Congratulations to Matt Kenseth, who picked up his second win of the season at New Hampshire last weekend. However, the big news of the week was Dale Earnhardt Jr. being out with concussion like symptoms with no time table for his return. Alex Bowman filled in for him at New Hampshire and Jeff Gordon will return to the car next week at Indianapolis if Dale isn’t cleared to get back in the car. Watch your leagues this week to see where Jeff gets placed, his price etc. that you have in your particular league. He will be a steal in some leagues.
CROWN ROYAL PRESENTS THE COMBAT WOUNDED COALITION
This week the series heads to the fabled Brickyard known as the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This is a two-and-a-half-mile very flat track in the heart of Indiana. Once again this will be a race determined by who can keep their tires from cutting down or melting the bead and the drivers who were off road racers in their early career will have an advantage once again.
Kyle Busch: I am going with Kyle to win his second consecutive race at this track. He has finished in the top two spots in three of his last four starts here, has finished in the top ten in nine of his career starts here and had a really good car on a flat track once again last weekend but just couldn’t close the deal after leading the most laps in that race. He gets back to his winning ways this weekend.
Tony Stewart: Tony is making the most of his final season in NASCAR since coming back from a back injury. His second place finish last weekend at Loudon bodes well for this team heading into Indy. Tony has always been good at this track with two wins and eleven top ten finishes in his seventeen starts. What better way to end a career than winning at the Brickyard, in your home state?
Matt Kenseth: With his second win of the season last weekend in New Hampshire, Matt has served notice that he will once again be a driver to be reckoned with once the Chase starts. He has also been very good at the Brickyard over his career with ten top ten finishes in his sixteen starts. He would like nothing better than to pick up his first ever win at this great track and add this trophy to his already impressive collection.
Kevin Harvick: Kevin has a win at this track and has nine top ten finishes in his fifteen career starts here. This is the race everyone wants to win second only to the Daytona 500 and this team will do everything they can to pick up another win as we get closer to the Chase. You never know when those bonus points will come in handy once the Chase starts.
Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie leads all active drivers with four wins at this track over his career. This team has been off a little bit lately and I’m sure there is some concern in their camp as we get closer to the Chase. Nobody can afford to be off of their game once the Chase starts because one bad race can eliminate you from contention and Jimmie is looking for another championship.
Jeff Gordon: I am not considering Jeff and active driver but, he will most likely be in the #88 car this weekend at Indy subbing for the injured Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jeff leads all drivers with five wins at this track with his last win coming back in 2014. What type of a story would that be if Jeff jumped back into a car and won one of the most coveted races on the NASCAR circuit? It could happen! Watch your leagues to see if he gets added and watch the news to see if he will run.
Denny Hamlin: Denny usually runs well on this type of track and he is looking to win his first race here. I think this team will have something for the field if they don’t put too much camber in their setup that causes them to cut tires on the track. You need a great balance at this track with a lot of power on the straightaways if you want to win here and we have seen the power from all of the Joe Gibbs teams this year.
Joey Logano: Joey has run very well here throughout his young career with four top ten finishes in his seven starts. He really had a rough go of it last week at Loudon on another flat track so, I’m not sure what to think of him this weekend. My gut tells me this team will figure out why they couldn’t get a handle on the track last weekend and use it to their advantage as they prepare for this week’s race.
Kyle Larson: Kyle struggled last week a bit himself and has only run two races at Indy. He did finish in the top ten in both of those races and he is an old dirt track racer which really seems to help at this track. The biggest concerns for me with this team this weekend is if they have the power it takes on the straightaways and the small sample size of finishes he has had here.
Kasey Kahne: Kasey hasn’t really run consistently well since joining Hendrick Motorsports for the 2012 season, but he really runs well at this track for some reason. He is a great driver to take a chance on this weekend where he has finished in the top ten in six of his twelve starts. This is probably this teams best chance to win a race and secure their spot in the Chase before it starts.
YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
Yahoo Driver Group A
- Kyle Busch
- Matt Kenseth
Yahoo Driver Group B
- Tony Stewart
- Kasey Kahne
- Kyle Larson
- Ryan Newman
Yahoo Driver Group C
- Jeff Gordon
- Chase Elliott
MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT INDIANAPOLIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
- Kyle Busch
- Tony Stewart
- Matt Kenseth
- Jeff Gordon
- Jimmie Johnson
Dark Horse: Kasey Kahne
Stay Away From: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Big 18: Tony Stewart / Jeff Gordon if entered
2 replies on “2016 Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Crown Royal Presents The Combat Wounded Coalition”
In my big 18 we can only use a car number twice, so if I use Gordon in the #88 it will be done for the year. Do you recommend this?
Not in that case. I would recommend using Tony Stewart then who is starting 3rd.