Tag: Atlanta

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Fantasy NASCAR NASCAR Fantasy Live

NASCAR FANTASY LIVE PICKS, 2015 ATLANTA, FOLDS OF HONOR QUIKTRIP 500

This week’s race in Atlanta will be hard-pressed to have a better racing stretch than the final twenty laps at Daytona. Congratulations to Joey Logano on earning the first win of the season. The NASCAR series moves north for a newly-scheduled March race in Atlanta. For Fantasy Live, the strategy changes from the restrictor plate tracks. This week, my suggested strategy is to front-load your lineup with the top drivers and fill in your final two roster spots with budget drivers.

The first pick on my team dominated the majority of the race last year. Kevin Harvick was in front of the race until a late wreck sent him to an average finish. With 296 laps led and 179 fast laps, Harvick is the best in the series in both categories over the last five races. His lap-to-lap performance over the same time span is second to Jeff Gordon. His historical numbers are not as impressive, with only seven Top 10 finishes in his last 16 Atlanta starts, but I feel his recent success overcomes his historical data.

Jeff Gordon has the best number in the series at Hampton. He was on my team last year when he wrecked early in the race. He was running some of the fastest laps in the field, but there were not enough cautions in the race for Gordon to get back on the lead lap. Over the last five races, Gordon has an average finish position of 7.8 and has the best lap-to-lap performance in the series. Since 2005, Gordon has finished in the Top Ten eleven times and the Top Twenty fifteen times. Gordon has an excellent chance for success this weekend.

By a narrow margin, Jimmie Johnson beat out Matt Kenseth for the third roster spot. Kenseth has more recent success, but Johnson has better long-term numbers at the track. Also, I think the Hendrick cars will have a slight advantage with the new setup rules. Johnson has a 14th place average over the last five races. Historically, he boasts eight Top Five finishes in sixteen races. I like his chances on my team this weekend.

With three of the top drivers in the series on my roster, there is little room for the final two roster spots. Regan Smith’s value climbed to $7.50 this week. With Kurt Busch’s equipment, he should provide great value at that price. Keep an eye on his status towards the end of the week, as he is expecting a child anytime. Michael Annett finished 21st in last year’s race. If he comes close to that number, he will be be a valuable choice.

FANTASY NASCAR LIVE SALARY CAP

Fantasy Live on nascar.com uses a scoring system that combines fast laps, laps led, finish position, and start-to-finish differential. In order to prevent us from simply starting the best drivers ever week, Fantasy Live uses a Salary Cap format. Our formula uses the number from the last five races at a given track. We calculate the average number of points earned by each driver. Then, we divide that number by the salary cap figure to identify the driver with the best value. Matt Kenseth is one of the most consistent drivers in the series, but is being left off my roster in favor of Jimmie Johnson. As a consolation prize, we will use his numbers to illustrate our formula.

MATT KENSETH AT ATLANTA

  • Average finish position last five Atlanta races: 8.6 average equals 35.4 Fantasy Live Points
  • Start to finish differential: Plus 1.6 = 1.6 Fantasy Live Points
  • Laps led: 117 laps led = 11.7 Fantasy Live Points
  • Fast laps: 63 fast laps = 6.3 Fantasy Live Points
  • Total Fantasy Live points per race: 55 points per race
  • Fantasy Live Salary Cap Figure: $26
  • Fantasy Points Per Race: 55 points / $26 = 2.11 points per dollar

Please review the numbers below for each driver’s points per fantasy dollar. Suggested picks are in bold and good luck building on your early success in the 2015.

GROUP A ($25.00 or higher)

  • Kevin Harvick 3.02
  • Jeff Gordon 2.44
  • Matt Kenseth 2.11
  • Denny Hamlin 1.92
  • Dale Earnhardt Jr. 1.53
  • Joey Logano 1.53
  • Jimmie Johnson 1.35
  • Jamie McMurray 1.24
  • Kyle Larson 1.20
  • Brad Keselowski 0.97
  • Kasey Kahne 0.53

GROUP B ($20.00 – $24.99)

  • Tony Stewart 2.46
  • Carl Edwards 1.96
  • Paul Menard 1.22
  • Ryan Newman 1.21
  • Greg Biffle 1.13
  • Clint Bowyer 0.39

GROUP C ($15.00 – $19.99)

  • Martin Truex 2.38
  • Sam Hornish Jr. 1.55
  • AJ Allmendinger 1.34
  • Aric Almirola 1.17
  • Austin Dillon 1.15

GROUP D ($10.00 – $14.99)

  • Trevor Bayne 4.09
  • Danica Patrick 2.52
  • Justin Allgaier 2.30
  • Casey Mears 1.80
  • Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 1.71

GROUP E ($9.99 or lower)

  • Regan Smith 4.53
  • Landon Cassill 3.88
  • Reed Sorenson 3.62
  • Michael Annett 3.37
  • JJ Yeley 2.95
  • Ty Dillon 2.87
  • Brett Moffitt 2.83
  • Cole Whitt 2.82
  • David Gilliland 2.62
  • David Ragan 1.23
  • Alex Bowman 0.60
  • Josh Wise 0.60
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

2014 Atlanta Motor Speedway, Oral-B USA 500

NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Atlanta Juan Pablo Montoya and Carl Edwards

There are only two races left before the start of the Chase this season and the last two spots still aren’t decided yet. We have twelve spots filled by drivers with wins this season and Matt Kenseth has to basically start the next two races and not finish in last place to secure his spot. We could get two new winners in the next couple of races and that would eliminate two spots on points if it happens. All I know is that it could be two wild weeks at the track.

ORAL-B USA 500

This week the series heads to Atlanta Motor Speedway for the running of the Oral-B USA 500. Atlanta is a 1.54-mile quad-oval track, which makes it similar to most other intermediate tracks on the circuit. I predict that a new qualifying record will be set once again this weekend if the weather cooperates. The race will be held on Sunday evening as it is Labor Day weekend. Tires and engines will be tested to their limits in this 500-mile race.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin won the first race he ever ran in the Sprint Cup series at this track back in 2001, when he took over for the late Dale Earnhardt. That is the only race he has run at this track, but the way he has run every week, I look for him to qualify and run well here once again this weekend. He is my pick to win his third race of the season and move into a tie with five other drivers for most wins on the year.

Jeff Gordon: Jeff is a five-time winner at Atlanta and after his win at Michigan a couple of weeks ago has shown that he is a serious contender at all types of tracks this year. Jeff has finished in the top ten in twenty-six of his forty starts at this track, and that tells me he is very consistent here. You will want him on your fantasy team this week.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale has had a disappointing finish last week at Bristol after getting caught up in an accident that was no fault of his own. This team has been bringing it every week and on all types of tracks this season and this weekend will be no different. I think that Dale and Steve Latarte are on the same page and Steve makes the right adjustments during the race to fit Dale’s style of driving. They can win the championship this year.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has been improving over the past few weeks and this will be a huge test for this team. This week will let them know if they have their setup correct so they don’t blow tires. That issue needs to be taken care of before the start of the Chase if they want to repeat as champions. Jimmie has three wins here and has finished in the top ten in more than half of his starts here also.

Kasey Kahne: Kasey has two career wins at Atlanta and his best chance of making the Chase is to pick up a win in the next two weeks. Kasey runs well at this track and he always seems to run well at night, so both factors are in his favor this weekend. All of the Hendrick teams run well at this track on a consistent basis so you can’t really go wrong with using as many of them as you can in your league this weekend.

Carl Edwards: Carl has won three races at this track and has finished in the top five in eight of his sixteen starts here. The real problem here is that the Roush/Fenway teams have not had the speed on this type of track for much of the season. Carl wound up two laps down at Michigan a couple of weeks ago partly due to speed and the other part pit road penalties.

Joey Logano: Joey finished second in this race last year and the way the Penske teams have shown speed on this type of track this season, he is another good pick for this weekend. Even though the Penske teams run the same motors as the Roush/Fenway teams they have found something aerodynamically that makes them contenders on these tracks. I look for both of the Penske drivers to qualify towards the front of the field and run there for much of the race.

Brad Keselowski: Brad is the other Penske driver and will have a fast car himself once again this weekend. Brad was a little disappointed at Michigan a couple of weeks ago, because he really wanted to win that race in his home state. He can change that disappointment into another celebration with his fourth win of the season this weekend in Atlanta.

Matt Kenseth: Although Matt has never won a race at Atlanta and hasn’t won a race yet this season, this team will be in the Chase and can go on a roll at any time. Matt has finished in the top ten here in fourteen of his twenty-five starts and would love to pick up his first win of the year before the Chase starts. This team looked good at Bristol last weekend and just needs to make the right adjustments during the races on the intermediate tracks.

Kurt Busch: Kurt has quietly been running very well over the past month at all types of tracks. This team will be dangerous once the Chase starts, because I think they are still experimenting a little bit and will be even better once the Chase starts. They might just pull out all of the stops over the next two weeks to see what they really have and it could be enough to win a couple of more races this season.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

  • Kevin Harvick
  • Jeff Gordon

Yahoo Driver Group B

  • Joey Logano
  • Brad Keselowski
  • AJ Allmendinger
  • Brian Vickers

Yahoo Driver Group C

  • Kyle Larson
  • Austin Dillon

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT ATLANTA MOTOR SPEEDWAY

  1. Kevin Harvick
  2. Jeff Gordon
  3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
  4. Jimmie Johnson
  5. Joey Logano

Dark Horse: AJ Allmendinger

Stay Away From: Carl Edwards