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Fantasy Nascar Update -
1. Kevin Harvick - Harvick is not the same driver he was a few years ago here, but he's still really good here. He looked really strong in practice on Friday and was near the top in all of the lap averages. I would say the only driver who looked better in practice was Brad Keselowski. I think it will be very difficult to beat the No.4 car this weekend. He will roll off from the inside the top 5 and I view him as the odds on favorite to win on Sunday's afternoon!
2. Denny Hamlin - Hamlin and these JGR cars usually perform strongly on these shorter flats and Phoenix is a great track for Denny Hamlin! I really liked him in practice on Friday and he looked good on the lap averages as well. Starting position is very important and that's another thing that he has going for him. Being honest. he kinda suprised me last week as I wasn't very high on him overall. This weekend, he is looking a lot better and I could see him going to victory lane on Sunday's afternoon! Of all of those Joe Gibbs cars, I gotta say that the No.11 car has shown the most promise and has the best starting position!
3. Brad Keselowski - Keselowski didn't qualify quite as well as I expected him to, but he had the best car (in my opinion) in practice on Friday. He has never won here at Phoenix in his career and that could easily change on Sunday's afternoon. Now practice results don't always translae to raceday's results, but it is hard to not feel good about him as a fantasy pick. Keselowski is just one of those guys that seem to run well no mtatter the racetrack. Long as he is on the lead lap, I think he has shot to contend for a win. That's not difference this weekend at Phoenix!
4. Joey Logano - Logano didn't qualify as well I thought he would, as he will roll off from the 13th position. That was kinda suprising as I thought he was actually had one of the better cars on the track during the two practice sessions on Friday's afternoon. There's not a lot of bad things you can say about Joey Logano honestly. I really like him to bounce back from a bit of a disappointment result at Auto Club!
5. Kyle Busch - Kyle Busch has been amazing here at Phoenix in recent seasons and been amazing on shorter flat tracks in general. Headed into the week, I had him in my top 2 alongside Kevin Harvick. So do I like him this week? Yes, I do actually! I like him plenty for matter of fact. He looked good in practice and has an amazing track record (as I mention before). So why do I have him his low, if I am high on him? He is starting from the 10th position (that's not too bad), but over the last couple seasons it has been a different vibe to him. This year? He hasn't jumped off the page for me and that kinda puts him a little lower for him. Does that mean he won't run well? Hell no! I think he will finish in the top 5, but I don't think he's better than the three drivers ahead of him this weekend. I think their upsides are higher, but by means am I betting against Kyle Busch!
6. Chase Elliott - Chase is starting from the pole on Sunday's afternoon at Phoenix and he should be a contender, too. He's really good here at Phoenix, even though his finishes hasn't been as good as they were in his first couple seasons. In his last three starts at this track, he has no finishes better than 14th. I think that will certainly change this weekend as I could see him winning on Sunday. I think he will come up short and likely be between 4th and 7th place guy, after he loses the race lead. In general, I do like the Hendrick cars this weekend. They aren't as good as they were at Las Vegas or Auto Club, but they are showing more speed than most realize, though.
7. Ryan Blaney - Two weeks ago, Ryan Blaney led the most laps on his way to 11th place finish at Las Vegas. He was leading late and couldn't make it back to the lead on a late restart. Instead? He get involved in a wreck on the final lap. Last week at Auto Club, he was strong again and was easily a top 2 car. He wasn't gonna catch the No.88 car late, but that bad tire really costed him a strong finish. I don't think he will be nearly as strong, but I think he gonna be very good in this race. He don't have the same eye-popping speed, however, he has a very solid track record and starts inside the top 10. The old thinking in Nascar is, if you consistent run well then you will eventually find victory lane. Folks, he gonna visit victory lane again before long! I see him finishing somewhere in middle of the top 10 on Sunday's afternoon!
8. Kurt Busch - Kurt struggled two weeks ago at Las Vegas and finished outside of the top 20. Then last week, he really had a strong top 10 race and was able to find himself in the top 5 late in the race. At At Auto Club, I thought he mainly was between 7th and 11th place guy. His team made some adjustments and he made some nice passes on the track. This weekend, he has shown good top 10 speed since unloading here. This is a good track for him, too. I think Kurt is one of the safer bets in the field this weekend.
9. Kyle Larson - I wasn't super high on Larson at Auto Club, but I thought he was gonna be a top 10 guy. He would had been, if Hamlin didn't put him into the wall. How about this weekend? It's tough to say! I really haven't made up my mind about the No.42 car yet. I think he gonna be in the top 10 range, but I am not really convinced yet that he is capable of running in the top 5. With that said, I haven't watched him a ton, either. He did qualify inside the top 5, though.
10. Martin Truex Jr - Last week, I think Truex Jr would had finished in the top 2. However, that late-race pit road mistake by his crew really costed him! He used up his tires trying to rebound from that costly mistake. With 15 or so to go, he really started to fade on his used up tires! He went from 8th to about 14th when the checkers waved. He hasn't shown a ton of speed this weekend, but I think he will be better in the race. That kinda been the theme all season long with these Joe Gibbs cars. I think that will be the case again with the #19 car. Starting in the back will hurt, but it's not a death sentence with these stage cautions.
Just Missed -
Aric Almirola - Has ran very good lately here at Phoenix. Very underrated driver on the shorter flats. Looked good on the speed charts in practice.
Erik Jones - Qualified 11th. Doesn't have blazing speed, but he was consistent. I think he has a shot at finishing in the top 10, if they keep up with the adjustments.
Alex Bowman - Bowman didn't unload fast, but they went the right way all day on Friday. The #88 team was pleased with the improvements to the car. Alex thought they were in the ballpark after final practice. His crew chief said that they had a good car at end of final practice. On Saturday, they were able to qualify in the top 10.
William Byron - Didn't qualify as well I hoped, but he showed me more than I thought he would this weekend. I think hes a top 15 driver this weekend
***All stats from DriverAverages.com
Twitter - @JeffNathans18
Fantasy Nascar Update -
1. Kevin Harvick - Harvick is not the same driver he was a few years ago here, but he's still really good here. He looked really strong in practice on Friday and was near the top in all of the lap averages. I would say the only driver who looked better in practice was Brad Keselowski. I think it will be very difficult to beat the No.4 car this weekend. He will roll off from the inside the top 5 and I view him as the odds on favorite to win on Sunday's afternoon!
2. Denny Hamlin - Hamlin and these JGR cars usually perform strongly on these shorter flats and Phoenix is a great track for Denny Hamlin! I really liked him in practice on Friday and he looked good on the lap averages as well. Starting position is very important and that's another thing that he has going for him. Being honest. he kinda suprised me last week as I wasn't very high on him overall. This weekend, he is looking a lot better and I could see him going to victory lane on Sunday's afternoon! Of all of those Joe Gibbs cars, I gotta say that the No.11 car has shown the most promise and has the best starting position!
3. Brad Keselowski - Keselowski didn't qualify quite as well as I expected him to, but he had the best car (in my opinion) in practice on Friday. He has never won here at Phoenix in his career and that could easily change on Sunday's afternoon. Now practice results don't always translae to raceday's results, but it is hard to not feel good about him as a fantasy pick. Keselowski is just one of those guys that seem to run well no mtatter the racetrack. Long as he is on the lead lap, I think he has shot to contend for a win. That's not difference this weekend at Phoenix!
4. Joey Logano - Logano didn't qualify as well I thought he would, as he will roll off from the 13th position. That was kinda suprising as I thought he was actually had one of the better cars on the track during the two practice sessions on Friday's afternoon. There's not a lot of bad things you can say about Joey Logano honestly. I really like him to bounce back from a bit of a disappointment result at Auto Club!
5. Kyle Busch - Kyle Busch has been amazing here at Phoenix in recent seasons and been amazing on shorter flat tracks in general. Headed into the week, I had him in my top 2 alongside Kevin Harvick. So do I like him this week? Yes, I do actually! I like him plenty for matter of fact. He looked good in practice and has an amazing track record (as I mention before). So why do I have him his low, if I am high on him? He is starting from the 10th position (that's not too bad), but over the last couple seasons it has been a different vibe to him. This year? He hasn't jumped off the page for me and that kinda puts him a little lower for him. Does that mean he won't run well? Hell no! I think he will finish in the top 5, but I don't think he's better than the three drivers ahead of him this weekend. I think their upsides are higher, but by means am I betting against Kyle Busch!
6. Chase Elliott - Chase is starting from the pole on Sunday's afternoon at Phoenix and he should be a contender, too. He's really good here at Phoenix, even though his finishes hasn't been as good as they were in his first couple seasons. In his last three starts at this track, he has no finishes better than 14th. I think that will certainly change this weekend as I could see him winning on Sunday. I think he will come up short and likely be between 4th and 7th place guy, after he loses the race lead. In general, I do like the Hendrick cars this weekend. They aren't as good as they were at Las Vegas or Auto Club, but they are showing more speed than most realize, though.
7. Ryan Blaney - Two weeks ago, Ryan Blaney led the most laps on his way to 11th place finish at Las Vegas. He was leading late and couldn't make it back to the lead on a late restart. Instead? He get involved in a wreck on the final lap. Last week at Auto Club, he was strong again and was easily a top 2 car. He wasn't gonna catch the No.88 car late, but that bad tire really costed him a strong finish. I don't think he will be nearly as strong, but I think he gonna be very good in this race. He don't have the same eye-popping speed, however, he has a very solid track record and starts inside the top 10. The old thinking in Nascar is, if you consistent run well then you will eventually find victory lane. Folks, he gonna visit victory lane again before long! I see him finishing somewhere in middle of the top 10 on Sunday's afternoon!
8. Kurt Busch - Kurt struggled two weeks ago at Las Vegas and finished outside of the top 20. Then last week, he really had a strong top 10 race and was able to find himself in the top 5 late in the race. At At Auto Club, I thought he mainly was between 7th and 11th place guy. His team made some adjustments and he made some nice passes on the track. This weekend, he has shown good top 10 speed since unloading here. This is a good track for him, too. I think Kurt is one of the safer bets in the field this weekend.
9. Kyle Larson - I wasn't super high on Larson at Auto Club, but I thought he was gonna be a top 10 guy. He would had been, if Hamlin didn't put him into the wall. How about this weekend? It's tough to say! I really haven't made up my mind about the No.42 car yet. I think he gonna be in the top 10 range, but I am not really convinced yet that he is capable of running in the top 5. With that said, I haven't watched him a ton, either. He did qualify inside the top 5, though.
10. Martin Truex Jr - Last week, I think Truex Jr would had finished in the top 2. However, that late-race pit road mistake by his crew really costed him! He used up his tires trying to rebound from that costly mistake. With 15 or so to go, he really started to fade on his used up tires! He went from 8th to about 14th when the checkers waved. He hasn't shown a ton of speed this weekend, but I think he will be better in the race. That kinda been the theme all season long with these Joe Gibbs cars. I think that will be the case again with the #19 car. Starting in the back will hurt, but it's not a death sentence with these stage cautions.
Just Missed -
Aric Almirola - Has ran very good lately here at Phoenix. Very underrated driver on the shorter flats. Looked good on the speed charts in practice.
Erik Jones - Qualified 11th. Doesn't have blazing speed, but he was consistent. I think he has a shot at finishing in the top 10, if they keep up with the adjustments.
Alex Bowman - Bowman didn't unload fast, but they went the right way all day on Friday. The #88 team was pleased with the improvements to the car. Alex thought they were in the ballpark after final practice. His crew chief said that they had a good car at end of final practice. On Saturday, they were able to qualify in the top 10.
William Byron - Didn't qualify as well I hoped, but he showed me more than I thought he would this weekend. I think hes a top 15 driver this weekend
***All stats from DriverAverages.com
Twitter - @JeffNathans18
