Welcome to TimersSports
Charlotte is 600 miles. That's 400 laps around the 1.5 mile racetrack that will test equipment, drivers and crews. Not to mention, (us) fantasy players as well. So how do you prepare for such as a event as the Coke-Cola 600, that starts in the daylight hours and ends under the lights? Great question. I personally hate night races because how we typically practice during the daytime. I think it add another element into the dumpster fire. Exactly why I usually recommend looking at stats more closely than usual. I personally rather look at current season data than past season data though. As current season data is more relevant. So how much does practice means for Sunday's race? I think it means something, but by no means will I be heavily depending on it. If I have a gut feeling about a fantasy pick, then I will most definitely take a shot in the dark. With that said, the temps will be closer to first practice session than the final practice session was.
Here are my thoughts on how the field stacks up heading into the race!
***My Overall Rankings are based on practice efforts, qualifying results, momentum, consistency, track history and of course personal thoughts and opinions
A:
1. Jimmie Johnson - Johnson is having a nice season so far in 2016, but he recently developed a mini-slump of late. However, he had the second-best car in practice on Saturday and looked pretty overall. I thought he was better in latter part of final practice, but he was still pretty good otherwise. Not only does Johnson have a pretty fast car this weekend, he have found plenty of success at Charlotte. It been a couple years since he have won here, he have 5 wins at this venue. If you ask me, he is probably overdue for a victory by now. Now take into factor how good he been on the intermediate tracks this season (minus Kansas), where Johnson have finished inside the top 5 in every single race. Everything points to an strong run from the 48 car on Sunday night (or whenever we run the race).
My Overall Ranking: 1st
2. Kevin Harvick - Harvick have been fast all season long and I highly doubt he stops anytime soon. Obviously he could've been better in practice, but he wasn't terrible. He was right there with the fast cars. I know some people will be concerned with him being 24th place on the leaderboard in final practice. However, remember being fast for a single lap doesn't translate to be fast on the long runs. Same could be said about a slow lap, as well. Even in final practice, Harvick was good. His lap times weren't on Truex's or Johnson's level, but not terrible. And I think we learn something about Harvick since joining SHR. That is he doesn't always look strong in practice, but he usually contending inside the top 5 before the checkers wave. Also I believe the first practice is a better data pool to look at, he was solid in that session. With that said, I don't know how much practice will matter once the track cools down and teams start making adjustments. However one thing we do know is, Harvick always seems to be in thick of things!
My Overall Ranking: 3rd
3. Kyle Busch - After Johnson and Truex, I think everyone else is fighting for a spot. Busch wasn't great on Saturday, but by no means was he terrible. As I mention up above with Harvick, I think there are a lot of unknowns heading into Sunday's race. Obviously the JGR cars have not lived up to our expectations so far this weekend. But I really do believe that they will be factors once we get into the race. Busch have finished inside the top 4 in every 1.5 mile racetrack this season, and that alone gives me reason to believe in him. Now could that change for the 600? Sure, it possible that Busch struggle in the race. But I don't think he will though. Great drivers and teams fine ways to finish up front. In practice, he was top 10 good in my opinion. His fastest lap in each session didn't show it, but he was much better than 32nd fastest and 15th fastest. I think he will least contend for a top 10 finish on Sunday night. With some adjustments, he could challenge for a top 5 run. With that said, his numbers this season gives him a bump in my rankings. On pure speed heading into the race, he will be a little further back.
My Overall Ranking: 4th
4. Joey Logano - I could have ranked Logano ahead of Busch (and based on solelypractice, I probably should), but I decided against. What really holding me back this season with Logano is his inconsistency all year long. I mean, sure he have shown speed from time to time. And more often than not, he have finish up front. But I just not convinced that the 22 car is good as it was a year ago. With that said, Logano was pretty good overall in practice on Saturday. He showed pretty good speed, I would say he is top 5 material overall. I guess my big issue with Logano is trust at the moment. He just haven't been able to stay up front this season on a regular basis. Sunday night could be his night to change that, don't you think? I have finishing right around 5th or so!
My Overall Ranking: 5th
5. Brad Keselowski - This final spot in my personal rankings came down to Brad Keselowski or Kurt Busch. I thought about giving Busch the spot, because of his consistency this season. I think he has like 10 straight Top 10 finishes or something. However Keselowski have finished 16 of the past 17 1.5 intermediate racetracks inside the top 10. So it not like one stat outweighs the other. The deciding factor was what Brad Keselowski said on twitter. He said they were close (referring to their car), and when a driver says something like that, I typically takes their word for it. Not to mention, Keselowski looked pretty solid in both practice sessions on Saturday. I think the #2 car will be fast on Sunday night. I have the 2 car knocking on the door on the top 5.
My Overall Ranking: 6th
Other Options - Kurt Busch (7th), Denny Hamlin (9th), Dale Jr (10th) and Matt Kenseth (13th)
B:
1. Martin Truex Jr - Martin Truex Jr is the favorite headed into Sunday's race and I don't think it is very close. He will roll off from the pole and he looked like the dominating car in both practice sessions. His lap times were in another zip code at times, when compared with the competition. Also he didn't fall like the other fast cars did, which explains for some of his laps he put down. I think the 78 will be very tough to beat this weekend. He have sent the pace and now it time to find out, if anyone will have anything for him. Honestly weather it ran Sunday's night or Monday during the day, I think the 78 will run away with this race. His car is simply that good! Remember the last 1.5 mile racetrack (at Kansas)? I kinda get the feeling, we are in for a similar performance.
My Overall Ranking: 1st
2. Carl Edwards - Edwards have been good this weekend, but I wouldn't call him top 5 good like normally though. In practice on Saturday, I thought he had top 10 speed in both sessions. However I don't think we will see him up front leading a lot of laps though. The 19 car should contend for least a top 10 finish and knowing Carl, he will find a way to finish inside the top 5. Even if he doesn't quite have a top 5 car. I do like him a lot as a fantasy pick! He been very consistent all season long and have been basically a top 10 lock any track, we go to. Also, Carl have found decent amount of success at Charlotte over the years. Including winning last season's event. Of course that was on fuel mileage. This season, however he have the speed to back it up.
My Overall Ranking: 8th
3. Ryan Newman - Newman have been solid all of late and have comfortably settled into his consistency role once again this season. I love consistent drivers in fantasy nascar, because we know what to expect from them on most weekends. I thought Newman was in right in the thick of that ''best of the rest'' group (referring to after Truex and Johnson). Newman doesn't have top 5 speed this weekend (he rarely does), but he have a pretty good car overall. His lap times were pretty good and didn't really fall-off from what I saw. Headed into the race, he has a top 12 car in my opinion. Realistically, you should probably expect a low to middle teen finish from him. If he doesn't sneak away with an top 10 run. He is a pretty safe fantasy option and that won't change this weekend.
My Overall Ranking: 11th
4. Kyle Larson - There is a lot to like about Kyle Larson and probably just much to be scare of, as well. With that said, I think his potential outweighs the risk. He is getting closer to finding victory lane and I wouldn't be shocked if it came on Sunday night. Why do I say that? For starters, he had one of the better cars in the most relevant practice session (practice #2). Not only was he fast, but he didn't fall-off as much as rest of the competition did. He also have plenty of momentum to use to his advantage as well. Now let's not get ahead of ourselves, we have to remember how much of a risk Larson is as well. Take a look at the NXS race on Saturday, on the final lap he got into the wall. Larson and walls scare me, but that where he will probably be running on Sunday night.
My Overall Ranking: 12th
5. Austin Dillon - This was a tough one to decide on, it came down to Austin Dillon or Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Both are probably pretty close to one another. Dillon was better in final practice I thought, but Ricky had the edge in the earlier session. However I think Dillon have never finished worse than 16th at Charlotte in 4 career starts. He also have been rock solid all season long the 1.5 mile racetracks. Dillon clearly isn't as consistent as he was earlier in the season, but I think he has a great opportunity to get back on track at one of his better racetracks.
My Overall Ranking: 14th
Other Options - Ricky Stenhouse Jr (15th), Greg Biffle (16th), Jamie Mac (18th) and Paul Menard (19th)
C:
1. Chase Elliott - Elliott is having a amazing season and this kid is only a rookie. To nobody surprise, Elliott have looked pretty sharp in practice this week for Charlotte. What impresses me most about this kid is how he takes care of his stuff. Chase is great at tire management, so you won't see him fade on the long runs. Places like Atlanta, Texas and Cali, we saw him have impressive runs and at each track he took care of his stuff. I don't think this week will be any different either. Elliott will have a legit shot at an top 10 finish and most likely find himself inside the top 5. It becoming a weekly thing now.
My Overall Ranking: 17th
2. Ryan Blaney - I know there a lot of people who think Blaney is going to have amazing run on Sunday night, but for some reason I am not buying it. Sure, he is riding a 3-race Top 10 streak. But tell me, something what do those 3 track have in common (Dover, Kansas and Talladega)? Tracks that don't have much fall-off. So far this season, Blaney have not finished inside the top 20 with tracks that see good amount of fall-off. Charlotte we will see pretty nice fall-off, so if trends how true, then it could be a long night for Ryan. Of course, I am basing this assumption off trends. So take that as you will. As for this weekend, Ryan wasn't bad in practice. He was good actually. But he did fall-off quite a bit though. Not enough to worry me, but enough to be noticeable though. Based solely what I have seen this weekend , I think we will see him finishing somewhere in the top 20 at the checkers. Maybe a top 15.
My Overall Ranking: 20th
Best of the rest - Not much to say about anyone else in this grouping tier to be honest. Outside of maybe Chris Buescher and Brian Scott, nobody is really worth considering. Honestly, I don't think this is a week where a big gamble will pay off. Afterall, this is a 600 mile event. I highly doubt we see any underfunded teams even finish within 2 laps of the leaders. Yeah it gonna get ugly for some of these smaller teams!
Twitter - @JeffNathans18
Charlotte is 600 miles. That's 400 laps around the 1.5 mile racetrack that will test equipment, drivers and crews. Not to mention, (us) fantasy players as well. So how do you prepare for such as a event as the Coke-Cola 600, that starts in the daylight hours and ends under the lights? Great question. I personally hate night races because how we typically practice during the daytime. I think it add another element into the dumpster fire. Exactly why I usually recommend looking at stats more closely than usual. I personally rather look at current season data than past season data though. As current season data is more relevant. So how much does practice means for Sunday's race? I think it means something, but by no means will I be heavily depending on it. If I have a gut feeling about a fantasy pick, then I will most definitely take a shot in the dark. With that said, the temps will be closer to first practice session than the final practice session was.
Here are my thoughts on how the field stacks up heading into the race!
***My Overall Rankings are based on practice efforts, qualifying results, momentum, consistency, track history and of course personal thoughts and opinions
A:
1. Jimmie Johnson - Johnson is having a nice season so far in 2016, but he recently developed a mini-slump of late. However, he had the second-best car in practice on Saturday and looked pretty overall. I thought he was better in latter part of final practice, but he was still pretty good otherwise. Not only does Johnson have a pretty fast car this weekend, he have found plenty of success at Charlotte. It been a couple years since he have won here, he have 5 wins at this venue. If you ask me, he is probably overdue for a victory by now. Now take into factor how good he been on the intermediate tracks this season (minus Kansas), where Johnson have finished inside the top 5 in every single race. Everything points to an strong run from the 48 car on Sunday night (or whenever we run the race).
My Overall Ranking: 1st
2. Kevin Harvick - Harvick have been fast all season long and I highly doubt he stops anytime soon. Obviously he could've been better in practice, but he wasn't terrible. He was right there with the fast cars. I know some people will be concerned with him being 24th place on the leaderboard in final practice. However, remember being fast for a single lap doesn't translate to be fast on the long runs. Same could be said about a slow lap, as well. Even in final practice, Harvick was good. His lap times weren't on Truex's or Johnson's level, but not terrible. And I think we learn something about Harvick since joining SHR. That is he doesn't always look strong in practice, but he usually contending inside the top 5 before the checkers wave. Also I believe the first practice is a better data pool to look at, he was solid in that session. With that said, I don't know how much practice will matter once the track cools down and teams start making adjustments. However one thing we do know is, Harvick always seems to be in thick of things!
My Overall Ranking: 3rd
3. Kyle Busch - After Johnson and Truex, I think everyone else is fighting for a spot. Busch wasn't great on Saturday, but by no means was he terrible. As I mention up above with Harvick, I think there are a lot of unknowns heading into Sunday's race. Obviously the JGR cars have not lived up to our expectations so far this weekend. But I really do believe that they will be factors once we get into the race. Busch have finished inside the top 4 in every 1.5 mile racetrack this season, and that alone gives me reason to believe in him. Now could that change for the 600? Sure, it possible that Busch struggle in the race. But I don't think he will though. Great drivers and teams fine ways to finish up front. In practice, he was top 10 good in my opinion. His fastest lap in each session didn't show it, but he was much better than 32nd fastest and 15th fastest. I think he will least contend for a top 10 finish on Sunday night. With some adjustments, he could challenge for a top 5 run. With that said, his numbers this season gives him a bump in my rankings. On pure speed heading into the race, he will be a little further back.
My Overall Ranking: 4th
4. Joey Logano - I could have ranked Logano ahead of Busch (and based on solelypractice, I probably should), but I decided against. What really holding me back this season with Logano is his inconsistency all year long. I mean, sure he have shown speed from time to time. And more often than not, he have finish up front. But I just not convinced that the 22 car is good as it was a year ago. With that said, Logano was pretty good overall in practice on Saturday. He showed pretty good speed, I would say he is top 5 material overall. I guess my big issue with Logano is trust at the moment. He just haven't been able to stay up front this season on a regular basis. Sunday night could be his night to change that, don't you think? I have finishing right around 5th or so!
My Overall Ranking: 5th
5. Brad Keselowski - This final spot in my personal rankings came down to Brad Keselowski or Kurt Busch. I thought about giving Busch the spot, because of his consistency this season. I think he has like 10 straight Top 10 finishes or something. However Keselowski have finished 16 of the past 17 1.5 intermediate racetracks inside the top 10. So it not like one stat outweighs the other. The deciding factor was what Brad Keselowski said on twitter. He said they were close (referring to their car), and when a driver says something like that, I typically takes their word for it. Not to mention, Keselowski looked pretty solid in both practice sessions on Saturday. I think the #2 car will be fast on Sunday night. I have the 2 car knocking on the door on the top 5.
My Overall Ranking: 6th
Other Options - Kurt Busch (7th), Denny Hamlin (9th), Dale Jr (10th) and Matt Kenseth (13th)
B:
1. Martin Truex Jr - Martin Truex Jr is the favorite headed into Sunday's race and I don't think it is very close. He will roll off from the pole and he looked like the dominating car in both practice sessions. His lap times were in another zip code at times, when compared with the competition. Also he didn't fall like the other fast cars did, which explains for some of his laps he put down. I think the 78 will be very tough to beat this weekend. He have sent the pace and now it time to find out, if anyone will have anything for him. Honestly weather it ran Sunday's night or Monday during the day, I think the 78 will run away with this race. His car is simply that good! Remember the last 1.5 mile racetrack (at Kansas)? I kinda get the feeling, we are in for a similar performance.
My Overall Ranking: 1st
2. Carl Edwards - Edwards have been good this weekend, but I wouldn't call him top 5 good like normally though. In practice on Saturday, I thought he had top 10 speed in both sessions. However I don't think we will see him up front leading a lot of laps though. The 19 car should contend for least a top 10 finish and knowing Carl, he will find a way to finish inside the top 5. Even if he doesn't quite have a top 5 car. I do like him a lot as a fantasy pick! He been very consistent all season long and have been basically a top 10 lock any track, we go to. Also, Carl have found decent amount of success at Charlotte over the years. Including winning last season's event. Of course that was on fuel mileage. This season, however he have the speed to back it up.
My Overall Ranking: 8th
3. Ryan Newman - Newman have been solid all of late and have comfortably settled into his consistency role once again this season. I love consistent drivers in fantasy nascar, because we know what to expect from them on most weekends. I thought Newman was in right in the thick of that ''best of the rest'' group (referring to after Truex and Johnson). Newman doesn't have top 5 speed this weekend (he rarely does), but he have a pretty good car overall. His lap times were pretty good and didn't really fall-off from what I saw. Headed into the race, he has a top 12 car in my opinion. Realistically, you should probably expect a low to middle teen finish from him. If he doesn't sneak away with an top 10 run. He is a pretty safe fantasy option and that won't change this weekend.
My Overall Ranking: 11th
4. Kyle Larson - There is a lot to like about Kyle Larson and probably just much to be scare of, as well. With that said, I think his potential outweighs the risk. He is getting closer to finding victory lane and I wouldn't be shocked if it came on Sunday night. Why do I say that? For starters, he had one of the better cars in the most relevant practice session (practice #2). Not only was he fast, but he didn't fall-off as much as rest of the competition did. He also have plenty of momentum to use to his advantage as well. Now let's not get ahead of ourselves, we have to remember how much of a risk Larson is as well. Take a look at the NXS race on Saturday, on the final lap he got into the wall. Larson and walls scare me, but that where he will probably be running on Sunday night.
My Overall Ranking: 12th
5. Austin Dillon - This was a tough one to decide on, it came down to Austin Dillon or Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Both are probably pretty close to one another. Dillon was better in final practice I thought, but Ricky had the edge in the earlier session. However I think Dillon have never finished worse than 16th at Charlotte in 4 career starts. He also have been rock solid all season long the 1.5 mile racetracks. Dillon clearly isn't as consistent as he was earlier in the season, but I think he has a great opportunity to get back on track at one of his better racetracks.
My Overall Ranking: 14th
Other Options - Ricky Stenhouse Jr (15th), Greg Biffle (16th), Jamie Mac (18th) and Paul Menard (19th)
C:
1. Chase Elliott - Elliott is having a amazing season and this kid is only a rookie. To nobody surprise, Elliott have looked pretty sharp in practice this week for Charlotte. What impresses me most about this kid is how he takes care of his stuff. Chase is great at tire management, so you won't see him fade on the long runs. Places like Atlanta, Texas and Cali, we saw him have impressive runs and at each track he took care of his stuff. I don't think this week will be any different either. Elliott will have a legit shot at an top 10 finish and most likely find himself inside the top 5. It becoming a weekly thing now.
My Overall Ranking: 17th
2. Ryan Blaney - I know there a lot of people who think Blaney is going to have amazing run on Sunday night, but for some reason I am not buying it. Sure, he is riding a 3-race Top 10 streak. But tell me, something what do those 3 track have in common (Dover, Kansas and Talladega)? Tracks that don't have much fall-off. So far this season, Blaney have not finished inside the top 20 with tracks that see good amount of fall-off. Charlotte we will see pretty nice fall-off, so if trends how true, then it could be a long night for Ryan. Of course, I am basing this assumption off trends. So take that as you will. As for this weekend, Ryan wasn't bad in practice. He was good actually. But he did fall-off quite a bit though. Not enough to worry me, but enough to be noticeable though. Based solely what I have seen this weekend , I think we will see him finishing somewhere in the top 20 at the checkers. Maybe a top 15.
My Overall Ranking: 20th
Best of the rest - Not much to say about anyone else in this grouping tier to be honest. Outside of maybe Chris Buescher and Brian Scott, nobody is really worth considering. Honestly, I don't think this is a week where a big gamble will pay off. Afterall, this is a 600 mile event. I highly doubt we see any underfunded teams even finish within 2 laps of the leaders. Yeah it gonna get ugly for some of these smaller teams!
Twitter - @JeffNathans18
