The series made it through the entire Pocono weekend without any weather issues which is a win itself. Some of the drivers weren’t so lucky. Kyle Larson looked like he was going to win yet another race on Saturday until suffering a flat tire on the final lap of that race. Yet the Hendrick teams looked to be the best in both races once again. The rest of the teams are going to have to get better before the playoffs start or it’s going to be tough for any of them to beat all of the Hendrick cars for a championship.
JOCKEY MADE IN AMERICA 250 PRESENTED BY KWIK TRIP
This week the series heads to yet another new venue and another road course race. This time the teams will head to Road America for the running of the Jockey Made In America 250 Presented By Kwik Trip. The Xfinity series has run here for the past eleven years though, so some drivers have races here before.
Chase Elliott: Once again I have to go with Chase to win at a road course. He has won six of the last eleven road course races run in the Cup Series and that in itself makes me want to have him on my roster for this race. It’s tough to pick anyone else to win when someone has been that dominant on a certain type of track even though they are all quite different. He just knows how to figure out where to brake and where he can pass.
Martin Truex Jr.: The only driver besides Chase to win more than one race in the last eleven road course starts. Martin is always a threat on this type of track himself. It’s hard to predict who will run well on a track that the series is heading to for the first time since 1956 when the only Cup race was held here. It goes without saying, but none of the current drivers was even born when the last Cup race was run here.
Christopher Bell: Christopher won in the Xfinity Series at Road America two years ago. He has run pretty well on all of the road course tracks and is worth taking a shot at this weekend. He won at the Daytona Road Course earlier this season so we know he has what it takes to win on this type of track.
Michael McDowell: Michael is another driver that has won here in the Xfinity Series and he is usually very good on the road courses. However, we might want to save his starts if someone like AJ Allmendinger or Austin Cindric is entered in this race. They are both good road course drivers and can save one of McDowell’s starts for you.
Denny Hamlin: Denny has three top tens in the road course races already run this year and has been good on these tracks his entire career. In fact he hasn’t finished outside of the top twenty in his last sixteen road course starts. A lot of things have to go right for him to win, but he should have a very competitive car once again this weekend.
Kyle Larson: Kyle won the last road course race at Sonoma and finished second at Circuit of the America’s this year. This team has been spot on each and every week, but this might not be the best time to use him. There are too many factors and these races can be hard on equipment. There is a lot of bumping and banging that goes on when drivers try to pass each other and something could happen right in front of you that ends up taking you out of a race here. Save his starts for other tracks.
Kurt Busch: Kurt hasn’t run very well this season on the intermediate tracks, but this is his type of race where it is more about handling than speed. Kurt really knows how to run on the road courses where he has finished top six in three of his last five starts. If we’re going to use him this season it seems like these are the types of places we want to take a chance on him.
Alex Bowman: Alex isn’t the first person I think of when we talk about a road course race, but he isn’t far down the list. He has proven that he can compete on these tracks and that shows in his stats. Alex hasn’t finished worse that fourteenth in his last twelve road course starts. This is very impressive for any driver and to think the Alex wasn’t always running on one of the top tier teams through many of those races.
Joey Logano: So close the last five road course starts, but still looking for his first win since the 2015 season on one of these tracks. Joey has a string of five straight top five finishes on the road course tracks. That includes two runner-up finishes and two third place finishes. If you can come that close that often you are on the edge of winning another one of these races.
DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR ROAD AMERICA
Driver Group Game Group A
- Chase Elliott
- Martin Truex Jr.
Driver Group Game Group B
- Kurt Busch
- Alex Bowman
- Erik Jones
- Christopher Bell
Driver Group Game Group C
- Michael McDowell
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
- Watch the entry list as these drivers might change after it comes out.
MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT ROAD AMERICA
- Chase Elliott
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Denny Hamlin
- Kyle Larson
- Joey Logano
Dark Horse: Erik Jones
Stay Away From: Bubba Wallace
Big 18: Christopher Bell
43 replies on “2021 Road America, Jockey Made In America 250 Presented By Kwik Trip”
Rank these in order.
Kurt bush, bell, Alex bowman, Brad
Keselowski
Busch
Bowman
Bell
For this race?
Yes
You guys never addressed Chase’s DQ at Nashville…. Please give us an update on that. I remember getting my points from Jimmy removed last year after he was DQ’d. If you guys wont do that from the platform, at least give the admins the ability to mod scores. What a joke.
Mike, this is Darren. I run this site and the game. I’m going to email you directly as this doesn’t have anything to do with Jeff’s article or this specific race.
It would be nice for everyone to know why these points weren’t taken away from anyone who had Chase. I also had JJ for that race when he was DQ’d and lost all of his points, hard to understand how this situation is any different.
Agreed. I think there should be some public explanation of the decision even if it’s on the games message board.
On the race related note- it seems like Penske has always been fast at RA. Thoughts on Blaney?
Likewise, anxious and interested to see how the three Penske drivers do. They have cooled off considerably since March / April… and with change on the horizon with 12’s CC and 2 moving on, how will they fare in these next 7 races?
I asked the site administrator if he could post an explanation on here. I have nothing to do with the game personally.
As for the Penske teams. I don’t see anything really changing. It seems that once Paul Wolfe moved over from Keselowski to Logano they were both good for a while and now they aren’t very consistent and Blaney is having a lot of bad luck. I see changes coming at the end of the season.
The crux of all of this is that there was nothing in the rules about how to handle a DQ.
I found out Monday morning about the DQ. I consulted the rules. Nothing about DQ’s. I went to Draftkings to see what their rules were. https://www.draftkings.com/help/rules/nas
“Finishing Position is defined as the driver’s standing order at the end of the race. Disqualifications related to same-day post-race inspection will not change a driver’s Finishing Position, Laps Led, or Fastest Laps stats.”
Looked good to me (and makes sense for several reasons). I took out the “Fastest Laps” part and added in “Stage Position” and put it in the DGG rules. I noted that I added it on 6/21/2021 so no one would think I was trying to sneak it in or pretend it had been there already.
It’s in the last sentence above the last paragraph.
https://drivergroupgame.com/how-to-play/
“(ADDED 06/21/2021): Finish Position is the driver’s standing order at the end of the race. If a driver is disqualified as a result of post-race inspection, it will not change the driver’s Stage Positions, Finishing Position or Laps Led.”
I did not remember the Johnson Coke 600 DQ, but was reminded of it by a commissioner via text on Wednesday. Then I remembered also that a ton of people were pissed off at me for taking his points away. You see I’m really damned if I do and damned if I don’t.
In spite of all that, I never updated the rules about how to handle DQ’s. (What else isn’t in the rules? Anyone have the foresight to see any other “gotchas” I don’t have in the rules please tell me and I’ll add them.)
Call me fickle, I don’t care. Memory sucks. Yep! But, c’mon, don’t call me a cheater and other nonsense.
I did not change a rule.
There was no rule.
There is now a rule.
I hope this puts it to rest. I’ll post this in the reminder email as well.
That all sounds fair to me. I know it cant be easy at times to run the DGG. I want to thank you Darren for everything you provide us. Now can you make some picks for this weekend because I suck this year! LOL
Thanks for the reply and clarification. The only heart burn I had was with the consistency from 2020 to 2021. It is what it is. Thanks for addressing.
Hey, Jeff. Thank you for your help last week. The 9, 19, 5, 11, 18, 22, 4, and 48 are gone in my league so far this week. Who do you like next?
You’re not a fan of the Dinger this weekend?
Yeah, take a shot on the 16 this week. He wasn’t on the entry list when I looked yesterday, but he’s on there now.
Do you like Dinger and Cindric more than McDowell?
I would take a chance on Allmendinger this weekend. You’re going to need McDowell’s starts somewhere else along the line.
Jeff Cindric is listed on my c list for this race but no dinger. Would you recommend taking cindric over McDowell? I have six starts left with McDowell. Any advice would be appreciated.
Yes, use Cindric. You’ll be able to use McDowell at a lot more tracks yet.
9-5-19-11–18-22-2-20 my pick
4
Shows AJ in the 47 in the dgg, but he will actually be in the 16; I guess? will that matter at all if i use him? Thanks for all you do jeff
Yeah, he used to drive the 47, never got updates I guess. I’m using him in the 16. He should be able to contend.
Chastain vs Cindric
You will probably need to save your Chastain starts for the end of the year. Go with Cindric.
If you had #2, 4, 12, 22, & 34 all in one group with endless uses… which two would you go with?
The 2 and 4.
Allmendinger or Cindric, who would you choose between the two?
Allmendinger
Lugano or Elliott after qualifying?
Stick with Elliott. Much more consistent on the road courses.
Hamlin or Elliott? Pick two of three: Blaney, Bell, Kurt Busch
Still going with Elliott. Bell, and Busch.
24 or 19 today? Thanks!
19
In B group; I have the 1,8, 20 and the 48.
I have 4 left for bowman. Do I use him here or do you see my other guys performing a top 10 here.
20 has a good chance
Thanks ren. I actually see all four of them to get a top 15. Torn on what ones to start. Odds on winning changed after Q. Now im torn on who to start. LOL
Use the 1 and 20 this week. Bowman is good on the intermediate tracks too.
Thanks for all you do jeff
Who is your top 6 after qualifying?
Elliott, Truex, Hamlin, Allmendinger, Byron, Kyle Busch.