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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
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
