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We are at Sonoma this weekend. This is a difficult track to master at times. But luckily we were able to see both practices before the Yahoo lockdown. Unfortunately qualifying didn't go how most of us expected at all. The favorites are positioned throughout the field for the start of Sunday race. Below are my official personal notes of both practice and qualifying sessions:
1-Jamie Mac: Jamie starts on the pole. He started on the pole in 2013 as well. Jamie seems to really like his car in practice. Top 10 is likely, but I don't trust him to deliver honestly.
2-Brad Keselowski: Brad start outside of the top 12. He is probably more useful at other venues though. But starting him Sunday isn't the worst idea. I expect him to challenge for at least a top 10.
3-Austin Dillon: Coming into the weekend I expected an top 25 from Dillon. That pretty much the feeling I get from him in practice on Friday. Don't really see a legit reason to start him on Sunday.
4-Kevin Harvick: Harvick have given the term flying under the radar a completely new meaning. He wasn't just overlooked..he was overlooked by 10 miles. 16% in Yahoo selected him. Kevin is actually a pretty good road course racer. He was pretty good in practice on Friday and qualify very well (inside the top 10).
5-Kasey Kahne: Kahne have been average so far this weekend ,but that about it. He haven't been horrible , but he isn't an fantasy option at the moment. Just need to see more out of him.
9-Marcos Ambrose: Ambrose starts 23rd. Not exactly what I wanted out of him. Wouldn't be surprised to see most people (or least some) bench road course gems like Ambrose in favor for guys who starts up front. If you do , then you better be 100% sure your starters can hold the track position. Ambrose will be able to drive up through the field fairly easy.
10-Danica Patrick: Patrick may be our best choice this week (given you aren't willing to burn a Larson start). Patrick wasn't outright impressive , but at Sonoma track position is very key here. Dillon , Said and Allaiger didn't qualify that well (didn't practice well either). Patrick could knock off a top 20.
11-Denny Hamlin: Hamlin shouldn't even be on the radar , let alone your team. He pretty much back that up in practice. Nothing really overly impressive about him. He's needs to look top 10 , before you start him. Hammy not Top 10 material at Sonoma.
14-Tony Stewart: Stewart starts outside the top 20. I have no intentions of using an Smoke start on Sunday (mainly because I left him off my team.) Smoke was pretty good in practice. He won't stay there for long. I expect an top 10 from the 14 this week.
15-Clint Bowyer: Bowyer start 25th. He was the car to beat in practice. Like Ambrose, his poor starting position is only an temporary setback. Nevertheless I fully expect most people to bench the 15 for the 41 or 24.
16-Greg Biffle: The Biff was good in practice. Qualifying didn't go like he wanted though. I am not convince the Roush cars are realistically top 10 options. I mean their performance of late make me highly doubt them as an organization.
18-Kyle Busch: Busch is top 15 at best (based on practice and qualifying efforts). There are better places to use him. And are better options to use at Sonoma.
20-Matt Kenseth: Kenseth will likely give JGR realistically the best shot at an top 10 this weekend. Kenseth was good in practice (not great though). He qualified solidly too. I have him just outside the top 10 at the finish line.
22-Joey Logano: Logano is one of the most underrated options in the field this week. He doesn't get the credit he deserves honestly. JoLo was pretty stout in practice. I consider him one of the guys to beat on Sunday. I have him finishing in the top 5.
24-Jeff Gordon: Gordon will start 15th. He is arguably the safest bet for a top 10 finish in the field. His starting position shouldn't be a issue. If anything , its adds value for variety of formats. Gordon is my pick to win on Sunday. He will be hard to beat on long runs.
27-Paul Menard: Menard qualified well , but i don't think he can stay there. Honestly , it would be a mistake to start him on Sunday. He isn't the best road course racer (especially not in Yahoo B-tier drivers). He was okay in practice , but his lap times fell off a bit too much.
31-Ryan Newman: Newman was okay in practice , but qualified very well. He might be a dark horse for a top 10. But i see him finish in the 11-17 place range. There are much worse options though.
32-Boris Said: Okay you took a chance with a ringer and he qualified 41th. Do the right thing and start your other option. Said was absolutely horrible in practice. Heck his car stalled in middle of the track (which caused a caution.) I want no part of the "Boris Said wrecking my fantasy team project".
41-Kurt Busch: Guess someone at SHR finally told Busch that 2014 season started. Busch looked stellar in practice. Back that up with an top 5 qualifying effort. My only concern is the 41 long run speed. Felt like he fell off after 15 laps. I could be wrong though.
42-Kyle Larson: Okay lets be honest..Are you really gonna bench Larson from the 3rd starting position in Yahoo? Yeah I wouldn't either. The 42 was bad fast in practice and qualifying. I wouldn't be shocked to see him in victory lane.
47-Aj Dinger: The Dinger is arguably the most overlooked option this week. He could knock off a top 5 this week. He was strong in practice. Back it up with qualifying. I love the Dinger this weekend. He is an legitimate road course racer.
48-Jimmie Johnson: Johnson was good in both practices , but didn't get the feeling he have a winning capable car (based on practice times least). He is probably too value to waste here and not get maximum points.
55-Brian Vickers: Vickers was another overlooked option. He was probably overlooked because of his bad luck recently. But man are those MWR cars strong this weekend. I wouldn't be shocked to see them both in the top 5 on Sunday evening.
78-Martin Truex Jr: Truex Jr makes a case for a starter this week (after practice). But when you mix an up and down season with an disappointing qualifying effort..it doesn't look good. I still think he could finish near the top 10 though.
88-Dale Jr: Dale looked good in practice. He backed that up with a nice qualification on Saturday. He wouldn't be my first choice , but you could certainly do much worse.
99-Carl Edwards: Edwards qualified 4th for Sunday race. He was fairly strong in Friday practice too. But there are better places to insert ole Carl. I don't hate starting Carl though. He definitely holds value (with his percentage being incredibly low in Yahoo).
Okay that pretty much it. Don't forget to check back tomorrow before the race. As we have a few more articles to post still.
Thanks for reading ,
Jeff Nathans
