Fantasy NASCAR Blog

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

Chase Elliott did it again. This time he came from the back of the pack to win at a road course again and he did it by pulling away after taking the lead on the final restart of the race at Road America. He had over a six second lead as the drivers headed into the final lap and cruised home from there for his seventh road course victory in twelve starts.

QUAKER STATE 400 PRESENTED BY WALMART

This week the series heads to the Atlanta Motor Speedway for the running of the Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart. This is another of the intermediate tracks on the circuit and the pressure is starting to mount for drivers who don’t have a win yet this season as we are only six races away from the start of the playoffs. If we get a new winner who isn’t in the top sixteen in points it takes away another spot for someone to get in on points.

Kyle Larson: Larson has been the driver to beat on almost every track other than the road courses lately. I have to give him the nod to win again this weekend. The issue I have is I’m starting to run out of starts for him and might want to save him for some tracks where I think he has a better chance of winning, so I might not have him in my lineup this week. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use him. It is all dependent on if you can use him unlimited times or if you have a lot of his starts left.

Martin Truex Jr.: Martin was the fastest driver on the intermediate tracks earlier this year, but has since cooled off a bit. He could turn it back on at any time. I don’t know if they have been experimenting a little bit to get ready for the playoffs or if they are just a bit out of sync right now. I can’t believe they could have made that big of changes that made him the person to beat to being a top ten driver on these tracks now.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin is one of those drivers who has a pretty good cushion to get into the playoffs on points without a win, but I’m sure that’s not how he wants to try and qualify. He has been very good at Atlanta lately with two wins in his last four starts and ten top ten finishes in his last eleven races at this track. This team just doesn’t seem to have the speed they need to compete with the Hendrick teams at this point of the season.

Denny Hamlin: Denny’s lone win at Atlanta came back in the 2012 season. He along with Kevin who were probably the top two drivers at this point in time last year is still looking for his first win of the season too. He is usually very good at this track also and has finished in the top five in three of his last four starts here. Once again he has a solid points cushion and should make the playoffs that way unless things really go south for him in the next six races.

Alex Bowman: Alex is really good on these intermediate tracks and won at Pocono a few weeks ago. He has three wins on the season and finished third here last season. We have seen that the Hendrick drivers seem to have more speed than all of the other teams although the Gibbs teams seem to be making some headway. Still, I think it’s a good idea to stick with some of the Hendrick drivers until they show vulnerability.

Chase Elliott: Wins on road courses, but doesn’t quite have what his teammates have on the intermediate tracks right now. I expect this to change quickly though. This team has so much confidence after last week’s win that they could carry that through this weekend and give the rest of the Hendrick drivers some competition this week too.

Kyle Busch: Kyle has been getting better every week and if he can win in the Xfinity series as much as he does he can win in the Cup series too. He did win at Kansas earlier this season which is a little bit like Atlanta. He has two career wins at Atlanta and has finished in the top ten in seven of his last nine starts there. This team could surprise at any time and go on a streak of winning.

Joey Logano: Don’t ask me what it is, but I just have this feeling that Joey is going to be fast this weekend and be a contender. There really isn’t anything in his stats that should make me think what I do. It’s just a feeling that I have. He has never won here, although he did finish second back in the 2013 season. Maybe it’s just that I need to make up some ground in my leagues and I want to take a shot at someone who I don’t think anyone else will have.

Aric Almirola: That feeling hit me again with Aric as he has run pretty well the last three races. Once again, there really isn’t anything in the stats that tells me he could run well this weekend and most of his finishes have been pretty dismal this year. He’s another driver I don’t think a lot of people will have on their rosters this week and could help you make up ground.

William Byron: William had his best finish here last season although he has only run four races at Atlanta. We know the Hendrick cars have the most speed and that gives them an advantage at a track like Atlanta. I’m think he is going to run in the top ten most of the day and could very well be a contender at the end of this race.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Driver Group Game Group A

• Joey Logano

Driver Group Game Group B

• Alex Bowman
• Kyle Busch

Driver Group Game Group C

• Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY

1. Kyle Larson
2. Martin Truex Jr.
3. Kyle Busch
4. Denny Hamlin
5. Alex Bowman

Dark Horse: Matt DiBenedetto

Stay Away From: Ross Chastain

Big 18: Joey Logano

The series made it through the entire Pocono weekend without any weather issues which is a win itself. Some of the drivers weren’t so lucky. Kyle Larson looked like he was going to win yet another race on Saturday until suffering a flat tire on the final lap of that race. Yet the Hendrick teams looked to be the best in both races once again. The rest of the teams are going to have to get better before the playoffs start or it’s going to be tough for any of them to beat all of the Hendrick cars for a championship.

JOCKEY MADE IN AMERICA 250 PRESENTED BY KWIK TRIP

This week the series heads to yet another new venue and another road course race. This time the teams will head to Road America for the running of the Jockey Made In America 250 Presented By Kwik Trip. The Xfinity series has run here for the past eleven years though, so some drivers have races here before.

Chase Elliott: Once again I have to go with Chase to win at a road course. He has won six of the last eleven road course races run in the Cup Series and that in itself makes me want to have him on my roster for this race. It’s tough to pick anyone else to win when someone has been that dominant on a certain type of track even though they are all quite different. He just knows how to figure out where to brake and where he can pass.

Martin Truex Jr.: The only driver besides Chase to win more than one race in the last eleven road course starts. Martin is always a threat on this type of track himself. It’s hard to predict who will run well on a track that the series is heading to for the first time since 1956 when the only Cup race was held here. It goes without saying, but none of the current drivers was even born when the last Cup race was run here.

Christopher Bell: Christopher won in the Xfinity Series at Road America two years ago. He has run pretty well on all of the road course tracks and is worth taking a shot at this weekend. He won at the Daytona Road Course earlier this season so we know he has what it takes to win on this type of track.

Michael McDowell: Michael is another driver that has won here in the Xfinity Series and he is usually very good on the road courses. However, we might want to save his starts if someone like AJ Allmendinger or Austin Cindric is entered in this race. They are both good road course drivers and can save one of McDowell’s starts for you.

Denny Hamlin: Denny has three top tens in the road course races already run this year and has been good on these tracks his entire career. In fact he hasn’t finished outside of the top twenty in his last sixteen road course starts. A lot of things have to go right for him to win, but he should have a very competitive car once again this weekend.

Kyle Larson: Kyle won the last road course race at Sonoma and finished second at Circuit of the America’s this year. This team has been spot on each and every week, but this might not be the best time to use him. There are too many factors and these races can be hard on equipment. There is a lot of bumping and banging that goes on when drivers try to pass each other and something could happen right in front of you that ends up taking you out of a race here. Save his starts for other tracks.

Kurt Busch: Kurt hasn’t run very well this season on the intermediate tracks, but this is his type of race where it is more about handling than speed. Kurt really knows how to run on the road courses where he has finished top six in three of his last five starts. If we’re going to use him this season it seems like these are the types of places we want to take a chance on him.

Alex Bowman: Alex isn’t the first person I think of when we talk about a road course race, but he isn’t far down the list. He has proven that he can compete on these tracks and that shows in his stats. Alex hasn’t finished worse that fourteenth in his last twelve road course starts. This is very impressive for any driver and to think the Alex wasn’t always running on one of the top tier teams through many of those races.

Joey Logano: So close the last five road course starts, but still looking for his first win since the 2015 season on one of these tracks. Joey has a string of five straight top five finishes on the road course tracks. That includes two runner-up finishes and two third place finishes. If you can come that close that often you are on the edge of winning another one of these races.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR ROAD AMERICA

Driver Group Game Group A

• Chase Elliott
• Martin Truex Jr.

Driver Group Game Group B

• Kurt Busch
• Alex Bowman
• Erik Jones
• Christopher Bell

Driver Group Game Group C

• Michael McDowell
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
• Watch the entry list as these drivers might change after it comes out.

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT ROAD AMERICA

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

Dark Horse: Erik Jones

Stay Away From: Bubba Wallace

Big 18: Christopher Bell

Kyle Larson was dominant once again at Nashville in the first Cup Race held there. He has been the best of the field pretty much every week lately. Martin Truex Jr. had a run earlier in the year where he was dominant, but has since relinquished that spot to Kyle

RACE ONE AND TWO

This week the series heads to the Pocono Raceway for the running of 2 separate races. One on Saturday and one on Sunday. This is difficult for the drivers and teams along with all of us fantasy players. Another tough thing about this weekend is the unpredictable weather in the Pocono Mountains. These races could get rained out very easily and then the schedule has to be altered to make sure all of the races get run somehow.

Kyle Larson: Kyle is the hottest driver on the track and though he didn’t run here last year and this will be his first time at Pocono with Hendrick Motorsports, I have to give him the nod for the win on Saturday. I just think this team is hitting on all cylinders right now and it’s tough to go against them. That doesn’t mean he’ll sweep the weekend though. All of the other teams will have a full race to try a figure it out for Sunday’s race.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin finished first and second in the two races run here last season. Besides that, in his last ten Pocono races he has one win, three second place finishes and seven top five finishes. This might be the week for this team to break back into the win column and get qualified for the playoffs.

Denny Hamlin: Denny leads all active drivers with six wins at this track. That includes winning the second race here the last two years. In between those two races he finished second to Harvick once last year. This is someone who has always run well at this track and this weekend should be no different.

Kyle Busch: This team has been getting better all the time. He has won three of his last seven starts at Pocono and will be someone to reckon with this weekend. He has finished in the top ten in eight of his last nine starts here also and has won multiple stages during that stretch.

William Byron: William has run very well this year and though he has only run six races at Pocono he has a pretty good idea on what to relay to his crew chief for the adjustments he needs to have made to his car during the race. With four top ten finishes in those six starts this is another team that won’t surprise if they come away with another top five finish this weekend.

Martin Truex Jr.: Martin has two career wins at this track and has finished in the top ten in six of his last eight starts here. Though they haven’t been as fast lately as they were earlier in the season, this is the type of track where Martin really excels. A bit flatter in the corners and with three corners that need different handling he knows how to get around here.

Brad Keselowski: Brad’s only win here came way back in the 2011 season. That’s not to say he hasn’t run well here though. In fact, Brad has finished in the top ten in nine of his last eleven starts at Pocono with seven of those finishes being top fives. This team can come out and win on any given week and we know Brad is going to do whatever he can to get back to victory lane.

Erik Jones: We looked for Erik to run well at Sonoma which he did coming away with a eleventh place finish. Well, he runs very well at this track also and because of the handling needed here I’m going to have him as my dark horse this week. I’m not sure if he’ll have the speed he needs to the long straightaway, but I’m pretty sure he’ll handle well in the corners. If he can get off the corners good he’ll have a good run. He has four top five finishes in his last five starts and that tells me a lot about his ability here.

Chase Elliott: This is another track where I expect to see Chase compete with the leaders for the most part. He’s still learning some things and once he can figure out what he needs to run well in all three corners he’s going to win some races here. In his ten career starts he has finished in the top ten seven times with three of those finishes being fourth place finishes. That means he’s close to having everything figured out.

Not many changes for race 2. I put Daniel Suarez in for my C driver and am taking Alex Bowman for the Big 18. Otherwise all of my picks are the same as they were for Saturday’s race.

DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR POCONO RACEWAY

Driver Group Game Group A

• Denny Hamlin

Driver Group Game Group B

• Kyle Larson
• William Byron

Driver Group Game Group C

• Daniel Suarez

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT POCONO RACEWAY

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

Dark Horse: Erik Jones

Stay Away From: Bubba Wallace

Big 18: Alex Bowman