Congratulations to Kevin Harvick on winning the race in Las Vegas this past weekend. We now have three different winners in three races this year. Kevin dominated the race and there wasn’t anyone who had anything for him at the end. Martin Truex Jr. continued his strong season with a second place finish, while Ryan Newman rounded out the top three. This week the series stays out west and I think we will see our first repeat winner of the season.
CAMPINGWORLD.COM 500
The series stays west as they head to Phoenix International Raceway for the running of the CampingWorld.com 500.
Phoenix is a one-mile, low-banked D-shaped tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. This is the only non-road course track that measures their race mileage in kilometers. That means the race is not 500-miles or 500 laps, It is actually 312-miles long.
Kevin Harvick: Kevin is my pick to win back-to-back races this week. He has won four of the last five races here. That makes four out of seven since the track was reconfigures in 2011 and he also finished second in one of those other races. It is hard to bet against a guy with stats like that.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale has finished in the top ten in his last four races here including a second place finish in this race last season. The way this team is running so far, Dale might be able to move up one more spot and win his first race of the year and qualify for the Chase. No matter what he does this weekend, we will see him win races soon.
Brad Keselowski: Brad hasn’t had the best start to his season, but this week that can all change. Brad has finished in the top six in five of his last six starts at this track. He has also led laps in five of those races and sat on the front row in both of last year’s races. This is the week this team might see their luck change to the better.
Jeff Gordon: Jeff has been fast all year and now he just needs the luck to swing around for him. Jeff has four top ten finishes in his last six starts here and finished second in the fall race last season. In his final full-time season, Jeff would like nothing better than to get an early win and ensure himself a shot at a final championship before he retires.
Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has won four races here, finished in the top five fourteen times, and the top ten eighteen times. That has all been accomplished in only twenty-three races. He already has one win this year, so he is in the Chase. He is a must for your fantasy team this weekend.
Denny Hamlin: Denny always run well at the shorter, flatter tracks and Phoenix is no exception. He has finished in the top five here in four of his last six starts and this team looks better at this point of the season than he did last year. He has the equipment to get the job done and I think he will be a contender this week.
Carl Edwards: Carl has two career wins at Phoenix and has had good cars every week this year. He might be pressing a little too hard with his new team and he just needs to relax and race his race. Once this team really gets used to working together they will start to win races. A short track might the thing to get this team on the right track.
Ryan Newman: Ryan has been very good so far this year and it shouldn’t surprise anyone after what he did last season. He has always run well at Phoenix and has one win and four poles to prove it. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him win the race this weekend if he can put himself in the top five with 50-laps to go.
Joey Logano: Joey has three straight top ten finish here and has finished in the top ten in half of the races he has run here. This team already has a win this year and can so a little experimenting on tracks that are going to have races during the Chase and Phoenix is one of them. They will take everything they learn this weekend and apply to their strategy and car come this November.
Matt Kenseth: Matt is still looking to break his winless streak, but he hasn’t won here since 2002. He is capable of winning this race, but I would hold off on using him this week. He runs better on the more banked tracks and the longer tracks on the circuit and there will be plenty of time to use him later this season.
YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
Yahoo Driver Group A
- Kevin Harvick
- Jimmie Johnson
Yahoo Driver Group B
- Carl Edwards
- Greg Biffle
- Clint Bowyer
- AJ Allmendinger
Yahoo Driver Group C
- David Ragan
- Regan Smith
MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY
- Kevin Harvick
- Jimmie Johnson
- Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- Brad Keselowski
- Jeff Gordon
Dark Horse: Greg Biffle
Stay Away From: Brian Vickers