Tag: dover

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Fantasy NASCAR

Dover Motor Speedway Notebook

RFK RACING’S CHRIS BUESCHER ON THE POLE

Chris Buescher earned his first career NASCAR Cup Series pole position at Dover Motor Speedway Saturday and will lead the field to green in Sunday’s DuraMAX Drydene 400 (3:00 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The driver of the No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford turned a fast lap of 159.207 mph around the concrete Monster Mile – the second of the 10 final qualifiers to go in the final session. The 29-year old Texan’s time was .057-second faster than Denny Hamlin in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.

This is Buescher’s first pole position in 233 NASCAR Cup Series race starts.

“That’s just awesome right there,’’ a smiling Buescher said after watching the final session on pit road.

“That was a good effort during practice. [His teammate] Brad [Keselowski] went out there and put down some really great laps and came over and saw some things, relayed it and everyone did a good job working on this thing and got our Fastenal Mustang on the front row so that’s a heckuva start.

“Good to do that here in Dover. I love this place. It’s a ride. We’re flying around here.’’

Hendrick Motorsports drivers Kyle Larson and Chase Elliott will start from the second row, followed by Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney and defending race winner, Hendrick’s Alex Bowman.

Last week’s Talladega Superspeedway race winner Ross Chastain – fastest in the opening round of time trails – will start seventh alongside Daniel Suarez. Bubba Wallace and Kyle Busch will round out the Top-10 starters in a pair of Toyotas.

Austin Cindric was fastest in practice but did not advance to the final qualifying round. He was the fastest rookie qualifier and will start the No. 2 Team Penske Ford from 12th position.

Kevin Harvick, one of three three-time Dover race winners, was 11th fastest in qualifying just missing the final round. It will be his highest starting position in the last three races. The driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford is looking to score his first win since Sept. 19, 2020 (at Bristol, Tenn.) – 53 races ago. He won at Dover, Del. that same year.

ACTION-PACKED PRACTICE

Four drivers did not make NASCAR Cup Series qualifying laps on Saturday. William Byron, rookies Todd Gilliland and Harrison Burton and Josh Bilicki all had incidents during practice and will go to back-up cars for the race.

Byron, a two-race winner in 2022, had an incident in the opening minutes of his practice session and hit the wall hard enough that his No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports team immediately knew it would need to prepare a back-up car. He will start 33rd among the 36 cars.

“Just hate it for our guys more than anything,’’ said Byron, who is ranked third in the championship standings.

“Have to pull out a back-up car obviously. The primary was probably going to be really fast and I know our back-up car can be just as fast and we can still go and try to win on Sunday. But just a little bit over-confident on my end (in the accident).’’

Gilliland and Bilicki made contact with the wall early in the opening practice. Byron and Burton had their trouble in the second practice session. Tyler Reddick, spun twice in that session but did not need to go to a second car. He will start the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing 26th.

BACK HOME AGAIN FOR TRUEX

Dover Motor Speedway is a special place to Martin Truex Jr. It’s the New Jersey native’s “home track” and also the place where the 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champion fittingly earned his first premier series victory in 2007.

Truex, driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, joins teammate Kyle Busch and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Harvick as three-time Dover race winners – most among active drivers in the series.

“Having experience around this track brings confidence to know what you might want is important, but we only have 20 minutes (of practice) to figure that out – figure out how to get that in the car and not have a lot of ability to change the big things,’’ said Truex, who qualified 18th.

KYLE BUSCH’S FUTURE

Two-time former NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch was asked about comments he made last week saying he was unsure of his future with the Joe Gibbs Racing team. He is in the middle of negotiating a new contract with the team and last week deferred reporters’ questions about his status to the team.

Asked on Saturday if he’s had any more talk with JGR in the last week, Busch said, “yeah, there were some discussions and such,’’ adding, “There is nothing to elaborate on, it’s all good.’’

Busch, a three-time Dover winner, will start the No. 18 JGR Toyota 10th.

ROSS CHASTAIN

Ross Chastain has earned his first two NASCAR Cup Series race victories in just the past five weeks – a career first win at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas’ road course on March 27 and answered it with a win on the series’ biggest track, Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway last weekend.

Both Chastain’s wins in the No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet came on last lap passes. It’s been quite a season debut for Chastain with the Trackhouse Racing team. And Chastain, who had a reputation for a more aggressive racing style earlier in this career, says he’s learned from that and made an effort to race differently.

“It’s all about being there at the end,’’ said Chastain, who is ninth in the championship. “There were opportunities in both of those races to take ourselves out and it didn’t happen. Now there have been other races this year that small mistakes added up to us not winning and we had the same opportunity to.

“I’m not perfect. I’m human. There’s mistakes and we’ve had a great start to the season and stats look great, but there’s mistakes in there that I’ve also learned from this year. Continue to evolve that is tough. I mean, this is the best group of race car drivers in the world, in my opinion. Any mistake and they exploit it.’’

INSPECTION UPDATE

Only one car had issues during pre-qualifying inspection for Sunday’s race. The No. 42 Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet driven by Ty Dillon failed inspection twice, costing the team pit selection. One crew member was also ejected for the race.

Categories
Fantasy NASCAR NASCAR

Weekend Preview: Dover Motor Speedway

NASCAR CUP SERIES

  • DuraMAX Drydene 400 presented by RelaDyne
  • Dover Motor Speedway
  • Sunday, May 1. 3:00 p.m. ET
  • Purse: $7,205,230
  • TV: FS1, 2:00 p.m. ET
  • Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
  • 400 miles (400 Laps)
  • Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 120)
  • Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 250)
  • Final Stage (Ends on Lap 400)

Top drivers still looking for their first win of 2022 at the Monster Mile.

As the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Dover Motor Speedway for Sunday’s DuraMAX Drydene 400 presented by RelaDyne (3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) the top drivers in the championship points standings are still looking for their first win of the 2022 season.

Chase Elliott

NASCAR Cup Series standings leader Chase Elliott is also the only member of the four-car Hendrick Motorsports team without a race trophy, but his consistency and ability to “be there” at the end has kept him atop the standings for the last three races. And Elliott is a former winner on Dover’s famed “Monster Mile” track.

Heading into the race, Elliott leads Team Penske driver Ryan Blaney by 21 points in the championship. Unlike Blaney, who has only two top-10 finishes in 11 Dover starts, Elliott has fared well on the concrete high-banks. He has eight top-five finishes – including that 2018 victory – in 11 starts.

And a win this weekend would go a long way toward solidifying Elliott’s run toward a second championship. The last time he hoisted a trophy was July 4 of last year at the Road America road course – 26 races ago.

“I want to win just as much as everyone else, if not more,” said Elliott, who drivers the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. “I always want to win, and I always have an expectation of myself to want to go and perform.

“That expectation is the only one that matters to me, and I want to do the job to the best of my ability always, whether you have a win in the bank or not. For me, that doesn’t make me try any harder.”

Elliott’s Hendrick Motorsports team goes into Sunday’s race as an absolute favorite having finished 1-2-3-4 in the race last year – won by Elliott’s teammate Alex Bowman. The four Hendrick drivers led a remarkable 382 of the 400 laps (95.5 percent). And it marked only the third time in NASCAR history a team swept the top four finishing positions in a race. The last time it happened was November 2005 when Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing did it at the Homestead, Fla. season finale.

Largely thanks to Jimmie Johnson’s record 11 victories at Dover, Hendrick is the winningest team at the track with 21 victories. Since 2013 – a span of 17 races – only three teams have won on the Monster Mile, with Hendrick’s eight trophies the most in that time, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing (five wins) and Stewart-Haas Racing (four wins).

That certainly bodes well for a Hendrick team which has all four drivers – Elliott, William Byron (third), Alex Bowman (fifth) and reigning series champion Kyle Larson (eighth) ranked among the top-10 in the series driver standings. Byron and last week’s Talladega race winner Ross Chastain are the only drivers in the series with multiple wins (two each) so far this season.

Not only is Elliott among the favorites to score a season first win at Dover – he’s joined by three other former NASCAR Cup Series champions, who are also good at this track and also looking for their first trophies of the year.

Past series champs Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. boast the most NASCAR Cup Series wins among active drivers at Dover – all with three victories each. Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford is the most recent winner among the trio with a trophy in 2020.

Kevin Harvick

Harvick, 46, the 2014 series champion is ranked 11th in the standings with only a single top five (runner-up at Richmond, Va.) and 12 laps led right now. He’s finished sixth or better (including two wins) in the last seven Dover races.

Martin Truex Jr

Truex, 41, driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, broke an uncharacteristic run of back-to-back sub-20th-place finishes with a fifth place showing at Talladega last week. He’s ranked eighth in the standings with a best finish of fourth place at Richmond, Va. earlier this month. The 2017 series champion scored his career first NASCAR Cup Series win at Dover, Del. in 2007. He answered a 2019 win there with three consecutive runner-up finishes before a 19th-place run last Spring.

This will be the first test for the new Next Gen car on Dover’s concrete high-banks and while drivers aren’t sure exactly what to expect, they say they are looking forward to the Dover test.

“It’s a hard track to get right anyways but throw in a new car and limited track time, it’s going to be difficult,” Truex said. “I love going there though, so I’m really looking forward to it.”

The NASCAR Cup Series will have a 45-minute practice session Saturday morning at 10:30 a.m. followed by Busch Light Pole Qualifying at 11:15 a.m. – both televised live on FS1.

NASCAR XFINITY SERIES

  • A-GAME 200
  • Dover Motor Speedway
  • Saturday, April 30, 1:30 p.m. ET
  • Purse: $1,419,713
  • TV: FS1, 12:30 p.m. ET
  • Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
  • 200 miles (200 Laps)
  • Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45)
  • Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90)
  • Final Stage (Ends on Lap 200)

Dover offers monster of a good time for Xfinity Series

Following Noah Gragson’s victory in a dramatic overtime finish at the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ biggest track last weekend (Talladega Superspeedway), the series moves to the always exciting Dover Motor Speedway for a test on the “Monster Mile” this week.

Saturday afternoon’s A-GAME 200 at Dover (1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) presents a unique challenge to the Xfinity Series championship with only one of the series’ fulltime competitors having ever won this race previously.

Two-time Dover winner Justin Allgaier is hopeful that his track record will push him forward in the points and into an already tightly grouped trio atop the championship.

Veteran A.J. Allmendinger, who finished third last weekend in a typically frantic Talladega (Ala). Superspeedway rush to the checkered flag, leads the Xfinity Series championship by 40 points over Gragson and 45 points over Ty Gibbs – the two swapping positions in the standings following Gragson’s win and Gibbs’ rough superspeedway outing.

AJ Allmendinger

Allmendinger has top-10 finishes in every race this season topped with a victory at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin last month. The driver of the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet has only a pair of Xfinity starts at Dover – with a best finish of fourth-place last year – and has never led a lap there.

Noah Gragson

Gragson’s Talladega victory was his second of the season. His first came at the other one-mile track, Phoenix Raceway, which gives him plenty of momentum as the series arrives in Dover.

Gragson has never won on the Monster Mile, but the driver of the JR Motorsports No. 9 Chevrolet does have four top-10 finishes in six starts with a best showing of fourth place in 2020. He’s led only 38 laps at Dover during that time – but neither of his other closest championship challengers – Allmendinger or Gibbs – have led even a single lap at the track.

Ty Gibbs

This will be only the second Dover start for Gibbs, who will be looking to regain momentum after a tough Talladega race. Involved in an accident on the big track, Gibbs finished 35th suffering only the second DNF in 27 career Xfinity Series races to date. Gibbs’ three wins and 330 laps led in 2022 are most in the series. The driver of the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota finished fifth in his only Dover race, last year.

Justin Allgaier

Which brings us to Allgaier, who boasts a top-five finish in half of his 21 Dover starts, including wins in 2018 and 2020 and three runner-up showings. In the last 12 Dover races, the driver of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevrolet has 11 top-10 and nine top-five finishes – including the two victories. His 447 career laps led is most among Xfinity Series regulars and twice he’s led 100 or more laps in a Dover race.

It all speaks well for a potential Dover rebound to Allgaier’s 2022 season. He’s currently ranked sixth in the championship, 121-points behind Allmendinger, but has finished 22nd or worse in four of the last five races. His best finish of the year is fifth (at Daytona and Las Vegas). His last win came almost exactly a year ago – May 8 at Darlington, S.C.

“I can’t wait to get to Dover this weekend with our No. 7 team,” Allgaier said. “We’ve been really strong there the last couple of years and I feel extremely confident that we are going to pick up right where we left off when we hit the track for practice on Friday. Hopefully, we can have a solid, smooth weekend and be right where we need to be, come race time, to right for the win.

“I’m ready to go.”

2022 DASH 4 CASH FINALE

The Dover race marks the Dash 4 Cash program’s 2022 finale. Gragson, Landon Cassill, Allmendinger and Ryan Sieg are qualified to win the $100,000 bonus check this week following their work last week at Talladega. The highest finisher among them earns the bonus cash from sponsor Comcast Xfinity. Allmendinger has won two of the three Dash 4 Cash prizes to date.

Categories
Fantasy NASCAR NASCAR Fantasy Live

NASCAR FANTASY LIVE PICKS, 2015 DOVER, AAA 400

With one race until the initial playoff cuts, there are some unexpected drivers facing elimination. As usual, the best strategy is to front-load your lineup with your top three drivers and round out your roster with budget options. I tried to find a balance between risky and conservative drivers in a week where anything goes for some of the top teams in the series.

From a Fantasy NASCAR perspective, the results will be more unpredictable than average results at Dover. Drivers will take more risks than average behind the wheel, with their fuel strategies, and with their setups. Know if you want a conservative or risky approach this week and choose the drivers whose Chase standings match your strategy.

FRONT-LOAD YOUR LINEUP

As usual, the first spot of my lineup is dedicated to the driver who has earned 22 top-10 finishes in his first 25 races in 2015. Kevin Harvick has found success at the Monster Mile. With three top-10 finishes in his last five Dover races, Harvick has found consistency at the track. During the same time span, Harvick is second in fast laps and laps led so he has a good chance to take advantage of those numbers. In May’s race, Harvick led 91 laps on his way to a 2nd place finish. In five steep tracks in 2015, four have resulted in a top-5 finish. With the most laps led and fast laps in 2015, Harvick has a combination of track success, track type success and 2015. That translates to a high probability of success in this week’s race. Harvick needs to win to qualify for the next round of the playoffs. He will be taking risks to win the race. This can be helpful or detrimental to your lineup. If you want a conservative approach, I would suggest another driver like Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth, or Brad Keselowski.

My next lineup recommendation is not due to 2015 success. Jimmie Johnson has 16 top-10 finishes in 2015 and a 12.2 average finish position, but has struggled in stretches. Anything short of a championship team is a disappointment for the #48 car. His track success is the reason that he gets my roster recommendation. Although he only led 23 laps during the race, Jimmie Johnson won the Dover race earlier this season. Over the last five races at the track, Johnson has earned three victories. He is first in laps led and fast laps by a wide margin during this time period. Johnson has an impressive 13 top-5 finishes at the since since 2005. Jimmie Johnson should be near the top when the checkered flag flies. With a solid run, Johnson will qualify for the next round so I can see Chad Knaus playing it safe with this team.

Kyle Busch had a forgettable race in Dover earlier this year. He was running 3rd with 25 laps left in the race when a collision with Brian Scott sent him to a 36th place finish. We are hoping for a better result this time around. Kyle Busch has earned three top-10 finishes in his last five Dover races. During these five races, Busch is 3rd in fast laps and laps led. He has seen long-term success at the track with the 2nd-most laps led at the track since 2005. In fourteen races in 2015, Kyle Busch has eight finishes inside the top-10. Unless someone changes my mind in qualifying, I will go with the 18 car for my 3rd team. Kyle Busch is at the cut line for the next round. Like Harvick, the Chase standings increase your risk, but Kyle Busch is not in the desperate situation that we see in the 4 team.

FILLING OUT THE BOTTOM

With a front-loaded lineup, there is little room for the remaining roster spots. David Ragan finished in 13th in the May race. He has a 24th place average finish position in 2015. He looks like he has the speed for most weeks, but cannot get the breaks to fall his way. Over the last five Dover races, he has a 25th place average. He provides upside as a budget option. Landon Cassill looks to be improving slightly as the season progresses. Cassill finished 23rd during the May race and has a 30th place average in 2015. Both drivers should provide value this week.

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 starting the best drivers each week, Fantasy Live uses a salary cap format. Our formula calculates the average fantasy live points earned by race by each driver over the last five Dover races. Next, we divide that number by the salary cap figure. The end result is a number that will dictate which drivers are expected to provide the most value this week. Brad Keselowski has earned three top-10 finishes over the last five races. He missed my lineup spot to Kyle Busch. As a consolation prize, we will use his numbers to further illustrate the formula.

KYLE BUSCH AT DOVER

  • Average finish position last five Dover races: 11.6 equals 32.4 Fantasy Live points
  • Start-to-finish differential: Negative four equals (-4) Fantasy Live points)
  • Laps led: 109 laps led equals 10.9 Fantasy Live points
  • Fast laps: 109 fast laps equals 10.9 Fantasy Live points
  • Total Fantasy Live points earned by race: 50.2
  • Fantasy Live Salary cap figure: $27.25
  • Fantasy points per dollar: 50.2 divided by $27.25 equals 1.84 points per dollar

Below you will find the Fantasy Live points for all drivers entered in this week’s race. Good luck as you make a push to the top of your league standings.

GROUP A ($25.00 or higher)

  • Jimmie Johnson 5.50
  • Kevin Harvick 2.90
  • Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2.03
  • Kyle Busch 1.84
  • Brad Keselowski 1.84
  • Joey Logano 1.47
  • Denny Hamlin 1.29
  • Matt Kenseth 1.28
  • Kurt Busch 1.06

GROUP B ($20.00 – $24.99)

  • Jeff Gordon 2.88
  • Clint Bowyer 2.18
  • Martin Truex Jr. 2.08
  • Kasey Kahne 1.95
  • Kyle Larson 1.88
  • Aric Almirola 1.64
  • Paul Menard 1.62
  • Carl Edwards 0.99
  • Jamie McMurray 0.93
  • Ryan Newman 0.80

GROUP C ($15.00 – $19.99)

  • Sam Hornish Jr. 2.00
  • Greg Biffle 1.10
  • Austin Dillon 0.67

GROUP D ($10.00 – $14.99)

  • Tony Stewart 3.40
  • Danica Patrick 2.23
  • Cole Whitt 1.81
  • AJ Allmendinger 1.64
  • Casey Mears 1.43
  • Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 1.17
  • Justin Allgaier 0.74
  • Trevor Bayne (-0.79)

GROUP E ($9.99 or lower)

  • Jeb Burton 3.80
  • Brett Moffitt 3.21
  • Travis Kvapil 2.89*
  • Alex Kennedy 2.73*
  • JJ Yeley 2.55
  • David Ragan 2.39
  • Matt DiBenedetto 2.22
  • Alex Bowman 2.22
  • Timmy Hill 2.06
  • Travis Kvapil 1.93
  • Josh Wise 1.84
  • David Gilliland 1.75
  • Landon Cassill 1.75
  • Michael Annett 0.39

* Driver has no track data, and we are using his 2015 numbers.

Categories
Fantasy NASCAR NASCAR Fantasy Live

NASCAR FANTASY LIVE PICKS, 2015 DOVER, FEDEX 400

The last time that we had a short track with drivers with consistent histories, I made the mistake of calling the track predictable. All four of my Yahoo drivers for the week proceeded to wreck in the race, and the fantasy gods had their day. Two months later, we have Dover International Speedway, where a few drivers are typically dominant. This time, I will not go as far as to call the track predictable in order to keep luck on my side.

Based on the amount of laps at the short track and the consistency of some drivers, my best suggestion is to front-load your lineup with the top three spots and fill the remaining two spots with the best budget driver possible.

My first choice as a recommended driver has not finished outside the top-20 in the last 20 races at Dover. With 2,581 laps led since 2005 at Dover, Jimmie Johnson is over 1,500 laps higher than the second driver in this categories (Kyle Busch 1,011). Over the last five races at the track, Johnson has led the most laps of any driver and has the most fast laps. During the same time span, he has spent 95% of his laps running in the top-15 and an average finish position of 5.0. Unless there is an unforeseen circumstance, Jimmie Johnson is an obvious choice for your lineup this week.

Kevin Harvick is going to continue to stay in my lineup until he cools off. He has provided the most fantasy live points per dollar of any driver in 2015. His Dover numbers are strong enough to continue to have him on your team. Since 2005, Harvick has led the third-most laps of any driver in the series and has a decent average finish position of 11.4. While there are other drivers with better numbers who will be off my roster this week, Harvick has spent 75% of his laps in the top-15. His long-term numbers should not scare you off either. While he has not been a dominant car, he has eight top-10 finishes and 17 top-20 finishes since 2005 at Dover. Keep Harvick in your lineup this week.

There are four drivers with dominant track numbers who are fighting for the third roster spot on my rosters. Two are recent fathers, and one is retiring at the end of the season. With the numbers being close, I am going to leave Kyle Busch off my team. Kyle Busch has the second-most laps led over the last five years and is a consistent driver at the track. With the numbers being close, Kyle Busch has a slightly higher risk associated with his leg injury. Matt Kenseth, with 12 top-5 finishes at Dover since 2005 can also be considered for your roster. Keselowski has been better in 2015 and runs strong at Dover, but Jeff Gordon’s numbers are too tempting to pass up. Early in the week, I will lean towards Jeff Gordon for the third roster spot while keeping a close eye on qualifying.

Gordon has been one of the least valuable drivers for Fantasy Live in 2015. He has not necessarily struggled, but he has not been rewarding fantasy owners even when the track numbers are in his favor. Over the past five races at Dover, Gordon has the best average finish position in the series (5.0). Also, he has spent 97% of his laps running in the top-15. His drawback is that he has only spent 98 of these laps at the front of the lineup. Over the long-term, Gordon has nine top-10 and 17 top-20 finishes since 2005. He has a high probability for success this week.

The drawback for a race where the top drivers are dominant is that finding budget options at the bottom of your roster proves to be more challenging. Cole Whitt has a 28th place average in three races at the track and has provided enough value to be functional at the bottom of your roster. With 3.33 fantasy points per dollar throughout 2015, Matt DiBenedetto has been the most valuable driver with a salary cap figure under $10.00 in 2015. Although he has no track history, he does not need to do a lot to provide value with such a low salary cap hit. I will keep an eye after qualifying and may tweak my lineup based on who is at the back of the field.

FANTASY NASCAR LIVE SALARY CAP

Fantasy Live on nascar.com uses a scoring system that combines fast laps, laps led, start-to-finish differential, and finish position. In order to prevent us from starting the top drivers every week, Fantasy Live uses a salary cap format. Our formula determines the average number of Fantasy Live points earned by each driver over the last five Dover races. Next, we divide that number by their salary cap figure to unveil which drivers are expected to provide the most value for your lineup each week. Kyle Busch is a slight risk with his leg injury, but I may regret leaving him off my roster for a safer option. As a consolation prize, we will use his Dover numbers to further illustrate our formula.

KYLE BUSCH AT DOVER

  • Laps led last five Dover races: 563 equals 56.3 fantasy live points
  • Fast laps last five Dover races: 187 equals 18.7 fantasy live points
  • Average finish position last five Dover races: 13.6 equals 30.4 fantasy live points
  • Start-to-finish differential last five Dover races: Negative 8.4 equals (-8.4) fantasy live points
  • Average number of points last five Dover races: 97
  • Fantasy Live Salary Cap Figure: $25.25
  • Points per Fantasy Dollar: 3.84

Below you will find the Fantasy Live points per dollar for each driver over the last five Dover races. Recommended drivers are in bold. We will use the 2015 numbers for all drivers with no history in Delaware. Good luck with your lineups as the summer series kicks off.

GROUP A ($25.00 or higher)

  • Jimmie Johnson 5.14
  • Kyle Busch 3.84
  • Jeff Gordon 2.67
  • Kevin Harvick 2.25
  • Dale Earnhardt Jr. 2.00
  • Brad Keselowski 1.92
  • Joey Logano 1.62
  • Matt Kenseth 1.39
  • Kurt Busch 1.33
  • Denny Hamlin 1.32
  • Jamie McMurray 0.69

GROUP B ($20.00 – $24.99)

  • Clint Bowyer 2.10
  • Kyle Larson 1.49
  • Carl Edwards 1.44
  • Martin Truex Jr. 1.43
  • Kasey Kahne 1.37
  • Paul Menard 1.37
  • Aric Almirola 1.37
  • Greg Biffle 1.13
  • Ryan Newman 0.67

GROUP C ($15.00 – $19.99)

  • Tony Stewart 2.55
  • Austin Dillon 0.97
  • Sam Hornish Jr. 0.23

GROUP D ($10.00 – $14.99)

  • Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 2.00
  • Justin Allgaier 1.77
  • David Ragan 1.69
  • Danica Patrick 1.66
  • Casey Mears 1.60
  • David Gilliland 1.33
  • AJ Allmendinger 1.20

GROUP E ($9.99 or lower)

  • Matt DiBenedetto 3.33*
  • Brett Moffitt 2.41
  • JJ Yeley 2.09
  • Cole Whitt 1.98
  • Josh Wise 1.35
  • Jeb Burton 1.27*
  • Brian Scott 1.16*
  • Alex Bowman 0.89
  • Michael Annett 0.88
  • Brendan Gaughan 0.71*
  • Landon Cassill 0.60
  • Mike Bliss 0.50
  • Jeff Green: n/a
  • Travis Kvapil: n/a

* Driver has no track data, and we are using his 2015 numbers.

Categories
Fantasy NASCAR

2014 Dover International Speedway, AAA 400

Ricky Stenhouse Jr wrecked NASCAR Dover

Both of the Penske drivers have won a race in the Chase and are guaranteed a place in the next round after Joey Logano won the race on Sunday at New Hampshire. Many of the other Chase drivers found a lot of trouble on the track and now they have one race to move into the top twelve in the standings or they will be eliminated from the Chase. Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, and Matt Kenseth were all involved in crashes that put them in a precarious position heading to Dover this week.

AAA 400

The first elimination race will be held at Dover International Speedway, which is a one-mile concrete oval with a lot of banking in the corners also known as the Monster Mile. The last five Chase spots are going to be up for grabs as all of the drivers from eighth to sixteenth are all within twelve points of each other. A mistake on the track or on pit road will end the season for a driver, so all of the drivers who are in the eighth thru sixteenth positions will be nervous next weekend.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie is my pick to get back to his winning ways this weekend at Dover. Jimmie has won the last two races at this track and has nine career wins here. This team knows that they are going to have to win races during the Chase to have any chance of winning another championship and they will get their first win of the Chase this weekend.

Jeff Gordon: Jeff has four career wins at this track and has finished in the top five in three of his last four starts here. Jeff should remain in the top twelve in points no matter where he finishes in this race, but would love to pick up his first win of the Chase and gain some points Brad Keselowski as the Chase continues.

Brad Keselowski: Brad has also finished in the top five here in three of his last four starts including a win in this race two years ago. He is already locked in the next round by virtue of his win at Chicagoland in the first race of the Chase and leads the point standings right now.

Joey Logano: Joey picked up his fourth win of the season and first of the Chase as he heads to Dover this weekend. Joey has not won a race at Dover yet, but he has run well there lately. He has five straight top ten finishes and just needs to stay in contention and pick up a few points each week on those ahead of him in the standings. Both of the Penske drivers look very good so far during the Chase.

Kevin Harvick: Kevin is another driver who has yet to win a race at Dover. Kevin has finished in the top ten in three of his last five starts here. This team has had a car that could contend for a win almost every week this season and need to pick up some wins during the Chase to keep advancing.

Clint Bowyer: Clint hasn’t won a race yet this season and didn’t make the Chase, but that doesn’t mean this team won’t win any races during the Chase. Clint has finished in the top ten in seven straight races at Dover and they will be confident heading into the weekend. Clint is a great driver and just needs to have luck on his side to get a win this year.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Dale finished second in this race last season and has finished in the top eleven in his last five starts at Dover. This team needs to run a little better to keep advancing and giving themselves a shot to win the championship. I think this week will be the one where they get back to having a contending car and that will give them confidence moving forward.

Matt Kenseth: Matt is currently in eighth place in the standings, but only eight points ahead of Denny Hamlin and Greg Biffle who are tied in points and sit in thirteenth and fourteenth place heading to the final race of the Challenger round of the Chase. Matt has run well at Dover recently finishing in the top ten in five of his last seven starts. He needs another top ten finish to make sure he moves into the Contender round.

Kyle Busch: Kyle has won two races at this track during his career and showed me that he can remain calm and is able to fight back from adversity, which is something you need to do to stay in contention. After being involved in a wreck last week at Loudon, Kyle fought back the remainder of the race and salvaged a top ten finish. He has finished in the top ten at Dover in seven of his last nine starts.

Kyle Larson: Kyle has been in contention in a lot of races lately and he finished eleventh in his only start at Dover back in June. Kyle looks like he is going to win a race very soon and wrap up rookie of the year honors. He seems to have a good head on his shoulders when he is interviewed after an accident and doesn’t get upset over things he can’t control. This guy is just going to keep getting better as his career progresses.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

  • Jimmie Johnson
  • Jeff Gordon

Yahoo Driver Group B

  • Joey Logano
  • Brad Keselowski
  • Carl Edwards
  • Denny Hamlin

Yahoo Driver Group C

  • Kyle Larson
  • Austin Dillon

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT DOVER INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

  1. Jimmie Johnson
  2. Jeff Gordon
  3. Joey Logano
  4. Matt Kenseth
  5. Clint Bowyer

Dark Horse: Clint Bowyer

Stay Away From: Kurt Busch