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Fantasy Update -
A:
1. Kyle Busch - Kyle Busch have won the previous two cup races and looks to go for his 3rd straight win. I think Kyle have one of the cars to beat this weekend. He was constantly one of the quickest cars on the track in practice and have found plenty of success here over the years. Rowdy will start from the 6th starting position, while I don't think he has a dominant racecar. However I think once he get to the lead, he will be very tough to beat. He have posted 6 Top 5 finishes in 7 races this season. I find it hard to believe, he won't least post another one on Sunday. He's my pick to win!
My Overall Ranking: 1st
2. Matt Kenseth - I don't think there will be one dominating car on Sunday, but I do believe JGR will be the domantant team though. JGR have looked strong as a whole (to nobody surprise) and I think we see least 2 cars upside the top 5. Kenseth have not had much luck this season, but he been fast almost every week. Matt is a great short track racer (at Bristol) and have proven why he's one of the series best here since the track was re-done. I thought Edwards and Busch were a little better than Kenseth in practice, but MK never show his full hand in practice. I think the 20 will lead some laps early on and likely finish inside the top 5 when the checkers wave. My only concern is Matt's bad luck will strike once again. Otherwise I would say, he's pretty much a lock for a top 5 run. He will roll off from the 2nd starting position!
My Overall Ranking: 3rd
3. Kevin Harvick - I think people will overlook the driver of the 4 car and I think that will be a regretful decision, too. Harvick is fast week in and week out, and Bristol is no difference. He isn't blazing fast, but he have a solid car for Sunday car. I don't think he will go up and dominate, however I see another top 5 from him. Or least have top 5 potential. My big problem with Harvick is, he never seems to be able to finish out there races on short tracks. I don't think he will win, but I certainly wouldn't count out Kevin Harvick. He should be a top 5 driver with winning potential
My Overall Ranking: 4th
4. Jimmie Johnson - Johnson wasn't too bad in practice, but I don't think he has the car to beat this week. He have one of the best records here recently, however I think it will be tough to beat the JGR cars this week. Johnson have plenty of momentum headed into the race, with already two wins this season and few other top 5 finishes. So it not unrealistically to think that Johnson cannot finish inside the top 5 once again. I personally think he will be on the boarder line headed into the race. His lap times were pretty good in practice, they just didn't stand out. That's not a bad thing though.
My Overall Ranking: 5th
5. Denny Hamlin - This final ranking in this tier of drivers came down to Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano. I decided to go with Hamlin, because Logano have had much more success in the summer races here. Also I thought Logano fell off more than Hamlin did in practice. Hamlin was pretty solid in final practice and ended up with the quickest lap in the session. I wouldn't say he have the car to beat, but I thought his lap times were legit top 5 to top 7 worthy. I just don't trust Hamlin this season, as he been super inconsistent since winning the Daytona 500. Hard to say what Denny comes out on Sunday.
My Overall Ranking: 6th
B:
1. Carl Edwards - Edwards have the 2nd-best car overall to teammate Kyle Busch (in my honest opinion) and should lead a lot of laps early on in the race. He unloaded very fast and he haven't slowed down since. I don't think he is quite as good as last week, but he probably pretty darn close. My prediction is: he leads a lot of laps until Kyle Busch get the front. Then he settles into 2nd place and finishes up inside the top 3. That's pretty realistic too. He have more than enough speed to hold his own vs the competition. Also remember the front row have produced a lot of eventual race winners at Bristol. So don't be shocked, if Edwards goes to victory lane. But like I already mentioned, I think he comes up just short though.
My Overall Ranking: 2nd
2. Martin Truex Jr - Truex have been good this weekend, but nothing like he was last week at Texas. I think Truex is a top 10 driver, but I still don't really trust him. Sure he finished inside the top 10 at Texas (nice change of pace), but it like the 78 team cannot find ways to finish out races strong. He once again posted some fast laps in practice, however history says he won't be able to back it up with the results. Realistically I think Truex finishes between the 5th-10th place range most likely.
My Overall Ranking: 8th
3. Kyle Larson - Larson is starting to put together some runs with 3 Top 14 finishes in his past 4 races this season. There isn't a driver in the series who can get around the high-line better than Larson. In final practice, the 42 car came to life late in practice when the rubber started to come in. If I am correct, he posted the best 10-lap average in the session on scuff tires. He is starting in mid-pack, but don't expect him to stay there for too long though. I really like him as a fantasy pick on Sunday. This been a great racetrack for him so far in his cup career. Also he was looking pretty impressive in the NXS race.
My Overall Ranking: 12th
4. Ryan Newman - Newman have been pretty happy with his car this weekend and his team felt like they had a solid car on Friday (according to his team's twitter account). He was pretty good in both practices on Saturday too. He didn't post any blazing fast laps, but mainly consistent lap times overall. I think we will see the 31 car slowly move through the field and come away with a top 10 or top 15 finish. I think the 31 team is off at the moment on the intermediate racetracks, so hopefully they can take advantage of these next few weeks at the short tracks. I have Newman finishing between 9th-14th place most likely!
My Overall Ranking: 13th
5. Austin Dillon - I honestly didn't pay much attention to Austin Dillon in practice, but he usually races better than he practices. I track some of his lap times in final practice and looked like a middle to high teen driver from the data I gathered. But that could be inaccurate, since I only tracked a few runs of his. I also like him because of his success at Bristol so far in his cup career, also he ran the NXS race. I think that will definitely help him out. Headed into the race, I view him as a top 15 to top 18 driver. Knowing Austin, he will probably out produce my prediction though.
My Overall Ranking: 14th
C:
1. Chase Elliott - Elliott have looked really great all weekend at Bristol and should be easily a top 15 driver and more than likely contend for another top 10 finish. This kid is going to win a race very soon and I wouldn't be shocked if it came before we get into 2nd half of the season. What makes Elliott so good as rookie, he doesn't use up all of his equipment. He's nice and smooth just about every track that we go to. Guess what? Bristol have been no difference. He have improved as the weekend progressed so far and I think we will see him improve some more on Sunday!
My Overall Ranking: 15th
2. Ryan Blaney - Blaney should be good as well on Sunday, but I doubt he will be as strong as fellow rookie Chase Elliott though. I do think Blaney will be better than he have in recent weeks. Blaney's biggest problem this season is performing well on the worn-racetrack that are tough on tires. He won't have that problem at Bristol though. Bristol is typically pretty kind in that regard. I think Blaney will contend for a top 20 finish and sneak his way into the top 15 before the checkers wave. But honestly I didn't really pay a lot of attention to him in final practice, so I cannot really give any details how his lap times looked or anything of that nature.
My Overall Ranking: 18th
3. Ty Dillon - Ty Dillon have had a tough weekend. He started off rough by wrecking into Landon Cassill in qualifying. Which led to him qualifying pretty poorly and he have looked off all day in practice. I just wasn't very impressed by him at all, I thought we would see more out of Dillon. Honestly I would have thought Vickers would be in the car at Bristol, not Dillon. I still don't understand that decision. Oh well. Dillon will be lucky to finish inside the top 25 this week. Of course, if he anything like big bro Austin, then he will likely find ways to improve throughout the race. I remember Austin Dillon in his rookie season doing that a lot. Ty Dillon did the same thing at Texas in the 95 car.
My Overall Ranking: 27th
Tier Rankings -
A:
1. Kyle Busch
2. Matt Kenseth
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Jimmie Johnson
5. Denny Hamlin
6. Joey Logano
7. Dale Jr
8. Brad Keselowski
9. Kurt Busch
B:
1. Carl Edwards
2. Martin Truex Jr
3. Kyle Busch
4. Ryan Newman
5. Austin Dillon
6. Kasey Kahne
7. Paul Menard
8. JMac
9. Aric Almirola
10. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
C:
1. Chase Elliott
2. Ryan Blaney
3. Ty Dillon
4. Brian Scott
Twitter - @JeffNathans18
Fantasy Update -
A:
1. Kyle Busch - Kyle Busch have won the previous two cup races and looks to go for his 3rd straight win. I think Kyle have one of the cars to beat this weekend. He was constantly one of the quickest cars on the track in practice and have found plenty of success here over the years. Rowdy will start from the 6th starting position, while I don't think he has a dominant racecar. However I think once he get to the lead, he will be very tough to beat. He have posted 6 Top 5 finishes in 7 races this season. I find it hard to believe, he won't least post another one on Sunday. He's my pick to win!
My Overall Ranking: 1st
2. Matt Kenseth - I don't think there will be one dominating car on Sunday, but I do believe JGR will be the domantant team though. JGR have looked strong as a whole (to nobody surprise) and I think we see least 2 cars upside the top 5. Kenseth have not had much luck this season, but he been fast almost every week. Matt is a great short track racer (at Bristol) and have proven why he's one of the series best here since the track was re-done. I thought Edwards and Busch were a little better than Kenseth in practice, but MK never show his full hand in practice. I think the 20 will lead some laps early on and likely finish inside the top 5 when the checkers wave. My only concern is Matt's bad luck will strike once again. Otherwise I would say, he's pretty much a lock for a top 5 run. He will roll off from the 2nd starting position!
My Overall Ranking: 3rd
3. Kevin Harvick - I think people will overlook the driver of the 4 car and I think that will be a regretful decision, too. Harvick is fast week in and week out, and Bristol is no difference. He isn't blazing fast, but he have a solid car for Sunday car. I don't think he will go up and dominate, however I see another top 5 from him. Or least have top 5 potential. My big problem with Harvick is, he never seems to be able to finish out there races on short tracks. I don't think he will win, but I certainly wouldn't count out Kevin Harvick. He should be a top 5 driver with winning potential
My Overall Ranking: 4th
4. Jimmie Johnson - Johnson wasn't too bad in practice, but I don't think he has the car to beat this week. He have one of the best records here recently, however I think it will be tough to beat the JGR cars this week. Johnson have plenty of momentum headed into the race, with already two wins this season and few other top 5 finishes. So it not unrealistically to think that Johnson cannot finish inside the top 5 once again. I personally think he will be on the boarder line headed into the race. His lap times were pretty good in practice, they just didn't stand out. That's not a bad thing though.
My Overall Ranking: 5th
5. Denny Hamlin - This final ranking in this tier of drivers came down to Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano. I decided to go with Hamlin, because Logano have had much more success in the summer races here. Also I thought Logano fell off more than Hamlin did in practice. Hamlin was pretty solid in final practice and ended up with the quickest lap in the session. I wouldn't say he have the car to beat, but I thought his lap times were legit top 5 to top 7 worthy. I just don't trust Hamlin this season, as he been super inconsistent since winning the Daytona 500. Hard to say what Denny comes out on Sunday.
My Overall Ranking: 6th
B:
1. Carl Edwards - Edwards have the 2nd-best car overall to teammate Kyle Busch (in my honest opinion) and should lead a lot of laps early on in the race. He unloaded very fast and he haven't slowed down since. I don't think he is quite as good as last week, but he probably pretty darn close. My prediction is: he leads a lot of laps until Kyle Busch get the front. Then he settles into 2nd place and finishes up inside the top 3. That's pretty realistic too. He have more than enough speed to hold his own vs the competition. Also remember the front row have produced a lot of eventual race winners at Bristol. So don't be shocked, if Edwards goes to victory lane. But like I already mentioned, I think he comes up just short though.
My Overall Ranking: 2nd
2. Martin Truex Jr - Truex have been good this weekend, but nothing like he was last week at Texas. I think Truex is a top 10 driver, but I still don't really trust him. Sure he finished inside the top 10 at Texas (nice change of pace), but it like the 78 team cannot find ways to finish out races strong. He once again posted some fast laps in practice, however history says he won't be able to back it up with the results. Realistically I think Truex finishes between the 5th-10th place range most likely.
My Overall Ranking: 8th
3. Kyle Larson - Larson is starting to put together some runs with 3 Top 14 finishes in his past 4 races this season. There isn't a driver in the series who can get around the high-line better than Larson. In final practice, the 42 car came to life late in practice when the rubber started to come in. If I am correct, he posted the best 10-lap average in the session on scuff tires. He is starting in mid-pack, but don't expect him to stay there for too long though. I really like him as a fantasy pick on Sunday. This been a great racetrack for him so far in his cup career. Also he was looking pretty impressive in the NXS race.
My Overall Ranking: 12th
4. Ryan Newman - Newman have been pretty happy with his car this weekend and his team felt like they had a solid car on Friday (according to his team's twitter account). He was pretty good in both practices on Saturday too. He didn't post any blazing fast laps, but mainly consistent lap times overall. I think we will see the 31 car slowly move through the field and come away with a top 10 or top 15 finish. I think the 31 team is off at the moment on the intermediate racetracks, so hopefully they can take advantage of these next few weeks at the short tracks. I have Newman finishing between 9th-14th place most likely!
My Overall Ranking: 13th
5. Austin Dillon - I honestly didn't pay much attention to Austin Dillon in practice, but he usually races better than he practices. I track some of his lap times in final practice and looked like a middle to high teen driver from the data I gathered. But that could be inaccurate, since I only tracked a few runs of his. I also like him because of his success at Bristol so far in his cup career, also he ran the NXS race. I think that will definitely help him out. Headed into the race, I view him as a top 15 to top 18 driver. Knowing Austin, he will probably out produce my prediction though.
My Overall Ranking: 14th
C:
1. Chase Elliott - Elliott have looked really great all weekend at Bristol and should be easily a top 15 driver and more than likely contend for another top 10 finish. This kid is going to win a race very soon and I wouldn't be shocked if it came before we get into 2nd half of the season. What makes Elliott so good as rookie, he doesn't use up all of his equipment. He's nice and smooth just about every track that we go to. Guess what? Bristol have been no difference. He have improved as the weekend progressed so far and I think we will see him improve some more on Sunday!
My Overall Ranking: 15th
2. Ryan Blaney - Blaney should be good as well on Sunday, but I doubt he will be as strong as fellow rookie Chase Elliott though. I do think Blaney will be better than he have in recent weeks. Blaney's biggest problem this season is performing well on the worn-racetrack that are tough on tires. He won't have that problem at Bristol though. Bristol is typically pretty kind in that regard. I think Blaney will contend for a top 20 finish and sneak his way into the top 15 before the checkers wave. But honestly I didn't really pay a lot of attention to him in final practice, so I cannot really give any details how his lap times looked or anything of that nature.
My Overall Ranking: 18th
3. Ty Dillon - Ty Dillon have had a tough weekend. He started off rough by wrecking into Landon Cassill in qualifying. Which led to him qualifying pretty poorly and he have looked off all day in practice. I just wasn't very impressed by him at all, I thought we would see more out of Dillon. Honestly I would have thought Vickers would be in the car at Bristol, not Dillon. I still don't understand that decision. Oh well. Dillon will be lucky to finish inside the top 25 this week. Of course, if he anything like big bro Austin, then he will likely find ways to improve throughout the race. I remember Austin Dillon in his rookie season doing that a lot. Ty Dillon did the same thing at Texas in the 95 car.
My Overall Ranking: 27th
Tier Rankings -
A:
1. Kyle Busch
2. Matt Kenseth
3. Kevin Harvick
4. Jimmie Johnson
5. Denny Hamlin
6. Joey Logano
7. Dale Jr
8. Brad Keselowski
9. Kurt Busch
B:
1. Carl Edwards
2. Martin Truex Jr
3. Kyle Busch
4. Ryan Newman
5. Austin Dillon
6. Kasey Kahne
7. Paul Menard
8. JMac
9. Aric Almirola
10. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
C:
1. Chase Elliott
2. Ryan Blaney
3. Ty Dillon
4. Brian Scott
Twitter - @JeffNathans18
