Author: Jeff Gutowski

Categories
Fantasy NASCAR

2015 Auto Club Speedway, Auto Club 400

Congratulations to Kevin Harvick, this year’s first repeat winner, on dominating the CampingWorld.com 500 at Phoenix this past weekend. There really wasn’t anyone who could compete with Kevin and he won his fourth straight race at this track and fifth in his last six attempts.

AUTO CLUB 400

The series stays out west this week as they head to the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA. This will be the first time this season that the series visits a two-mile low-banked, D-shaped oval superspeedway. Once again I think we will have a driver win his second race of the season and guarantee himself a spot in the Chase field.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has won five races at this track and he is my pick to win once again this weekend. Jimmie has finished in the top five here in twelve of the twenty races he has started and those are very impressive stats. Another impressive stat that Jimmie has at this track is that he has finished every lap of every race he has run here also.

Matt Kenseth: Matt has three wins at this track also and I think he is looking forward to this weekend. Matt is still trying to win his first points race in over a year so he doesn’t have to worry about making the Chase on points instead of by winning a race during the season. This could be the week he breaks the streak and goes back to victory lane.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin has a streak of his own going right now. He has finished first or second in his last six points race starts. I think that streak will come to an end this weekend. Kevin has won one race at this track, but he is mostly average here. He would love to win this race in his home state, but that won’t happen this weekend.

Carl Edwards: Carl has one win at this track, but I think this team is still learning to work together. I’m guessing about the middle of the season you will see this team run better and more consistently. Don’t use up all of his starts early in the season in the Yahoo league. Wait until later and you will score more points.

Kasey Kahne: Kasey also has won a race at this track and this team looks better at this point of the season than they did last year. I don’t think it will be long before you see them in victory lane. Kasey should do well in qualifying as well as the race this weekend.

Jeff Gordon: Jeff has won three times at this track, but hasn’t won since the 2004 season here. I still see him running well this weekend and leading some laps during the race. I think the Hendrick cars will once again have the most power and speed among all of the teams on the circuit and that will propel them to the front of the field.

Kurt Busch: Kurt ran his first race of the season last week at Phoenix and came away with a great finish. This weekend shouldn’t be any different. Kurt has one win here during his career and has finished in the top ten in six of his last eight starts here. He should be able to work his way into the top thirty in points and if he wins a race he will make the Chase.

Clint Bowyer: Clint always runs well at the flatter tracks. After struggling early in the race last weekend at Phoenix. The team made some adjustments late in the race and Clint came to life a little bit. I think they learned a lot during that race and will be able to apply some of what they learned this week. I look for him to come away with a top ten finish this weekend.

Tony Stewart: Tony hasn’t run well yet this year, but they did have a good car last weekend. If Tony doesn’t get caught up in a crash at Phoenix I think he comes away with a top ten finish. This week he should be able to have a decent car right off the trailer and I see him leading laps and finishing in the top ten.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale has yet to win a race at this track, but he has finished in the top five in two of his last three starts here. This team has been strong all year and this weekend should be no different. I think they will be fast just like all of the Hendrick cars and they will have a shot at going to victory lane.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

  • Jimmie Johnson
  • Matt Kenseth

Yahoo Driver Group B

  • Kasey Kahne
  • Kurt Busch
  • Tony Stewart
  • Clint Bowyer

Yahoo Driver Group C

  • David Ragan
  • Justin Allgaier

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY

  1. Jimmie Johnson
  2. Matt Kenseth
  3. Jeff Gordon
  4. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
  5. Kurt Busch

Dark Horse: Kyle Larson

Stay Away From: Brad Keselowski

Categories
Fantasy NASCAR

2015 Phoenix International Raceway, CampingWorld.com 500

Congratulations to Kevin Harvick on winning the race in Las Vegas this past weekend. We now have three different winners in three races this year. Kevin dominated the race and there wasn’t anyone who had anything for him at the end. Martin Truex Jr. continued his strong season with a second place finish, while Ryan Newman rounded out the top three. This week the series stays out west and I think we will see our first repeat winner of the season.

CAMPINGWORLD.COM 500

The series stays west as they head to Phoenix International Raceway for the running of the CampingWorld.com 500.
Phoenix is a one-mile, low-banked D-shaped tri-oval race track located in Avondale, Arizona. This is the only non-road course track that measures their race mileage in kilometers. That means the race is not 500-miles or 500 laps, It is actually 312-miles long.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin is my pick to win back-to-back races this week. He has won four of the last five races here. That makes four out of seven since the track was reconfigures in 2011 and he also finished second in one of those other races. It is hard to bet against a guy with stats like that.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale has finished in the top ten in his last four races here including a second place finish in this race last season. The way this team is running so far, Dale might be able to move up one more spot and win his first race of the year and qualify for the Chase. No matter what he does this weekend, we will see him win races soon.

Brad Keselowski: Brad hasn’t had the best start to his season, but this week that can all change. Brad has finished in the top six in five of his last six starts at this track. He has also led laps in five of those races and sat on the front row in both of last year’s races. This is the week this team might see their luck change to the better.

Jeff Gordon: Jeff has been fast all year and now he just needs the luck to swing around for him. Jeff has four top ten finishes in his last six starts here and finished second in the fall race last season. In his final full-time season, Jeff would like nothing better than to get an early win and ensure himself a shot at a final championship before he retires.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has won four races here, finished in the top five fourteen times, and the top ten eighteen times. That has all been accomplished in only twenty-three races. He already has one win this year, so he is in the Chase. He is a must for your fantasy team this weekend.

Denny Hamlin: Denny always run well at the shorter, flatter tracks and Phoenix is no exception. He has finished in the top five here in four of his last six starts and this team looks better at this point of the season than he did last year. He has the equipment to get the job done and I think he will be a contender this week.

Carl Edwards: Carl has two career wins at Phoenix and has had good cars every week this year. He might be pressing a little too hard with his new team and he just needs to relax and race his race. Once this team really gets used to working together they will start to win races. A short track might the thing to get this team on the right track.

Ryan Newman: Ryan has been very good so far this year and it shouldn’t surprise anyone after what he did last season. He has always run well at Phoenix and has one win and four poles to prove it. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him win the race this weekend if he can put himself in the top five with 50-laps to go.

Joey Logano: Joey has three straight top ten finish here and has finished in the top ten in half of the races he has run here. This team already has a win this year and can so a little experimenting on tracks that are going to have races during the Chase and Phoenix is one of them. They will take everything they learn this weekend and apply to their strategy and car come this November.

Matt Kenseth: Matt is still looking to break his winless streak, but he hasn’t won here since 2002. He is capable of winning this race, but I would hold off on using him this week. He runs better on the more banked tracks and the longer tracks on the circuit and there will be plenty of time to use him later this season.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

  • Kevin Harvick
  • Jimmie Johnson

Yahoo Driver Group B

  • Carl Edwards
  • Greg Biffle
  • Clint Bowyer
  • AJ Allmendinger

Yahoo Driver Group C

  • David Ragan
  • Regan Smith

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT PHOENIX INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY

  1. Kevin Harvick
  2. Jimmie Johnson
  3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
  4. Brad Keselowski
  5. Jeff Gordon

Dark Horse: Greg Biffle

Stay Away From: Brian Vickers

Categories
Fantasy NASCAR

2015 Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Kobalt 400

Las Vegas Motor Speedway Kobalt 400

Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson on winning his first race of the season and virtually ensuring he will have a spot in the 2015 Chase. Once again we saw which teams will be competitive on a weekly basis and which teams have a lot of work to do if they want to compete for the championship this year.

KOBALT 400

This week the series heads out west to Las Vegas Nevada to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the running of the Kobalt 400. This is another mile and a half oval track with just slightly less banking than at Atlanta. This will mean that the speeds will be a little lower this week and the race is only 400-miles, so there should be less engine issues.

Other than that, the drivers who were fast at Atlanta should be fast once again this week at Las Vegas. I also think that the track won’t be as slick as the track was at Atlanta and the temperatures should be higher too. With that said lets see how are drivers will fare this week.

Kevin Harvick: I am picking Kevin to win the race this week at Las Vegas. Kevin was the fastest car for most of the weekend at Atlanta where he came from the back of the pack to the front in the blink of an eye. A poor restart late in the race probably cost this team their first win of the season. If things go according to plan this week Kevin will be sitting in victory lane at the end of the race.

Joey Logano: Joey was fast all weekend also and the team just missed with their final adjustment of last week’s race. The engine issues I was worried about after Daytona have been corrected and this team should have another fast car this week. The temperature might change more during this week’s race and that means they will have to stay on top of the adjustments they need to make to be in contention at the end of the race.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie won the race at Atlanta, so he should have a car capable of winning back to back races. Jimmie and crew-chief Chad Knaus work well together and they seem to make the right adjustments to get their car where they want it to be late in the race. It always seems like when Jimmie wins a race he wins multiple races in a short period of time and that could happen again.

Jeff Gordon: Jeff had a good car last week also, but his luck just wasn’t of the good type. Bad things don’t happen to good teams consistently, so this week his luck should change and he will have a car capable of winning this race. Jeff really wants to have a great year before he retires from full-time competition at the end of the season.

Matt Kenseth: It’s hard to believe that Matt hasn’t won a points race in over a year, and I think that will come to an end very shortly. Matt is too good of a driver and has equipment that puts him in contention every week. He also remains calm throughout the race and makes good decisions which give him the opportunity to win races.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale had another great race and almost made the pass on Jimmie on the final restart of the race at Atlanta. This team looks like they have improved from a very good season last year and they will win multiple races before the start of the Chase. Dale finished second in this race last season and looks like he could be poised to take one more position in this year’s race.

Brad Keselowski: Brad hasn’t had the kind of start he was looking for heading into the start of this season, but he won this race last year and finished third here in 2013. Those facts might give this team the confidence to come into this week and win their first race of the season. Brad is one of the best drivers on the circuit and this team will qualify for the Chase.

Carl Edwards: Carl has won two races at this track and has a string of four straight top five finishes here. Last week they just couldn’t make the correct adjustment to find the speed they needed to have a shot at winning the race. I think Carl has the equipment to be a serious contender for a championship once again this season and once he gets more comfortable with his new team they will start winning races.

Kasey Kahne: Kasey’s best finish at Las Vegas is second which he has accomplished twice. He has also finished in the top ten in six of his eleven starts at this track and he looked good in last week’s race. This team would love to get a win early this year to grab their spot in the Chase without having to wait until the final few races to know if they are in or not.

Ryan Newman: Once again, Ryan is quietly going about his season. You don’t hear much about him, but he always seems to be hanging around the top ten and avoids getting into huge trouble on the track. He has always run well at Vegas and this week should be no different. One of these week’s he is going to surprise people and win a race. Don’t be surprised, Ryan is communicating with his team and they understand each other and make the necessary adjustments to stay in contention every week.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

  • Kevin Harvick
  • Matt Kenseth

Yahoo Driver Group B

  • Carl Edwards
  • Kasey Kahne
  • Martin Truex Jr.
  • Jamie McMurray

Yahoo Driver Group C

  • David Ragan
  • Regan Smith

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

  1. Kevin Harvick
  2. Matt Kenseth
  3. Jimmie Johnson
  4. Carl Edwards
  5. Joey Logano

Dark Horse: Martin Truex Jr.

Stay Away From: Greg Biffle

Categories
Fantasy NASCAR

2015 ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY, Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500

kasey kahne wins atlanta

The 2015 NASCAR season is now officially underway. Congratulations to Joey Logano on winning his first Daytona 500 in an interesting race. The win will probably lock Joey into the Chase grid, so now he can relax and just go out and race. I would also like to wish Kyle Busch a speedy recovery and I hope he can get back on the track as soon as possible.

FOLDS OF HONOR QUIKTRIP 500

Now that the Daytona 500 is in the books the teams can start focusing on the types of tracks they will spend most of their weekends racing on. This week the series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the running of the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. Atlanta is a mile and a half quad-oval and is one of the fastest tracks on the circuit. A 500-mile race here is going to test engines and tires and I am sure we will see more than one driver have problems with these issues.

Carl Edwards: Carl is my pick to win the race this week at Atlanta. Carl has won three races at this track and I believe that he is going to have faster cars this season with Joe Gibbs Racing then he had last year at Roush/Fenway. The Gibbs and Hendrick teams had the fastest cars last weekend and I think these two teams are ahead of the curve at this point of the season.

Jeff Gordon: Jeff has five career wins here and has run very well on this type of track over the past year. If he can keep out of trouble early in the race, he will have a shot at the win when the laps wind down. Hopefully his pit crew is a little more consistent this year than last season and they can service the car and get Jeff out in at least the same position he entered in.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie also has three career wins at Atlanta and I think he will have a better season this year than last year where he struggled for a stretch in the middle of the thirty-six race season. I think this team will once again win multiple races before the Chase begins and will be vying for a championship once again.

Matt Kenseth: Matt is looking to break his winless streak and I think he will do it at some point early in the season. Matt has yet to win a race at Atlanta, but he has finished in the top five here in a third of the races he has started including a second place finish here last season. I think this race will tell me a lot about where this team is and how well they will compete this year.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin won the very first race of his career at this very track. He hasn’t won here since, but he has finished in the top ten in seven of his last ten starts here. This team will pick up right where they left off last season and will definitely be in the hunt for a second straight championship this year. He should be fast every week once again and win some more poles.

Joey Logano: I think I will stay away from Joey this week just because of the two Ford engines that blew at Daytona last weekend. This is a 500-mile race and I just want to be sure that the issue Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney had at Daytona is fixed. I don’t think it will take them long to figure out what went wrong and get the problem rectified, but just to be safe I will run other drivers this week.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale has one win at Atlanta during his career and this is the type of track he loves to run at. He likes to run the high line and carry his speed through the corners. As fast as his car was at Daytona he should be confident he will have one of the faster cars on the track once again this weekend.

Kasey Kahne: Kasey won the race here last fall and that win propelled him into the Chase. This year he would like to win a race much earlier in the season, so he is locked in the Chase and doesn’t have to worry about winning with just a couple of races to go before the Chase begins. Like Dale, Kasey loves to run the high line at this track and if he can keep his car off the wall he will be a contender at the end of the race.

Tony Stewart: Tony has won three races at Atlanta and I think he will have a much better year than he had last season. If Kevin Harvick can have a fast car every week, Tony should have one equally as fast. I think he will win multiple races this year and make the Chase. This week will tell me if this team has improved since last season or if they still have a lot of work to do to become contenders on a weekly basis.

Denny Hamlin: Denny has one win at this track and finished 3rd here last fall. I think Denny’s back is feeling fine once again and he is going to be more comfortable in his car every week. That in itself will help him win a few races this season and he might get his first win this weekend.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

  • Jeff Gordon
  • Kevin Harvick

Yahoo Driver Group B

  • Carl Edwards
  • Kasey Kahne
  • Tony Stewart
  • Jamie McMurray

Yahoo Driver Group C

  • Driver of the #18
  • Driver of the #41

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY

  1. Carl Edwards
  2. Jeff Gordon
  3. Kevin Harvick
  4. Matt Kenseth
  5. Jimmie Johnson

Dark Horse: Kyle Larson

Stay Away From: Joey Logano

Categories
Fantasy NASCAR

2015 Daytona International Speedway, Daytona 500

hendrick motorsports vs joe gibbs racing

I am going to make this short and sweet this week because of the qualifying format for the Daytona 500. Next week when NASCAR returns to the regular qualifying format I will have a full article ready to go early in the week.

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS vs JOE GIBBS RACING

It looks to me like this is going to be a race between the Hendrick Motorsports drivers and the Joe Gibbs Racing drivers. I think Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth will be the two drivers fighting for the win this Sunday. As we all know, anyone can win a race at Daytona, so nothing is written in stone.

One piece of advice before I give my picks for this week’s race. Don’t waste drivers you will need later in the season in the Yahoo league.

You only get to start a driver nine times during the season and when you get towards October and November you will be happy to have good drivers left to start. The A group you can use anyone you want to, but the B and C groups are a different story. These picks could possibly change depending on what happens in the practices that are left to run.

With that said, here are my picks for the Daytona 500.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

  • Dale Earnhardt Jr.
  • Matt Kenseth

Yahoo Driver Group B

  • Aric Almirola
  • Martin Truex Jr.
  • Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  • Carl Edwards

Yahoo Driver Group C

  • Michael Waltrip
  • David Gilliland

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

  1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
  2. Matt Kenseth
  3. Jeff Gordon
  4. Martin Truex Jr.
  5. Carl Edwards

Dark Horse: David Gilliland

Stay Away From: Kurt Busch