2023 Fantasy Nascar Analysis Breakdown (Cali)

 Welcome to Timerssports

We are back at it this weekend with some racing, but sadly it gonna be more challenging than we would like for us fantasy players. As both practice and qualifying has been cancelled, which means we are headed into Sunday's race pretty much blindfolded. We can take a guess on who will be strong and probably have a decent shot at being right based on 2022 results. But it will come with a little risk, but anything is a risk on any given race weekend. But we will solider on and try our best with the hand that we have been dealt with! As you can guess the point of this article is to breakdown the competition this weekend and it will basically be the Fantasy Nascar Update (one of our most popular posts for years) with just a different name to it! 

Let's get rolling!

1. Joey Logano - Logano was in my top 3 headed into the weekend and it is hard to not put him at No.1, though. He was probably 2nd headed into the week for me (with Larson being No.1) and he will start a dozen spots higher than the 5. Logano has everything you could ask for in a fantasy pick, honestly. He's coming off a 2nd place finish at Daytona, he was really good on intermediate tracks in 2022 and has a solid history of finishing up front at Cali. Not to mention, he's the defending cup champion for a reason! When you combine his equipment, starting position and other numbers, I think you gotta put him as the odds on favorite to win on Sunday afternoon! 

2. Kyle Larson - Larson is a great option this weekend and was in my view the odds on favorite headed into the weekend. He will start 15th and that kinda hurt him a little, but it don't mean he cant go up front and lead a lot of laps. Larson was extremely strong at end the season in 2022 on these intermediate tracks. Larson is a former winner here at Cali and is actually the defending race winner here, too. Larson is very capable of getting to the front and being one of the heavy favorites to win on Sunday! He might be the best play this weekend in DFS games, as he offers winning upside and some differential points. However, he will cost you top dollar money, no question! He will be worth it, though! 

3. Martin Truex Jr - I am a lot higher on Truex Jr than most people probably are and I think he gonna be a contender here at Cali! I think in general, he is a great fantasy pick and won't cost quite as much in DFS games as the two mentioned above (I haven't looked at prices though). Truex Jr should have plenty of motivation this weekend and I loved what I saw from him a few weeks ago out in LA. Let's see if that speed will translate to the 2-mile fast track! 

4. Kyle Busch - Busch is starting outside of the top 20, but I think he will be one of the guys at the front before it is over! He has been amazing here in his cup career. In 23 starts, he has produced 11 top 5 finishes and 16 Top 10 finishes. He seems to show up here with a very fast car almost every time and overall RCR isn't a real downgrade to me. They were fast last season with Reddick and I think that gonna be the same deal this weekend (and this season) with the new driver of the No.8 car

5. Denny Hamlin - Hamlin has been great at 2-mile tracks over the past couple seasons, as he has compiled 6.2 average finish at these large intermediate tracks since 2020. He also was pretty strong on intermediate tracks in general in 2022. I don't think Hamlin is getting the love that he should this weekend as there are so many interesting top options to pick from. He is someone with top 10 floor and top 5 (and more) upside. He is very capable to challenge for a top 5 finish and I be shocked if he wasn't up front at some point in the race! 

6. Chase Elliott - I am honestly not super high on Elliott this weekend for whatever reason and I really don't know why besides starting very deep in the field. He has all the intangibles to be a top tier fantasy pick and will most likely be a top 10 finisher, if not more. He will probably be a very good DFS pick, but in generally I think he won't get to be anything more than a top 10 driver. He might challenge for a top 5, but my gut tells me no that he won't

7. Ross Chastain - I could probably put Ross higher on this list as I think he will have the speed to jump a couple of these guys. But if we learned anything about Mr. Chastain in 2022, then it is he's a true wildcard on the racetrack. Now, if I was certain that he had top 3 speed, then I would probably put him closer to that top 3. But with no practice or qualifying, I really don't know if I can totally trust him. So he is a little lower on my list than he would if he actually had cars on the track this weekend!

8. Christopher Bell - Bell is starting on the pole, but I don't think he is a very good DFS pick as he will likely fall from the race lead and only be a top 10 driver. At times in 2022, he showed off top 5 speed. However, if you use him in DFS, then you will need him to lead laps and finish in the top 3. I don't think he leads a chunk of the laps or finishes in the top 3. Again, there is no data for us to look at, but history says he will be a top 10 finisher. However, he will probably not be a race winning contender

9. William Byron - Willy B is one of the most interesting drivers over the past two seasons. He had a better 2021 season (than 2022), but the eye test says he was better in 2022. He did get more wins and finish higher in points in 2022. However, he was overall more consistent and had more top 5 (and top 10) finishes in 2021. Still, he was pretty good in both seasons and was really good on these intermediate tracks both seasons. He contended for wins a few times in 2022, too. It is hard to say if he will be capable of that this weekend, but I say he is at least in for a top 10 run on Sunday. Willy is a talented dude, so I say he upside to contend for a top 5. But as low as I got him, I personally don't believe that is likely for the No.24 car on Sunday. 

10. Kevin Harvick - Harvick is a very interesting play this weekend, as he is making his 750th start. I think Harvick was okay last season, but SHR was down on speed in 2022 overall. So it will be interesting to see if those cars are back to par with the competition. I think in general, Harvick performance was down more a few of his teammates. We expect such a high standard from him with his time at SHR, and at times he was the 2nd or 3rd best SHR driver. I really want Harvick to be a viable fantasy option this season. I just don't know if we will see that same guy that can contend for wins, we might have to go back to settling for just top 10 finishes out of him. I kinda get the feeling that what we will be seeing out of Kevin Harvick

Just missed - 

Ryan Blaney

Austin Dillon

Daniel Suarez

Tyler Reddick

 Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2023 Fantasy Nascar Sleepers and Dark Horses (Cali)

Welcome to Timerssports 

 My friends this is the article that will make or break your fantasy lineup. Anyone can pick the studs, but finding that value is your fantasy nascar lineup is the key. But before we get to the fun stuff, it is time for my yearly rant about people misusing these terms. Make no mistake, both ''sleepers'' and ''dark horses'' certainly have similarities, but they aren't always interchangeable. Dark horse are drivers that could possibly challenge for a win, but we don't expect them to. Think of someone like Tyler Reddick the past couple seasons. We knew he had the talent, but we didn't expect him to win or challenge for the win. That's a perfect dark horse candidate. Sleeper? Well typecially we are speaking more in ''value'' than the overall potential. That value will change throughout the season, too. Michael McDowell is a great example of being a sleeper pick. He usually held that value because the market would always undervalue him which made him a great sleeper pick at back-end of your fantasy lineup. See the difference? 

Sleepers - 

Chase Briscoe - Briscoe is an interesting option this weekend. He ended 2022 season with 2 top 5 finishes in his final 3 races on intermediate tracks. He was a major plus for someone like him that was pretty inconsistent for the most part. He certainly had his moments and some of those moments came on the intermediate tracks, too. He posted 3 of his 6 top 5 finishes at Charlotte, Las Vegas and Texas. He also had top 16 runs at Atlanta (twice), Kansas and Dover. Starting to see why I am probably higher than most on him? He also finished 16th at Cali last season and led 20 laps. There will be a market for Chase Briscoe on these intermediate tracks because he will be undervalue. Now, some weeks there will be less value than others, but he is one driver to keep an eye a nice sleeper play to sneak into your lineup! 

Austin Dillon - You could put him more as a dark horse pick, but I don't really view him that way yet because he really hasn't proven that he can hang more towards the front as oppose to the teens where he will likely be more times than not. With Dillon, you have to use him where he is a strength. He loves these fast tracks, more specifically he love these big fast tracks like Cali and Michigan. I remember back at Michigan in 2016, I was listening to the radio and they had a interview with him confessing his love for big fast tracks. Cali fits the type and he was a top 15 performer in 2022! In 2022 at Cali, he finished 2nd here at Cali. He finished 13th at Michigan. With the addition of Kyle Busch, I think Austin Dillon and RCR can get to that next level. At some point this season, we might be viewing him as a dark horse. He is really good here at Cali, too. If you are looking to sneak a fantasy pick into your lineup that has a high floor and high ceiling, but probably be overlooked a little? Austin Dillon just might be your secret weapon this weekend

Dark Horses - 

William Byron - I been a big believer in Willy B the last couple seasons and I honestly thought from the eye test that he had his best season in his cup career. But his overall numbers were a little better in 2021. Of course, he went 13 straight races (from Homestead to Charlotte) in 2021 with top 11 finishes. Then added a few more top 5 finishes in the month of June before falling off a little in 2021. He ended the year pretty strong, though. As he posted 4 Top 11 finishes in the final 5 races. In 2022, he was also very strong. He had less top 5s, top 10s, etc and a weaker average finish. However, he also led more laps and posted more wins. Also two wins in first 10 races, he fell off again middle portion of the season. But he was stronger to end the season, though. As he finished in the top 13 in the final 9 of 10 races. Like his teammates, Willy B will have advantage of some of his competitors at these fast tracks. 

Erik Jones - He wouldn't been someone that I put as a dark horse a year ago, but he was great last season with the No.43 car! Simply amazing and beat any expectations that I had for him and that team. We all knew that Erik was a talented dude and that was clear way back before he even got to cup. I think it took him leaving JGR for us to realize that this guy is waaaaay more talented than we remember. And that is no shot at Erik because anyone can drive a top tier car to the front, it takes someone special to do it with something less. He won at Darlington, that was the standout race for him. But he was strong on these intermediate and I make a case it was the strength of this time. He was a top 15 performer often, but it wasn't until 2nd half of the season, where we are going like, ''okay this team is onto something''. He won at Darlington, then followed it with some top 10 runs at Las Vegas and Texas. Prior to his win at Darlington, he also a 8th place run at Michigan in August and a top 10 run at Atlanta. What makes me super excited about him this weekend? His 3rd place showing last year at this track. He was super competitive in that race and held a stout driver rating throughout the event. He also finished 8th at it's sister track at Michigan! I wouldn't bet against him getting another top 10 finish this weekend and possibly more! 

***All stats are from DriverAverages.com

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2023 Fantasy Nascar Picks (Cali)

 Welcome to Timerssports

Last week, I simply made a post on drivers I liked and didn't like very much which isn't typically how I make my fantasy picks article overall. I usually post my fantasy picks from games that I play. But I work night shift and I haven't really looked at my lineups yet at time of posting of the article. So I just did my research and picked 8 drivers to write on. That will not be the case this week for Cali. I will make picks for the Driver Group Game (my personal favorite game) and Draft Kings lineup as well. Those are probably the only games I am playing this year. In other articles this weekend, I will breakdown drivers that I would be targeting and fading. I hope to add a few other articles to the site this weekend, too. This gonna be a big weekend for Timerssports. As for this post, I will likely just add the Driver Group Game (DGG) picks for now and come back on Sunday morning and add the DK lineup picks to this post. It's exciting times as we are ''really'' about to kick things into high gear for the 2023 season! 

DGG Picks: 

A - 

Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson 

Reasons - It's a new season, so I can't really say how to attack the new upcoming season on the first intermediate track. Hamlin has posted 6.3 average finish over his last 6 races on 2-mile tracks, so for now he is in my lineup. Kyle Larson is swinging 50% in his career for finishing in the top 5 at Cali and won this race a year ago. They didn't race here in 2021 and CGR was down on speed when they visited in 2019 and 2020. I don't think Larson and 5 car actually figured their car out until 2nd half of the race in 2022 when they won. If that 5 car unloads fast, I think the field should be very concerned. This is a very-like Kyle Larson track. 

B:

Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr, Austin Dillon and Erik Jones 

Reasons - This is a crazy loaded tier where I am not concerned at all about picks. This tier has the 2,3,4,8,19,23,42,45,48 and list goes on. There are enough choices in this tier that it should not be a major concern like the C-list tier. With that said, I had 4 guys at first that I will use 7-9 times. But after doing a little thinking, I changed my selection up a little. I am still going with Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. Now for whatever reason that one of them look off in practice/qualifying, then I got two backup plans that should be a nice start-save option. Austin Dillon loves these big fast tracks and performed well at them in 2022. Erik Jones was very good at these type of track and finished 3rd here in 2022. Thinking outside of the box a little for this first race. 

C: 

AJ Dinger and Ryan Preece 

Reasons - This is interesting tier as we need 4 drivers to use 9 starts apiece from. Personally I will use 3 in this tier (Gibbs, Dinger and Preece or Gragson) most likely and get 9 starts elsewhere at Daytona, Talladega, road courses,etc. So my plan this weekend is to roll with Dinger and pair him with someone that could possibly get a start-save with. Preece is no bum. I believe Gibbs is top choice in this tier, then it goes probably Dinger then there a gap to Gragson and Preece. I think that gap could be a lot smaller than we think, though. 

Draft Kings Picks - TBD

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2023 Fantasy Nascar Picks (Daytona 500)

Welcome to Timerssports

About 10 years ago to the date (maybe a little more or less), I was preparing content for the 2013 season and the 2013 Daytona 500! That was believe it or not a full decade ago! It's really crazy how fast times fly by, but here we are entering the 2023 season. I am very disappointed in myself for not being able to produce much content the last few years, but I really hope to be better on that in 2023! I think what makes this website so popular is my content will always be free to my loyal readers. Now, that isn't a shot at any sites out that charges their readers for their content, as there are some amazing Fantasy Nascar website out there and I would recommend checking some of them out. But to me, that what always been an appealing factor to people. The fire content on here certainly helps out as well!

Onto to more important issues, though. Such as today's picks for the Daytona 500! I really debated if I were gonna post any content this weekend because Daytona and Talladega are such crapshoot! But with working night shift and having to be awake, I figured why not! With that being said, anyone says they know what gonna happen is lying to you. So how do we go about making picks? We look at past data and trends like we do at any other track. While the race will be unpredictable, there are certain drivers that run well enough consistently to avoid bad luck! We are gonna need some good luck today, but it never hurt to select a few drivers that know how to race these kind of races. That should be the plan for today for success! Folks, we grab some coffee (or beer in my case) and let's roll into 2023 season! 

5 drivers to target: 

Austin Cindric - Folks, he's a freaking stud here at Daytona! It don't matter the series, he has a knack for running well at places like this and trust me it's a talent. Some guys are really good in the draft and Austin qualifies as one of them. In his short sample cup career, he has 6.3 average finish at Daytona with 2 Top 5 (1 win - last year Daytona 500) finishes already. Since 2020, he also holds the best driver rating of 93.4 at Daytona. In 5 career starts at Daytona and Talladega, he has produced 3 top 10 finishes and 5 top 21 finishes. In 3 starts at Daytona, he has finishes of 1st, 3rd and 15th. 

Ryan Blaney - Blaney is one of those guys that will make or break your lineups most likely! He will likely finish in the top 10 or wreck out. Almost every time we come to Daytona or Talladega, that what it seems like we are getting from him. In his last 12 starts on superspeedway tracks, he has produced an 10.1 average finish with 7 top 10 finishes. That is the highest average finish and most top 10 finishes among drivers whom started every race since 2020. 

Bubba Wallace Jr - Bubba Wallace has a knack for running up front at these races and while he don't always finish in the top 5, he also has a knack for having a safe floor as well. As fantasy players, we LOVE that. In his last 12 races at Daytona and Talladega, he has compiled a whopping 11(!) Top 20 finishes with 4 of them ending in the top 5. So he isn't always finishing up front, but he probably won't kill your fantasy lineup either, though. 

Austin Dillon - Austin Dillon always has loved Daytona, I don't know what it is about this place that brings out the best in him. He won here last August, but he has a history of being really good at the Daytona 500 from a consistency standpoint overall. He finished 25th in last season's Daytona 500 and that is his worst career finish at this event (since being in the #3 car). In 2014, he finished 9th. After that? 14th, 9th, 19th, 1st, 16th, 12th and 17th. So even when he doesn't finish up in the top 10, he is still giving you some consistency with his incredible high upside

Chase Elliott - Elliott been hit or miss in his career on superspeedways, but at Daytona it been a hit lately. In 4 of his last 5 races here at Daytona, he has compiled top 10 finishes. He is a great drafter and usually we will find him at the front. I think the downside to picking Elliott is almost everyone will be picking him as he is one of the most popular picks this weekend. With that said, if he wrecks then you are pretty safe as everyone else will go down as well. There is not much to really hate about Elliott this weekend. If you are in a limited start league, then I might pass on him, though as he holds more value in next 35 races. 

3 drivers I would avoid: 

Denny Hamlin - I am sure Hamlin will be a popular pick this weekend, but I am here to tell you that Hamlin is a great drafter and went on an amazing run for 3-4 years at these type of tracks, but lately it hasn't been a fun time with Hamlin. In 5 of his last 7 races, he has finished 13th or worse. In 4 of those races, he has finished 18th or worse. In that same span, he has only produced one top 5 finish. Over Denny's last 3 Daytona races in that span, he has finishes of 13th, 25th and 37th. He is an amazing talent and I think he is capable of winning this event, but personally I might just back off him this weekend with his recent trend of bad luck at these events

Brad Keselowski - Another big name driver that has kinda stunk up the stats sheets (terms of final finishes) and while final finishes isn't everything. It is something, as certain drivers has a knack for finding bad luck. Brad Keselowski is one of the most aggressive drivers in the series and that is a big problem because he is too aggressive sometimes. Would it surprise you that Brad only has 4 top 10 finishes in his last 20 races at either Daytona or Talladega? In 4 of his last 6 races overall has ended in 23rd or worse. In his last 7 races at Daytona, he has produced 4 finishes of 35th or worse. Not saying we will see Brad be in a big wreck, but the numbers say it is likely!

Joey Logano - Logano find himself in the thick of things very often, but he also find himself not finishing these events because he pushes the issues far too often. Need proof? In 11 of his last 12 races at superspeedway races, he has failed to finish in the top 10. He has just one top 10 finish and that was a 3rd at Talladega a few years ago. Going back to Daytona 2018, Joey has finished outside of the top 10 in 8 of 9 races. While 5 of those 9 races ended outside of the top 20 as well. There are better options this weekend!

Hopefully my thoughts are helpful with your picks today! Best of luck everyone!

Thanks for reading, 

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

2022 Fantasy Nascar DFS Picks and Fades

 Welcome to Timerssports

I thought last week was a really tough week to make picks at Auto Club because all of the unknowns and wrecks that occurred in practice/qualifying. So if you did poorly in DFS games, then you probably weren't alone. Your mindset in DFS always have to be short because you can suck one week and be awesome the next. How about this weekend? Who should you have your eyes on? Who are the top picks? How about who you should fade and stay away from? Excellent question and I have some answers to those questions! 

DFS top picks - 

Kyle Larson - Kyle Larson has a fast car this weekend and should have a chance to lead laps in the early going. In practice, it looked like he had the best car. He had a little fall off after awhile, but it really not enough for me to be too worried. Especially with his team putting out those amazing pit stops. The No.5 driver is great at restarts and that is important here at Vegas with passing being tough. Larson has a massive pricetag, but if he leads a lot and finish in the top 3, then it be more than worth it! 

William Byron - I really like Byron this weekend and he has a very fast car. He was a lock for all my lineups soon as he qualified outside of the top 10. He has a real chance to finish in the top 5 and gain a handful of PD points. That what you want in DFS, a driver that has a chance with PD points and finish at least in the top 10. Don't go with a driver because he will gain bunch of positions, it is worthless without him finishing in the top 5 or top 10. Byron has tons of upside this weekend 

Kyle Busch - I don't know much I love Kyle Busch this weekend, but he is starting 37th and will likely finish in the top 10. It is hard to say though because he has zero laps in this car and we don't know how well this car will hold up. But if he stay on the lead lap, then he gonna be an easy pick this week. 

Ryan Blaney - Another driver that starts pretty high up that I really like. He has shown speed this weekend and has a great track record. I wouldn't be overlooking Blaney at all this weekend. Vegas is a great track for him and Penske has a knack for winning at this place over the past 10 years. I have a really good feeling about him overall. 

Joey Logano - Like his teammate, I am pretty high on Logano. These Penske cars are pretty good once again this weekend. Logano has a pricey pricetag, but I think he is more than worth it. I think he is a very nice option, if you are looking for a cheaper top guy than someone like Kyle Larson. Long as Larson don't lead like 150 or 200 laps, then you should be fine. 

Tyler Reddick - I think Reddick gonna be very good once again today and finish somewhere in the top 10. I like that a lot because I only see a couple guys coming from deep in the field and that should make him a great option when considering his price to other guys starting up front. I like maybe 3-4 guys outside of the top 10 more than i do Reddick

Kurt Busch - I don't really love Kurt Busch, but he is starting 31st and he will likely finish in the top 20 (if not better). I don't know what up with this team, but they have gotten off to a shitty start this season. But Kurt is a talented driver still and he should be able to advance at least 12 spots. I don't like going with drivers just because of PD points, but Kurt will likely be a lot closer to top 10 than he is to the top 20. Really, it all depends how your lineup is made up as well.  

Fades - 

Christopher Bell - I think Bell either gonna stay up in the top 5 all day or end up fading to latter part of the top 10. I don't hate Bell, but I just dont see him staying up front and put him as a disadvantage in DFS compared to guys that start further in the top 10 or just outside of the top 10. Straight up, yeah I say he is a top 5 to top 10 driver in terms of speed. But we always gotta factor in other things like consistency, trust, etc and I don't trust him far as I can throw him. He certainly could break even today as a DFS option, but I think there are better choices in the price range, though. 

Kevin Harvick - Harvick is starting 25th, so ideally he should be a great fantasy pick? I think most people would say that but I don't know after watch last week's race, though. I was very impressed and he hasn't blown me away this weekend yet. He did run a lot of laps in practice, but I just don't know if his pricetag will warrant selection. Really, I wouldn't even call this a fade because he is not a bad play. He is probably a good play, but I am just not expecting him to max out his value this weekend. So more of a warning? 

Martin Truex Jr - It may seem like I am picking on the Gibbs cars, but I am really not. So far, I am not very high on them. Bell is the only one that has shown legit speed and I have concerns about him. Truex Jr been meh all weekend in my opinion. It was same thing last weekend as well. That is probably the bigger reason why I am lower on him than normal because the Gibbs cars really weren't that good at Auto club, either. I would stay away from the Gibbs cars until we get a better idea about them overall

**All stats from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

2022 Fantasy Nascar Sleepers & Dark Horses (Vegas)

Welcome to Timerssports

Sleepers and Dark Horses can make or break your lineups. Like last week at Auto Club, I was high on Reddick. I knew it was his type of track and I knew he would be off people radars, so I gambled on him. He goes out and leads over 200 laps, but wrecks. We call that an calculated gamble in fantasy sports. I have played Fantasy Nascar for a long time and I have certainly lost a lot more times than I have won. Sometimes, it is because my gambles don't pay off and sometimes it is because I just have stupid dumb luck. Back if you nail picks that nobody else thinking about then you are gonna be money. 

From my own personal expereince, I remember an instance back in 2013. I believe it was Pocono (August race) and Jimmie Johnson started on the pole. This was when Yahoo was at it peak and we would have easy 100K-200K people playing. Anyways, 70% of the players had the pole sitter (as did I) as one of their A-drivers. So you don't bench the pole sitter, right? Well, I end benching him because I was deep in the hole in my league. I benched him for his  teammate (Kasey Kahne) whom hasn't won in well over a year started 20th. Johnson started from the pole and led basically every lap up to that point. Yeah, things aren't looking pretty. Then, after a pit stop, the 48 crew didn't get all the lugnuts tight. The No.48 car had to make an extra pit stop and he would go a lap down. At that same time, Kasey Kahne would gamble and stay out until a yellow came out. Kasey Kahne would end up leading rest of that event and winning. Kahne end up winning and I had 3 picks in the top 5. That's a prime example why sometimes it is worth to gamble on these lesser drivers. 

But let's not kid ourselves here, that was a one in a millon shot that would likely never happen again. What we saw with Reddick at Auto Club had a chance to be something special, but that why it is important for us to look for sleepers and dark horses each week. Now, I am not saying you should take a risk on them every time, no. 9 years ago, when I gambled on Kahne, I would do those dumb plays pretty often. As the years goes by, I have learned to be more selective. The more risky the pick, the more the reward could be, but 9 times out of 10, I wouldn't try going for a homerun on a ball that will likely only be at best a double. 

Okay I have talked enough, let's get into some fantasy picks for the weekend! 

Sleepers - 

Daniel Hemric - He was excellent last week and scored a top 10 finish. Even though, he was 6 laps down at one point. He was strong all weekend and guess what? He is showing a lot of similar speed this weekend as well. I bet he could finish in the top 20 again this weekend, too. He will be starting 16th and showed some speed again on Saturday. He was 8th on the 5 and 10 lap averages, then he was 6th on the 15-lap average chart. If he can once again have that speed translate, then I love this pick. He certainly a value pick this weekend and should be on everyone's radar as a possible sleeper pick

Daniel Suarez - There really wasn't any sleepers that I love when looking at practice and qualifying, but Suarez is someone that I really like, though. He is starting from 21st and should be able to squeeze into the top 20 and probably stay there most of the day. He is not that fancy pick that gonna put you over the top, but he is a quality fantasy option that will give you an chance to load up on heavy hitter at top of your lineups. The difference between him and other guys in his price range in DFS is he will most certainly finish in the top 20. Other guys? Not so much

Dark Horses - 

William Byron - I am probably higher on Byron than I have been in his cup career, I think he has a car that is good enough to challenge for the win and possibly be the car to beat. He was very strong in practice, so I don't know what exactly happened in qualifying. He should had been better than 13th, but that makes him a great fantasy option in DFS. Watch out for the No.24 car today because he gonna be someone to reckon with I believe! 

Tyler Reddick - Even after that performance last week, I think people are still down on him and I can understand why. I don't trust him, so I think people will stay away from him some this weekend. I don't hate him and I kinda hope he does better than I have him ranked. I placed him 9th place in my race rankings. Which, I think is very fair. I say his likely finish range is 7th-11th. If he can get 6th or higher than I say that is all gravy. His speed was very good in practice and was around 6th on the lap average charts. Reddick has enough upside where you should probably consider him in a few of your lineups!

***All stats from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com

2022 Fantasy Nascar Weekend Breakdown (Vegas 1)

 Welcome to Timerssports

For several years, Jeff Nathans had an article here at Timerssports and that piece was called ''Fantasy Nascar Update''. I am taking over that piece, but I want to make it my own. So I have decided to rename it, but it will be the same concept, though. I am gonna look at the top 10 drivers for the weekend and breakdown their chances and give my personal opinions on each driver. I do appericate Nascar giving the drivers a short practice session each week, but the data is still small. I hope in the future, they will give them multiple practice sessions again. I miss those days where we will see two practice sessions and qualifying as well. I am also very interested in how much last week's results will translate into this week? Will we see as many spins and/or tire issues? Will some of the surprise teams keep going strong? Will the expected strong teams be able to rebound? Folks, we are gonna find out very soon! 

1. Kyle Larson - Folks, it wasn't what we expected from Kyle Larson for about 80% of the event. He was good, but he wasn't race winning good. Idk, if it was a combination of drivers crashing or his team getting him better as race went on, but Larson had the best car for those final 50 laps. As for this weekend, he has one of the best cars (in my opinion) on Saturday. He will start 2nd on Sunday afternoon. I believe that Larson is the odds on favorite to win and it comes on an intermediate track. He is tough to beat on these tracks in 2021 and I think he will be very tough to beat this weekend. He isn't starting 13th like he did last week, he is starting from 2nd. I think you should be worried, if you are thinking about betting against him. 

2. Chase Elliott - Elliott looks really good once again this weekend and will start in the top 5. I really loved what I saw last weekend from the Hendrick cars and I feel the same way from the speed from them again. This is the type of track that they perform the best on. Everything we have seen the past two weekends say the Hendrick cars should be the heavy favorites again, and so far this weekend at Vegas that has been the case.

3. Ryan Blaney - Even dating back to his days at the Wood brothers, Ryan Blaney has been great at Vegas. Every time he comes here, he seems to be very good. Bad sign for the competition? He was fast off the truck and he has displayed some very good long run speed in practice. Combine that with a strong showing at Auto Club and a great track record in recent years? He should be employed in every kind of format. You know how you know you should trust him? I am not very often super high on Blaney, but folks I am very high on him. That alone should tell you something!

4. Christopher Bell - Bell is starting from the pole and was higher on the 10 and 15 lap averages in practice than the drivers above him, but I don't really trust Bell that much. But he is very strong this weekend, though. He is starting from the pole and looks by far the best Gibbs car. Which is odd because I would had expected his teammates to be stronger than him. Then again, he looked top 5 good in practice at Auto Club and was a teen-like driver all race long. I think Bell could be a make or break to fantasy lineups. You play him and he flops? You are screwed. You play him and he kills it? You are sitting pretty. Practice data says, he is a top 5 driver. If he can lead laps and finish in the top 5, then I say he is worth gambling on. I think that is the most likely thing to happen

5. Joey Logano - Logano, like his teammate, he is looking pretty fast this weekend. Much like last weekend, he is showing top 5 speed. Vegas has always been a good track for Penske and I would gladly take a shot with him this weekend. I think Logano might be a little under the radar overall and be a very good option to go off-sequence with. Clearly a lot of people will be on the Larson bandwagon and probably all the Hendrick cars. Same with his teammate, Ryan Blaney, but don't overlook the No.22 driver. He will likely mix it up in the top 5 and contend for the win. 

6. Denny Hamlin - You know I am not very high on Hamlin and I could drop him a few spots, if I wanted to. But I am gonna give him benefit of the doubt and believe he gonna race better. With that said, he didn't many any real long runs. He did enough long runs to appear on the 10-lap average, but he was only 11th fastest, though. A lot like last weekend, I wasn't super impressed by him in practice on the longer runs in practice. I think he will be somewhere in the top 10. I say somewhere between 6th and 8th most likely. He isn't a bad option, but I don't think I would play him in DFS, though. 

7. William Byron - I have  trust issues with Byron sometimes and for that reason, I have him lower than I should. In terms of speed, he was awesome last week and should had contended for a race win. However, he got caught up in someone's else mess. But he is looking just as strong this weekend. He probably had the best long run speed in practice, when we look at the averages. Like I said these Hendrick cars are really good this weekend.

8. Kyle Busch - Hard to say how good Busch is this weekend because he wrecked his primary car in practice and using a backup car. Sounds like that car was suppose to be a ''parts car'' for Joe Gibbs Racing. Yeah it is not very ideal for Rowdy, but guessing his team been working effortlessly all weekend to get ready for today's race. So I couldn't tell you what to expect from him, but he gonna be one of the top picks this weekend by far in DFS. He gonna be an awesome play, if he can finish in the top 10. Honestly, I am not sure if he is playable (outside of DFS). 

9. Tyler Reddick - I was pretty high on Reddick last weekend, but man did he surprise me! He was by far the best driver at Auto Club, but he didn't get that fairy tale ending that he deserved! I don't think he looked as strong this weekend so far, but he didn't look like that in practice, either. I think these are two completely different tracks. I think one of the reasons that i loved him so much last weekend was because it was his type of track. Vegas is a different animal and you really don't have a chance to stay up against the wall to find that extra speed. So I think he will be top 10 good, I just don't see him being a possible race winning driver. 

10. Alex Bowman - I say Bowman the slowest of the Hendrick cars but he has top 10 upside to him, so I would gladly gamble on him this weekend at Vegas. He was pretty decent on the lap averages, though. I think he is also starting further back among the Hendrick cars, too. So he could be a solid fantasy option in DFS, if you are looking for PD points. But for his price tag, I wish I had more faith in him for being a top 5 finisher. I just don't see it. I feel good about that, so if you good with that then I say go with him.

***All stats from DriverAverages.com

Twitter - @Garryy12

Email - Garrybriggs265@gmail.com