Fantasy NASCAR Blog

First off I would like to thank all of you loyal readers for sticking with us this year. I know there were times when the DGG had some glitches and we had to work through them and we are all looking forward to next season and having a smoother time with the game. Thanks also for the kind words you have passed along to me about my article. Hopefully I helped most of you out in at least a small way and made your season a little more enjoyable.

FORD ECOBOOST 400

The field is set for the 2019 championship race and we will not have a repeat champion this year as Joey Logano was eliminated by the win by Denny Hamlin at Phoenix last week. Kyle Busch took the last spot on points and Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick had already won races in this round to secure the other two spots.

This week the series heads to the Homestead-Miami Speedway for championship weekend culminating in the running of the Ford EcoBoost 400. This is another of the mile and a half tracks that make up the majority of the NASCAR schedule. This track also has progressive banking which makes it more like Las Vegas Motor Speedway than most of the other intermediate tracks, but that really doesn’t seem to make a lot of difference to the drivers.

Kevin Harvick: I am going to pick Kevin to win this race and the second championship of his career. He has finished in the top four here in each of his last five starts including winning this race in 2014 in his first year with Stewart-Haas Racing. He has really run well towards the end of the year and his win at Texas a couple of weeks ago should give him some confidence heading into this weekend.

Martin Truex Jr.: It won’t be a walk in the park for Harvick because Martin has run well at the end of the season also. He won three races during the playoffs and has been strong on the intermediate tracks for the past three seasons. He finished first and second in his last two starts here and I think he is going to give Harvick a real battle. Pit crews might decide this championship.

Kyle Busch: With four straight top six finishes here including a win at the end of the 2015 season to win his first championship, Kyle can’t be counted out. The only thing that concerns me a little bit is that this team hasn’t performed well in the second half of the season, so they really need to come with their A game if they want to compete for the win this weekend.

Denny Hamlin: Denny has won here twice, the last coming in 2013. He sat on the pole for this race the last two seasons and that is huge because you get to pick the best pit stall and that can win you a championship on a late race caution when everyone pits. You can get out first and track position on a restart could decide the champion too.

Joey Logano: Joey might be out of contention, but he won this race last year and has finished in the top six in each of his last four starts here. I’m sure he is a bit disappointed that he won’t be able to defend his championship, but he can still go back to back races here with wins. This team will do whatever it takes to win another race and set themselves up for a nice off-season.

Chase Elliott: Chase has only run three races at this track and hasn’t finished worse than eleventh. Now that the pressure is off this team until next year they can relax and have fun this weekend and that might be what Chase needs to get back to running like he did before the start of the playoffs. He’s young and will use this season to learn as he heads into next season.

Kyle Larson: For most of the season this team ran into some bad luck, but then they started to turn that around and they have been running well for a while now. Kyle has only run six races at this track and has three top five finishes to show. He has also won three of the last four stages at this track, so he should come with a great car once again this weekend.

Brad Keselowski: Brad has finished in the top seven in six of his last seven starts here. This team struggled once they got to the playoffs, but this is the last race of the season and every driver wants to win it so it makes the off-season seem shorter and they really have something to look forward to next year. Look for Brad to compete this weekend or do something drastic with strategy to try and get that win.

Aric Almirola: Aric has run really well on this type of track all season and should have another good car once again this weekend. He finished in the top ten in this race last year in his first season with Stewart-Haas Racing and could very easily improve on that ninth place finish from last year.

Clint Bowyer: Clint has finished in the top ten here in five of his last eight starts. This team hasn’t been as consistent as I thought they might be this year and that will be their next challenge. Next year I look for them to have better communication between all of the crew members and start running more consistently. This week could be a step in that direction.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY

Driver Group Game Group A

• Kevin Harvick
• Martin Truex Jr.

Driver Group Game Group B

• Aric Almirola
• Clint Bowyer
• william Byron
• Alex Bowman

Driver Group Game Group C

• Matt DiBenedetto
• Chris Buescher

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT HOMESTEAD-MIAMI SPEEDWAY

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

Dark Horse: Kyle Larson

Stay Away From: Daniel Suarez

Big 18: Kevin Harvick

Congratulations to Kevin Harvick who punched his ticket to the championship race with his win at Texas this past weekend. Now he and Martin Truex Jr. are guaranteed to be in the championship race and the other two spots are still open with one race remaining in the third round. So, six drivers are going for two spots this week and that means no more Mr. Nice Guy this weekend.

BLUEGREEN VACATIONS 500

This week the series heads to the ISM Raceway in Phoenix, AZ for the running of the Bluegreen Vacations 500. This one-mile, low-banked, tri-oval track is going to have some fireworks in it with those two playoff spots for the championship race up for grabs. This is going to be a no holds barred type of race and you are sure to see some bumpers getting banged around pretty good. These drivers know they are going to need to go and some of them have to win this race to advance while there are others who can still get in on points. Stage points and the race win will be hotly contested this weekend.

Kyle Busch: I am going to pick Kyle to break his small winless streak and make sure he has a shot at the championship this weekend. He has won the last two races here and has finished in the top five in seven of his last eight Phoenix starts. This is where he makes his money and you know he doesn’t care who he has to move to get the job done. He has lead over a hundred laps in four of his last five starts here and will be considered the driver to beat.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin has won seven of his last fourteen starts at this track and by him winning again this weekend he might be able to keep someone the likes of Kyle Busch from making the championship race. His only non top ten finish in his last fifteen starts here was a thirteenth place finish. That tells me he is going to be a contender once again this weekend and will have a say in who the other two drivers are that will make the championship.

Chase Elliott: Chase needs to win this race if he wants to make the championship. He has finished second and third here recently, so we know he can get the job done. The problem is that he is going to be under tremendous pressure and any mistake will end his hopes of making the championship. He hasn’t run well the past two weeks and this is going to be a tall task for him to pull off.

Denny Hamlin: Denny’s only win here came back in the 2012 season. He has been running very well on this type of track this year and he could come away with a victory to cement his spot in the championship. Once again though, any mistake can take you right out of contention because the track is so short. Speeding in the pits will relegate you at least one lap down and you could end up fighting your way back on the lead lap and it might take the whole race to get there.

Kyle Larson: Kyle has a second and two third place finishes here in his last six starts. He is another driver who almost has to win this race if he wants a shot at a championship. He could still point his way in with stage points and something bad happening to some of the drivers ahead of him on points, but the only sure way to get there is to win this race.

Ryan Blaney: Ryan is in a similar situation as Larson and that’s the bad new. The good news is that Ryan lead ninety-four laps and finished third here in March of this year. That should give this team some confidence heading into this weekend, but there will still be a lot of pressure on this young driver also this weekend. He is prone to making mistakes as we saw with him trying to get onto pit road at Talladega and almost driving of the jack this past week in Texas.

Joey Logano: The good news for this team is right now they are currently in the championship race. The bad news is they haven’t run very well at Phoenix since winning this race in 2016. Since that time he has had two accidents and only one top ten finish. He is going to try and score some stage points and stay out of trouble if his car isn’t handling flawlessly early in this race and hope he can hang on to his points lead.

Martin Truex Jr.: Martin finished runner-up to Kyle in the spring race this year and has finished in the top five in three of his last four starts here. He has also won three races on other flat tracks this season and won’t have any pressure on him whatsoever this weekend. I look for him to have another good run on this track and just enjoy tuning up for the race at Homestead.

Aric Almirola: Aric never had a top ten here in his career until four races ago and since then he has gotten better every time he runs here. He finished fourth in each of his last two starts here and even lead twenty-six laps in the spring race here. Aric isn’t someone I think of much on these flat tracks, but he has shown that he can do it this year and he is my dark horse this weekend.

Brad Keselowski: Brad finished second in this race last year and is looking to just have a good run and maybe pick up a win this weekend as he gets ready for next season. He has struggled a bit lately on all types of tracks and I think they are in the process of trying to figure some things out for next year. I still think this is the type of track where they can hit on their setup early and be a contender.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR ISM RACEWAY

Driver Group Game Group A

• Kyle Busch
• Kevin Harvick

Driver Group Game Group B

• Ryan Blaney
• Aric Almirola
• Kurt Busch
• Ryan Newman

Driver Group Game Group C

• Matt DiBenedetto
• Chris Buescher

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT ISM RACEWAY

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

Dark Horse: Aric Almirola

Stay Away From: Joey Logano

Big 18: Ryan Newman

Congratulations to Martin Truex Jr. for winning the race at Martinsville this past weekend and becoming the first driver to be qualified for the championship race. He won in dominating fashion leading 464 of the 500 laps run in that race and now he can relax a bit over the next two weeks if he wants to. Chase Elliott on the other hand had major mechanical issues and now finds himself in almost a must win situation over the next two weeks if he wants to make the championship race himself.

AAA TEXAS 500

This week the series heads to the Texas Motor Speedway for the running of the AAA Texas 500. This is another of the intermediate tracks and will be the most similar track to Homestead where the final race of the year will be run. That means this could be a real test for the drivers who are going to be heading to Homestead with a shot to win a championship and now Martin can do some serious testing this week while the others are still in a battle to make that race in contention yet.

Kevin Harvick: I’m picking Kevin to win this race and get himself qualified for the championship race without having to worry about winning at Phoenix. He has six top three finishes in his last ten starts including two wins and three runner-up finishes. He came on strong late in the year on this type of track and won this race the past two seasons. He would like nothing more than to make it three in a row and take the pressure off of himself until the final race of the season.

Erik Jones: Erik has struggled a bit since the playoffs started, but he has finished fourth here in each of his last three starts. This team is working on getting ready for next season and this is one of those tracks where he can gain a little confidence and feel good about himself and his team heading into the off season. I look for him to have a good run this weekend.

Joey Logano: We saw how dominant Joey was at Michigan earlier this year and even though that is a 2-mile track and this is a mile and a half he usually runs well here. In face he has finished in the top three at Texas in four of his last seven starts and that should give this team a lot of confidence heading into this weekend. If another playoff driver wins this week that will mean only one or two of the eight drivers would make the championship race on points and no one wants to go to Phoenix wondering if they need to win.

Chase Elliott: As I mentioned earlier, Chase had a major mechanical failure at Martinsville and now finds himself in an almost must win situation in the next two races. The good news is that in seven career starts at Texas Chase has never finished worse than thirteenth. The bad news is that his best finish has been a fourth place finish. He will need to run well and gain as many points as he can during each of the stages to try and get himself closer if he can’t come away with the win this weekend.

William Byron: William had a great run at Martinsville last weekend coming away with a second place finish. Also on his side this weekend is the fact that he has only run three races at Texas and finished in the top ten in two of them. He finished sixth here in March and lead fifteen laps in that race. I think this teams confidence is going to be sky high this week and we know that Chad Knaus can set up the car to win here.

Ryan Blaney: Ryan also had a great run at Martinsville last weekend and he finished second in this race last season. He knows he might need to win a race to make the championship and we have seen how fast the Penske teams have been all season. I think Ryan just needs to be a little patient early in the race this week and keep relaying good information to his crew chief to get the car handling to his liking late in the race and then go for broke.

Kyle Busch: Kyle has finished in the top five here in six of his last ten starts including two wins. This team has struggled quite a bit in terms of how they are used to running over the past few months and they can’t afford to have any type of trouble in the pits or on the track. Aric Almirola said he was going to make life difficult for Kyle on the track for the rest of the season and that might come into play here.

Martin Truex Jr.: Martin is still looking for his first Texas win in his career, but he has finished in the top ten here in seven of his last nine races.That includes a second place finish in this race two years ago. This team looks like they will be the odds on favorite to win the championship right now no matter who else qualifies. They have been great on the track and in the pits throughout the playoffs and that momentum should keep carrying them.

Denny Hamlin: Denny won the race here in March and is a bit disappointed to say the least in his finishing position at Martinsville in a race he thinks he should have won. Add to that the fact that he isn’t real happy with the Penske drivers and they are not real happy with him right now might make for some more excitement on the track this week. I think tempers are going to be short all around over the next three weeks.

Kurt Busch: Kurt is on a streak of five straight top ten finishes at Texas. I’m not real confident in him on the intermediate tracks right now and will be saving my final start for his for the Phoenix race. If you have more than one start left with him you should put him on your roster this week and see how he does in practice and qualifying and then decide if you want to take a chance on him this week.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Driver Group Game Group A

• Kevin Harvick
• Joey Logano

Driver Group Game Group B

• Ryan Blaney
• Erik Jones
• William Byron
• Aric Almirola

Driver Group Game Group C

• Chris Buescher
• Daniel Hemric

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY

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

Dark Horse: William Byron

Stay Away From: Ryan Newman

Big 18: William Byron

We are now down to eight drivers and four races to determine this season’s champion. The third round of the playoffs will consist of two short track races and one intermediate track race. A win gets you an automatic bid to the championship race. These next four races are going to be fun to watch.

FIRST DATA 500

The first race of the third round will find the drivers heading to the Martinsville Speedway for the running of the First Data 500. At .526-miles this is the shortest track on the circuit and with on twelve degrees of banking in the corners it is hard to pass without using your bumper. Let’s get to who we think will run well here this weekend.

Denny Hamlin: Last week’s winner is my pick to win this week too. Denny Hamlin has five wins and twenty top ten finishes in his twenty-seven career starts at Martinsville. This team is hot right now and this is one of Denny’s best tracks. The win here this week would take all the pressure off this team for the final two races of this round and they could start getting ready for the championship race.

Brad Keselowski: Brad has been eliminated from the playoffs, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t going to be looking for another win on the year. He has won two of his last seven starts here and has finished in the top five in six of those races. This is going to be a race where he tries to get a little redemption and he is going to run hard and try to take a win away from the drivers who are still in the playoffs.

Kyle Busch: Kyle has finished in the top five in his last eight starts here including two wins. I think he is going to give the aforementioned two drivers a run for their money this weekend. Kyle isn’t afraid to use the chrome horn if he has to and will if it means winning this race or finishing second. He isn’t afraid to mix it up with anyone.

Martin Truex Jr.: Martin is still looking for his first win at Martinsville, but he has finished in the top ten in seven of his last nine starts here. He has been getting better and better on the short tracks as his career has progressed and it seems like all of the Joe Gibbs drivers should have good cars this weekend. If everything falls right in the pits for this team they should be in contention late in the race.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin’s lone win here came back in the 2011 season. He has finished in the top ten in his last four races at this track, but it isn’t one of his best tracks. Luckily for this team they will be heading to Phoenix in this round and that is where he really runs well. This week a top ten finish would be a victory for them.

Chase Elliott: Chase finished second in the spring race at Martinsville and has finished in the top ten in four of his last five races here. They pointed their way into the third round and know that they might need to win a race in this round to advance to the championship race. They don’t want to head to Phoenix needing to make up points to advance.

Joey Logano: Joey won this race last season in dominating fashion on his way to his first championship. He lead 309 laps in that race and finished first and second in the two stages. If they hit on their setup again this year it could be a long day for the rest of the field. He has sat on the pole here five times in his last nine races too and that means a lot in picking your pit stall.

Clint Bowyer: Clint won the spring race here last season and has finished in the top ten in four of his five starts since coming over to Stewart-Haas Racing. Clint is another driver who was eliminated from playoff contention, but like Brad he is not going to roll over and stop trying to win this year. This might be one of his best chances to get another win this year.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has won here nine times in his thirty-five starts, but hasn’t run well here lately. On the other hand this team has shown a lot of improvement as the year has progressed and they are at their best on the short tracks. He is my dark horse for this week’s race and it really wouldn’t surprise me to see him back in victory lane once again.

Ryan Blaney: Ryan has really run well here lately coming away with three top ten finishes in his last four starts. I think he has learned a lot from his teammates, Brad and Joey, about how to run on this track and the way they setup the car coming into the weekend. He made it into the third round of the playoffs by virtue of his win at Talladega and he is another driver who know he will probably have to win a race to make it to the championship.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY

Driver Group Game Group A

• Kyle Busch
• Brad Keselowski

Driver Group Game Group B

• Denny Hamlin
• Clint Bowyer
• Jimmie Johnson
• Ryan Blaney

Driver Group Game Group C

• Ryan Preece
• Chris Buescher

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT MARTINSVILLE SPEEDWAY

1. Denny Hamlin
2. Kyle Busch
3. Brad Keselowski
4. Joey Logano
5. Martin Truex Jr.

Dark Horse: Jimmie Johnson

Stay Away From: Kyle Larson

Big 18: Clint Bowyer

If you got to see Monday’s finish of the Talladega race you know what I mean when I say it was a crap shoot and I really couldn’t give individual advice on individual drivers. Using lesser used drivers is always rule number one when it comes to restrictor plate races. Rule number two is don’t feel good when all of your drivers are running in the top ten with five laps to go because none of them might end up there.

HOLLYWOOD CASINO 400

This week the series heads to the Kansas Speedway for the running of the Hollywood Casino 400. This is the last race of the second round of the playoffs. This will be a short week for the drivers and the teams with the finish of the Talladega race delayed until Monday afternoon. However, the good news is the teams will all bring a whole new car to the track this week, so it shouldn’t be too big of a deal. The big deal will be the fight for the final spots in the top eight to move on to the third round.

Martin Truex Jr.: Martin is my pick to win the race this weekend. He was hot in the first round of the playoffs and now he is at a track where he can dominate. He swept both races here in the 2017 season and has finished in the top five in four of his last five starts here. When a driver is rolling you need to stick with him and that is what I am going to do.

Kyle Larson: Kyle is another driver who has been running very well lately and this is one of those tracks he loves to run on. He has four top ten finishes in his last five starts at Kansas and wants to keep his momentum strong as he gets ready for the third round. Anything short of a win doesn’t mean much to this team right now other than maybe winning stages in the race.

Kyle Busch: Kyle has struggled a bit in the later stages of the season and the first couple of rounds of the playoffs. This team was so good early in the year and now they seem like they are of kilter a little bit. I’m not going to worry about them too much because of how quickly they can turn the switch and win multiple races in a row. Kyle has six top five and eight top ten finishes at this track over his last nine starts here.

Chase Elliott: Chase won this race last season and has finished in the top five in three of his last four starts here. He really needs a great run here and maybe even a win to make it to the third round of the playoffs. If he can make it in he could win one of the next three races and propel himself into the championship round.

Brad Keselowski: Brad won the spring race here and we have seen the speed the Penske teams have shown all year. Brad runs very well on most of the mile and a half tracks and they really know how to get the job done be it with a fast car or pit strategy that seems to have them contending at the end of races. I look for him to be a contender once again late in this race.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin struggled to get a win early in the season and then came on strong late in the year and showed that this team can get the job done on the intermediate tracks. He has four top three finishes in his last seven starts at Kansas including last spring and the fall race in 2016. They aren’t going to go away quietly this year either.

Erik Jones: Although he was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs and has had some bad luck the past few weeks this is a track where Erik could pick up another win on the season. He has finished in the top seven in each of his three starts here with Joe Gibbs Racing and usually comes away with stage points in each round. He is one to keep on your radar this weekend.

Ryan Blaney: This is one of Ryan’s best tracks. He has three top five and five top ten finishes in his nine career starts at Kansas and is really impressive gaining stage points. He has finished in the top five in six of the last ten stages he has finished at this track. Anyone who can run up front in the early stages that consistently will be a contender at the end of the race too.

Alex Bowman: In his four races he has run here for Hendrick Motorsports, Alex has come away with three top ten finishes. All of the Hendrick teams have made great gains in the last half of the season with their speed on the intermediate tracks and any of them could win a race at one of these tracks now. As a matter of fact, Alex finished second in the spring race here and lead sixty-three laps in that race.

Joey Logano: Joey won two fall races here and has seven top five finishes in his last twelve starts here. Those are very impressive stats. He might need to win this race to move on to the third round in the playoffs and if he needs to he is going to go all out for it. That could be good news or bad news for him because one wrong move could take him out of the race.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR KANSAS SPEEDWAY

Driver Group Game Group A

• Martin Truex Jr.
• Kevin Harvick

Driver Group Game Group B

• Ryan Blaney
• Alex Bowman
• Aric Almirola
• William Byron

Driver Group Game Group C

• Chris Buescher
• Daniel Hemric

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT KANSAS SPEEDWAY

1. Martin Truex Jr.
2. Kevin Harvick
3. Kyle Larson
4. Kyle Busch
5. Joey Logano

Dark Horse: Alex Bowman

Stay Away From: Daniel Suarez

Big 18: Alex Bowman