With qualifying getting rained out again this weekend, that means that the scoring for FOX Fantasy Auto will only be based on finish points. This severely limits the choices that are viable on Sunday, so now it just comes down to putting together the best lineup. This 36-race season is a marathon, not a sprint, so I wouldn’t recommend going to crazy with your FOX lineup on Sunday. There’s a time and a place to make a move in this game, and it’s not the weeks that place differential scoring is eliminated.
My team points last week: 271
Overall team standings: 330th
Total team points for the season: 1,340
Top FOX Fantasy Auto Drivers for the 2017 Bristol Race
Kyle Busch ($11,400) – Rowdy Busch is going to be on a lot of FOX Fantasy Auto teams this weekend, and for good reason: he’s a five-time winner here in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and has led the most laps here (1,959) of all active drivers. Not to mention the fact that, this weekend, the #18 Toyota was on top of both practice speed charts on Saturday. Kyle also ranked 4th in ten-lap average during that final session. Rowdy has had a tough go of things here at Bristol as of late (four finishes of 29th or worse in the last five races) but this #18 Toyota has been the best car on the shorter tracks this season and that looks to be the case this weekend, too. As long as Kyle Busch doesn’t wreck or have a mechanical issue on Sunday, he should be good for a top 5 finish, if not a win.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. ($6,600) – All signs are pointing to Dale Earnhardt, Jr. having another solid race this weekend. This #88 team finally got a finish they deserved at Texas a couple of weeks ago and will be looking to build on that momentum here in Thunder Valley. Junior has finished 2nd and 9th in his last two starts here at Bristol and has top 10 potential this weekend as well; the #88 Chevrolet ranked inside the top 10 during both practice sessions on Saturday and was also out there for quite a few laps–always a sign that Junior likes his car. This will be the third Bristol race in a row that Earnhardt has started from 20th and hopefully it will be the third top 10 finish in a row as well.
Brad Keselowski ($11,200) – This #2 team hasn’t finished worse than 6th since the Daytona 500 and that shouldn’t change this weekend despite the fact that Brad Keselowski left a lot to be desired during the two practice sessions on Saturday. The fact of the matter is that BK is a two-time winner here at Bristol Motor Speedway and the combination of him and Paul Wolfe cause some of the best strategy calls to be made on Sundays. There’s no guarantee that this weekend’s race is going to come down to strategy, but there’s a good chance it will. Keselowski will start from 4th when we go green in Thunder Valley and there’s no reason to think he won’t run up there all day long. Simply looking at it from purely a finish perspective, Keselowski is probably the best value in this price range.
Clint Bowyer ($9,500) – Clint Bowyer has never won here at Bristol Motor Speedway but he’s an above-average racer at this half-mile track and poised to have another strong run here on Sunday. Clint actually finished 8th in this race one year ago (in his sub-par equipment) and has five top 10s in his last ten starts here. Additionally, Bowyer has wound up 14th or better in all but two of the races over that span. In terms of practice speed, the #14 Ford was 12th-fastest in Practice #2 on Saturday morning and had the 11th-best ten-lap average. During Happy Hour, Bowyer was 7th and 2nd on those two charts, respectively. He’s starting 9th on Sunday and should be a legitimate top 10 threat.
Other viable options: Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Jamie McMurray, Kasey Kahne (to be different)
Stay away from…
Martin Truex, Jr. ($9,900) – It’s understandable that a top fantasy driver like Martin Truex, Jr. would be on a lot of rosters–especially when his FOX Fantasy Auto salary is pretty mid-range. And when you add in the fact that he’s going to start from the 3rd position whenever the Food City 500 goes green, it makes sense that a lot of Fantasy NASCAR players would choose him as kind of a default pick. However, if you’re going for maximum points–and that’s the point of playing, right?–Truex is not your guy. There’s a reason he has just two top 10 finishes in twenty-two career starts here: he’s not that good at Bristol. The #78 Toyota will probably come home inside the top 15 but that kind of finish isn’t good enough to deserve a roster spot in FOX Fantasy Auto. As of Saturday evening, Truex was the 3rd-highest-owned driver in this game at 38.5%.
Matt Kenseth ($9,600) – First and foremost, this isn’t an ‘avoid like the plague’ designation. Matt Kenseth will start back in 22nd when the 2017 Food City 500 goes green, and that means he’s susceptible to many things happening, particularly getting lapped early as well as possibly getting caught up in a wreck of some sort. Since there are not place differential fantasy points awarded in FOX Fantasy Auto this weekend, it’d be better to mitigate risk as much as possible, and that means staying away from Matt Kenseth. And not only that, but let’s not forget that this #20 Toyota has been pretty slow in almost every race this season. Kenseth has won two of the last seven Bristol races but hasn’t finished better than 36th in the last three. Yet, as of Saturday evening, nearly 25% had him on their FOX roster. I’ll gladly take that minor fade opportunity on Sunday.
