2016 Dover International Speedway, AAA 400 Drive for Autism

There seems to be a little misunderstanding about my Stay Away From driver I list every week at the end of my article. When I started writing most of the readers wanted to get advice about the Yahoo fantasy racing league and that is pretty much what my article is geared towards. I think there is still something to be taken from my articles for most other leagues. That being said, my Stay Away From driver is a driver that I feel doesn’t give you the potential for the reward compared to the risk of using him. I have said stay away from a driver who has won races before. What I am saying is I think there are better options to choose from that week as for risk to reward. Otherwise I would just say stay away from a driver who always winds up a bunch of laps down and I think all of you already know who those drivers are. Sorry about the confusion.

AAA 400 DRIVE FOR AUTISM

This week the series heads to Dover International Speedway for the running of the AAA 400 Drive for Autism. This race marks the one-third point of the season. It seems like just yesterday they were running the Daytona 500. Dover International Speedway, otherwise known as the ‘Monster Mile’, is a one-mile high-banked oval track that usually has some very exciting racing. I like to think of it as a bigger Bristol where there are more opportunities to pass without having to move someone out of your way. This is one of my favorite tracks on the whole circuit.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie is a must have on every roster this week. He has ten wins, fifteen top fives, and twenty top tens in twenty-eight starts at Dover. He has also led 2,999 laps here which is almost three times more than any other driver. When you win better than once every three times you go to a track you are a no brainer to be on everyone’s roster. Even with the way the Gibbs teams have been running, it is going to be tough to beat Jimmie this weekend.

Kyle Busch: Kyle has won two races at Dover and finished second three times here. Kyle is also the hottest driver in the series having just picked up his third win of the season last weekend at Kansas. I think Kyle is going to give Jimmie all he can handle this weekend, but I think he comes up a little short. He also seems to lead laps every time he comes to this track. He is third among active drivers with 1,037 laps led at this track.

Tony Stewart: Tony looked pretty good last weekend at Kansas. Better than he has looked the past two seasons I would say. This could be one of those tracks where he can pick up a win which will put him into position to move into the top thirty in points and qualify for the Chase. Tony has three wins and eleven top five finishes in his thirty-three starts at this track and he is a great driver to take a chance on this weekend.

Matt Kenseth: Matt is looking for his first win of the season and hoping to get away from the bad luck that has been following him all season. Matt came away with his first top five finish of the season last weekend at Kansas where he was in contention until fading after the final restart of the race. With two wins at Dover and fifteen top five finishes in thirty-four starts, Matt is another driver who is so consistent here it is hard to leave him off your roster.

Carl Edwards: Another of the Joe Gibbs drivers who runs well here on a consistent basis. Carl has one win, eight top five, and twelve top ten finishes in only twenty-three starts here. Carl fought back from two laps down last weekend to salvage an eleventh place finish at Kansas which is impressive seeing they are already qualified for the Chase and their finish didn’t really mean that much to them, but it shows me they are committed to improving their position no matter what during a race.

Kevin Harvick: Once again Kevin came away with a second place finish last weekend at Kansas. He has one win and fourteen top ten finishes in his thirty career starts at Dover. This team could win just about every week, so the question is which races do we use him for. I think there are much better options as we look at risk versus reward this weekend.

Ryan Newman: Ryan had another good run at Kansas where he came away with a seventh place finish last weekend and he has run consistently well at Dover during his career. He has three wins and thirteen top ten finishes in his twenty-eight starts here although he only has two top ten finishes in his last ten starts here. I think this team could surprise this week once again and get back to running well at Dover.

Joey Logano: Joey is looking for his first win of the season and his first win at Dover. He has really run well here over the past four seasons coming away with seven top ten finishes in the eight races he has run here. The race where he didn’t finish in the top ten in the past four seasons he finished eleventh, so he has probably been the most consistent driver in terms of top ten finishes in that time frame.

Martin Truex Jr.: Martin has one win and nine top ten finishes in his twenty career starts here. I think Martin is better suited to the intermediate tracks even with him finishing in the top ten in almost half of his starts here. Once again, the risk to reward ratio tells me that there are better options to use this weekend. I think this team is going to win a race on an intermediate track and qualify for the Chase that way.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale also has one win at this track and has finished in the top ten in twelve of his thirty-two starts at Dover. Once again, the risk to reward ratio isn’t there in my opinion and there are better races to use Dale at. For example, Pocono is coming up soon and this is a track where Dale has excelled at in recent races run there. Doing well in your individual leagues has a lot to do with strategy, so follow the statistics not your heart.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Jimmie Johnson
• Kyle Busch

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Ryan Newman
• Tony Stewart
• Carl Edwards
• Kyle Larson

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Chase Elliott
• Matt DiBenedetto

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Kyle Busch
3. Matt Kenseth
4. Joey Logano
5. Carl Edwards

Dark Horse: Tony Stewart

Stay Away From: Austin Dillon

Big 18: Jimmie Johnson