2017 Fantasy Nascar Preview: JMac

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JMac had a very good 2016 season, he just won't get the credit he deserves. JMac isn't in top equipment or has the most talent in the world, so what he has done the last couple seasons has been very respectable. This could be the final season at Chip Ganassi Racing for JMac. There is a good possibility of that. Especially if CGR contains Larson beyond 2017, then JMac could be looking for a new team. With that said, his performance in 2017 will be a big factor in that as well. Hard to say what his future will be honestly. JMac will be his strength at the shorter flat tracks and most likely the intermediate tracks. He will also have strong runs at the road courses and short tracks. He has a history of success at plate races. So there really isn't an specific type of track that he performs poorly at, but there are certain tracks that you would want to target him at more than others.

The intermediate tracks is the first type of track that I would like to look at, simply because it is the bread and butter of Nascar right now. You must run well at the intermediate tracks to be successful overall. JMac isn't a driver that goes out and run up inside the top 5, but he is consistent with his finishes. Most likely, you can expect finishes in the high single digit to middle teens. So from 9th-17th is the likely range I see him finishing on the intermediate tacks! I would say most weekends it is between 12th-17th though. His best intermediate tracks? Homestead, Michigan and Texas are his best tracks. I also would list places like Kentucky and Charlotte as well. His worst intermediate tracks are Kansas (finished outside the top 20 in 4 of the past 6 races) and Atlanta (has his career highest DNF rate among active tracks - not named Daytona or Talladega.)

Homestead is JMac's best intermediate track from career point of view and it's really not close honestly. Over the past 3 seasons at Homestead, he has compiled 7.7 average finish with 15.0 average running position and 87.4 driver rating. His performance numbers aren't quite on the same level as his finishes, but those are still very good numbers though. Over his past 6 races overall at Homestead, he has compiled 5 Top 20 finishes, with 4 of those finishes ending in 14th or better. Michigan and Texas are both good tracks for JMac. But I would go with Michigan or Texas right now. He has ran very well at Michigan of late. His teammate actually ran top 3 in both races last season, so it clear that CGR has Michigan figured out. Over the past 4 races at Michigan, JMac has compiled an 10.0 average finish with 3 Top 10 finishes. In fact, he has finished 16th or better in 6 straight races at Michigan now. On top of that, 5 of those 6 races has ended in 14th or better as well. Texas been good to JMac, just not as good as Homestead or Michigan though. Over the past 6 races at Texas, he has compiled 6 straight Top 19 finishes. Over just the past 5 races at Texas, he has compiled 4 finishes of 13th or better. When really thinking about it, his top 3 tracks can be arranged in any order. Texas is nearly as good place for him as Homestead and Michigan. Places like Charlotte, Kentucky and Las Vegas should also be considered.

Shorter flats should be considered as JMac's strength area, as he has found the most success over the years at them. He will likely knock out his best finishes at the tracks of Phoenix, Richmond and New Hampshire. He has ran well at all of them at some point or another. They are all very good tracks for him, but I say Richmond is the standout track of late though. He's great at Richmond and has the numbers to be ranked among the best. Over the past 7 races at Richmond, he has compiled 8.7 average finish with 9.9 average running position and 97.7 driver rating. In that 7-race span, he has compiled 4 finishes of 7th or better. Including three-4th place finishes. In that 7-race span, he has also collected 6 finishes of 13th or better. In short, Richmond could be his best racetrack over the past 3.5 seasons.

Phoenix and New Hampshire are also very good tracks for him, but I would say that Phoenix been the better place for him more recently. Over the past 6 races at Phoenix, he has compiled 6 straight Top 16 finishes. He has also posted 5 finishes of 15th or better in that span as well. 3 of those 5 races ended in 11th or better as well. Like with most of the tracks, we had looked at, he is very consistent inside the top 16. Same goes for New Hampshire, too. Over the past 8 races at New Hampshire, he has compiled 6 finishes of 16th or better. Including 3 of the past 5 in 14th or better. Simply put, JMac is super consistent inside the top 16 on the shorter-flat tracks!

The Larger flats will be a good place him, like most places he will have potential in the low to middle teens though. Pocono should be a good place to use him, its just isn't the first place people think about him though. Over the past 10 races at Pocono, he has finished inside the top 20 in every single race! He has also posted 5 finishes of 16th or better over the past 7 races at Pocono. 4 of the past 6 races at Pocono has ended inside the top 15 for JMac. Indy is the better track for him from a career point of view though. Indy ranked first among all tracks in terms of average finish. His numbers recently has been just okay though. He won the Brickyard back in 2010 and then finished 4th in 11th. Since? 5 straight races that all had ended in the 15th-22nd range. 3 of those 5 races ended in 19th-22nd as well. Not good numbers, but not terrible numbers either. He is consistent, but that's just about it. No real upside, I personally would use him at Pocono before Indy.

Short tracks will be another good place to use him and has found good amount of success at both tracks. I think Martinsville is the better track for him though. JMac just understands how to get around Martinsville well and considered one of his best tracks on the schedule. Over the past 8 races at Martinsville, he has compiled 6 finishes of 16th or better. Also, 5 of those 8 races has ended in 10th or better. More impressive? Over the past 4 races at Martinsville, he has finished 8th or better in 3 of 4 races. Why is that significant? He has collected 3 races with an driver rating above 92.0. In fact, 4 of the past 5 races, he has posted an driver rating above 92. At most tracks, his driver ratings are in the 70s and 80s as the normal. Martinsville isn't an normal track for him though.

Bristol will be another really good track for him overall. Over the past 5 races at Bristol, he has finished 14th or better in every race. If he didn't get involved in a wrecked at Bristol in April 2014, he would had 6 straight races of 14th or better. He was running well inside the top 10 when the wreck happened. Otherwise, he has posted 3 finishes of 11th or better in his past 5 races. With of course no finishes worse than 14th in that span. He's so damn good on these shorter tracks in general. Expect more of the same in 2017!

I would say that Road courses and Plate tracks are weaknesses for JMac. He has good history at both type of tracks, but he tend to get a lot of bad luck/bad finishes at them though. More so at the plate races though. He is overrated there, in my personal opinion. Does that mean he cannot get the finishes? Nope, he could but he will need to have some luck.

At Talladega, he has been okay. He been decent with 3 top 20 finishes over his past 4 races at Talladega overall. But that's really the best thing I can with him for the past 5 races. Outside of his win in 2013 that is. Since, 8 of the past 12 races ended in 19th or worse. On the plus side, he has finished 19th, 11th and 4th over 3 of the past 4 races. Long-term, he has had very little success at Talladega, but lately his luck been turning for the better. I like that! He has been okay at Daytona, just not nothing special in terms of final finish. Over the past 6 races at Daytona, he has compiled 3 top 17 finishes. While posting 3 finishes of 27th or worse as well. Even worse? He only has one finish inside the top 10 since July 2010. On top of that, he has only 6 Top 20 finishes over his past 13 races at Daytona! He has the talent to be up at the front as a drafter, but he doesn't seems to get it done at the end.

Road courses will be similar, he can run well on them but doesn't always get the finishes. For whatever reason last season, the CGR had terrible luck on the road courses. Wrecks and penalities can sum their year up at both Sonoma and WGI. JMac will look to have different outcome in 2017. I think he is better at Watkins Glenn overall. He seems to run well at Sonoma s well but just have bad luck too much. Like last season, where he got a penalty late in the event and never recovered. Overall, 5 of the past 7 Sonoma races has ended in 17th or better. 3 of those 4 races ended in 15th or better. I think he is better at Watkins Glenn lately than he been at Sonoma, mainly because he has gotten the finishes at Watkins Glenn. Also, Watkins Glenn is easier to get around and stuff. Over the past 4 races at WGI, he has compiled 3 finishes of 14th or better. Including finishes of 8th, 14th and 11th over the past 4 seasons there. Another thing to like about him at WGI? Only two bad races since the 2010 season. Every other race has ended in 17th or better. He's consistent at WGI and I love that!

Alright, JMac won't set the world on fire in 2017! He won't go and contend for top 5 and top 10 finishes on a weekly basis. He will likely go winelss again in 2017 and he will likely not win you a fantasy league championship. What will he do? He will be consistent in the low to middle teens and you can count on him to deliver when a big-time name let you down. JMac isn't flashy, so he won't get the love that he deserve rarely ever. However, he will be very effective at places like Phoenix, Richmond, New Hampshire, Bristol and Martinsville. He will also be good on certain intermediate tracks, but more times than not it will be nothing beyond top 15 potential. Folks, going with the consistent boring-like fantasy option isn't popular. But you know what is popular though? Wanting to win your fantasy league. And I am willing to bet, if you use him correct then you could have a shot at winning. My best advice? When in doubt, trust in JMac!

***All stats are from DriverAverages.com and FantasyRacingCheatSheet.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2017 Fantasy Nascar Preview: Ryan Newman

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Newman had one of his worst seasons of his career in 2016 and I didn't see it coming at all! Newman had a rough year, but it was still a pretty good when looking at it though. That' saying a lot too. Newman had a down year, but it was a year that most drivers probably would take with open arms honestly. In 2017, like his teammates, I would expect him to be at his best on the intermediate tracks. Also he should have good runs on some of the shorter tracks as well. But the real strength for Newman should be his consistency. If he get back to his old ways, his best fantasy asset will be getting quality finishes in the low to middle teens. That's what I am hoping for honestly.

Intermediate tracks will be his best type of track overall. RCR always seems to be at their best on the intermediate tracks. You could use him just about anywhere honestly and have a good shot at an decent finish. However, I would use him at Darlington, Las Vegas and Chicago first though. Those are the tracks that stand out to me when looking at his success on the intermediate tracks. He is also very good at Dover, Kansas, Kentucky and Michigan. I love him at all of those tracks as well. Dover could be considered as a top 5 track from a career point of view, but his numbers just aren't lately. At least not with tracks that I listed above that is. Kentucky is a great track for him, with 2 top 5 finishes over his past three races. Just much less data to go on, so I will wait on him there. Kansas is a great track for a career point of view and more recently. But he is just better at Las Vegas, but it is a toss-up. Michigan is a consistent track for him. With 22 top 20 finishes in 30 starts, however mainly low to middle teen finishes though. Only 8 Top 10 finishes in 31 starts, he lacks the upside but a solid driver there if you want a good spot to unload.

Darlington is his best track overall probably. His numbers there are just straight up impressive, he is tough to match there. He's just understand how to run well at Darlington, personally I think that is one of the toughest tracks on the schedule to master. Not just anyone can go out and run well consistency. Very few can find success there time and time again throughout their careers. The lady in black is not kind to everyone, but she has taken a liking to Mr. Newman though. In 18 career races, he has compiled 7 Top 5 finishes, 12 Top 10 finishes and 14 Top 20 finishes for an 12.0 average finish. That's ranked as a career-best among the 23 tracks! Over just the past 8 races at Darlington, he has compiled 6 Top 10 finishes. On top of that, he has past 7 Top 13 finishes, with one finish worse than that of 23rd. That finish? 2012. Newman is super consistent at Darlington. You can expect a low-teen to top 10 finish out of him.

Las Vegas and Chicago are the two other tracks that I would like to look at. We only visit them once per year, but he is so good at them though. At Chicago, he has been awesome here throughout his career overall. In the past 6 races, he has compiled 5 Top 15 finishes and 4 of those has ended inside the top 10. Overall, 7 of the past 10 races at Chicago has ended inside the top 10. Very solid! His Las Vegas record is also pretty damn good. Over his past 6 races at Las Vegas, he has compiled 5 Top 13 finishes. If you take out his bad race (38th - March 2013), he has finishes of 4th-13th. What I love more? He has 4 finishes between 3rd-7th in that span. You could consider him at any intermediate track honestly and still get quality runs out of him. With Newman it is about timing, so I would go with the tracks that he has had the most success at.

When asked on twitter in the summer time (in 2016), what his team's strongest type of track was, he said the short tracks were. I was surprise about that when he said that, I really was! I figured he would say the intermediate tracks, but nope it was the short tracks. Most people probably forgotten about that, but I made a mental note of that. Does it mean anything? Not really, but I like giving the drivers a benefit of the doubt. And if he say, his team is good on short tracks then I will believe that. Also, Newman is a pretty accomplished short track racer. So I buy into that, but is that true anymore of team? That was back in July or something? I don't know. Maybe or maybe not, but we gonna find out.

Bristol and Martinsville are both very good tracks for him overall. He has proven, he can run well at both places. There's no reason to believe, he isn't capable of that in 2017. Over the past 2 seasons, he has had one bad race at each racetrack. Let's look at Bristol first though. Over the past 4 races at Bristol, he has compiled 3 Top 10 finishes with high finish of 5th in spring 2015. Overall, he has compiled 5 Top 13 finishes in the past 8 races at Bristol. Recent history says that Newman will finish in the 9th-16th place range. Over the past 8 races, 6 of his 8 races has came in 9th-16th. Martinsville is another good place for him! He isn't quite as good at Martinsville, but still pretty consistent though. Over the past 4 races, he has compiled 3 straight Top 16 finishes. With 4 of the past 5 races overall ending in 16th or better. He has also posted 3 Top 10 finishes in that 5-race span as well. Newman has posted 6 Top 11 finishes over his past 10 races at Martinsville, as a whole. He's very good on the short tracks, folks!

The shorter flats will be a good spot for him in 2017, I think. He has always been a solid driver at tracks like Phoenix, Richmond and New Hampshire. All three tracks are venues that he will likely have low-teen finish potential with upside. New Hampshire has been his best track of late though.  He has been very good with RCR at this place. He has compiled 6 Top 20 finishes with the #31 team in 6 starts with RCR. He also has posted 4 Top 11 finishes in that span. From career point of view, New Hampshire ranked as his 6th-best track in terms of average finish. His 12.0 average finish over the past two season ranked as his 9th-best track.

Richmond and Phoenix are also very good track for him as well. Richmond is his best track shorter flat track from a career-point of view. In 30 career starts at Richmond, he has compiled an 12.3 average finish with 27 Top 20 finishes. All he ever does is score top 20 finish after top 20 finish. He has posted 8 Top 15 finishes over his past 11 races. He has also posted 5 Top 20 finishes over his past 6 races as well. He should be a good bet to finish somewhere in the low to middle teens, or at worst inside the top 20 in 2017. He should be just as effective at Phoenix. He has only one bad race lately at Phoenix and that was in spring 2016. Overall, he has finished 12th or better in 6 of the past 7 races at Phoenix. When really looking at it, I might say that Phoenix is his best shorter-flat racetrack honestly. You could make a case for him at Phoenix over places like Richmond and New Hampshire. Much better track record at both of those venues from a career point of view, but most recently he has been lights out consistent at Phoenix!

The larger flats should also be very good to him in 2017! This is a type of track that he has had a lot of success on and there is no reason to think it will change. Pocono is one of Ryan's favorite tracks and has the track record to back it up. He has always ran very well there and his time with RCR hasn't changed that. Statistically over the past 2 seasons, it is ranked as his worst track overall. But two of those races were just pure shit luck. Got wrecked in June 2015 and finished a lap down in August 2015. You know how I know it was a fluke? Over his past 13 races at Pocono, he has finished 12th or better in 11 races. Two races, he didn't were those two races. He finished 12th in both races in 2016. Also he was running in the low-teen when he got wrecked in June 2015 by AJ Dinger. Just further backs up that Newman is the king of consistency at Pocono. IF you are fooled by his average finish when we come to Pocono in the season, then you clearly didn't do your research. Make sure you have Newman on your radar at Pocono!

Indy is another good place for him! He won back in 2013 and has found some success outside of that as well. Over the past 6 races at Indy, he has posted 5 Top 12 finishes. This is another track that ranked at the bottom over the past 2 seasons in terms of average finish. It is ranked 22nd of 23rd tracks. Just ahead of Pocono. But once again, don't be fooled by that. Anyone that does actual research will find out that he is pretty good at both tracks!

Road courses will be a pretty good spot for him, just like most type of tracks. Newman is very good at Sonoma and it ranks as his 2nd-best track in terms of average finish. Over the past 3 seasons, he has compiled 3 straight finishes of 11th or better. He has also posted 8 finishes of 18th or better in the past 9 races. Including 4 straight finishes of 15th or better overall. Newman has been on it of late at Sonoma. Not anything out of this world, but that's pretty good and more than respectable. Watkins is another good tack for Newman. However, he is nothing beyond low to middle teens driver though. Over his past 7 races at Watkins Glenn, he has compiled 6 finishes between 12th-16th. If history is any indication then you can expect him to be a top 15 driver at the road courses in 2017!

Plate tracks will where Newman is at his worst, he isn't bad but not great either though. Neither track is great for him overall. He is better at Talladega, I would say. He has some consistent numbers there. Over his past 7 races at Talladega, he has compiled 5 finishes of 14th or better. Including finishes of 14th, 12th and 7th in 3 of his past 4 races there. He is definitely trending in the right direction at Talladega, hopefully it continues in 2017, as well. Daytona is also good, but nothing overly special. Over the past 9 races here, he has compiled 6 Top 18 finishes in that span. In that span, he also posted 5 Top 11 finishes in those 6 races. Expect finishes in the 12th-18th place range at plate races.

In 2017, I think Newman biggest asset will be consistency and getting quality finishes. I think he can finish well in the lower to middle teens at just about any track on the schedule. There's won't be a weekend where he won't have the potential. Like most things in fantasy sports, it is about timing and finding the right spots. I would use him at Darlington, Cali, Pocono, Phoenix and Las Vegas first. Those are his best five tracks in my opinion. A couple of them you could swap out with some other tracks, if you really felt strongly about it though. I don't think Newman get back to victory lane in 2017, but I do believe he shows improvements in his top 5 finishes, top 10 finishes, top 15 finishes and top 20 finishes. Or at the very least, he backs up last season's numbers.

**All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2017 Fantasy Nascar Preview: Paul Menard

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Paul Menard is coming off his worst season at RCR and quite frankly it wasn't something we saw coming. He was trending upward in his progression as a driver over the past couple season. And then boom he goes way backwards in 2016. I personally was very disappointed him, I expected much more from him. Menard wasn't a great driver in 2015, but he had a pretty good year. In fact, he had a career year in 2015. So logically, I thought he was in for a much better season in 2016. Nope, I was sadly mistaken. That's okay, we can only go on what we know. So what to expect from him this season? We will see.

Menard will be at his best on the intermediate tracks. He struggled there in 2016, but I will give him a pass though. I think that was a fluke, as history says that he will be good on the intermediate tracks. Will he rebound in 2017? I think so and personally I would target him at the track that he has found the most success on and then look for seasonal trends when we get into the season. His best tracks? Cali, Michigan and Las Vegas are his top 3 intermediate tracks honestly.

Cali recently has been his best intermediate track and logic says that he will keep up the good run in 2017 as well. Over the past 3 seasons at Cali, he has compiled 9.3 average finish with 14.3 average running position and 84.8 driver rating. His 9.3 average finish ranks as the best in the series, among drivers with at least 2 starts at Cali. In fact, he is the only driver that has posted 4 straight top 15 as well. Overall 4 of 6 career races with RCR has ended in 15th or better. And all 6 races at Cali with the 27 team has ended in 19th or better. He is just plain good at Cali!

Las Vegas and Michigan also will be very good tracks for him and you should be targeting him at both of those tracks. Las Vegas is the prefer track to use him at though. He has been amazing at Las Vegas in his career. In terms of average finish, he is ranked 2nd at Las Vegas among the 23 tracks. At Las Vegas, he has compiled an 10.0 average finish with 13.7 average running position and 88.4 driver rating. His overall numbers with RCR at Vegas are as impressive as the ones at Cali. You could make a case, they are a little better as a whole, too. In 6 career races with the #27 team, he has compiled 6 finishes of 15th or better. Including 5 finishes of 12th or better! No, that's isn't an typo either. Paul Menard is a complete stud at Las Vegas. Currently, he has posted 7 straight top 17 finishes at the track. The longest streak of his career at the Cup level! He is also very good at Michigan. How good? 9 straight finishes of 18th or better at Michigan. His last three finishes has ended in 18th or 12th. So not as impressive as 4 straight top 8 finishes from August 2013 to June 2015, but still pretty consistent still. Overall, he has only two finishes outside of the top 20 with #27 team. Use him at Cali, Las Vegas and Michigan. Then fill him in as you go on the intermediate tracks!

Short tracks will be a place that is up and down for Paul Menard overall. He will be good, but inconsistent most likely. Always been like that it seems. I would use him at Martinsville before Bristol though. He is underrated at both places, in my opinion. In 9 starts with the #27 team, he has compiled 6 Top 20 finishes overall. His numbers are better than it looks recently. Over the past 6 races, he has compiled 4 Top 15 finishes over his past 6 Martinsville races. Folks, that's solid! Like I said, he's underrated at the short track. He's isn't bad at Bristol, either. In 12 career starts with #27 team, he has compiled 8 Top 15 finishes. With finishes of 15th, 11th and 9th in 3 of the past 5 races at Bristol. Overall, 6 of the past 10 races at Bristol has ended in 11th or better. Don't sell him short on the short tracks! He can be a very effective fantasy option.

The flats in general will be a weakness for him, in my opinion. His best flat racetrack is Indy. He even won here in 2011, after a fuel gamble beat an dominant Jeff Gordon. His numbers at Indy in general are just simply good here. In 6 starts with #27 team, he has finished 14th or better in 5 of those 6  races. More recently, he has finished 3 of the past 4 races inside the top 14. Menard has this place figured out and you can expect another low-teen like finish from him.

The other 4 flats tracks hasn't been nearly as good to him. Phoenix, Richmond, Pocono and New Hampshire all ranked as his bottom 11 tracks of 23. But he is starting to make stride at some of them. Phoenix is the most noticeable one lately though. He hasn't been great at Phoenix in his career, but he is showing promise of late. Over the past 4 races at Phoenix, he has finished 14th or better. With 3 finishes in the 10th-14th range. Prior to that, he had only 2 finishes better than 14th place in his first 16 starts at the track. Like I said, he is making gains at Phoenix! New Hampshire also hasn't been bad to Menard overall, but just not great though. Over the past 5 races at New Hampshire, he has finished 15th-18th in 3 of 5 races. So, he has been middle of the road lately. History says you can expect him to finish in the 15th-20th place range. 7 of the past 10 races at New Hampshire has ended in 15th-19th. No finishes has been better than 12th in September 2012.

Richmond and Pocono are his worst two flat tracks overall. I would say that Richmond is a little better for him, but that's isn't saying a whole lot though. Over his past 4 races at Richmond, he has compiled 3 straight finishes of 22nd or worse. With 4 of the past 6 races ending in 22nd or worse. Over his past 12 races at Richmond? He has finished 22nd or worse in 7 of those races. That's over 50% of the time, he is finishing outside of the top 20! Folks, that's is just asking for trouble right there. And Pocono is just as bad as Richmond. Both tracks are ranked inside the bottom 3 in career average finish and most recently as well. But he has taken it to a ''new level'' at Pocono recently. It's at a point, where you think he is having bad races at Pocono. Even though, he has had a lot of good races there with terrible luck. Over his past 8 races at Pocono, he has compiled 7 finishes of 26th or worse. No that's isn't an typo! 7 of 8 races has ended in 26th or worse. Holy shit that's bad! Including 4 of the past 5 races ending in 33rd or worse. Do I need to say anymore? Avoid him at both Richmond and Pocono.

Plate tracks will be a good place to unload him overall. Outside of the intermediate tracks, I would say this is the type of track that I would target him at honestly. He has been much better at Talladega than Daytona though. He has been impressive at Talladega overall. Over his past 4 races, he has compiled 3 Top 13 finishes. Over his past 7 races at Talladega, he has compiled 5 finishes of 13th or better. With 4 of those 5 races ending in 6th or better overall. Damn those are some solid numbers! He has been okay at Daytona as well, just not nothing impressive as a whole. Over his past 5 races at Daytona, he has compiled 3 finishes of 18th or 16th. Not bad at all, but nothing like his Talladega record. In his past 12 races (all with RCR), he has compiled 7 Top 18 finishes. So little over half of the time, he is finishing inside the top 20. Not bad at all, I would take my chances with him and get an solid teen-like result. His better finishes will likely come at Talladega though.

People always think of  road courses being an weakness for him, but he is making gains at both road courses and has seen noticeable improvement. Especially at Sonoma, as he has finished 16th or better in 4 straight races at Sonoma. In fact, he has finished 20th or better in every start with the #27 team. So he hasn't been bad, but just not good enough to get the credit he's deserves. Menard been damn good at Sonoma, he could be a legit sleeper at Sonoma in 2017. He hasn't been quite as good at Watkins Glenn, but still decent though. Over his past 5 races at Watkins Glenn, he has compiled 3 finishes of 12th or better. All three of those races has ended in 12th-17th. Overall, he has finished 12th-17th in 4 of the past 7 races at Watkins Glenn. Don't expect the world from him at the road courses, but he won't be bad at all. Good sleeper, if you know where to look in certain formats.

In 2017, I am not expecting a whole lot. I know, he will be inconsistent. I know, he will have his bad races. However, I am hoping he has a few standout races. If he can have a few standout races, maybe then he can build some confidences and he then can get on a run. Outside of a few intermediate tracks, Indy and Talladeaga, I would keep my expectations in the middle-teen probably. I would keep an eye on him at Sonoma, Bristol and Martinsville. Tracks that suggests he is middle of road, but has a lot of promise. I think he will be at his worst on the flat tracks, especially at tracks such as Richmond and Pocono. Those are the two tracks that I would really avoid him at. I don't have much to say about Menard, so just know there will be chances to use him. It will be about timing with Menard, watch the trend and calculate your risks accordingly.

*All stats are from DriverAverages.com and FantasyRacingCheatSheet.com 

Twitter - @JeffNathans18  

2017 Fantasy Nascar Preview: Ryan Blaney

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Ryan Blaney is coming off a very successful season with the Wood brothers in 2016 and had a solid rookie season with them. He will return to them in 2017 and try to improve upon that. I think he is behind both Larson and Chase among the newcomers over the past 5 years. With that said, he is making headway and that's all important for him overall. Blaney will run well just about on every track, minus the road courses. His primary strength will be on the intermediate tracks and flat tracks though. He will be inconsistent like last year and bad luck will be his worst friend as well.

Intermediate tracks stand out for him as his primary strength because of Wood brothers' relationship with Penske. They get strong backing from them, so it's only make sense that the intermediate are good venues for him. I would say that Michigan, Kansas and Las Vegas are his best intermediate tracks. If you are familiar with the tracks, then you know they are pretty similar with each other. More specific, they all see very little ''tire fall-off''. For whatever reason, Blaney underperformed (especially early in the year in 2016) at the tracks that saw a lot of fall-off at. Like Cali, Texas, Richmond (not an intermediate track but still get the point), Atlanta, etc. He did much better job of tire management as went on though.

I would say that Kansas is considered his best track early in his career thus far overall. In 4 career starts, he has compiled 3 Top 14 finishes with average driver rating of 90.8. Over his past three races at Kansas, he has compiled an average driver rating of 90.8. He also has posted finishes of 5th and 7th in those 3 races. He finished 14th place back at the fall race in 2016. In the spring race (in May), he was straight up impressive. He had an 99.0 driver rating and ran between 5th-8th for most of the event. A couple better cars wrecked out and had issues, but still strong performance back in last May at Kansas! He has performed well at both Las Vegas and Michigan as well. Nothing special at Michigan, but he has posted good performances in 2016 of 5th and 17th. He had a top 5 run in the second race, but in the first race, he is underrated though. He ran good in that race, but didn't get the finish he really deserved if I remember correctly. Much like Kansas and Michigan in 2016, he ran very well at Las Vegas in 2016. Last season, he was very impressive at Las Vegas and had a legit top 7 run there. He finished 6th for the race and looked very good, not doubt. I like him at all three tracks overall for 2017, but Kansas would be my first choice though. Followed by Vegas and then Michigan. Other intermediate tracks will be questionable, however it is hard to say where it will be though.

The flat tracks should be a strong spot for him overall, as he is expected to run well at both them. I think he will be better on the shorter flats though. He has ran well at 2 of the 3 shorter flats so far in his short career with the #21 team. He has ran well at both New Hampshire and Phoenix. But I would say that Phoenix is a bit kinder to him though. Phoenix has been a great track for him and was very good to him in 2016. In 2 starts (both in 2016), he has compiled 9.0 average finish with 2 top 10 finishes. This is the only track that he can say that about. At no other track has he swept the top 10 at. In fact, only at Kansas and Talladega does he has more top 10 finishes (3 a piece). He has 4 starts at Kansas and 5 starts at Talladega. So yeah was very good at Phoenix in 2016 in his first two starts. Not quite as good at New Hampshire, but he has more starts there as well though. In 3 starts there, he has posted 15.3 average finish with 2 top 15 finishes. With finishes of 11th and 12th in 2016. He finished 23rd in his first race at New Hamsphire in 2015. I believe he had a flat tire while running inside the top 12 and had to pit. To me, that says a lot. He has ran well at every race at New Hampshire and I love it, too. At Richmond? You can avoid him for now, he finished 28th and 39tth in 2016 with the #21 car there.

Larger Flats will also be a good place for him as well in 2017, as he also ran very well there in the #21 car so far in his career. Both Pocono and Indy can be considered solid places to unload him. I would say Pocono is the bit better track, but mainly because he hasn't had a bad race there yet though. In 2 races at Pocono so far, he has compiled 10.5 average finish with 2 Top 11 finishes. He finished 10th and 11th in 2016 at Pocono. He was very good in both races, while posting driver rating above 87.0 in both races. Pretty good at Pocono in his first two tries. Usually that is a difficult track to master, but for Blaney it wasn't though. At Indy? While he has mix results in two starts at the track. He has finishes of 12th and 36th. He had an DNF in last season, but I don't fault him for it though. So I will give him a pass and play the wait and see approach. Overall, I would expect finishes in the low to middle teens from Blaney in 2017 on the larger flats. You can expect high-single digits to low teens on the shorter flats from him.

Short tracks will be a question mark for him overall. I think he will keep struggling at Martinsville but he has real potential at Bristol. I believe he considers it one of his favorite tracks. He just hasn't gotten the finishes at Bristol. He wasn't anything special in his debut in 2015 and finished 22nd. Not bad at all. He followed that up with finishes of 11th and 35th. He had driver rating of 93.5 and 78.9. The spring race, he was a strong performer and got the finish he deserved. The summer race, he finished well over 50 laps down and finished 35th. He probably would had gotten another top 15 finish. His driver rating tells you something isn't lining up and his laps down only further backs up that claim. He could be a legit driver at Bristol in the future. At Martinsville? I am not so high on him at. In two starts, he has posted finishes of 19th and 19th.The part I don't like? He really hasn't shown anything at Martinsville so far. Not very good at all. He posted an average driver rating of 66.1. How bad is that? That's the worst among his best 9 tracks (in average finish). His top 8 tracks, he has posted an average driver rating of at least 78.4. 7 of his other 8 best tracks are all above 80. Point being, he struggled at Martinsville in his first two starts.

Plate tracks will be a strength for Ryan Blaney in 2017 overall. He should excel at them in 2017, as he has in the past. I would say that Talladega is one of his best tracks so far in his career. He has a couple bad races, but in 5 starts he has multiple top 10 finishes already. If you exclude his 3rd race (DNF - blown engine), he has posted 4 Top 22 finishes in all 4 starts. He also has posted 3 Top 11 finishes over his past 3 starts. Minus that blown engine in October 2015. His past races at Talladega look like this: 11th, 4th, 43rd and 9th. That's damn good! How about Daytona? Not quite as good. Still not bad either though. In 3 career starts at Daytona, he has compiled 16.2 average finish with 8.8 average starting position. In those races, he has compiled 2 Top 19 finishes in his past two starts at the track. He had an blown engine in the first race (2015 Daytona 500) and finished 39th place. So over his past 4 plate traces, he has posted 3 Top 15 finishes. That's damn good from him! See why it is considered an strength? He just understands how to run well at both Daytona and Talladega!

The road courses will be a weak spot for him overall, I would say this will be his weakest area honestly. In made his career debut in Cup at both Sonoma and Watkins Glenn in 2016. The results? Not very good at all, I didn't expect him to be honestly. In the road courses in 2016, he compiled 21.0 average finish, 22.5 average start with 22.0 average running position and 58.8 driver rating. Across the board those are garbage numbers! Not his fault though, as he has had very limited time behind the wheel on this type of track. In 2017, I expect some improvements from him overall.

Overall, I would say that Ryan Blaney just need to keep making progress as a young driver. He is one of the many bright talents we had seen over the last few years. I think he is right in the middle of the youth movement. He should continue climb the ranks as he gains more experience! Blaney will run his best on the intermediate tracks, plate tracks and flat tracks. He will need to pick up ground at the short tracks (Martinsville mainly) and road courses though. Those are the tracks that he had the biggest issues last season. I would personally use him at the intermediate tracks first, then figure out the rest from there. I think Blaney is a low-teen driver right now with upside to finish inside the top 10 a weekly basis. With that said, he is a bit away from ''truly'' winning races. In 2017, I want him to take that next step and become a top 10 potential driver. Once that happens, then we will know he is close to winning his first Cup race. Until then, I don't view Blaey as anything other than a low-teen driver. He will often get top 5 and top 10 finishes, but he needs to take that next step. That's the biggest difference between him and guys like Larson/Elliott. Blaney haven't had that legit race, where he had a shot at the win. He ran top 5 a couple times, but nothing that put him over the top though. In 2017, I believe he could have that chance. Will happen? Only time will tell, in my opinion. I think bad luck will be his biggest issue this season. I say he has improvements across the board in 2017, but misses out on his first Cup win. However, I think the progression of Blaney will be obvious better though. I have him at 7 Top 5 finishes and 14 Top 10 finishes. I think you can give or take 1-2 either way on both those numbers, but it should be in that area though. I would use Blaney at Kansas, Vegas, Michigan, Phoenix and Talladega in that order among tracks.

**All stats are from DriverAverages.com 

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2017 Fantasy Nascar Preview: Ricky Stenhouse Jr

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Ricky Stenhouse Jr is a very talented driver, make no mistake about that. Laugh, but he really is. Give him some speed and he will show you how good he is. I do believe that and we saw flashes of potential in the early parts of 2016. Before RFR faded in middle and end of the year, but doesn't change that Ricky could be a quality driver with better performance by RFR as a whole. I think dumping Biffle will help Stenhouse's performance. Seems crazy, but that's one less car they will have to focus on. Which means, RFR teams will be able to focus more on Ricky's car during race weekend. The experience factor will be missed, but they will be better off in the long term though.

I think Ricky's strength in 2017 will be on the intermediate tracks, he ran well on them in 2016 and proved to everyone he is a decent driver. Especially early in the season, he was very consistent inside the top 16 or so. However after that, he just taper off after about the first 13 races or so. Overall 8 of 11 races on 1.5 mile tracks ended inside the top 20. If we take out those bad races at Kentucky (40th), Homestead (30th) and Chicagoland (27th), then had an 15.1 average finish with 16.0 average running position and 77.0 driver rating on the eight 1.5 mile tracks. In case you aren't good with numbers, then those are all very respectable stats.

What intermediate would I use him on? I personally would go for him at Dover, Kansas and Charlotte. Those tracks stand out to me overall for him. I would say Dover is his best intermediate track overall. His numbers here are very good. In 9 career races at Dover, he has posted 7 top 20 finishes. He is even more appealing as of late, too. Over the past three races at Dover, he has posted 3 Top 14 finishes. Including finishes of 14th, 8th and 11th over his past three races. With 4 of the past 5 races overall ending in 19th place or better. Like I said, this is probably his best-overall intermediate track. Can you see why now? I hope so, because those kind of numbers been hard to come by for him the last couple seasons as a whole.

He also been very good at Kansas and Charlotte, I would say that Kansas is the better track of the two though. He has been very good at Kansas throughout his career. Over the past 5 races, he has finished 19th or better in past 4 of 5 races. While finishing 19th and 13th (twice) over the past three races at Kansas. Pretty good overall. I like that he is trending in the right direction, too. Three straight Top 20 finishes is very good. Also was quite impressive back in the first Kansas race (in May) last season. He posted an 86.2 driver rating, which ranked as a 2nd-best in his career. As for Charlotte, it has been pretty good too. In 10 career starts, he has posted 6 Top 20 finishes. In his first four races at Kansas, he posted 3 Top 20 finishes. Good, right? Yes, but then he went three straight races without an top 23 finish. How about his last three races? 3 straight Top 20 finishes of 20th, 15th and 13th. He hit the rough patch during 2014 and the early 2015 race. Make sense, as RFR struggled in 2014 and first half of 2015. If you are going to use him, then it should be at either Dover, Charlotte and Kansas on the intermediate tracks.

The short tracks has been a tail of two tapes for Ricky Stenhouse Jr so far in his career. He has been very good at Bristol, you could say it is his best track. When really thinking about it, Bristol is his best track and it isn't very close either honestly. Bristol has been a very good track for him. In fact, over the past 6 races (since 2014), it is the only track that he has posted an average driver rating of 80.0. In fact, only 2 of the past 22 tracks has he compiled an average driver rating of 70.0 or better. In 8 career starts at Bristol, he has compiled 10.6 average finish 7 Top 18 finishes and all 8 races ending in 21st or better. More so, he has posted 5 Top 16 finishes over his past 6 races. With 4 Top 6 finishes over that span as well. Simply put, Stenhouse is a stud at Bristol. Over the past 6 races, he has posted 3 Top 5 finishes. Including an 2nd place finish in his last race there in the summer time in 2016. Stenhouse just don't have many bad races at Bristol, in fact he yet to have a really poor finish. Martinsville is by far one of his worst tracks though. I am not even going to go into the detail, but over his past 6 races, he has posted an track-worst 34.4 average finish with just top 20 finish and 2 Top 25 finishes in 8 starts at the track. Stay away from him at Martinsville! Currently, he is on a race-streak that he has finished 32nd or worst over the past two seasons there. Do I need to say anymore? I didn't think so!

The flats tracks will be a decent spot for him overall, on both larger and shorter flats. But some tracks will be better than others though. New Hampshire has been his best flat track overall. It is the only flat track that ranked inside the top 5 among all of his tracks. Over the past 6 races at New Hampshire, he has posted 4 Top 17 finishes in that span. He has posted finishes 9th-17th in those 4 races. Also, he has posted 4 straight top 24 finishes. He finish in 24th in his last race there in the fall, but I think he will do better than 24th in both races in 2017 though. Richmond has been a better track than the numbers suggests. He has only posted 2 Top 20 finishes over the past 6 races. So why do I like him at Richmond? Well, he has proved he can run well lately at Richmond. 2 of the past 3 Richmond races has ended in 18th or 16th. He finished 26th back in April 2016 (last season), but he was competitively inside the top 15 before until late in the event. With that said, he has shown potential at Richmond. I like that! I would say Phoenix is his worst shorter flat track lately there. In his first 5 races at Phoenix, he finished between 12th-18th place. His last three races? 3 straight finishes of 23rd or worse overall. Not what I want to see out of him, in terms of trends. He also has two DNFs in that span, but he has improved in the right direction of late. As he has improved in every race in that span: 41st (Fall 2015 November), 37th and 23rd (Fall 2016 November). For Ricky's case, hopefully that it keep going that way for him.

Larger flats will be a could be a good place for him in 2017 honestly. He has ran well at the larger flats recently when really looking at it. At least at Pocono, he has though. That was shocking to me, since we don't think of him as a good racer there. However, he hasn't been bad at all. Over the past 6 races there, he has compiled 4 top 18 finishes. Good news is, he has finished either 18th or 15th in 4 of 6 races. Bad news, he has developed a scary trend in his career at Pocono. It goes like this: Two bad finishes (in his first two starts - 26th and 40th), followed by finishes of 18th and 15th (in 3rd and 4th starts at the track), then 41st and 42nd (in 5th and 6th starts) and then 18th and 15th again in last two starts. So if this trend continues for him, then he should finish very poor in both races. Positive news? Trend doesn't mean anything. They are just number pattern that can be broken at any given time. His Indy record isn't quite as good. In 4 career starts, he has posted just one finish better than 25th place. Good news? He finished 12th in his last race there and posted his best performance as well. Both positive signs for him. I doubt, he will repeat that top 12 finish in 2017 though. But a top 20 finish is within his range though.

Plate races and Road courses will be complete opposite for him. The Plate tracks are tracks that will be a strength for him, while you can expect him to struggled much on the road courses though. Let's start on the plate tracks. Daytona and Talladega, both has been good tracks to him in his career so far. I would say that Talladega is inside his top 3 tracks, not many drivers can say that. In 7 career races at Talladeaga, he has posted 6 Top 16 finishes. With 3 straight Top 16 finishes, while posting 3 top 10 finishes in the past 5 races. Over the past 6 Talladega races, he has posted 4 Top 10 finishes. Including 2 of those 4 races ending inside the top 5 as well. How does it compare to other tracks? He has the second-most top 5 finishes (to only Bristol - 3), tied for the most top 10 finishes (4 - with Bristol) and second-most top 20 finishes (to only Bristol - 7). Like I said, this is a top 3 track (more like top 2 honestly.) He hasn't been bad at Daytona, either. Over the past 6 races at Daytona, he has compiled 4 Top 22 finishes. Overall, he has posted 5 Top 20 finishes in 9 career starts. Including 3 straight Top 22 finishes with finishes of 5th, 19th and 22nd. Expect both tracks to be very good for him in 2017!

Stenhouse Jr has struggled at both road courses. He's been a little better at Watkins Glenn but that's not saying much. At Watkins Glenn, he has posted 2 top 20 finishes in 4 career starts. Good, right? No, not good because he has posted back-back finishes outside of the top 30 at WGI. He finished 38th in last season race, after being in an accident. Even worse? He has qualified 30th or worse in 3 of 4 races. He has been better at Sonoma lately, but his numbers as a whole haven't. In 4 career starts, he has finished 26th or worse in 3 races. His only finish better than 26th place? 20th in 2015. He has finished 20th and 26th in his past two races at Sonoma. Also, he hasn't posted an driver rating better than 58.9 in any of those races. That's right there should raise major red flags, since he wasn't involved in any wrecks. Just avoid him on the road courses!

In 2017, I would expect Stenhouse to run similar to last season. Consistent at times but a reliability at others though. Stenhouse best places will likely be the intermediate tracks and plate tracks. I also think he will run extremely well at Bristol. The next that I expect him to do well at are: Bristol, Dover, Talladega, Daytona, New Hampshire and Kansas. In that order to, I would prefer to use him. I think those tracks will be the ones that he find the most success to. Especially his top 3 of Bristol, Dover and Talladega. I love him at all of those tracks, I believe he will have great runs at them all. his worst tracks will likely be his bad days on the intermediate tracks, road courses and Martinsville. He will also have his bad days on the flats tracks as well. New Hampshire is his best shorter flat and Pocono is the better larger flat track for him.

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2017 Fantasy Nascar Preview: Trevor Bayne

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Trevor Bayne had an excellent 2016 seasons, despite being disrespect by almost literally everyone in the Nascar community. He got some love from a few sites, but more often than not he was overlooked. He wasn't anything special, but he was better than he got credited for. There was a time where he was the best RFR driver in 2016. His numbers ended just a little worse than Ricky Stenhouse Jr and a bitter than Greg Biffle's. Overall, RFR struggled once again in 2016 but saw improvements no doubt. Trevor Bayne had his best year ever as a full-time cup driver with career-high in top 5 finishes, top 10 finishes and average finish.

RFR's biggest improvement last season was probably the intermediate tracks. Teammate Ricky Stenhouse Jr said they are closer on the intermediate tracks, but have work to do on the short tracks and other venues. I would agree with that assessment on the program. It was obvious that RFR had a okay handle on the intermediate tracks, especially on the 1.5 milers. On the 1.5 mile tracks (11 of them in total), he finished between 11th-22nd in 7 races. So just over 60% of the time, he finished inside the top 22. That's solid for him, I would say. In 6 of those 7 races, he finished inside the top 20. 5 of those 6 races ended in 18th place or better.

His best three racetracks among intermediate tracks probably are Kentucky, Atlanta and Las Vegas. Hard to say with such limited data to go on though, we will find out more as we see him more on these tracks. I will say that Kentucky is running way as his best tracks. Only two races under his belt, but in those two races, he has an 12.0 average finish with worst finish of 13th place. Also his driver rating in both races are pretty damn good. Usually a good driver rating for an event is a great sign for a driver's performance. He had driver ratings of 71.4 and 81.2. For average of 76.4 driver rating. That's 76.4 average rating is impressive because no other track does he has a rating above 66.8. That's basically an full 10 ratings better. Yeah pretty good! Between Atlanta, Michigan and Las Vegas, I am not sure what's his 2nd-best track is honestly. I am going to say Michigan or Las Vegas though. Also they are similar tracks. He has 12 starts at Michigan and 6 starts at Vegas. I say Las Vegas is a little better of a track as of right now because of the early success he has had. In 6 career starts, he has posted 4 Top 20 finishes. Just in 6 starts, he has posted 4 Top 20 finishes. At Michigan, he has posted 5 Top 20 finishes in double the starts. And over his past three starts at Vegas, he has posted 2 finishes of 20th or better. Including an 17th place finish in last season's race. He has more experience at Michigan though and has 3 Top 22 finishes over his past 4 starts there as well. Over the past 7 races, he has posted 5 Top 22 finishes. With 6 Top 24 finishes in those 7 races overall. If I was going to use him on the intermediate tracks, I would pick Kentucky, Las Vegas and Michigan.

Short tracks will be a good place to use him, especially at Bristol. You could make a strong case for him at Bristol, that it is his 2nd-best racetrack on the schedule behind Kentucky. In 5 career starts at Bristol, he has posted 3 Top 20 finishes with career average finish of 18.8. Even better? All three top 20 finishes has came in the last three races. Even better than that? The finishes has all been 15th or better. Including finishes of 12th and 5th during 2016 season. Very good overall, but his Martinsville record is not very good. Is it completely terrible? No not really. But it could use some improvements though. In 5 races at Martinsville, he has posted 2 Top 23 finishes in that span. Not very good, but he has improved in his last three races. In November 2015, he finished 31st. Not very good, right? Correct. April 2016? 27th. That's better, but still not really great. How about October 2016? 23rd place. Okay that's more in the ballpark in what we are looking for. If he can bring that number up again in 2017, then we are definitely cooking.

Shorter flats and Larger flats will be a weakness for him overall, he will likely not have many good runs in 2017. I would say the best place to use him would be Richmond though. He has performed well at Richmond so far in his career. In 4 races, he has compiled 4 Top 24 finishes. In 2016, he posted finishes of 14th and 17th. That's rock-solid overall. He also had good performances in those races at Richmond as well. He posted driver ratings of 71.6 and 81.3. Hard to ask for much more from Bayne, when he is posting those kind of numbers. Another thing to like about Bayne at Richmond? He has improved his finishing position in every race. His finishes at Richmond: 24th (April 2015), 23rd, 17th and 14th. He has been bad at Phoenix and New Hampshire. How bad? In 10 starts in those races, he has posted just one top 20 finish. In fact, the other 9 races has ended in 23rd or worse. I am not even going to go into the data any deeper, because it is clear as day, he isn't that good at them.

The Larger flats will be an weakness for him in 2017. He has struggled at both Indy and Pocono, I am not very surprise by that honestly. In 10 career races at the larger flats, he has posted just 3 Top 20 finishes. He has been better at Pocono though and it hasn't been much of a competition, either. If we take out his DNF in August 2015, he has posted 3 Top 24 finishes in 4 races. In 2016, he posted finishes of 19th and 13th. So he swept the top 20 at Pocono. That's what I like to hear from Trevor. Maybe he can keep it up in 2017 as well? We will see. How about Indy? Not very good at all. In 6 starts at Indy, he has only posted one top 20 finish. In those 6 starts, he has posted 2 DNFs with average finish of 31.3. His lone good finish at Indy came back in July 2012. In his other 4 races? 28th or worse in every race. That's bad and I don't think I need to explain why. Good news? He has improved in the last three races. In July 2014, he finished 43rd. He finished 40th in 2015 and then 30th place in last season's event. He also had two DNFs in that two race span. Those DNFs came in 2014 and 2015. He finished 30th place in last season race, but finished 3 laps down. He needs to be able to finish on the lead lap, to have any kind of value at Indy!

Plate tracks was a strength for Trevor Bayne in 2016 and I was honestly suprise. I personally I always thought Bayne was overrated at the plate races. But he proved me wrong in 2016 though, as he posted 3 Top 17 finishes in 4 races. His numbers at Talladega are just a little better than Daytona. At Talladega, he posted 3 Top 21 finishes in his last three races. In his previous 9 races at Talladega, he has posted an total of 4 Top 25 finishes. So he is on a bit of a solid run at Talladega, hopefully the good numbers continue for him. At Daytona, he has posted 2 Top 9 finishes over the past three races. So over the past 6 races at Plate races, he has posted 5 Top 21 finishes with 4 Top 17 finishes overall. Prior to those 2 Top 9 finishes, he only posted 2 Top 25 finishes in his previous 9 races. Including a win in his first start back in 2011. Overall, Bayne should offer something in the high-teens to low-twenties.

Road courses will be another weakness for him as well. He has not perform very well on the road courses so far in his career. In 4 career starts on the road courses (2 at each Sonoma and Watkins Glenn), he has posted 4 Top 25 finishes. In 3 of those 4 races, he has posted 3 finishes between 22nd-25th. His lone good finish? 9th place at Watkins in 2016. Even though, he wasn't very good though. Only posted 65.8 driver rating. That's is like a low-twenties type finish's performance. Honestly, I am not very high on him overall at the road courses. You can expect finishes inside the top 25, but probably nothing other than that though.

In 2017, I would expect Bayne to be a good but not overly impressive performer on the intermediate tracks, plate tracks and most likely Bristol. He will also be good at Richmond and couple other tracks. He is trending the right way at certain tracks that he has struggled at, so remember to keep those tracks in mind down the road. Bayne should be avoided on the flat tracks in general, long with the road courses. I would expect Bayne to be run well in 2017 and finish most weekends in the low-twenties with enough upside to sneak into the high-teens. Most weekends, he won't perform strong enough to be anything outside of the 16th-22nd place range. For Bayne to have a successful season in 2017, I would say he needs to just focus on being consistent and trying to improve from 2016. If he can accomplish those two tasks, then I would be okay with his season's outcome. He don't need to be anything special to be successful. As a young driver, it is all about not taking a step back!

**All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @JeffNathans18

2017 Fantasy Nascar Preview: AJ Dinger

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AJ Dinger is coming off his best year ever by far with the No.47 team and looks to make more improvements in 2017 with a new teammate to boot. Dinger isn't the most talented driver in the world, but he is capable of very good things in 2017. I think the biggest thing for him will be building on 2016 and staying consistent. I think Dinger has good fantasy value and will be an real asset, if he can be consistent in 2017. I always say consistency in the key baseline to any sort of fantasy success. A driver like Dinger really needs the consistency to have any real value outside of his gem-like tracks. Dinger will be his best on the road courses, shorter flats and short tracks in general. Everywhere else will heavily depend on the performance and consistency of the No.47 team.

Road Courses are always the tracks that comes up whenever AJ Dinger's name is mentioned it seems and for very good reason to. Since entering the Nascar ranks back in his Richard Petty and Team Redbull days, he has been a legit driver on the road courses. Early in his career, he was consistent and very trustworthy. However, he has hit a rough patch since joining the No.47 team. He is consistently one of the fastest cars at the road courses, but never seems to be able to seal the deal. Since 2014, he has had an issues at all but one race. That race? Watkins Glenn in 2014, he won that race. Every other race, he was involved in some type of wreck, mechanical issue or running out of fuel. Even though, he finished 4th last year, he did wreck Kyle Larson on he final lap of the race. Got the good finish, but not really incident free though. I am not even going to dig into the stats because they are misleading due to all of the misfortune he has had lately. But he will have top 10 potential with winning-possible upside on the road courses in 2017!

Short tracks is the next type of track that I want to look at, they would be the tracks of Martinsville and Bristol. Both tracks has been good to Dinger in the past and could be places to use him in 2017 as well. I would say that Martinsville is Dinger's best track not on the road courses honestly. He simply get around this place good, he has had quite a few good runs at Martinsville recently and could make some noise in 2017 as well. Over the past 6 races at Martinsville, he has posted 5 Top 11 finishes. Meaning, he has finished 11th or better in 5 of the last 6 races. Only race, he didn't? He blew an engine and finished dead last in 2015 spring race. Otherwise this guy been straight up impressive at Martinsville. How good was he here in 2016? Well, he finished 2nd and 10th, while posting driver rating in both races over 100. Something he has only done on the road courses probably with JTG 47 team. In fact, he has finished 11th or better in 3 straight races. All three of those races has ended with at least an 90.2 driver rating.

Bristol is a decent track for him, but not a great racetrack though. He has been a bit inconsistent but has posted 3 Top 20 finishes over the past 5 races at Bristol. He was able to sweep the top 20 in 2016 with finishes of 19th and 9th. It is important to note that Dinger posted driver ratings of 83.9 and 90.3 in two races at Bristol last season. Again that is not great, but still pretty solid for him overall. Performance wise, those are the best two races at Bristol in the #47 car at the cup level. You will have to go back to 2012 to find better performances by him at Bristol. He wasn't great last season at Bristol, it was definitely pretty damn good though.

I would say that the shorter flats tracks are his most consistent type track overall. When looking at the numbers. Since 2014, all three shorter flats (Richmond, New Hampshire and Phoenix) ranked among his top 10 tracks over the past two seasons. No other track type can be said about him. I would say Phoenix is his best shorter flat track though. He has made 6 starts with the 47 team at Phoenix and he has posted 5 finishes of 17th or better. His lone non-top 17 finish? 24th place. Pretty good, right? You bet and his numbers from a career-point of view only further make a case for him. In 15 career starts at Phoenix, he has posted 12 Top 18 finishes. Over the past 13 races alone, he has posted 11 Top 18 finishes. Including an impressive 11th place finish back in 2013 with the #51 team. The the #51 team back in 2013 was called Phoenix Racing aka HScott Racing (in 2016). Anyhow, Dinger has always ran well at Phoenix. Never anything special, but pretty consistent when looking at his numbers. I will take a top 20 at Phoenix with him any day.

Richmond and New Hampshire at pretty equal tracks since joining the #47 team honestly. He isn't a standout at either place. At both tracks, he will likely have potential in that 18th-24th place range. More often than not it will be around 20th-24th place though. I would say that they are near equal when taking in the factors. He been better at Richmond from a career point of view, but has been more consistent lately at New Hampshire though. Over the past 13 races at Richmond, he has posted 10 Top 20 finishes. With only 3 races ending in 21st or worse. With that said, all three finishes has been with the #47 team. Over the past 6 races at Richmond, he has posted 3 finishes finishes of 20th or better. His best four has been 20th, 25th, 24th and 13th. Not great numbers by any means, but not terrible either though. New Hampshire numbers has been in the same range of late as well. Over the past 6 races at New Hampshire, he has posted 6 straight finishes of 23rd or better. His first three races at New Hampshire with the #47 team ended in 18th, 13th and 13th. His last three finishes? 21st, 21st and 23rd. With that said, half of his career top 20 finishes has came with the #47 team. Like I said earlier, his range is likely 20th-24th at both Richmond and New Hampshire. The numbers suggust that is the likely case in 2017 as well.

The intermediate tracks could be a strength for AJ Dinger in 2017, when looking at his suprsiing numbers from 2016 honestly.  He will likely lack the upside to be a true contender at the intermediate tracks, but he will bring top 20 upside most weekend. He could bring value, if he remains consistent though. If we take out the Kentucky and the fall Charlotte (October) race, he compiled an 15.2 average finish on the 1.5 mile tracks. He posted 7 Top 20 finishes with 4 of those ending inside the top 15 as well. Pretty good for a guy like AJ whom isn't known to be a good racer on these type of tracks. He also had strong runs at Cali (8th) and the second Michigan ran (15th) as well. Not a bad year for AJ at the intermediate tracks.

His best intermediate tracks are most likely Las Vegas, Kansas and Cali, I would say honestly. Statically speaking, Cali is considered as one of his very best tracks from a career point of view. In 12 career starts, he has posted 8 Top 20 finishes with 2 Top 20 finishes over his 3 most recent starts there. Over the past 3 seasons, he has posted 2 Top 20 finishes at Cali and ranked 5th in average finish since 2014 among 23 tracks. When looking deeper into the numbers, he has posted 6 Top 20 finishes over the past 7 races at Cali. Including 2 top 10 finishes over the past three races. His lone bad finish was back in 2015, when he finished 34th. If I recall correctly, everyone kept blowing tires in that race or something. It was a mess either way and a lot of drivers finished poorly. Dinger was one of them. Otherwise, Dinger has been a straight stud at this place. And between Kansas and Las Vegas, it is hard to decide what track he is better on. I am going to say Kansas, because the simple-size is larger at Kansas than Las Vegas. Over the past 6 races at Kansas, he has posted 4 Top 20 finishes. Last season, he posted career-high of 8th place in both races. Yes, you read that right! The Dinger swept the top 8 last season at Kansas! With 4 of the past 5 races ending in 14th or better overall. He has proven himself on this surface of Kansas and turned into a solid racer, too. Statically, he has been pretty good at Las Vegas as well. Over the past three races here, he has posted 3 Top 18 finishes. If there was three tracks to use him at and feel good about, then those would be the places to unload him.

The Larger flats will be a decent place for him. He ran good at the larger flats in 2016. He swept the top 16 at Pocono and well overheated at Indy after about 71 laps completed. In three starts with the #47 team at Indy, he has only posted 1 Top 20 finish of 18th place back in 2014. So he has had some troubles at Indy so far. But that's okay though, because he been a bit better at Pocono though. Over the past 6 races at Pocono, he has posted 4 Top 21 finishes. With 3 straight Top 16 finishes over the past 3 races overall. Not great numbers from a career point of view, as it ranked 13th of 23rd among the 23 tracks. However, he is trending in the right direction with 3 straight top 16 finishes. I am not expecting him to keep that type of consistency, but it would be nice if he can hover in the top 20 in 2017. If he does then, he will hold at least some type of value for fantasy value on the larger flats.

The plate tracks will also be a weakness for him, he isn't a driver that really can use the draft to his advanatage and contend up front. With that said, he is one of those drivers that can be an hail mary play if you feel like being a dare devil (Cough Garry Briggs Cough knows what I talking about Cough), then Dinger could be your all or nothing play. On a good race at Talldeaga or Daytona, he survives the craziness and get a respectable teen-finish. That's all, but most times you can expect something in the low to mid twenties out of him though.

Overall in 2017, I would expect Dinger to have a pretty good year. He won't contend for top 10 finishes every week but there will be tracks to use him though. Watkins Glenn and Sonoma are the obvious places. But tracks like Martinsville, Bristol, Phoenix, and even Pocono could be other awesome places to employ. Also keep Kansas and Cali in mind on the intermediate tracks. So there are about 8 to 10 tracks that he is very useful at, the thing will be timing. Also he needs to show consistency to have any real fantasy value as well. I think Dinger will be less consistent than last season, but he will see some of that consistency remain with him. Less so on the intermediate tracks though. I don't see him repeating his success on that type of track. I really do like Dinger as a solid sleeper throughout the season, just don't expect the world from him though.

**All stats are from DriverAverages.com 

Twitter - @JeffNathans18