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Phoenix last week was not a ideal racetrack for fantasy sleepers and that was pretty obvious by the number of surprises up inside the top 15. There were only a few surprises that offered any type of real fantasy value for us fantasy players. However this week at California, I think we are going to be talking about different situation. I believe Cali is a more sleeper-friendly type racetrack and going off-sequence is more visible. Going too far off the map is probably a bad idea, however I see more than a few potential fantasy options for the weekend. Here are my picks. Enjoy!
Sleepers -
Paul Menard - I like Menard at Cali solely because of his solid track record here, but I am not completely sold on him based on his performance this season. His best race this season was Vegas where he was at best an 15th place driver. Obviously Menard is a great play because is in general overlooked as a fantasy choice. But personally I don't think he will be able to live up to the hype of his 4th-place run in last season's event. I still do like him a lot. RCR's biggest strength seems to be the intermediates and I feel like they will continue provide him top 15 potential cars. Add in his recent success (finished 16th or better in every start at Cali since joining RCR), he should be a good sleeper to keep an eye on this weekend.
Aric Almirola - Say hello to my personal favorite sleeper this weekend in Aric Almirola. You are probably saying, ''Garry, why Aric? He is nothing special!'' He isn't the most talked about driver in the series, but let me tell you a little something about Mr.Almirola. He will deliver the results for you and that almost a promise. His finishes this season so far? 12th, 15th, 24th and 13th. So 3 of 4 races this season have ended in 12th-15th place. Pretty good, wouldn't you agree? His 24th-place finish came at Vegas. Misleading though. He had speed all weekend long, but just wasn't ever that good in the race. However his Cali record is encouraging with 2 of his past 3 races have ended inside the top 13. The other resulted in an 43rd place finish, but that was because of a accident though. Aric won't be the sexy product most of us are looking for, but he will be someone you can count on to deliver though.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr - Yes, I know. I know, I dropped the ball last week with Stenhouse and I felt terrible about that. However I truly believe he will bounce back. Why? There a few reasons I believe that actually: 1) 2 Top 20 in his first 3 starts at Cali (career-best 15th last season). 2) He have managed finishes of 10th and 12th place finishes at the first two intermediate racetracks. 3) I believe in karma in racing. If you have some bad karma, it usually followed by some good karma eventually. I am not saying Stenhouse is a smart play (last week proved he is a risky option), but I do like his potential though. RFR still isn't up to speed compared to a few seasons ago, but I have liked what I saw from them. I believe Stenhouse is the best driver in this organization at the moment and have proved that by the way he have ran lately. At this point, I don't think he is anything better than top 20 driver though. So if you choose him for this weekend, then expect a top 20 from him, but upside finish in the low to mid teens most likely.
Have a question?
Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com
Thanks for reading,
Garry Briggs
Phoenix last week was not a ideal racetrack for fantasy sleepers and that was pretty obvious by the number of surprises up inside the top 15. There were only a few surprises that offered any type of real fantasy value for us fantasy players. However this week at California, I think we are going to be talking about different situation. I believe Cali is a more sleeper-friendly type racetrack and going off-sequence is more visible. Going too far off the map is probably a bad idea, however I see more than a few potential fantasy options for the weekend. Here are my picks. Enjoy!
Sleepers -
Paul Menard - I like Menard at Cali solely because of his solid track record here, but I am not completely sold on him based on his performance this season. His best race this season was Vegas where he was at best an 15th place driver. Obviously Menard is a great play because is in general overlooked as a fantasy choice. But personally I don't think he will be able to live up to the hype of his 4th-place run in last season's event. I still do like him a lot. RCR's biggest strength seems to be the intermediates and I feel like they will continue provide him top 15 potential cars. Add in his recent success (finished 16th or better in every start at Cali since joining RCR), he should be a good sleeper to keep an eye on this weekend.
Aric Almirola - Say hello to my personal favorite sleeper this weekend in Aric Almirola. You are probably saying, ''Garry, why Aric? He is nothing special!'' He isn't the most talked about driver in the series, but let me tell you a little something about Mr.Almirola. He will deliver the results for you and that almost a promise. His finishes this season so far? 12th, 15th, 24th and 13th. So 3 of 4 races this season have ended in 12th-15th place. Pretty good, wouldn't you agree? His 24th-place finish came at Vegas. Misleading though. He had speed all weekend long, but just wasn't ever that good in the race. However his Cali record is encouraging with 2 of his past 3 races have ended inside the top 13. The other resulted in an 43rd place finish, but that was because of a accident though. Aric won't be the sexy product most of us are looking for, but he will be someone you can count on to deliver though.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr - Yes, I know. I know, I dropped the ball last week with Stenhouse and I felt terrible about that. However I truly believe he will bounce back. Why? There a few reasons I believe that actually: 1) 2 Top 20 in his first 3 starts at Cali (career-best 15th last season). 2) He have managed finishes of 10th and 12th place finishes at the first two intermediate racetracks. 3) I believe in karma in racing. If you have some bad karma, it usually followed by some good karma eventually. I am not saying Stenhouse is a smart play (last week proved he is a risky option), but I do like his potential though. RFR still isn't up to speed compared to a few seasons ago, but I have liked what I saw from them. I believe Stenhouse is the best driver in this organization at the moment and have proved that by the way he have ran lately. At this point, I don't think he is anything better than top 20 driver though. So if you choose him for this weekend, then expect a top 20 from him, but upside finish in the low to mid teens most likely.
Have a question?
Email - briggs_garry48@yahoo.com
Thanks for reading,
Garry Briggs
