Category: Fantasy NASCAR

Congratulations to Brad Keselowski who won his first race of the season at Atlanta this past weekend after Kevin Harvick, who dominated the race, was issued a speeding penalty on a late race pit stop. Harvick did win the first two stages of the race which weren’t very exciting this week. I still have to wait and see if the stages are going to make the races more exciting.

KOBALT 400

The series heads out to the west coast for the next three races with this week’s race being held at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This is another mile-and-a-half track and those who ran well last week should be the drivers who do well once again this weekend. Kurt Busch set a new qualifying speed last year here also and that record could fall once again if the weather doesn’t get to hot.

Kevin Harvick: After the dominant performance Kevin put on last week I have to pick him to win this weekend’s race. He won here two years ago and the change to Ford this year doesn’t seem to have affected this team at all. He also led 142 laps in that race which is kind of what he did this past weekend at Atlanta. I’m sure they will have a fast car once again this weekend and they will be looking for redemption after their disappointing finish at Atlanta.

Brad Keselowski: Brad was one of the only drivers who had anything to compete with Kevin last week. Look for the Ford teams to all be strong once again this weekend. It seems like they have more speed than the Chevy and Toyota teams at this stage of the season. This team fought back after having tire issues early in the race and never got too excited when things weren’t going their way.

Chase Elliott: Chase had a very fast car last weekend also and should be in the running to win his first race this week. He has really shown a lot of poise for a young driver and he will get that first win soon. He was involved in an accident here last season and finished 38th in his only start here 43 laps of the pace.

Matt Kenseth: Matt also fought back from being a couple of laps down due to being caught speeding on pit road. He has won three races at this track during his career and has led laps in all but four of his seventeen starts here. I look for Matt to stay calm and consistent this weekend and have a shot to win the race at the end. This team knows how to make the right adjustments to their car as the track changes so they are at their best late in the race.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie struggled last week, but he leads all active drivers with four career wins at Las Vegas. He has also finished in the top ten in nine of his fifteen starts here. This team always seems to rebound after having a tough week and you can’t keep them down for long. Jimmie was so good on this type of track last year and that is why he won his seventh championship.

Joey Logano: Joey finished second in this race last year and has finished in the top ten in his last three starts here while leading laps in each of those races. Even after getting a lot of damage done to his car last week early in the race, he still ran fast and fought his way back from being a lap down to finish sixth. I think Joey just needs to learn to be a bit more patient early in races so he doesn’t get himself into early trouble.

Kyle Busch: Kyle struggled at Atlanta last weekend, but I think he will rebound this weekend. He has one win here and has finished in the top ten in six of his twelve starts here. He has also led laps in each of his last three starts here. I think he is too good of a driver to keep struggling on the track. This is his hometown and he really wants to run well when he comes to this track.

Kasey Kahne: Kasey struggled at the beginning of the race last week and found himself fighting back from being a lap down to come away with a top five finish. As I said last week, this is going to be a big year for Kasey to prove that he belongs with Hendrick Motorsports and his finish last week is a good start early in the season. I think this team learned a lot last weekend and they can carry that over to this track.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale is looking for his first career win at this track but he has finished in the top ten in his last six starts here and eight of his last nine starts. After crashing at Daytona and then struggling last weekend with tire issues this team is chomping at the bit to get back on the track. I think they will figure out what went wrong with their setup last weekend and come out strong this week.

Ryan Newman: Ryan had a great car last week until he had a battery problem that knocked him out of contention. He runs well at Vegas having finished in the top ten in four of his last six starts and eight of his sixteen starts here overall. The Childress teams all looked good last week and that will give them a lot of confidence heading into this weekend.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Kevin Harvick
• Joey Logano

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Ryan Newman
• Chase Elliott
• Kyle Larson
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Erik Jones
• David Ragan

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Joey Logano
3. Brad Keselowski
4. Chase Elliott
5. Matt Kenseth

Dark Horse: Kyle Larson

Stay Away From: Kurt Busch

Big 18: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Congratulations to Kurt Busch on winning his first ever Daytona 500 in a crash filled first race of the season. I’m not sure I like the new segment format yet, but it sure did make the drivers more aggressive throughout this race. We will have to wait and see how it goes as the season progresses. One thing for sure is the drivers shouldn’t be complaining because they were involved in coming up with the new format and now they have to live with it.

FOLDS OF HONOR QUIKTRIP 500

This week the series heads to the Atlanta Motor Speedway for the running of the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. This is a race where we should be able to tell which teams and manufacturers are at their best early in the season. The Ford’s all looked fast at Daytona last week with the restrictor plate package, but will they be just as fast this weekend?

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has won the last two races here and has won five times overall during his career. He also has fourteen top five finishes in his twenty-five starts at this track. I like to stick with a driver who has shown that they have been consistent at a track lately and Jimmie is at the top of the list this week. I think he will win his sixth race here and erase the memory of Daytona from his mind.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin won the first race he ever ran at this track back in 2001, but hasn’t won here since. That could all change this weekend if the Ford’s are as fast as they were last week at Daytona. Kevin has finished in the top ten here in eight of his last ten starts and was runner-up to Johnson in this very race last year. I think he will be the driver with the best shot to beat Jimmie this weekend.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale has two great runs here last year also as he finished with a second and a third place spot. He looked good at Daytona last week until he got caught up in a wreck and it looks like he is suffering no ill effects anymore from his concussion symptoms which knocked him out of the series last season.

Chase Elliott: After almost coming away with his first ever Cup win last week at Daytona and running well all week long there, Chase looks like he is going to get that first win soon. He ran well at all of the intermediate tracks last season and they look like his best chance of picking up that first win. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him in victory lane this weekend.

Joey Logano: Another Ford driver who has gotten better and better every year. I think you have to put Joey towards the top of the list of drivers who have a chance to win the championship this season at this early stage. Things can change in a hurry in this series, but right now Joey is going to be a contender every week. He has finished in the top five in two of his past four races here also.

Brad Keselowski: Joey’s teammate will have a car just as fast this week and we know that he and crew chief, Paul Wolfe, really are on the same page when it comes to making adjustments to their car as the track changes and the race progresses. Still looking for his first win at this track, Brad has finished in the top ten in four of his eight starts here during his career.

Matt Kenseth: Matt is always good at the intermediate tracks and his calm demeanor during races really helps him when the chips are down. He understands that races are long and it doesn’t really matter how fast your car is at the start if you can stay on the lead lap. It’s how fast your car is at the end and the strategy you use to get to the front then. Matt has finished in the top ten in four of his last six starts here, but he is still looking for that elusive win.

Kyle Busch: Kyle has two career wins here and he has also finished in the top six in four of his last six starts at Atlanta. After winning the first stage of the race last weekend, he cut a tire and spun out causing a wreck that took out four other drivers, including two of his teammates. He will be looking for redemption this weekend, and he just might get it.

Kurt Busch: Kurt has three wins at this track and has finished in the top six in seven of his last ten starts here. With momentum on his side and the new speed of his Ford, he might be able to win back to back races to start the season. He really knows how to get around this track with the best of them and has proven this over his career.

Kasey Kahne: Kasey has also won three races at Atlanta during his career although one of those wins is the only top ten finish he has had here in his last seven starts. I think this is a make or break season for Kasey because if he doesn’t start coming away with better results he might find himself looking for work. He is still a good driver, but he might need a new team or new crew to get back to the top of his game. This year will tell us a lot about his future at Hendrick Motorsports.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Jimmie Johnson
• Kevin Harvick

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Kurt Busch
• Chase Elliott
• Kasey Kahne
• Clint Bowyer

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Ty Dillon
• Daniel Suarez

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY

1. Jimmie Johnson
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Kurt Busch
4. Chase Elliott
5. Joey Logano

Dark Horse: Ryan Newman

Stay Away From: Jamie McMurray

Big 18: Jimmie Johnson

And were off!

DAYTONA 500

Short and sweet this week seeing it is already Friday and there is a different qualifying format for this race. Back to the long boring articles for you next week.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Denny Hamlin
• Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Danica Patrick
• Trevor Bayne
• Aric Almirola
• Paul Menard

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Michael McDowell
• Michael Waltrip

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

1. Denny Hamlin
2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
3. Chase Elliott
4. Joey Logano
5. Brad Keselowski

Dark Horse: Michael McDowell

Stay Away From: Daniel Suarez

Big 18: Denny Hamlin

Season Preview

Welcome back everyone! I want to start out by inviting you all to join my Yahoo Fantasy Racing League once again this year. Just click on the link to sign up Yahoo Fantasy Racing League. The ID number is 671 and the password is johnson. Yahoo limits the league to 50 players, so first come first served. When the league is full it is full. Put your team up against mine and see how you do.

The biggest surprise for myself and almost everyone else who follows NASCAR this offseason was the announcement that Carl Edwards was retiring effective immediately. Carl said he wanted to pursue other opportunities and spend more time with his family. I wish him the best of luck on his future.

The series also has a new sponsor this year. It is no longer called the Sprint Cup Series. It is now known as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. The length of the contract has not been revealed, although they have said it is a multi-year deal.

There will be three full-time rookies vying for the Rookie of the Year. They are Ty Dillon, Erik Jones, and Daniel Suarez who is the driver replacing Carl this season for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Clint Bowyer moves into the #14, replacing the retired Tony Stewart. This had been agreed to right after Tony announced that 2016 would be his final season competing in the Cup Series, so this is no surprise. I think this will be a good fit for Clint and we should see significant improvement with his finishing positions this season.

Greg Biffle doesn’t have a ride at the moment. He split with Roush/Fenway Racing and the Charter was leased to a second JTG Daugherty car for the season. Not sure if this means that Greg is retired or if he has something in the works with another team that hasn’t been announced yet. He might also be a replacement for any injured drivers during the year.

The Stewart-Haas teams have switched from Chevrolet to Ford this season, which means they are going from Hendrick engines to Roush-Yates engines. We will have to see if this affects the speed of these cars and how the drivers adjust to the new package.

Michael Waltrip will try to qualify for his thirtieth Daytona race and it was announced that this will be his last Cup race as he will officially retire from driving in the series.

Finally, NASCAR has changed the points format once again. Following are the new rules they are implementing this season:

• Races will now consist of three stages, with championship implications in each stage.
• The top-10 finishers of the first two stages will be awarded additional championship points.
• The winner of the first two stages of each race will receive one playoff point, and the race winner will receive five playoff points. Each playoff point will be added to his or her reset total following race No. 26, if that competitor makes the playoffs.
• All playoff points will carry through to the end of the third round of the playoffs (Round of 8), with the Championship 4 racing straight-up at Homestead-Miami Speedway for the title.
• Championship points following the first two stages will be awarded on a descending scale, with the stage winner receiving 10 points, second receiving 9 points, and so on.
• The race winner following the final stage will now receive 40 points, second-place will receive 35, third-place 34, fourth-place 33, and so on.

So much for them making the points easier for the fans to follow.

I will have my Daytona 500 picks posted once the Can-Am Duels are over. The Duels are scheduled for the night of February 23rd with the running of the Daytona 500 scheduled for Sunday, February 26th. Remember to sign up for my Yahoo Fantasy Racing League before all of the spots are taken!