Rain, rain go away. Precipitation washed out qualifying on Friday so for the second short track race in a row the starting lineup is set by points. Just like at Martinsville, Kyle Larson is on the pole this weekend at Bristol. This half-mile bullring quickly becomes a spread out mess once the green flag waves and the leader starts lapping cars soon after. Staying on the lead lap is going to be key to having a good run here this weekend, and luckily for the drivers starting mid-pack or worse there will be a competition caution as well as the cautions for the stage endings.
My team points last week (Texas): 310
Overall team percentile: 85th
Total team points for the season: 1,986
Yahoo! A Group Pick and Final Rankings for Bristol
Kyle Busch is the highest-owned driver in Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing this week, and the vast majority of teams that have him on their roster are going to start him. This obviously creates a nice fade opportunity in the event that something happens to the #18 Toyota during the race–which has been the case in four of Kyle’s last five starts–but at the same time, it’s hard to pass up a win and most laps led from your A Group starter. Busch had the fastest speed in both practice sessions on Saturday and was 4th on the ten-lap average chart. He has a very good shot at getting his sixth Cup win in Thunder Valley this weekend.
The Penske teammates of Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano were the only other A Group drivers to have over 30% ownership this weekend and both are legitimate top 5 threats. The #2 and #22 Fords didn’t have blazing fast speed this weekend but they’ll be fine once this race goes green. One driver that not many people are considering a favorite is Jimmie Johnson. However, he ran a bunch of laps during practice on Saturday and seemed to have a very stable car. Watch out at the end of the race, and don’t be surprised if the #48 is leading late once again. As far as other A Group drivers, Kevin Harvick is pretty much the only other viable option. He has top 10 potential. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. looked pretty good in practice and could crack the top 10 but he starts back in 20th.
My Starter: Kyle Busch
Final A Group Rankings: (1) Kyle Busch, (2) Jimmie Johnson, (3) Brad Keselowski, (4) Joey Logano, (5) Kevin Harvick, (6) Dale Earnhardt, Jr., (7) Matt Kenseth, (8) Denny Hamlin, (9) Martin Truex, Jr.
Yahoo! B Group Picks and Final Rankings for Bristol
The question of the week is do you start Kyle Larson and/or Chase Elliott? The former is on the pole and all but guaranteed at least 10 bonus points for leading a lap, while the latter is starting on the outside pole and is bound to lead at some time as well. Between the two, Larson is more likely to actually contend for the win, but they’re both top 5 contenders. It’s a tough decision here, as short tracks are great places to start save, but with the great track position, it’s hard to pass up starting Larson or Elliott on Sunday.
With the next ‘tier’ of B Group drivers, we have Clint Bowyer, Jamie McMurray, and Kurt Busch. All three are top 10 contenders on Sunday and start relatively close to the front. Bowyer finished 8th in this race one year ago and McMurray has wound up 14th or better in each of the last five. Meanwhile, Kurt Busch has gone to victory lane on five separate occasions here at “The Bullring” and has the fourth-best average driver rating over the last four races here.
Now let’s focus on what really matters: ‘start save’ B Group options. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. has been a great option here at Bristol over the years but he has had a very rough weekend thus far. They say the track should tighten up during the race–which will be good for him–but he’ll have to keep it off the wall until then. Still, you can’t average with a 10.6 average finish at Bristol over eight career starts. His teammate, Trevor Bayne, has been masterful at staying out of trouble and just logging laps this season. That’s what it takes to have a good day at Bristol. If Bayne can keep his nose clean, he should end up in his normal finishing spot between 11th and 15th.
As far as practice speeds go, Kasey Kahne had a rocketship on Saturday and currently has three straight finishes between 13th and 17th at this track. It’s always a risk when you start a guy like Kahne but at the same time it’s hard to overlook that speed. The Richard Childress Racing drivers–Ryan Newman, Austin Dillon, and Paul Menard–all seem to run better the shorter the track is (this season at least). Both Newman and Dillon should wind up near the top 15 while Menard is more of a top 20 guy this weekend. None of them showed an incredible amount of speed during the practice sessions on Saturday.
My Starters: Trevor Bayne and Kyle Larson (maybe)
Final B Group Rankings: (1) Kyle Larson, (2) Chase Elliott, (3) Clint Bowyer, (4) Jamie McMurray, (5) Kurt Busch, (6) Kasey Kahne, (7) Ryan Blaney, (8) Ryan Newman, (9) Trevor Bayne, (10) Austin Dillon, (11) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., (12) Paul Menard, (13) Aric Almirola, (14) A.J. Allmendinger, (15) Danica Patrick, (16) Chris Buescher
Yahoo! C Group Pick and Final Rankings for Bristol
It’s all about saving in the C Group this weekend. Erik Jones and Ty Dillon are obviously the best two drivers in this grouping but they are much more valuable at other more predictable race tracks. If you have Daniel Suarez on your roster, it might not be a bad idea to bite the bullet and start him. That #19 Toyota was downright impressive during the two practice sessions on Saturday and let’s not forget that Carl Edwards was always super fast here in this car. Suarez starts back in 23rd but if he can stay out of trouble–and, more importantly, on the lead lap–he could surprise some people on Sunday. There’s no such thing as confidence when starting Daniel Suarez but he doesn’t look half bad this weekend. As far as the lower tier of the C Group, a whopping 20% of Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing teams took Matt DiBenedetto this weekend. He starts back in 32nd and admitted on Twitter that the car isn’t very good. I warned you… As far as my roster, I have Landon Cassill and Michael McDowell as my two C Group drivers. McDowell is more reliable in the Fantasy NASCAR world but Cassill has a faster car this weekend. Landon also finished 22nd and 20th in the two Bristol races last season.
My Starter: Landon Cassill
Final C Group Rankings: (1) Erik Jones, (2) Ty Dillon, (3) Daniel Suarez, (4) Landon Cassill, (5) Michael McDowell, (6) Matt DiBenedetto, (7) Cole Whitt, the rest
