Fantasy NASCAR Blog

I wasn’t too thrilled with the races at Michigan. Pretty boring if you ask me, but congratulations to Kevin Harvick for sweeping the weekend!

GO BOWLING 235

This week the series heads to the Daytona International Speedway Road Course. This will be the first road course race of the season and the first time for the series to race on this track. This is going to be difficult for the teams to get their cars handling without any practice time. Some of the drivers have been on the course when they ran the Rolex 24 at Daytona, but not many of them.

Chase Elliott: I’m going to pick Chase to win this race. He has won three of the last eight road course races that the series has run and that says a lot when teams aren’t able to get any practice time in. They should have good notes on how their cars ran well at other road course tracks over the past couple of seasons and that should help.

Martin Truex Jr.: Same goes for Martin. He has won three of the last eight road course races also and should be in the same boat as Chase. Both of these drivers should be able to run pretty well at the beginning of the race and be able to make the necessary adjustments as the race progresses.

Denny Hamlin: Denny has run well on the road courses in his career and has really run well all season. I would have thought he would have more than one win on this type of track but hasn’t gotten the results. He has finished in the top five in six of his last ten road course starts.

Kyle Busch: Kyle has four road course wins in his career and this team is chomping at the bit to get into victory lane again. He has nine top ten finishes in his last twelve road course starts and if it takes a great driver to win with an ill handling car Kyle is the one that can do it.

Clint Bowyer: Clint has one road course win in his career and has also finished in the top five in twelve of his thirty career starts at this type of track. If his car is close to handling very good he is going to be in the mix at the end of this race as they dial him in.

Kurt Busch: Kurt is another very good road course racer and still only has one career victory on this type of track. I think he is going to do well here this weekend just because of how good he has been on these tracks throughout his career.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin has two career wins on these tracks and has finished in the top ten in eleven of his last thirteen starts on them. Those are pretty good statistics, but we have to decide when we are going to use him as he has been winning everywhere this year. Do we want to take a chance on him this weekend? I think not.

Brad Keselowski: Brad is a driver who really enjoys running on these tracks and can’t wait to get his first win on them. He does have three runner-up finishes and two third place finishes, so he has come close in the past. If things fall right he could get that first win this weekend.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie only has one career win on the road courses, but he has finished in the top ten in half of his thirty-eight career starts on them. He almost won the race on the Charlotte Roval last year before crashing as he tried to pass for the lead at the end of the race last year there.

Ryan Blaney: Ryan won the race Jimmie crashed in and has finished in the top five in three of his ten career road course starts. Once again I think there are better tracks to use Ryan on and I won’t have him on my roster this weekend.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY ROAD COURSE

Driver Group Game Group A

• Chase Elliott
• Martin Truex Jr.

Driver Group Game Group B

• Clint Bowyer
• Jimmie Johnson
• Kurt Busch
• Ryan Newman

Driver Group Game Group C

• Michael McDowell
• Ty Dillon

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY ROAD COURSE

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

Dark Horse: William Byron

Stay Away From: Austin Dillon

Big 18: Clint Bowyer

The results of the race at New Hampshire last week were a little surprising to me. The surprise was that the top finishing Chevrolet was ninth and there were six Ford’s in the top eight. I don’t know if that means the Chevy teams have given up something on this type of track so they have speed on the bigger tracks or what? I guess we’ll find out this coming weekend.

FIREKEEPERS CASINO 400/CONSUMERS ENERGY 400

So, once again we will have a doubleheader weekend as the teams head to the Michigan International Speedway for the running of the FireKeepers Casino 400 and Consumers Energy 400. The races are scheduled to be run on Saturday and Sunday weather permitting. This is a two mile track with plenty of banking, multiple grooves to run in and lots of room on pit road.

Kevin Harvick: I just have to stick with Kevin at this point of the season. He has won two of the last four races he has run here and finished second in one of the other two. He fought hard for a top five finish once again last weekend and it just seems that this team is making all the right moves right now. That could change later in the season so I’m not afraid to use more of his starts now.

Joey Logano: Joey has won three times at Michigan with his latest win coming last June when he dominated that race. We have seen the Penske teams all show a lot of speed all season long and on this track with the long stratightaways that speed is going to be an advantage.

Kyle Busch: I don’t know what to think of this team right now. They are struggling to run a complete race but they could go on a streak at any time. Kyle’s only win here came back in the 2011 season. However, he has finished in the top ten in each of his last six starts at this track. We’ve seen his teammates show they have what it takes to win on this type of track this year, so Kyle should be able to contend too.

Martin Truex Jr.: Martin is still looking for his first win at this track and that surprises me too. After how good he has been on this type of track the last three plus years I would have thought he would have gotten a win here. He has finished in the top five in three of his last six starts here and has lead laps in four of those six races. He will have another shot this weekend.

Denny Hamlin: The other driver who has been just as good as Harvick lately is Denny. He has two career wins at this track, but he hasn’t won here since the 2011 season either. That doesn’t mean he can’t win this weekend. He did finish second here last July and has lead laps in four of his last six starts here also.

Ryan Blaney: Ryan has finished in the top ten in three of his four starts here since joining the Penske group. He has also been running very well on this type of track other than a small hiccup at Kansas a few weeks ago. He could very easily have a dominant car here once again this weekend.

Alex Bowman: Alex has finished tenth in his last two starts at Michigan and he won earlier this year at the Auto Club Speedway which is very similar in configuration to this track. He has run pretty well at all of the intermediate tracks this year for the most part and is a good candidate to use this week to save some starts for other drivers.

Brad Keselowski: Let’s not forget last week’s winner. Brad is still looking for his first win at the track he calls his home track. However, you have to go all the way back to the 2011 season to see the last time he didn’t finish in the top twenty here. This is the track where this team will take every chance they can to win and won’t care about second place. It’s win or bust this week for Brad.

Chase Elliott: Chase has only run eight races at this track. He finished second in his first three as he was looking for his first ever Cup win. Last year when the Hendrick teams were struggling trying to find some speed Chase was consistently finishing races on this type of track in the top ten. This year they have the speed and Chase could very well pull out a win.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

Driver Group Game Group A

• Kevin Harvick
• Joey Logano

Driver Group Game Group B

• Ryan Blaney
• Matt DiBenedetto
• Alex Bowman
• Aric Almirola

Driver Group Game Group C

• Christopher Bell
• Tyler Reddick

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT MICHIGAN INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Joey Logano
3. Denny Hamlin
4. Ryan Blaney
5. Martin Truex Jr.

Dark Horse: Matt DiBenedetto

Stay Away From: Clint Bowyer

Big 18: Brad Keselowski

The series gets to take a small break as they don’t have to run again until the first weekend in August. This is a welcome weekend off so the teams can all go home and visit their families before getting back to work next week and getting ready for the next race.

FOXWOODS RESORT CASINO 301

The series will head to the New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the running of the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301. This is a slightly longer than one-mile track with minimal banking in the corners. A far cry from the mile and a half tracks the series has been running on for the past couple of races. The 301 refers to the number of laps and not mileage in this race. The mileage is close to 318.5 miles.

Kevin Harvick: I’m sticking with Kevin to win once again this week. He just seems to be a little more consistent than the rest of the drivers in the field right now. He won the last two races run here and three of the last five. If you look at the stats from those five races he didn’t lead a lot of laps, but he lead the most important one.

Martin Truex Jr.: Although still looking for his first win at this track, Martin has been better than even Harvick over the past six races even though he hasn’t come away with a victory. In those six races he has five top seven finishes and has lead over one-hundred laps in four of those races and around six-hundred laps altogether. He’s going to be competition for Kevin once again this week.

Denny Hamlin: Denny won the July race here in 2017 and finished second in this race last season. He is another driver who seems to be on the top of his game this year with five wins in the books and he usually runs well on the flatter tracks like New Hampshire. I think it is going to be a three way battle for the win this week.

Kyle Busch: Kyle has lead laps in each of his last six starts at this track and has a first, second, and third place finish in that stretch. They haven’t had quite what they need to win one of these races yet, but with the couple of extra days they might be able to figure out what little bit more they need. They can breakout at anytime.

Matt Kenseth: Matt had a great run at Indy early this season and he runs very well at New Hampshire, another flatter track. In face, in his last six starts at this track, Matt has won twice, and finished in the top four five times. He is my dark horse once again this week and might pull off a small upset.

Ryan Newman: Ryan has good credentials at this track too. He has three wins, and twenty top ten finishes in his thirty-four career starts here. That includes a seventh place finish last season in his first year with Roush/Fenway Racing. I think he can run well again this week and might be someone to put on your roster if you are looking to save some starts for some of the other drivers.

Ryan Blaney: Ryan has only run seven races here in his young career and finished in the top twenty in the last six and in the top ten in the last three races. He had a little blip last week at Kansas slowing down his momentum a little bit, but he could get that all back once again this coming weekend. I’m not quite sure what to do with him this week, but will probably save him for later in the season.

Brad Keselowski: Brad has one win at this track. He doesn’t seem to get a lot of great finishes here, but he doesn’t have terrible finishes either. In fact, he has one of the best average finishes at this track of all the active drivers. He might be another driver to use instead of my top three and hope something happens to take them out of contention while Brad comes away with another top five finish.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR INSERT TRACK NAME

Driver Group Game Group A

• Kevin Harvick
• Martin Truex Jr.

Driver Group Game Group B

• Ryan Newman
• Matt Kenseth
• Clint Bowyer
• Kurt Busch

Driver Group Game Group C

• Christopher Bell
• Ty Dillon

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT INSERT TRACK NAME

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

Dark Horse: Matt Kenseth

Stay Away From: Chris Buescher

Big 18: Kyle Busch

Congratulations to Austin Dillon for winning this week’s race at Texas!

SUPER START BATTERIES 400

Another short week as the series heads to the Kansas Speedway for the Thursday night running of the Super Start Batteries 400. Once again we are on a mile and a half track, but the temperatures should be much cooler than they were in Texas last week. That should equate to more grip, better handling and good speed.

Kevin Harvick: I’m going to stick with Kevin to win once again this week. He has been the most consistent in terms of speed over the past month and I don’t see anything changing this week. He has won three of his last thirteen starts at this track and he also finished second in three of those races. That is almost a top two finish in half of those races.

Martin Truex Jr.: Martin has won two of the last six races here and finished second in another. He has had some issues with an ill handling car early in races this year, but they always seem to get it handling great in plenty of time for Martin to get towards the front of the field and compete for the win. He should be one of Harvick’s biggest competitors this week.

Ryan Blaney: Ryan has also been very fast over the past month on this type of track. Right now he is the best of the Penske drivers and that is something seeing the other two have both won multiple times this season. He is still looking for his first win at Kansas, but he has really run well finishing in the top five in eight of the last twelve stages.

Chase Elliott: Chase isn’t running as well as he was two months ago when he was winning races. All-Star race the exception. However, this is a track where he has been very good lately and this might be just what this team needs to get back to the top of their game. Chase has one win and four top four finishes in his last five starts here.

Kyle Busch: Kyle hasn’t been where he wants to be this season, but he did run well at Texas last week. Kyle is so good he could break out at any time and go on a tear where he wins multiple races in a row. He has one win, seven top five, and nine top ten finishes in his last ten starts. Those are really good stats.

Denny Hamlin: Denny won the fall race at Kansas last year and after starting out with a very poor handling car at Texas last week they quickly made the right adjustments to become competitive again. He has also finished in the top five in three of his last five starts here. I think the Gibbs teams need to find a little more speed before the playoff starts.

Kurt Busch: Kurt has finished in the top ten in seven of his last ten starts at Kansas. That includes a top five and top ten in his races here last year in his first year with Chip Ganassi Racing. Those numbers should stay in tact once again this weekend with Kurt having another good run.

Brad Keselowski: Brad won the spring race here last season and is in one of those fast Penske cars. He’s another driver who hasn’t come away with the finishes he thinks he should have after winning a couple of races earlier this year. Once again here is another driver who can break out at any time and go on a spree of winning.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR KANSAS SPEEDWAY

Driver Group Game Group A

• Kevin Harvick
• Martin Truex Jr.

Driver Group Game Group B

• Ryan Blaney
• Kurt Busch
• Aric Almirola
• Matt DiBenedetto

Driver Group Game Group C

• Cole Custer
• Christopher Bell

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT KANSAS SPEEDWAY

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Ryan Blaney
3. Martin Truex Jr.
4. Chase Elliott
5. Kyle Busch

Dark Horse: Aric Almirola

Stay Away From: Matt Kenseth

Big 18: Ryan Blaney

Congratulations to Cole Custer who picked up his first ever career win in the Cup Series this past weekend at Kentucky. He hadn’t really shown me much to this point of the season, but he ran towards the front of the pack most of the day on Sunday and made the most of a late race restart to get to the front on the last lap.

O’REILLY AUTO PARTS 500

The series is going to do a quick stop in Bristol this week to run their All-Star race and then the teams will head to the Texas Motor Speedway for the running of the O’Reilly Auto Parts 500. Once again they will be on a mile and a half track, but the race will be 500-miles instead of 400 like last week.

I think we will see a lot of the same drivers running well this week as they did last week at Kentucky. The temperatures might be a little warmer this week which will change the handling on the setups a bit, but they should have it within their adjustments to get the cars handling better as the race progresses.

Kevin Harvick: I’m picking Kevin to get back to the winning column after narrowly missing it last weekend. He has been great over the past month and this weekend should be no different. In his last eleven starts at this track he hasn’t finished outside the top ten. In fact, he has won three of the last five races here and finished second three times in the last eleven. Hard not to go with him this week.

Joey Logano: In his last ten starts at Texas, Joey has come away with six top five and eight top ten finishes. His lone win at this track came back in the 2014 season and this team has been very fast all year on the intermediate tracks. I think he is going to be one of the drivers to give Kevin a run for his money this week.

Martin Truex Jr.: Martin is still looking for his first win at this track and was very close to winning last weekend. He has been very good on this type of track for the past three plus seasons. In his last ten starts at Texas he has eight top ten finishes. He usually leads some laps here even if it isn’t the last lap that he is striving to lead this week.

Kurt Busch: Kurt has finished in the top ten here in his last six starts. Even though the best of those finishes was a seventh place finish he looked very good last week at Kentucky. That should carry over for this team and they should have a decent car coming of the truck this coming weekend. I think having Matt Kenseth as a teammate helps both of those teams out.

Ryan Blaney: Another driver who had a shot at winning last week, Ryan has finished in the top ten at Texas in four of his last five starts there. He came away with a runner-up finish back in the fall of 2018, so we know he can get the job done here. The Penske teams have all been fast so far this season and that won’t change this weekend.

Aric Almirola: Aric has been on a tear of his own lately. He is running up front every week for the past month and almost won the fall race here last year when he came in second. He has been second only to Kevin in the Stewart-Haas stable this year and that trend should continue once again this weekend.

Kyle Busch: Kyle has three career wins at this tracks and has finished in the top five in six of his last eleven starts there. This team has struggled a bit putting an entire race together so far this season. I’m not sure when they will break out of it, but they will before the end of the season. I’m sticking with Harvick and Truex for now.

Jimmie Johnson: With seven career wins and sixteen top five finishes in thirty-three starts we almost need to put Jimmie on our team this week. The Hendrick cars have shown the speed and Jimmie has had very good runs this year until a mistake is made either by him or he gets caught up in something on the track. I think he is going to run well this week.

Erik Jones: With five straight top ten finishes at this track and three of those being top five’s we might want to consider using Erik this week. He ran well at Kentucky this past weekend and this team needs to start improving on their finishes if Erik wants to have his contract renewed at Joe Gibbs Racing. This is one of those tracks where he can possibly come away with a win.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Driver Group Game Group A

• Kevin Harvick
• Martin Truex Jr.

Driver Group Game Group B

• Ryan Blaney
• Aric Almirola
• Jimmie Johnson
• Kurt Busch

Driver Group Game Group C

• Cole Custer
• Tyler Reddick

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Martin Truex Jr.
3. Ryan Blaney
4. Joey Logano
5. Aric Almirola

Dark Horse: Cole Custer

Stay Away From: Chris Buescher

Big 18: Ryan Blaney