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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
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
