Month: September 2015

Categories
Fantasy NASCAR

2015 Dover International Speedway, AAA 400

Congratulations to Matt Kenseth who punched his ticket to the second round of the Chase with his win at New Hampshire this past weekend. Kevin Harvick almost has to win the race at Dover this week if he wants to make it into the second round of the Chase and defend his championship after running out of gas with three laps left in this week’s race and ending up twenty-first after dominating the entire race.

AAA 400

This week the series heads to Dover International Speedway, also known as the Monster Mile, for the final race of the first round of the Chase. Dover is a one-mile high banked concrete oval track in Dover, Delaware. I like to think of this track as Bristol on steroids as the track is very similar to Bristol only twice as long.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has won ten races at this track in twenty-seven starts including winning three of his last four starts here. Anyone who wins more than once in every three starts at any track is a no brainer to have on your fantasy team in any week. Look for Jimmie to compete for the win and if he doesn’t take the checkered flag he will still finish somewhere in the top five.

Matt Kenseth: Matt won’t have any pressure this week at Dover and can take a few chances if he needs to to pick up another win. Matt has won at this track twice in his career and has finished in the top ten in six of his last nine starts. He also has fifteen top ten finishes in thirty-three starts. I think he will be one of the drivers to give Jimmie a run for his money this weekend.

Kevin Harvick: Currently sitting fifteenth in the standings, Kevin needs to do everything he can to win this race. Even finishing second probably won’t be enough for him to move ahead of three other drivers and claim one of the top twelve spots in the standings. He is currently twenty-three points behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. who holds the twelfth spot at this moment. In other words if Kevin doesn’t win this race he needs to have at least three drivers who are just ahead of him to have disasters on the track.

Kyle Busch: Kyle needs a good finish this week to climb back into the top twelve in points. He is currently in thirteenth place but, only one point behind Dale and two points behind Jamie McMurray. A top five finish will launch him into the second round and Kyle usually runs well here. He has two wins, thirteen top ten, and nine top five finishes in only twenty-one starts here. I think he runs well and moves into the second round this week.

Jeff Gordon: Jeff has won five races at Dover in his career and has finished in the top ten twenty-six times in forty-five starts, including four top five finishes in his last six starts. Jeff just needs to stay out of trouble early in the race to move on to the second round but once the race progresses if he has a car that he thinks can win the race he will go for the win.

Carl Edwards: Carl has one win and twelve top ten finishes in twenty-two starts at this track. Carl is pretty safe when it comes to qualifying for the next round so he should be able to race as hard as he wants this weekend without having to worry about the point standings. This team has seemed to have gotten better lately so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Carl doing a back flip after this race.

Clint Bowyer: Clint is in a must win situation unless his twenty-five point penalty handed down by NASCAR last week for a rules violation. I don’t think the penalty will be overturned which means if Clint wants a chance at winning a championship this year he needs to win this race. Sorry Clint but that isn’t going to happen either. Although he runs well at Dover this team just hasn’t had the speed or consistently to win races this year. Hopefully he can find a good ride for next season.

Brad Keselowski: Brad is sitting comfortably in the standings right now and runs well at Dover. He has one win and four top five finishes in only eleven starts here. He fought his way back to a twelfth place finish at New Hampshire last week after getting penalized for jumping a restart late in the race. He survived that penalty but needs to eliminate all penalties if he wants to win another championship.

Ryan Newman: Ryan has three wins at Dover but none since the 2004 season. Yet, Ryan is doing just what he did last year in the Chase and that is staying out of trouble on the track and getting finishes which are good enough to qualify him for the next round. It might not be exciting and you might not hear much about him during the races but his strategy has proved to work so far.

Joey Logano: Joey is still looking for his first win at this track but he has finished in the top ten in eight of his thirteen starts here. Joey is another driver who is sitting comfortable in the standings and can just go out and race his race. The pressure comes in the future rounds where there are less drivers and you have some type of hiccup during one of the early races in that round that puts you behind the eight ball.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

  • Jimmie Johnson
  • Matt Kenseth

Yahoo Driver Group B

  • Kasey Kahne
  • Kyle Larson
  • Martin Truex Jr.
  • Aric Almirola

Yahoo Driver Group C

  • Justin Allgaier
  • Danica Patrick

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

  1. Jimmie Johnson
  2. Matt Kenseth
  3. Kevin Harvick
  4. Kyle Busch
  5. Joey Logano

Dark Horse: Kyle Larson

Stay Away From: Austin Dillon

Categories
Fantasy NASCAR NASCAR Fantasy Live

NASCAR FANTASY LIVE PICKS, 2015 NEW HAMPSHIRE, SYLVANIA 300

After one week in the Chase, teams are taking more risks to win. The risks make the races more exciting, but can be nerve-wracking for Fantasy NASCAR lineups. I am still trying to figure out how Hamlin won in Chicago, but the win came down to making the right risk at the right time. With only two races left in this round of the playoffs, the pressure is mounting to post a solid finish and advance for 15 Chase-eligible drivers.

FRONT-LOAD YOUR LINEUP

Although there is some value available in the middle-price range drivers, my recommendation is to front-load your lineup and try to capture the laps led and fast laps statistics. Pick wisely and you are sure to move up in the standings this week and hope you find the driver who runs like Kenseth at Richmond two weeks ago. Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, and Brad Keselowski are three drivers who I like this week.

As per usual, my first recommendation for your Fantasy Live lineup is the Kevin Harvick. Sometimes in fantasy sports, the key to success to to avoid being cute and simply choose the favorites. This strategy has helped my team with Harvick this season, and Chicago was a rare regret for me last week. Harvick has three top-10 finishes in his last five New Hampshire starts and has an average finish position of 12.6 during this stretch. He has the 3rd-most laps led and 2nd most fast laps in these races as well. Earlier this summer, Harvick led 59 laps on his way to a 3rd place finish. On similar configured tracks in 2015, Harvick has enjoyed five top-5 finishes in seven races. With 24 top-10 finishes in 2015, Harvick shows a combination of season success, track-type success, and track success. When a driver is proficient in all three areas, there is a high probability for success. With an accident sending him to the bottom of the Chase standings, Harvick will be under high pressure to finish near the top of the field. This makes him a riskier selection than most weeks, but I am going to stick with the driver who has helped me to success in 2015.

CONSIDER RESULTS FROM PREVIOUS LOUDON RACE

One of the benefits of fantasy racing at this point in the season is that you have a frame of reference from the race earlier in the season. Using this frame of reference provides the choice for the 2nd roster spot on my team. Kyle Busch led 96 laps on his way to a victory in New Hampshire in July. Over the past five races at Loudon, Busch has finished in the top-10 each time. His average finish position of 3rd over this stretch makes his the most successful driver at the race. Although he has only driven on four flat tracks this season, two have resulted in the winner’s circle. In 2015, Kyle Busch is in the top-5 in laps led through 28 races despite the fact that he missed 11 races. With one of the best cars in the field last week, I like Kyle Busch’s chances for a successful race this week.

With a 5th place average finish position in the last five Loudon races and four top-10 finishes during this stretch, Brad Keselowski is a solid option for your lineup this week. The Penske team led 100 laps on their way to a 2nd place finish in July. Keselowski has led the most laps and accumulated the most fast laps over the last five New Hampshire races. With five top-10 finishes in seven flat tracks this season, this team should be running near the top. Keselowski has been one of the top drivers this season, and is in the top-5 drivers for laps led in 2015. Keselowski needs to break out from running 8th or 9th to really help your fantasy lineup, and this track provides a good chance for him to lead some laps.

FILLING OUT THE BOTTOM

After front-loading the lineup with three high-priced favorites, there is not much room to fill out the bottom two roster spots. Based on the salary cap, I had to choose between David Ragan and David Gilliland for the fourth roster spot. In the end, I went with Ragan because I feel he offers more upside than the 38 car. Ragan qualified 3rd and finished 18th in the race earlier this season. Ragan has performed adequately on similarly configured tracks and has finished inside the top-20 three times on flat tracks. Michael Annett, with a 32nd place average finish position in New Hampshire, rounds out my roster. He finished 36th earlier this year and averages of 32nd place finish in 2015 races. Your expectations should be low for his team, and this roster spot may change after qualifying.

FANTASY NASCAR LIVE SALARY CAP

Fantasy Live on nascar.com uses a scoring system that combines fast laps, laps led, finish position, and start-to-finish differential. In order to prevent us from simply starting the top drivers each week, Fantasy Live uses a salary cap format. Our formula first calculates the average number of Fantasy Live points earned by each driver over the last five New Hampshire races. Next, we divide this number by the salary cap figure. The end result is a number that shows where to expect value from each driver entered in the race. Joey Logano finished 4th in the July race, but failed to make my roster this week. As a consolation prize to one of the best drivers this year, we will use Logano’s numbers at Loudon to further illustrate the formula.

JOEY LOGANO AT NEW HAMPSHIRE

  • Average finish position last five New Hampshire races: 19.8 equals 24.2 Fantasy Live points
  • Start-to-finish differential: Negative 10.6 equals (-10.6) points per race
  • Laps led: 89 equals 8.9 points per race
  • Fast laps: 56 equals 5.6 points per race
  • Total Fantasy Live points earned per race: 28.1
  • Fantasy Live salary cap figure: $28.75
  • Fantasy Live points per dollar: 28.1 divided by $28.75 equals 0.98 points per dollar

Below you will see the points per Fantasy Live dollar for all drivers entered in this week’s race. We are set for another exciting round of the playoffs and should be some great racing in New Hampshire.

GROUP A ($25.00 or higher)

  • Brad Keselowski 3.62
  • Kyle Busch 2.70
  • Matt Kenseth 2.33
  • Kevin Harvick 2.01
  • Dale Earnhardt Jr. 1.79
  • Jimmie Johnson 1.10
  • Joey Logano 0.98
  • Kurt Busch 0.96
  • Denny Hamlin 0.87

GROUP B ($20.00 – $24.99)

  • Martin Truex Jr. 2.05
  • Aric Almirola 1.80
  • Kyle Larson 1.73
  • Carl Edwards 1.64
  • Jamie McMurray 1.35
  • Clint Bowyer 1.35
  • Jeff Gordon 1.33
  • Ryan Newman 1.05
  • Kasey Kahne 1.04
  • Paul Menard 1.03

GROUP C ($15.00 – $19.99)

  • Austin Dillon 3.01
  • Greg Biffle 1.78

GROUP D ($10.00 – $14.99)

  • AJ Allmendinger 2.65
  • Tony Stewart 2.40
  • Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 1.77
  • Danica Patrick 1.37
  • Casey Mears 1.28
  • Cole Whitt 1.23
  • Sam Hornish Jr. 0.88
  • Trevor Bayne 0.80

GROUP E ($9.99 or lower)

  • Michael Annett 3.40
  • Josh Wise 3.28
  • Travis Kvapil 2.59
  • David Gilliland 2.56
  • Timmy Hill 2.42
  • Alex Bowman 2.11
  • Travis Kvapil 2.10
  • Brett Moffitt 2.00
  • Landon Cassill 1.33
  • David Ragan 1.22
  • Matt DiBenedetto 1.20
  • Justin Allgaier 0.57
  • Jeb Burton (-0.42)

* Driver has no track data, and we are using his 2015 numbers.

Categories
Fantasy NASCAR

2015 New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Sylvania 300

Denny Hamlin is on to the second round and Kevin Harvick has some ground to make up. Kevin was the only Chase driver to have major trouble during the first race of the playoffs. At twenty-two points out of the twelfth spot, Kevin might need to win a race or have two really great finishes and hope some other contenders have trouble if he wants to move to the second round and continue to defend his championship.

SYLVANIA 300

This week the series heads back to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the running of the Sylvania 300. NHMS is a one-mile oval track with limited banking in the corners. This race will be the second shortest race of the Chase with only 300 laps and 300-miles covered by the drivers. Pit road selection as always will be determined by qualifying and this is one of the tracks where you really need to qualify well to get your preferred spot on pit road which can win you the race.

Kyle Busch: I am picking Kyle to win this week’s race and qualify for the second round of the Chase. Kyle won the race here back in July of this year and has finished first or second in four of his last five starts here. That tells me this team has a great handle on how to setup their car for the beginning of the race and they know what adjustments they need to make as the race progresses.

Brad Keselowski: Brad is another driver who really knows how to get around this track in a hurry and he does it consistently as is evident by him finishing no worse than eleventh in his last eight starts here including a win last July. This team really seems to have a handle on the shorter tracks this year while they are struggling a little bit on the intermediate tracks. Another top ten finish will go a long way toward moving Brad on to the second round.

Matt Kenseth: Matt won this race two years ago and has finished in the top ten in four of his last five starts at New Hampshire. During this first segment of the Chase I think Matt will remain calm and focused on the long run and he should qualify for the next round with solid top ten finishes. He knows how to stay out of trouble which is all you really need to do during this round.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale is still looking for his first win at NHMS as he has a best finish of third at this track. However, he has finished in the top ten here in his last four starts and all of the drivers know the same thing as Matt does. Stay out of trouble and you will make it to the second round. It takes a little away from the racing in the first round but the intensity really picks up as the Chase winds down and drivers are eliminated.

Jeff Gordon: Jeff is the series leader in laps led at New Hampshire with 1,373. He also has more top five, and top ten finishes than any other driver here and has completed more laps than any other driver at this track since it was opened in 1990. He came close to winning the race at Chicage where he led quite a few laps late in the race until the late race caution came out and he faded on the restart.

Denny Hamlin: Denny has won two races at this track and has finished in the top five in seven of his eighteen starts here. Now that he is qualified for the second round this team can take a few chances and try to win another race in this segment. They no longer have to worry about staying out of trouble and that goes a long way when you need to take a chance to win a race or you are just hoping to come away with a good finish and stay out of trouble.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin has one win here and finished third in the last two races he has run at this track. Kevin needs a win to secure a spot in the next round or at the very least a couple of top five finishes to have the chance to continue to defend his championship. He is another driver who might have to take a few more chances to try and win one of the next two races because if you don’t qualify for the next round you need to wait until next year to win another championship.

Ryan Newman: Ryan picked up where he left off last year during the Chase. He came away with a top five finish and now he heads to a track where he has been consistently good. With three wins and sixteen top ten finishes in twenty-seven starts this guy knows how to get the job done here. He might not have won any races the last two seasons but, he almost won a championship last year and he is in prime position to move to the next round once again this season.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie also has three wins here and he has finished in the top ten an astounding eighteen time in only twenty-seven starts. This team isn’t where they need to be in terms of finishes right now if they want to win another championship but, they are in a position to move to the next round with two more top ten finishes and maybe they can work out their kinks in the next round. They are historically good on the mile-and-a-half tracks which make up a good share of the Chase so, making it to the next round is the first step.

Kurt Busch: Kurt is usually very good on the short flat tracks and his three wins here in twenty-nine starts shows that this is one of the tracks he really likes to race on. If it weren’t for the late race caution at Chicagoland last weekend, Kurt probably would have won that race and guaranteed himself a spot in the second round. All he needs to do is stay out of trouble the next two weeks and he will move on.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

  • Kyle Busch
  • Brad Keselowski

Yahoo Driver Group B

  • Kurt Busch
  • Carl Edwards
  • Austin Dillon
  • Kyle Larson

Yahoo Driver Group C

  • Danica Patrick
  • Justin Allgaier

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

  1. Kyle Busch
  2. Brad Keselowski
  3. Kevin Harvick
  4. Kurt Busch
  5. Matt Kenseth

Dark Horse: Kyle Larson

Stay Away From: Kasey Kahne

Categories
Fantasy NASCAR NASCAR Fantasy Live

NASCAR FANTASY LIVE PICKS, 2015 CHICAGOLAND, MYAFIBRISK.COM 400

The Chase has now started.

Like most weeks, you should front-load your lineup. I do not anticipate this week to be one where there is a great disparity in the standings because the laps led statistic is historically spread out. Congratulations to those of you who did not take my advice and rostered Matt Kenseth. Your standings took a hit if he missed your lineup.

The good news for Fantasy NASCAR players is that we now do not have to worry about teams experimented since the races matter now for all teams. You should concentrate on drivers who are Chase eligible since they have the most to race for in the next 10 races.

Kevin Harvick will continue to be my recommended pick for your roster. With the most laps and fast laps of any driver in 2015, Harvick provides a high probability for success every week. He also has the most top-5 finishes and the best average finish position of any driver in the series. In last year’s race at Chicago, Harvick led the most laps on his way to a 4th place finish. Harvick has three top-10 finishes in his last five races in Chicago. In eight large oval track races in 2015, Harvick has 403 laps led and 271 fast laps. Both numbers are good for the best in the series. He also boasts a 7th place average finish position and 96% of his laps inside the top-15 for similarly configured tracks. When you combine track success, track type success and 2015 success, you have a driver who you want in your lineup.

While the #2 and Brad Keselowski have not been an elite team in 2015, they are still one of the 10 best teams. Keselowski won the Chicago race in 2014, and led 62 laps on his way to the checkered flag. With three top-5 finishes in his last five Chicago races and two wins at the track, Keselowski has proven to be able to find success. On large oval tracks in 2015, Keselowski has finished inside the top-10 in all eight races. With an average finish position of 6.3 and 95% of his laps inside the top-15 for similarly tracks, Keselowski should continue his success this week in Chicago.

The decision for the third roster spot became a decision between Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano, and Kyle Busch. Jimmie Johnson has the best track history, and Joey Logano has the best 2015 numbers of the three drivers. The Hendricks cars have not been as dominant, and I did not like Logano’s track numbers at Chicago. As a result, the recommended third driver is Kyle Busch. Kyle Busch finished in 7th place in 2014 while leading 46 laps during the race. He has three top-10 finishes in his last five races. With four wins in 2015, his team has proved itself to be one of the best in the series since July. While his numbers at large oval tracks is mediocre, Kyle Busch won at Kentucky earlier this season. Unless he struggles in qualifying, Kyle Busch will find his way onto my roster this week.

With a front-loaded lineup, the drawback is that there is not a lot of salary cap room for the final two roster spots. David Ragan is starting to find a pattern of having no fantasy value due to his qualifying speeds. The start-to-finish differential is hurting his value. Nonetheless, he has a 20th place average finish position over his last five Chicago races. You would be hard-pressed to find a better driver. I barely had enough budget for the fifth roster spot. This will tentatively go to Brett Moffitt, who is averaging a 30th place finish in 2015. As always, I will keep an eye on qualifying and may consider the 43rd driver in hopes of start-to-finish differential points.

FANTASY NASCAR LIVE SALARY CAP

Fantasy Live on nascar.com uses a scoring system that combines fast laps, laps led, average finish position, or start-to-finish differential. In order to prevent us from starting the best drivers each week, Fantasy Live uses a salary cap format. Our formula calculate the number of Fantasy Live points earned by each driver over the last five Chicago races. Next, we divide the number by the Fantasy Live salary cap figure. The end result is a number that provides us with an idea of which drivers provide value each week. Jimmie Johnson has the most laps led over the past five Chicago races, yet missed my lineup. As a consolation prize, we will use his Chicago numbers over the past five races to explain the formula.

JIMMIE JOHNSON AT CHICAGOLAND

  • Average finish position last five Chicago races: 10.8 equals 33.2 Fantasy Live points
  • Start-to-finish differential: Negative 4.6 equals negative 4.6 Fantasy Live points
  • Laps Led: 343 equals 34.3 Fantasy Live points
  • Fast laps: 217 equals 21.7 Fantasy Live points
  • Total Fantasy Live points last five Chicago races: 84.6
  • Fantasy Live Salary Cap Figure: $26.25
  • Points per Fantasy Dollar: 84.6 divided by $26.25 equals 3.22

Below you see the Fantasy Live points per dollar for each driver entered in this week’s race. Suggested picks are in bold. For rookie drivers with no history at Chicagoland, we will use their 2015 numbers to provide an idea of their value. Good luck with your picks as we enter the first round of the playoffs.

GROUP A ($25.00 or higher)

  • Jimmie Johnson 3.22
  • Brad Keselowski 2.68
  • Kyle Busch 2.07
  • Kevin Harvick 2.06
  • Matt Kenseth 1.89
  • Kurt Busch 1.54
  • Dale Earnhardt Jr. 1.08
  • Joey Logano 1.07
  • Denny Hamlin 0.99

GROUP B ($20.00 – $24.99)

  • Kyle Larson 3.55
  • Jeff Gordon 2.03
  • Kasey Kahne 2.01
  • Martin Truex Jr. 1.66
  • Carl Edwards 1.61
  • Ryan Newman 1.56
  • Clint Bowyer 1.46
  • Jamie McMurray 1.45
  • Paul Menard 0.81
  • Greg Biffle 0.70

GROUP C ($15.00 – $19.99)

  • Austin Dillon 1.77
  • Sam Hornish Jr. 1.30

GROUP D ($10.00 – $14.99)

  • Tony Stewart 3.91
  • Danica Patrick 2.34
  • Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 2.24
  • Justin Allgaier 1.71
  • Trevor Bayne 1.57
  • AJ Allmendinger 1.25
  • Casey Mears 0.93
  • Cole Whitt 0.50
  • Ryan Blaney 0.48*

GROUP E ($9.99 or lower)

  • Travis Kvapil 4.68
  • JJ Yeley 3.53
  • David Ragan 3.18
  • Timmy Hill 3.16
  • Matt DiBenedetto 2.53*
  • Brett Moffitt 2.52*
  • Reed Sorenson 2.38
  • Jeb Burton 3.11*
  • Timmy Hill 1.89*
  • David Gilliland 1.88
  • Landon Cassill 1.62
  • Alex Bowman 1.47
  • Josh Wise 1.05
  • Brian Scott 0.52*
  • Michael Annett (-0.17)
  • Michael McDowell (-0.58)

* Driver has no track data, and we are using his 2015 numbers.

Categories
Fantasy NASCAR

2015 Chicagoland Speedway, MyAFibRisk.com 400

The Chase field is now officially set with Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, and Matt Kenseth sitting at the top of the board. As of right now I have three drivers who I think can win the Chase based on the way they have been running recently. Those drivers are defending champion, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, and Kyle Busch. Of these three drivers I am going to say Kyle Busch will win his first ever Sprint Cup championship. By no means does this mean that none of the other thirteen drivers can win the championship this season. Just look at last year where Ryan Newman, without a win, came within on spot of winning that championship so, don’t count anyone out.

MYAFIBRISK.COM 400

The Chase begins at Chicagoland Speedway this coming Sunday with the running of the MyAFibRisk.com 400. Chicagoland is the first of many Chase races on a mile-and-a-half track. The only type of track not run during the Chase is a road-course. Otherwise we have a restrictor-plate race that will be the one wild card in the Chase once again. There are also some short tracks, but five of the races including the finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway will be run on these mile-and-a-half tracks.

Kevin Harvick: I am picking Kevin to finally win another race and secure his spot in the second round of the Chase. Kevin won the first two races run at Chicagoland and has finished in the top five here in eight of his fourteen starts. The defending champion will start off on the right foot this weekend where he will qualify well and make the right adjustments throughout the race to take his car to victory lane and take the pressure off of himself and his team for the next two races.

Kyle Busch: Kyle has one win here and has finished in the top five in four of his ten career starts at Chicagoland Speedway. The Joe Gibbs teams have won eight of the last eleven races heading into the Chase and I think Kyle will win more than one race during the Chase. He will be there at the end of this race to battle with Kevin for the win and the right to move on to the second round.

Matt Kenseth: Matt won this race two years ago and he is on a roll right now winning three of the last six races run. This is considered Matt’s home track as he hails from Cambridge, WI and everyone wants to win at the track where they have the most fans in attendance. Matt has always run well on these tracks and the Joe Gibbs teams have shown that they have the speed to get the job done every week.

Brad Keselowski: Brad has won two of the six races he has run here during his short career. This team has struggled a little bit lately running a completely clean race and that is what it takes to win. I think Brad and Paul Wolfe work very well together and they just need to eliminate mistakes on pit road and they will be in the thick of things as the Chase progresses.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie is still looking for his first win at Chacagoland but, he has finished in the top ten in ten of his thirteen starts with seven of those finishes being in the top five. This team really needs to figure some things out if Jimmie wants to be a serious contender to win another championship this season. Despite having four wins, this team has really struggled for the past few months and is those struggles continue, Jimmie will won’t keep moving on as the Chase progresses.

Jeff Gordon: Jeff has one win at this track and seven top five finishes in fourteen career starts. In his last full-time season with Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff would like to win a final championship and go out in style. So far Jeff is still looking for his first win of the season and right now would be a great time to get it. They just need to find a little more speed as they always seem to have a good handling car but, some other drivers are just a little better.

Joey Logano: Although Joey doesn’t always seem to get the results he would like at Chicagoland, he always seems to have a fast car here. He holds the qualifying record in the Sprint Cup series and the race record in the Xfinity series. Two years ago Joey sat on the pole and led quite a few laps until he lost an engine about halfway through the race. He has run much better here the last three years and knows how to get around this track.

Clint Bowyer: Clint has finished in the top ten here in seven of his nine starts. This year the Michael Waltrip drivers haven’t had the speed or the handling their drivers were hoping for. Now with them not going to run next year, Clint really needs to show something during the Chase if he wants to get an offer from one of the elite teams to drive for them next year. Does this put more pressure on him or does he take that challenge and show everyone that he deserves a ride in one of their cars next season?

Kurt Busch: Kurt has finished in the top ten in eight of his fourteen starts at this track and he has a car just about as good as his teammate, Kevin Harvick, every week. Kurt is always good on the short tracks and if he can run consistently on the mile-and-a-half tracks during the Chase he could find himself racing for a championship at Homestead this November.

Tony Stewart: Even though Tony didn’t make the Chase and he hasn’t run well for the majority of the season we still need to talk about his at Chicagoland. He leads the series in wins here with three, he has eight top five finishes in thirteen starts and he has the same equipment as Kevin and Kurt do. As a part owner of Stewart-Haas Racing he has an obligation to run better or consider retiring from the sport.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

  • Kevin Harvick
  • Kyle Busch

Yahoo Driver Group B

  • Kurt Busch
  • Clint Bowyer
  • Austin Dillon
  • Tony Stewart

Yahoo Driver Group C

  • Danica Patrick
  • Ryan Blaney

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY

  1. Kevin Harvick
  2. Kyle Busch
  3. Matt Kenseth
  4. Joey Logano
  5. Jeff Gordon

Dark Horse: Tony Stewart

Stay Away From: Paul Menard