Fantasy Nascar Sleepers and Busts

Welcome to TimersSports

Last week I went 4 for 6. Only missing Hamlin and Rowdy. While nailing down Danica , Smoke , Kahne and Harvick (another sleeper who finish 2nd). It quite funny how 4 of the past 5 races , I have correctly predicted the 2nd place finisher as a sleeper. Got to love trends. Anyhow this week we are Watkins Glenn. Watkins is a great track to gain on the competition. Unfortunately trying to go too far off sequence could end very bad. There will be several non superstars names which could  run up front this week.

Sleeper -

AJ Dinger: The Dinger solid record and tremendous performance at Sonoma was enough alone to make him a great option this week. Unfortunately he won't get the credit he deserves. Because most people will look where he finished in June. Don't make that mistake. Might be a costly one. Facts remains , Dinger is better at Watkins then Sonoma. Which is saying something , since he was extremely impressive in June.

Bust -

Jeff Gordon: For the record , I am a huge Gordon fan. Unfortunately he lands on the bust list for Watkins. For two reasons: 1) Only two Top 10s since 2001 (best of 9th). 2) Better places to use him. No disrespect to Gordon , but I need to see him be dominate in Friday's practices. There are some good tracks coming up like Michigan , Bristol and Atlanta.

Sleeper -

Martin Truex Jr: Back at Sonoma , Truex was able to salvaged an respectable finish. To me was a surprise since he had to make a unscheduled pit stop in the in first few laps. Truex is a excellent road course racer. He finished top 5 last season here. I don't expect a repeat finish , but a top 10 is pretty reasonable to me.

Bust -

Tony Stewart: I been unimpressed by Smoke for weeks and weeks now. I had it after last week. He ran about 15th most of the day before getting involved in the big one which was trigger by Hamlin getting bent out of shape. Point being , he haven't had a legitimate performance since June Pocono race. At this point , Smoke is probably taking lesser equipment to help Harvick out.

Sleeper -

Kevin Harvick: Say hello to the most underrated driver in the field this week. Harvick actually been pretty reliable on road courses lately. His career average finish backs that up. An solid 13.08 is better then some noticeable names. Not to mention , he had the car to beat at Sonoma. I love Harvick this week. Don't be shocked to sed him on my team this week.

Bust -

Boris Said: Said will likely be a popular pick this week. Unfortunately I am not buying into the Boris Said project. As I didn't back in June. Said is a above average driver on road courses. But he cannot qualify poorly again. Or Said is doomed for the get go. Having poor track position + below average equipment could be a nightmare for a limited scheduled driver. I rather have a full time driver over a limited scheduled driver. As the full time driver will have more respect for their equipment.

Twitter - @Gbriggs12

Fantasy Nascar Sleepers & Busts

Welcome to TimersSports

We are at Pocono this weekend. For some reason , I always score poorly at the first race and blast a monster score out of the park in the second race. You could say I am Kasey Kahne 2.0 at this racetrack. Its difficult to consistent score well here. Its the tricky triangle for a reason. Drivers and fantasy players needs to be on their toes during the race. Going with relatively safe lineup should be the way to go. But throwing in a sleeper or two is always intriguing at an place such as Pocono.

Sleepers-

Kasey Kahne: Kahne was one of the guys I said to watch out for last week to several people who asked for a sleeper via email/twitter. He finish 6th. He is risk/reward type guy. Kahne won't dominate , but he will have a shot at win regardless. I love what I saw last weekend. Also Kahne has finishes of 1st and 2nd (August Pocono races) since 2012.

Kyle Busch: Surprised?  Shouldn't be. He made my sleeper list at Kentucky , New Hampshire and Indianapolis. What those tracks in common? He finish 2nd in each race. I might make it number 4 on Sunday. His Pocono record is pretty solid. Busch finish 12th earlier this season. I bet he improves.

Kevin Harvick: Harvick is undervalued. He been a threat to get a pole almost every week. No excuse for leaving him off your team in Yahoo. 4 Pole in 20 races. That is 5% of all poles. Impressive. His percentage is pretty low in Yahoo , too. Less then 20% right now. Also it should be noticed that Harvick was stupid fast all weekend back in June. Do you recall where he started? 4th. I know where I am putting my money.

Busts -

Tony Stewart: Smoke haven't impressed me in 2014. I thought for sure he would heat up after at Dover. But haven't yet. Indianapolis was the breaking point for me. Luckily I haven't used too many Smoke starts after 20 races. His Pocono record is stout , but same thing can be said about his Indy record though. I will put "The Smoke project 2014" on hold for a few weeks. See how things unfold.

Danica Patrick: Two flats (2.5 mile in length). Results? Outside the top 40. Do I need to say anymore? Don't think so. Danica isn't worth the gamble. Not even in Yahoo. Save her for Michigan , The glenn or Bristol. Tracks she have had solid results on (or significant good runs). Her percentage is much too high in multiple formats so far this week. Expect the worse case possible with Danica.

Denny Hamlin: Not so much a bust , rather then a risky gamble. With the latest news of CC Grubbs being suspended. He will appeal it though. Some people think it shouldn't be a issue. I vastly disagree. A Crew Chief is more then a guy who sit on a pit box. He makes those gut wrenching calls that win or finish in the top 5. At Pocono pit strategy is critical. I don't feel confident in him.

Twitter: @Gbriggs12

Fantasy Nascar Sleepers and Busts

Welcome to TimersSports

I am extremely excited to make my debut at TimersSports. If you followed my content at Thissportz , then you know this is my only weekly article. We are at Sonoma this week. Arguably one of the most challenging races of the 2014 season. This is almost like a plate race. Unpredictable is the unknown heading into Sunday race. Expect me to select multiple sleepers for Sunday race. But avoiding the costly busts are key to success here. We saw it last season at Sonoma. Juan Pablo Montoya ring a bell as he ran out of gas? Let get rolling!

Sleeper-

Aj Dinger: I have been watching the Dinger this season and he been impressive. I expect big things from him this weekend. His road courses skills are definitely underrated. This dude can finish in the top 10 this week. He was extremely strong on the courses in 2013 (sweep the top 10). With this very same team. No reason why he cannot again.

Bust-

Greg Biffle: Last week I said to avoid the Roush cars and well I dead on about that. One can make the argument that speed doesn't matter and that will help the Biff at Sonoma. Speed isn't as important is correct. Unfortunately i don't regard The Biff as an legitimate road racer. Sure he have some nice finishes over the few years. But I think there least 6 better options in Yahoo this week. He isn't useable in my opinion in salary cap formats.

Sleeper-

Martin Truex Jr: Seems like Truex Jr have slipped under the radar somehow. There nothing I love more then a defending race winner with a different team (who happened to finish 3rd in the same race as well.) I mean sure the 78 team have had some bad luck , but Truex is an legit road course specialist. His finishes last year proved that. The 78 was particularly strong at Sonoma in 2013. Fantasy Nascar Gods are just giving us a present , yet most players are too blind to open it.

Bust-

Ryan Newman: Newman grew up 29 miles from where I was born. So I hear a lot about this guy and rightfully so. But honestly I think people are putting too much value in him this week. People seems to be forgetting , he struggled here recently. Not horribly though. Just enough he is overvalued. Don't expect a top 10 or nothing. Top 15 at best. Road Courses haven't exactly been RCR strong suit over the years either.

Sleeper-

Carl Edwards: I don't know why ,but Edwards always find a way to finish near the front in 2014 (except a few times). At the road courses , its was the same way in recent years. He rarely run up front , but at end of the day there he was. Something I expect to see on Sunday.  Are there better places to use Carl? Sure. But after Michigan , who would take a chance on him? Anyone who thinks about value. I see no reason not to give Edwards a chance. Especially if his percentage keeps dropping on Yahoo. Probably wouldn't consider him in salary cap leagues as he isn't worth the price.

Bust-

Danica Patrick: With all due respect , I wouldn't consider Danica as an option this week. There least 4 options that are safer and will likely finish better then Danica on Sunday. Patrick may have a nice run on Sunday , but why use her? Not like she have proven herself on road courses in Nascar. Don't really see the need to take the risk.

Okay that it for myself this week. Hopefully I was helpful in today short article. Don't forget to check back after tomorrow practices for Jeff Nathans (@JeffNathans) Fantasy Nascar Post Practice Notes (aka Fantasy Nascar Update).
Twitter : @Gbriggs12

Thanks for reading ,

Garry Briggs