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Fantasy Nascar Update -
1. Kevin Harvick - Harvick has been a stud this season and has shown no signs of slowing down any time soon. This has been the case since joining the #4 team! Every season, it seems like the #4 car is one of the heavily favorites to take the title home. In 2020, it is no different! For this weekend, he should be considered the favorite as well! He has been strong since being apart of SHR at Indy! He hasn't finished worse than 8th place in a SHR car and led 118 laps in his most recent's race here. Need more to convince yourself? Pocono is probably the most similar track and he finished in the top 2 in both races. He was very strong in both races last weekend!
2. Denny Hamlin - Hamlin is a former winner at the track and is coming off a pair top 2 finishes at Indy. He might had been the strongest driver at Pocono last weekend, when you look at all the numbers. It was clear very early on that he would be a major player all weekend! At Indy, he has been great here in his career. He has a career average finish of 12.4. And most recently, he also has ran very well. In his last 6 starts, he has complied 5 finishes of 6th or better. In 2019, he ended 6th. In his last 6 races, that is actually his 2nd-worst finish. Hamlin is an elite flat track racer and he should be very strong on Sunday's afternoon!
3. Martin Truex Jr - It is hard to bet against Martin Truex Jr on any race weekend, as that #19 car is usually so strong! At Pocono, he was among the contenders but never a true threat to win. I felt like at times, he was a top 5 drivers, but not consistent enough. On the longer runs, he would fade in the running order to somewhere in middle of the top 10. Of course, I am sure the consistent pit strategies had a factor in the changing of the running order, too. But even without it, I felt like he just was slightly off compared to the top couple cars. He has shown elite speed in 2020, but his luck at Indy is very concerning. In his last three starts at Indy, he has finished better than 27th. He finished 8th and 4th in 2015 and 2016. Depsite only having 3 top 10 finishes in 15 career starts, I am still very high on him. I wouldn't put too much into Truex's history at Indy!
4. Joey Logano- Logano is starting on the pole, but he had terrible luck at Pocono! He saw a tire go down both races for him and finished off the lead-lap in both races. He has been awesome at Indy in his career, since joining the #22 team! In 7 career starts, he hasn't finished worse than 13th in any race. In 6 of those 7 races, he has finished 8th or better. In 2 of his last 3 races at Indy, he has finished in the top 5. Most suprising part? He hasnt gone to victory lane in his career at that cup level! I am not gonna lie, I do have some concerns about his finishes lately. In 5 of his last 7 races (dating back to Bristol), he has finished 17th or worse. In that span, he has only one top 5 finish. His lone two good finishes are 4th and 10th. 3 of his last 4 races this season, he has finished 24th or worse. He is not trending in the right direction, but he has a lot of good history on his side. Sometimes that means nothing, but I will give him at least the benefit of the doubt. However, I would recommend that you use him with some caution this weekend!
5. Kyle Busch - Kyle Busch is another driver that I am little concerned about as well. As for this season and over the past couple seasons. He finished 1st, 1st and 2nd from 2014 through 2016. Simply the best driver in the series. In 2017, he was well on his way to another top 2 finish. Him and Truex Jr just dominated the race early on. Easily the best two cars in the field, but of course they both wrecked. So all-in-all, he has 2 DNFs over his last two races here. Not his fault, but you get the point here. The former Indy's winner also isn't having the greatest season to date. Through 15 races, he hasn't gone to victory lane and that suprises a lot of people. But then again the no practice part has really hurt that #18 team! They weren't bad at the first Pocono race and probably wouldn't ended too bad at the second one. However, that deal with Blaney ended his day. I know Blaney didn't do it on purpose, though. In the first 15 races, he has finished 19th or worse six times already. In eight other races, he has finished 6th or better. And 7 times, he has finished in the top 5! Kyle isn't the driver that he was over the past couple seasons, but you could do far worse than a guy Kyle's upside!
6. Ryan Blaney - Blaney reminded us last week that he can still be pretty inconsistent as a young driver, but he was indeed fast in both races at Pocono. Blaney should be strong again this weekend at Indy. In his last three races, he has been really competitive and his numbers could be even better. In last season's race, he finished 7th and led 19 laps. He swept the top 5 in the first two stages and held an elite driver rating of 118.7. When you are nearing that 120.0 driver rating, that when you know that you were really strong. In 2017, he was a lot stronger than his 23rd finishing position shows you. He finished 3rd in both the first two stages, but had an accident late and had to settle for a 23rd place finish. That 2017 race sure was a very strange race in the final laps! As for this weekend, I high hopes for him but I also think he's due for a string of inconsistent races.
7. Brad Keselowski - Prior to the 2017 season, he has never finished better than 9th. In 2017, he actually ended up finishing 2nd. He followed that up with a win during that the 2018 season. Then, of course he finished 38th in last season's race. So yeah, Keselowski has been all over the map. Personally, I usually don't have Keselowski on my radar because he never really excites me as a fantasy option. He is a great driver and does all the right things the right way. And somehow he always end up at the front, but he never stands out to me when I do my research. In other words, he doesn't go out and domiante races or have mega speed in his car on a weekly basis. He find his way to the front and find ways to finish up there. End of story. It's not flashy, but he knows how to be productive.
8. Aric Almriola - Aric Almirola is in middle of the best run of his career right now with 4 straight top 5 finishes. I don't believe he has ever even put together back to back top 5 finishes, let alone 4 straight top 5 finishes. He is simply on a tear and it came out of nowhere! Prior to Homestead, there were no indication that he was about to break out and be this strong. When drivers go on strong runs like this, typically we see inconsistent results with obvious speed in previous weeks. Not Aric though. And guys, he just hasn't finished well but he has been legit top 5 in all 4 races. I have been impressed! I don't think that Aric can go 5 straight top 5 finishes, but we are headed to another large flat racetrack!
9. Chase Elliott- The Hendrick cars started the season off really strong, but it seems like some of the speed has gone away. Obviously not a lot, but other teams seem to be running better than before, too. I don't think that really has an affect on someone like Elliott, who is still strong on a weekly basis. But not too long, we were talking about Elliott as one of the strongest drivers in the series. He still fast on a weekly basis, but I don't believe he is a top 3 driver right now. He can run top 5 time to time, but kinda floats back to that top 10 range sometimes. Either way, it is hard to deny that he has some awesome upside on any given weekend. As for Indy? Hard to say! He finished 4th in the second Pocono race, but really hasn't done much at Indy. In 5 career starts, he has a best career finish of 9th and two additional finishes of 15th. Those are his three best finishes in his cup career, so far.
10. William Byron - This last spot was a tough one because there's several guys who could be here! Clint Bowyer has produced 2 top 5 finishes in his last 3 starts here. Kurt Busch is having a great season and isn't bad at Indy. Erik Jones is always top 10 capable, but he obviously is having the case of the bad luck in 2020. Despite all of those drivers' claims, I am going with a guy coming off a solid 7th place finish at Pocono on Sunday! William Byron had a pair of solid finisehs at Pocono and I feel like he could had done a lot better on Saturday. Still, he wasn't bad considering all of the craziness. He finished 4th in last season's race here and scored stage points in 2 of the 3 stages. I think Byron has some question marks to him, as he has been inconsistent this season. But I believe it helps that we going from large flat track to another. It don't mean things will automatically translate, but it sure helps!
***All stats are from DriverAverages.com
Twitter - @JeffNathans18
Fantasy Nascar Update -
1. Kevin Harvick - Harvick has been a stud this season and has shown no signs of slowing down any time soon. This has been the case since joining the #4 team! Every season, it seems like the #4 car is one of the heavily favorites to take the title home. In 2020, it is no different! For this weekend, he should be considered the favorite as well! He has been strong since being apart of SHR at Indy! He hasn't finished worse than 8th place in a SHR car and led 118 laps in his most recent's race here. Need more to convince yourself? Pocono is probably the most similar track and he finished in the top 2 in both races. He was very strong in both races last weekend!
2. Denny Hamlin - Hamlin is a former winner at the track and is coming off a pair top 2 finishes at Indy. He might had been the strongest driver at Pocono last weekend, when you look at all the numbers. It was clear very early on that he would be a major player all weekend! At Indy, he has been great here in his career. He has a career average finish of 12.4. And most recently, he also has ran very well. In his last 6 starts, he has complied 5 finishes of 6th or better. In 2019, he ended 6th. In his last 6 races, that is actually his 2nd-worst finish. Hamlin is an elite flat track racer and he should be very strong on Sunday's afternoon!
3. Martin Truex Jr - It is hard to bet against Martin Truex Jr on any race weekend, as that #19 car is usually so strong! At Pocono, he was among the contenders but never a true threat to win. I felt like at times, he was a top 5 drivers, but not consistent enough. On the longer runs, he would fade in the running order to somewhere in middle of the top 10. Of course, I am sure the consistent pit strategies had a factor in the changing of the running order, too. But even without it, I felt like he just was slightly off compared to the top couple cars. He has shown elite speed in 2020, but his luck at Indy is very concerning. In his last three starts at Indy, he has finished better than 27th. He finished 8th and 4th in 2015 and 2016. Depsite only having 3 top 10 finishes in 15 career starts, I am still very high on him. I wouldn't put too much into Truex's history at Indy!
4. Joey Logano- Logano is starting on the pole, but he had terrible luck at Pocono! He saw a tire go down both races for him and finished off the lead-lap in both races. He has been awesome at Indy in his career, since joining the #22 team! In 7 career starts, he hasn't finished worse than 13th in any race. In 6 of those 7 races, he has finished 8th or better. In 2 of his last 3 races at Indy, he has finished in the top 5. Most suprising part? He hasnt gone to victory lane in his career at that cup level! I am not gonna lie, I do have some concerns about his finishes lately. In 5 of his last 7 races (dating back to Bristol), he has finished 17th or worse. In that span, he has only one top 5 finish. His lone two good finishes are 4th and 10th. 3 of his last 4 races this season, he has finished 24th or worse. He is not trending in the right direction, but he has a lot of good history on his side. Sometimes that means nothing, but I will give him at least the benefit of the doubt. However, I would recommend that you use him with some caution this weekend!
5. Kyle Busch - Kyle Busch is another driver that I am little concerned about as well. As for this season and over the past couple seasons. He finished 1st, 1st and 2nd from 2014 through 2016. Simply the best driver in the series. In 2017, he was well on his way to another top 2 finish. Him and Truex Jr just dominated the race early on. Easily the best two cars in the field, but of course they both wrecked. So all-in-all, he has 2 DNFs over his last two races here. Not his fault, but you get the point here. The former Indy's winner also isn't having the greatest season to date. Through 15 races, he hasn't gone to victory lane and that suprises a lot of people. But then again the no practice part has really hurt that #18 team! They weren't bad at the first Pocono race and probably wouldn't ended too bad at the second one. However, that deal with Blaney ended his day. I know Blaney didn't do it on purpose, though. In the first 15 races, he has finished 19th or worse six times already. In eight other races, he has finished 6th or better. And 7 times, he has finished in the top 5! Kyle isn't the driver that he was over the past couple seasons, but you could do far worse than a guy Kyle's upside!
6. Ryan Blaney - Blaney reminded us last week that he can still be pretty inconsistent as a young driver, but he was indeed fast in both races at Pocono. Blaney should be strong again this weekend at Indy. In his last three races, he has been really competitive and his numbers could be even better. In last season's race, he finished 7th and led 19 laps. He swept the top 5 in the first two stages and held an elite driver rating of 118.7. When you are nearing that 120.0 driver rating, that when you know that you were really strong. In 2017, he was a lot stronger than his 23rd finishing position shows you. He finished 3rd in both the first two stages, but had an accident late and had to settle for a 23rd place finish. That 2017 race sure was a very strange race in the final laps! As for this weekend, I high hopes for him but I also think he's due for a string of inconsistent races.
7. Brad Keselowski - Prior to the 2017 season, he has never finished better than 9th. In 2017, he actually ended up finishing 2nd. He followed that up with a win during that the 2018 season. Then, of course he finished 38th in last season's race. So yeah, Keselowski has been all over the map. Personally, I usually don't have Keselowski on my radar because he never really excites me as a fantasy option. He is a great driver and does all the right things the right way. And somehow he always end up at the front, but he never stands out to me when I do my research. In other words, he doesn't go out and domiante races or have mega speed in his car on a weekly basis. He find his way to the front and find ways to finish up there. End of story. It's not flashy, but he knows how to be productive.
8. Aric Almriola - Aric Almirola is in middle of the best run of his career right now with 4 straight top 5 finishes. I don't believe he has ever even put together back to back top 5 finishes, let alone 4 straight top 5 finishes. He is simply on a tear and it came out of nowhere! Prior to Homestead, there were no indication that he was about to break out and be this strong. When drivers go on strong runs like this, typically we see inconsistent results with obvious speed in previous weeks. Not Aric though. And guys, he just hasn't finished well but he has been legit top 5 in all 4 races. I have been impressed! I don't think that Aric can go 5 straight top 5 finishes, but we are headed to another large flat racetrack!
9. Chase Elliott- The Hendrick cars started the season off really strong, but it seems like some of the speed has gone away. Obviously not a lot, but other teams seem to be running better than before, too. I don't think that really has an affect on someone like Elliott, who is still strong on a weekly basis. But not too long, we were talking about Elliott as one of the strongest drivers in the series. He still fast on a weekly basis, but I don't believe he is a top 3 driver right now. He can run top 5 time to time, but kinda floats back to that top 10 range sometimes. Either way, it is hard to deny that he has some awesome upside on any given weekend. As for Indy? Hard to say! He finished 4th in the second Pocono race, but really hasn't done much at Indy. In 5 career starts, he has a best career finish of 9th and two additional finishes of 15th. Those are his three best finishes in his cup career, so far.
10. William Byron - This last spot was a tough one because there's several guys who could be here! Clint Bowyer has produced 2 top 5 finishes in his last 3 starts here. Kurt Busch is having a great season and isn't bad at Indy. Erik Jones is always top 10 capable, but he obviously is having the case of the bad luck in 2020. Despite all of those drivers' claims, I am going with a guy coming off a solid 7th place finish at Pocono on Sunday! William Byron had a pair of solid finisehs at Pocono and I feel like he could had done a lot better on Saturday. Still, he wasn't bad considering all of the craziness. He finished 4th in last season's race here and scored stage points in 2 of the 3 stages. I think Byron has some question marks to him, as he has been inconsistent this season. But I believe it helps that we going from large flat track to another. It don't mean things will automatically translate, but it sure helps!
***All stats are from DriverAverages.com
Twitter - @JeffNathans18
