Author: Jeff Gutowski

Last race before the playoffs and the last chance for someone to sneak in with a win who doesn’t have one yet. This could be a very interesting race with a lot on the line for a lot of drivers. Some drivers whole season will come down to this one race. A race that anyone can win. This is the Daytona International Speedway.

COKE ZERO SUGAR 400

This is it folks. First time winner this year makes the playoffs if they’re qualified and knocks someone out who’s trying to get in on points. This is anybody’s race as we have seen in the past with drivers like David Ragan, Trevor Bayne, and even this year with Michael McDowell. Is there another driver to get his first career win or the first win on the season who hasn’t won already?

Denny Hamlin: Denny is my pick to win this race. He’s always been so good and has won three times at this track in his career. He just seems to know where to go, who to draft with, and when to make his move. Whether he runs up front from the beginning or bides his time and makes a move late in the race it seems that Denny is always in contention here.

Michael McDowell: Winning the Daytona 500 this year wasn’t really a fluke. Michael has always run well at Daytona even if his finishing position doesn’t always show it. Still, a win and seven top ten finishes in twenty starts for a driver who has never been with one of the top tier teams tells you something.

Austin Dillon: After getting wrecked last week and now needing to win to make the playoffs this team is going to go all out for the win. Austin has won at this track before and has finished in the top ten in half of the races he has run here in his career. This time he’ll do whatever it takes to pass for the lead at the end. But first, he has to be patient early in the race so he has a chance at the end.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin is the bubble boy, the driver who could be knocked out of the playoffs if we get a first time winner. The good news is that Kevin is very good here himself. He has run forty races at this track and has finished in the top five eleven times and top ten sixteen times to go along with two wins.

Joey Logano: For some reason it seems that the Penske drivers always find each other on the track and then work well together in the draft. Joey is the best of them at figuring out what to do and when to do it at this track. I look for all of these drivers to work together once again and have a shot at the end of this race.

Kurt Busch: Kurt runs consistently well on both of the restrictor plate tracks, Daytona and Talladega. He has already won this year so he doesn’t have any pressure on himself, but he would still like to gain some playoff points with a win. In forty career starts at Daytona Kurt has thirteen top five and eighteen top ten finishes to go along with one win.

Bubba Wallace: My dark horse for this week. Bubba finished second in his very first Daytona 500. Since then he might not have had another race where he came that close to winning, but like we said at the beginning. This is anyone’s race. It would be a fitting end leading into the playoffs if this first year team could win and make the playoffs.

Ryan Newman: Remember how close he came to winning here a couple of years ago before he got into a major crash and ended up in the hospital for a while? Well, that’s still the same driver on the same team, so why can’t he do it again and then this time avoid the wreck and win the race? Stranger things have happened.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: The loose cannon of this race. Ricky always has a fast car, but takes a lot of chances early in the race. I think if he would be patient for the first three-quarters of the race he would have more friends at the end and still have his car in one piece. Sometimes you can get away with making the moves he does, but eventually there’s going to be a mistake. Patience grasshopper, it will give you a better chance at the end.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

Driver Group Game Group A

• Denny Hamlin

Driver Group Game Group B

• Aric Almirola
• Matt DiBenedetto

Driver Group Game Group C

• Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

1. Denny Hamlin
2. Joey Logano
3. Kurt Busch
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Aric Almirola

Dark Horse: Bubba Wallace

Stay Away From: Martin Truex Jr.

Big 18: Aric Almirola

Congratulations to AJ Allmendinger on his win at the Indy Road Course last weekend. There are now only two races left before the start of the playoffs and there are thirteen drivers who have a win and are qualified for those playoffs. Allmendinger doesn’t qualify as he isn’t a full-time driver in the series and doesn’t receive any points. Kevin Harvick is the driver in sixteenth place right now without a win. With Daytona looming and anyone being able to win that race it could knock Kevin right out of the playoffs.

FIREKEEPERS CASINO 400

This week the series heads to the Michigan International Speedway for the running of the Firekeepers Casino 400. This is a two-mile track where speed is king and we all know who’s been showing us the speed all year. Pretty much going to have to stick to the drivers on those teams.

Kyle Larson: I have to pick Kyle to win this week and now I have a dilemma. I only have one more use left with him and want to save it for a future race, so I’ll most likely be using his teammates instead in my lineup this week. Those of you who have multiple starts left might want to use him here.

Alex Bowman: Alex has two wins on the season and this is his type of track. He won at Auto Club Speedway last year on a similar track and this year the Hendrick cars have been even faster. He has also run well at Michigan but hasn’t come away with the finishes they would expect. That can all change this weekend.

William Byron: William has finished mostly in the top fifteen at both Michigan and California. Once again we’ve seen the speed the Hendrick cars have shown this year and these are the drivers you need to have in your lineup this week. William won at Homestead-Miami earlier this season and has been running very well lately.

Chase Elliott: The last of the Hendrick drivers and once again I only have one more start left with him and want to save it for the Charlotte Roval. If you have multiple starts left with him this would be another great place to run him. Chase finished second in each of his first three races here and has only finished outside the top ten once in ten career starts here.

Martin Truex Jr.: Now we get to the other team that has been improving the most lately and getting closer to competing with the Hendrick teams each and every week. Martin is no slouch at this track either finishing either third or fourth in each of his last four starts. I think this is the Gibbs driver who has the best shot at taking the checkered flag from a Hendrick driver, but he’s not the only one who’s good here.

Denny Hamlin: Denny finished second here last year and has finished in the top ten in four of his last five starts at Michigan. He has also lead laps here in six of his last eight starts which tells me he runs up front quite a bit. If he can stay away from a late pit road penalty he could very well be a contender once again this weekend.

Kyle Busch: Kyle has finished in the top ten in his last eight starts at this track. Even though he hasn’t won here in ten years he has been getting better and better every week and can win again at anytime. I think he’s going to have a good handling fast car once again this weekend and will also contend for the win.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin has won four of the last five races here and also finished runner-up in the race preceding those. The problem here is that this team just hasn’t shown the speed they’ll need to compete with the Hendrick and Gibbs drivers on this 2-mile track with long straightaways. I would prefer to use him at some of the shorter tracks where handling is more important than speed.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

Driver Group Game Group A

• Martin Truex Jr.

Driver Group Game Group B

• Alex Bowman
• William Byron

Driver Group Game Group C

• Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

1. Kyle Larson
2. Martin Truex Jr.
3. Chase Elliott
4. Alex Bowman
5. William Byron

Dark Horse: Austin Dillon

Stay Away From: Bubba Wallace

Big 18: William Byron

Once again the Hendrick teams dominated the track last week with Kyle Larson beating teammate Chase Elliott to the finish line. The Gibbs teams seem to be close to being just as good, but not quite yet.

VERIZON 200 AT THE BRICKYARD

This will be the second race in a row run on a road course. The difference this time is that none of these drivers has ever raced on this one before. Then again, a lot of the young drivers had never races at Watkins Glen before either. This race will be held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course and the race is known as the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard.

This is going to be almost the exact same picks as last week. In fact, I think the only thing I might change is my C driver and I’ll decide that after the entry list comes out on Tuesday.

Chase Elliott: Once again we have to go with Chase to win at another road course. He was narrowly beaten by Kyle Larson and if he wouldn’t have flat spotted his tires early in that race the outcome may have been different. All in all it’s really hard not to have Chase in your lineup once again.

Martin Truex Jr.: Martin lead quite a few laps last week, but couldn’t hold off the Hendrick drivers late in the race. Still he’s another option if you’re taking a chance on someone beside Chase to make up ground in your league.

Kyle Larson: Last week’s winner is also a must have on your team this week. He’s proven that he’s just as good as Chase on these tracks and those two will probably be battling for the win once again this week.

Kyle Busch: This other Kyle could also contend for the win this weekend. He ran well last week at Watkins Glen although he was still over 10 seconds behind the winner. If things fall into place he could be a contender at the end again.

Ross Chastain: Ross had a good run at Watkins Glen coming away with a twelfth place finish. I had a lot of people asking me about him last week and with that showing I’ll have to say he’s a good option for the C group this weekend.

Denny Hamlin: Another consistent run by Denny last week makes him someone to take a chance on who probably won’t disappoint you this week. Which means I’m expecting him to at least finish in the top ten if not higher this weekend.

Christopher Bell: Christopher won the race at the Daytona Road Course earlier this year and this is the type of track where he really runs well most of the time in the early stages of his career. He ran well again last weekend on another track he’s never raced on before and has shown he can really get the job done on this type of track.

Kurt Busch: Kurt is another driver who runs consistently well on the road course tracks. He just doesn’t seem to be able to pick up the wins, but finishes in the top ten quite often. He is another driver you can take a chance on as they have been running pretty well on other tracks lately and picked up a win at Atlanta not too long ago.

The final thing to look at is the entry list when it comes out on Tuesday. Watch and see who might be entered this week that isn’t normally racing. Watch and see if AJ Allmendinger, Austin Cindric, or Kaz Grala are entered. Any of these drivers is worth taking a chance on in the C group and it will save you some starts with the regulars that you might need for the rest of the season.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR INDIANAPOIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY ROAD COURSE

Driver Group Game Group A

• Chase Elliott

Driver Group Game Group B

• Kyle Busch
• Kyle Larson

Driver Group Game Group C

• Michael McDowell, AJ Allmendinger, Austin Cindric, Kaz Grala

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT INDIANAPOIS MOTOR SPEEDWAY ROAD COURSE

1. Chase Elliott
2. Martin Truex Jr.
3. Kyle Larson
4. Kyle Busch
5. Denny Hamlin

Dark Horse: Daniel Suarez

Stay Away From: Bubba Wallace

Big 18: Denny Hamlin

After a well deserved two week rest, the teams will be back at it this weekend. I believe it was scheduled like this to give the drivers a break, but also to have some open weekends in case Pocono was rained out one, or both days on their weekend. In any case all of the teams will be back in action with another points race this weekend.

GO BOWLING AT THE GLEN

The first race back will be another road course race, with this one being held at an old favorite of the series. Watkins Glen International will host the Go Bowling at The Glen race.

Chase Elliott: Once again we have to go with Chase to win at another road course. He has won at Watkins Glen the last two races held there and hasn’t done much other than win at all of the other road course tracks the series has been to in the past few seasons. This is where you stick with the consensus pick if you are towards the top of your league or take a chance on someone else and hope something causes Chase to falter this week so you can make up ground.

Martin Truex Jr.: The next most popular pick this week is going to be Martin. He finished second to Chase in each of the last two races here and won the race before that. These two seem to be the best of the best and Martin is the go to guy if you aren’t going to use Chase this week They’ve both been very good consistently on all of the road course tracks.

Kyle Larson: The third most popular pick might be a Kyle. Kyle Larson led a handful of laps in his last start here and has been very good each and every week on all types of tracks. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him contending towards the end of this race too.

Kyle Busch: This other Kyle could also contend for the win this weekend. In his last fourteen starts here he has twelve top ten finishes and two wins. One of his other finishes was eleventh. That makes only one time he has finished outside the top eleven in his last fourteen starts. He has also lead laps in nine of those fourteen starts which tells us that he is used to running towards the front of the pack.

Erik Jones: Erik might be someone you could take a flyer on. He hasn’t run the best with Petty Motorsports in his first season with them, but this is a track where he always ran well in the past. He has only run three races here and those were all with Gibbs. In those three starts he finished in the top ten each time and twice in the top five. Can he do it with his new team? Stranger things have happened.

Denny Hamlin: Denny is the only other active driver besides those already listed to have lead laps in at least one of the last two races at Watkins Glen. Denny won here in 2016. The only issue I have with him this week is that he has only lead laps here twice in fourteen starts and the total laps he has lead is twelve. We might be able to use him at better venues.

Christopher Bell: Christopher won the race at the Daytona Road Course earlier this year and this is the type of track where he really runs well most of the time in the early stages of his career. His big disadvantage is that he’s never run a Cup Series race at this track, but I think he can figure it out pretty quickly.

Kurt Busch: Kurt is another driver who runs consistently well on the road course tracks. He just doesn’t seem to be able to pick up the wins, but finishes in the top ten quite often. He is another driver you can take a chance on as they have been running pretty well on other tracks lately and picked up a win at Atlanta not too long ago.

The final thing to look at is the entry list when it comes out on Tuesday. Watch and see who might be entered this week that isn’t normally racing. Watch and see if AJ Allmendinger, Austin Cindric, or Kaz Grala are entered. Any of these drivers is worth taking a chance on in the C group and it will save you some starts with the regulars that you might need for the rest of the season.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL

Driver Group Game Group A

• Chase Elliott

Driver Group Game Group B

• Kyle Busch
• Kyle Larson

Driver Group Game Group C

• Michael McDowell, AJ Allmendinger, Austin Cindric, Kaz Grala

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT WATKINS GLEN INTERNATIONAL

1. Chase Elliott
2. Martin Truex Jr.
3. Kyle Larson
4. Kyle Busch
5. Denny Hamlin

Dark Horse: Erik Jones

Stay Away From: Bubba Wallace

Big 18: Erik Jones

The weeks are slowly winding down towards the playoffs. For some drivers without a win yet they might be winding down quite quickly though. Nobody wants to make the playoffs without a win under their belt. It’s hard to just turn it on all of a sudden and start winning races, which is what you need to do during the playoffs to win a championship.

FOXWOODS RESORT CASINO 301

This week the drivers head to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the running of the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301. This track is slightly longer than a mile and doesn’t have the banking we see at other tracks that are considered intermediate tracks on the circuit. What surprised me was that there are only seven active drivers who have won at this track. The question now is will one of these seven repeat again, or will we see a first time winner this week?

Denny Hamlin: I’m going to go out on a limb and say Denny wins this week. He has three career wins at Loudon and this is the type of track where he doesn’t need all the speed the Hendrick drivers have shown all year as the straightaways aren’t quite that long. It’s more about getting through the corners and getting back into the throttle early when exiting. I think Denny can do that this weekend and pick up the win.

Kyle Larson: None of the active Hendrick drivers have a win at this track. That is something that very well could change this week with the way they have run all year long. Of those four drivers I think Kyle has the best chance of winning this week. He’s been the most consistent of them week in and week out. He has also finished runner-up three times in his ten starts at this track. This might be the week he improves on that statistic.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin has the most wins at this track among all active drivers with four. I still don’t know what’s wrong with this team. It’s true they don’t seem to have the speed the other teams have, but they usually have a better handling car than they have shown for most of the year. I don’t think they’re far off and they have run into their share of bad luck this season. This could be one of those races where they can get the car handling the way they like and do some damage.

Martin Truex Jr.: Martin is another driver looking for his first win at this track. He has had some dominant cars here only to see his hopes dashed away by some late race issue. In fact, Martin hasn’t finished outside of the top twenty here in his last eighteen starts and has finished in the top ten in six of his last seven starts at Loudon. He has lead around six hundred laps in his last seven starts here too. Could this be the week he wins for the first time here?

Brad Keselowski: Brad won this race last year and that was the second time he visited victory lane here. The Penske teams have shown some speed this year and the handling is the key in this race. They should have a fast car right off the truck this week with the notes they have from last year’s race and that is always a plus. If they have enough adjustment built into the car they will be a contender come the end of this year’s race.

Kyle Busch: Kyle has three wins and four runner-up finishes at New Hampshire. He has also been running much better recently than he did all of last season and at the beginning of this season. I think this team is so close to breaking out of a small slump and going on a tear where they can win multiple races in a row no matter what type of track they’re racing on. I look for him to run towards the front in this race and contend for the win at the end.

William Byron: William has only run three races here and has finished in the top fifteen in each of them. He has yet to finish in the top ten though. That could very well come to an end this week as he has shown a lot of improvement this season and we have all seen how fast the Hendrick cars are every week. I look for William to finish at least top ten this week and he could move into the top five too.

Aric Almirola: Aric has shown a lot of improvement over the past month or so. He has run pretty well here the past three races which are the only three he’s run for Stewart-Haas Racing. I don’t think he’ll win this race, but another top fifteen isn’t out of the question for this team. He could be a driver you might want to consider if you’re trying to make up some ground in your league. You never know when one of the top drivers is going to have an issue.

Joey Logano: Joey has eight top ten finishes in his last ten starts at New Hampshire. I think he and Paul Wolff are really working well together and communicating so they make the changes the driver is looking for. This could be the deciding factor on whether or not he wins this race. One bad decision coming from the pits could make of break a driver this weekend. We also know that this team isn’t afraid to do something outside the box to try and win a race.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Driver Group Game Group A

• Denny Hamlin

Driver Group Game Group B

• William Byron
• Aric Almirola

Driver Group Game Group C

• Bubba Wallace

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

1. Denny Hamlin
2. Kyle Larson
3. Martin Truex Jr.
4. Kyle Busch
5. Kevin Harvick

Dark Horse: Ryan Newman

Stay Away From: Alex Bowman

Big 18: Kyle Busch