2021 Circuit of the Americas, EchoPark Texas Grand Prix

We are now into a short stretch where there will be practice and qualifying for the next two races. Some leagues will have the option to fill extra spots before qualifying and then you will have to choose your drivers from those in your list. Other leagues are setup to run the same every week where you have until race time to fill in your drivers. Make sure you know what type of league you are in.

ECHOPARK TEXAS GRAND PRIX

This week the series heads to a track it has never run at before. The Circuit of the Americas track was built with F1 racing in mind and will host a Cup series race for the first time this weekend. That is one of the reasons for practice and qualifying. From what I gather this is a twenty turn road course and there isn’t a lot of places to pass. If that’s the case we’re going to see a lot of bump and run going on throughout the race and that could make the end very interesting.

Chase Elliott: Chase has to be the odds on favorite to win this weekend. He has won five of the last nine road course races and finished second in another one. There isn’t anyone with an advantage this week as none of these drivers has raced here in the Cup series before. I don’t know if any of them have ever raced here in any series.

Martin Truex Jr.: One of the hottest drivers on the circuit right now and with the best average finish over the last nine road course races. This is a tough call. This is a track where he has no experience and we know it can be hard on equipment. That combined with the fact they say there might be a lot of banging going on for position in this race leads me to believe we would be better off keeping his starts for other venues.

Denny Hamlin: Denny is another driver who runs well at all of the road course tracks. He has finished in the top five in four of his last seven road course starts. I haven’t used him much yet this season, but I know I will be using him up throughout the rest of the year. Once again a tough call on whether or not to use him this week. Not as risky as starting him on a restrictor plate track but the next risky place to do it.

Ryan Blaney: Here we go again. Ryan has five top ten finishes in his last eight road course starts including a win at the Charlotte Roval. Do we really want to take a chance with him on a track where he has never run before? That is the dilemma we have this week with all drivers. This is where we have to decide how best to manage their starts through the rest of the season.

Kevin Harvick: Six top ten finishes in his last nine road course races but hasn’t won on one since the 2017 season at Sonoma. Not the best place to use him either. I’m going to be just as ill informed as the rest of you and don’t want to use one of my better drivers at a place they have never run before, but you have to use someone.

Kurt Busch: Eight top ten finishes in his last eleven road course races. Here is someone who has been struggling quite a bit compared to last year and this might be the type of race where he can once again get back in the swing of things. He might be someone we could take a chance on this week.

Christopher Bell: Christopher won the race on the Daytona road course earlier this year which tells us he knows how to get around these tracks. He is another driver we will probably want to take a chance on this week.

Kaz Grala: I don’t know if he’ll be entered this week, but he is someone else we could take a chance on if he’s entered and on your fantasy roster. He has only run one Cup series road course race, but he finished seventh in that race at Daytona last fall.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS

Driver Group Game Group A

• Chase Elliott
• Denny Hamlin

Driver Group Game Group B

• Kurt Busch
• Christopher Bell
• Alex Bowman
• Erik Jones

Driver Group Game Group C

• AJ Allmendinger or Kaz Grala (if entered)
• Michael McDowell and Daniel Suarez (if first 2 are not entered)

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS

1. Chase Elliott
2. Martin Truex Jr.
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Christopher Bell

Dark Horse: Erik Jones

Stay Away From: Bubba Wallace

Big 18: Kurt Busch