scored a top 5 finish. I wasn't really shocked, even though he really wasn't quite that good for the whole race. Still, it was a very strong race for that raceteam. I don't think he has that kind of upside this weekend, though. The #11 team is not showing anything more than being a top 10 driver this weekend and that's nothing to be shame of. I think he will finish somewhere 7th and 10th on Sunday. He will be a solid fantasy pick, but I just don't get the feeling that he can get into that next tier of drivers!

Just missed -

Erik Jones

Austin Dillon

Clint Bowyer

Chase Elliott

Jimmie Johnson

***All stats are from DriverAverage.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2019 Fantasy Nascar Final Rankings (Auto Club)

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Final Rankings -

1. Kyle Busch
2. Joey Logano
3. Brad Keselowski
4. Kyle Larson
5. Kevin Harvick
6. Martin Truex Jr
7. Kurt Busch
8. Aric Almirola
9. Denny Hamlin
10. Ryan Blaney
11. Clint Bowyer
12. Chase Elliott
13. Jimmie Johnson
14. Austin Dillon
15. Erik Jones
16. Ryan Newman
17. Daniel Suarez
18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
19. Alex Bowman
20. William Byron
21. Chris Buescher
22. Paul Menard
23. Daniel Hermic
24. Matt DiBenedetto
25. Ty Dillon
26. Michael McDowell
27. Ryan Preece
28. Darrell Wallace Jr
29. David Ragan
30. Corey LaJoie

Twitter - @MattAleza
 

2019 Fantasy Nascar Early Rankings (Auto Club)

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Early Rankings -

1. Kyle Busch
2. Kyle Larson
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Brad Keselowski
5. Martin Truex Jr
6. Joey Logano
7. Denny Hamlin
8. Kurt Busch
9. Chase Elliott
10. Aric Almirola
11. Erik Jones
12. Ryan Blaney
13. Clint Bowyer
14. Austin Dillon
15. Jimmie Johnson
16. Ryan Newman
17. Alex Bowman
18. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
19. William Byron
20. Daniel Suarez
21. Paul Menard
22. Chris Buescher
23. Daniel Hemric
24. Darrell Wallace Jr
25. Matt DiBenedetto
26. Ty Dillon
27. Ryan Preece
28. Michael McDowell
29. David Ragan
30. Corey LaJoie

Twitter - @MattAleza

2019 Fantasy Nascar RaceDay Thoughts (ISM)

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RaceDay Thoughts -

Jeff Nathans (@JeffNathans18):

- Track position will be key as usual here

- Harvick and Rowdy are the two drivers to beat

- I like the HMS cars more than I have in the first three races

- Penske has a lot of speed this weekend

Garry Briggs (@Garryy12):

- Kyle Larson is someone to watch out for. He has a really good car and could be a factor, if he get to the front

- Penske looking very good and Blaney has the best car of the bunch

- Aric needs more attention than he's getting. He is coming off back-to-back top 10 finishes and good enough to challenge for a third straight top 10 finish

- I am not high on Kurt Busch. I don't think he make it three straight top 5 finishes

DDG lineups -

Jeff's lineup - 4,12,10,8

Garry's lineup - 18,12,11,13

Dark Horse -

Jeff's pick - Blaney

Garry's pick - Elliott

Winner -

Jeff's pick - Kyle Busch

Garry's pick - Kyle Busch

2019 Fantasy Nascar Picks (ISM)

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Fantasy Nascar Picks -

DDG:

A -

Starter - Kyle Busch

Bench - Kevin Harvick

Reasons - This is a very close call between Harvick and Busch, it's almost impossible to make the correct call. With that said, I don't believe there's a bad call, either. Both are these drivers are the top 2 in almost everybody's rankings (or should be), heading into the race. I am personally giving the edge to Kyle because he has slightly better numbers over the last few seasons here. Also, I believe a lot more people will pick Harvick than Busch. I am taking that value and running with it!

B:

Starters - Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney

Bench - Ryan Newman and Kurt Busch

Reasons - I believe the top two drivers in B this week are Hamlin and Blaney. After that, I think it is close between the likes of Almirola, Kurt Busch, Bowyer and Jones. So there's certainly no lack of options in this grouping tier this weekend. There are plenty of drivers to choose from!

C:

Start - Ty Dillon

Bench - Chris Buescher

Reasons - I believe Buescher will be the highest finishing C-list driver, with Hemric being the 2nd-highest finishing driver. After that, I don't know exactly. With that said, I am using this week as a week to get a good start-save from Ty Dillon. The #13 car always seem to run well here at ISM and he has been good this weekend. Qualified 20th and could finish top 25, in my personal opinion!

Dark Horse - Chase Elliott

Winner - Kyle Busch

Have a question or want to chat?

Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2019 Fantasy Nascar Sleepers & Dark Horses (ISM)

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Sleepers -

Austin Dillon - Something I think many people learned the hard way last week that practice speed doesn't always translate into raceday speed. Now, I am not saying Dillon didn't have a fast car. He certainly did and that pit road penalty definitely didn't do him any favors! He did get back on the lead lap eventually, but he was never the same honestly. This weekend, he is once again showing some speed out his #3 car and will start from inside the top 15. Obviously, he is not showing the same amount that he did at Vegas. I usually approach Dillon with a lot of caution, but he is certainly someone to watch out for in the race! In 7 of his last 8 races at ISM, he has finished inside the top 20 and has finished a career-best 8th in last fall's race!

William Byron - Byron could be a very sneaky fantasy play in today's race! There were several drivers who I could choose to breakdown. Such as Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ryan Newman or Paul Menard, etc. But William is truly the most appealing out of that group, though. Byron ran very well here at ISM in 2018. He had a pair of top 12 finishes in his rookie season at this track. On the shorter flats in 2018, he posted 4 top 15 finishes in 5 races. In his other finish was 20th in Richmond's fall race. For this weekend, he's looking decent. He qualified 7th and has shown good enough speed that he might score another top 15 finish. I honestly kinda expecting him to finish in the top 15 in today's race!

Other Options - Ricky Stenhouse Jr, Ryan Newman and Paul Menard 

Dark Horses -

Chase Elliott - Elliott isn't getting enough attention this weekend as a legit fantasy option and I really like him overall. He has a really good record here! In 6 career races, he has posted 5 finishes inside the top 12. In last fall's race, he finished 3 laps down and finished 23rd. He was strong in that event, prior to getting in a wreck. Even with finishing 3 laps down, he still managed to post a driver rating of 100.4. Usually, if you can still post a driver rating like that, then it says a lot about your performance. This weekend, he will start from the 2nd position and should at least contend for a top 10 finish! A top 5 certainly isn't out of the question, either.

Denny Hamlin - I actually like Denny Hamlin more than usual at ISM. He has ran well here recently, he just haven't gotten the finishes to back it up! In 5 of his last 7 races, he has finished inside the top 10. In November 2017, he had the car to beat and led 193 laps. In 2018, he had finishes of 4th and 13th. He wasn't great in last season's race at ISM, but he slightly better than that 13th place finish. I think he would had performed better, if he was still in championship contention. On Saturday, he was good. He showed some decent long run speed in the final practice session. He was 5th on the best-20 lap average chart. I would assume not a lot of drivers went 20 straight laps in a race, though. He will start from the 3rd starting position. I have him finishing somewhere between 4th and 8th.

Other options - Aric Almirola, Erik Jones and Clint Bowyer

***All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Have a question or want to chat?

Email- Briggs_garry48@yahoo.com

Twitter - @Garryy12