The races at Sonoma are some of the most frustrating events for those in the Fantasy NASCAR world. As soon as the green flag drops, crew chiefs will be working on their strategy with fuel mileage to make it to the end and try to steal this race. The good news with this week when it comes to the FOX Fantasy Auto game, though, is that there’s the possibility of scoring some big points; in last year’s Toyota/Save Mart 350, eight of the top ten finishers started 11th or worse, and in the 2014 race seven of the top ten started 15th or worse. There’s also many low-dollar drivers that should make great picks on Sunday so the possibilities are endless for rosters this week.
NOTE: We, once again, have two rosters posted for the FOX Fantasy Auto game this week. The first is a more aggressive route, while the second is a little more conservative. We haven’t 100% decided which we’re using yet.
In the last Sprint Cup race (Michigan), our Fantasy Racing Online FOX roster had a pretty good week with 185 total points, which is a little more than our season average of 178.1. After 15 of 36 races, we sit in 677th place overall and 3rd in our private group. We’re hoping to crack the top 500 overall after this weekend’s race at Sonoma.
FOX Fantasy Auto Picks for the Sonoma Toyota/Save Mart 350
Jimmie Johnson ($10,700) – Jimmie Johnson was somewhat of a surprise during qualifying on Saturday, and not exactly in a good way. He ended up 15th when the first round was over so that’s where he’s going to start Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350. The good news for fantasy owners is that it’s not where you start, it’s where you finish, and we fully expect the #48 Chevrolet to be solidly inside the top 10 (if not the top 5) when it’s all said and done this weekend. Here at Sonoma, Johnson is currently on a seven-race streak of top 10 finishes and there’s no reason to think that he won’t make it eight in a row on Sunday. The #48 Chevrolet had the best ten-lap average during Practice #1 on Friday and this team focused on race trim for the majority of both practice sessions that day. That should pay dividends during the race.
Kevin Harvick ($13,800) – Yet again, Kevin Harvick is ridiculously overpriced in the FOX Fantasy Auto game at $1,500 more than the 2nd-highest-priced driver, Kurt Busch. Unlike a couple of weeks ago at Michigan, however, we might be able to effectively afford Kevin Harvick this week. He’s going to roll off the grid from 25th when the Toyota/Save Mart 350 goes green on Sunday, and although it should be a little concerning to Harvick fans that this team has lost their qualifying ability as of late, there’s some big points to be earned with that effort. Harvick has had one of the best cars here at Sonoma over the last couple of years and as long as he gets track position by the mid-point of the race on Sunday, he should be able to contend for another solid finish here once again.
Clint Bowyer ($8,800) – Surprisingly, not a whole lot of teams have Clint Bowyer on them this weekend. As of this writing, only 17.2% of teams owner Bowyer. However, not only is he a more viable option here at Sonoma than any other race thus far in 2016, but Clint’s qualifying effort of 18th actually makes him a really solid pick here in FOX Fantasy Auto due to the place differential points potential. Bowyer is hands-down the best driver here at Sonoma Raceway, and just because he wasn’t able to put down one fast lap on Saturday doesn’t mean he has a bad car for Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350. In fact, Clint actually seemed pretty happy with his #15 Chevrolet in race trim, and it wouldn’t surprise us one bit to see him inside the top 10 within the first 20 laps or so. In ten career starts here at Sonoma, Bowyer has posted one victory with an average finish of 8.6 and eight top 10s.
Greg Biffle ($6,500) – We’re really shooting for the stars with this one. There are a few reasons why we’re legitimately keeping an eye on Greg Biffle for Sunday. First is the fact that he starts 32nd, which opens up the door for some major place differential points. Just think, if there would happen to be a wreck that takes out five or six cars, and Biffle is able to pass some cars, he could easily finish 20th, which would net 12 place differential points and 33 FOX Fantasy Auto points overall. Not too bad for a $6,500 investment, which is reason #2 why we like The Biff–his very low price point. The third and final reason we don’t mind taking a shot with the #16 Ford on Sunday is because Greg has had some success here at Sonoma as of late, with four top 10s in his last six starts at this track. The races here have the tendency to be unpredictable, and that means we should see a surprise finisher or two up front when the checkered flag waves on Sunday.
Jamie McMurray ($9,500) – If you have the first four drivers listed on your roster, then you’ll have $10,200 left to work with for the final spot. That means you could afford Joey Logano, who should be a solid top 5 or top 10 threat, as well as Kyle Busch, who is risky but could finish top 5 as well. We, however, are going with Jamie McMurray. During qualifying, he ran into some traffic and screwed up his final attempt, so the #1 Chevrolet will roll off the grid from 21st when we go green on Sunday. However, we fully expect McMurray to finish in the high teens, or maybe even the top 10, this weekend. Jamie has actually turned into an impressive road racer and has finishes of 11th and 4th in the last two Sonoma races to show for it. What’s even better is the fact that the #1 Chevrolet has shown very good speed since the team unloaded it, as has McMurray’s teammate, Kyle Larson. A 10th-place finish out of Jamie Mac on Sunday would equal 42 points in FOX Fantasy Auto and we would be more than happy with that.
Alternate FOX Fantasy Auto Roster for Sonoma
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. ($10,800) – We haven’t heard Dale Earnhardt, Jr. this excited about his race car in quite a long time. You know he has a hot rod for the race when he’s disappointed in qualifying 13th. As long as he doesn’t run into any issues during the Toyota/Save Mart 350 on Sunday afternoon, we expect Junior to be a solid top 5 car and probably contend for the win as well. Not many people think of Earnhardt when we stop at the road course venues, but NASCAR’s favorite driver has finished 7th and 3rd in the last two races here at Sonoma, which equals a better average (5.0) than any other driver in the Sprint Cup Series garage. We have Junior ranked 5th heading into Sunday’s race and that would equate to 44 points in the FOX Fantasy Auto game.
Jimmie Johnson ($10,700) – Please see our notes above regarding Jimmie Johnson, as he was on our first roster as well.
Jamie McMurray ($9,500) – Please see our notes above regarding Jamie McMurray, as he was on our first roster as well.
Clint Bowyer ($8,800) – Please see our notes above regarding Clint Bowyer, as he was on our first roster as well.
Joey Logano ($10,200) – There isn’t a lot of room for place differential points when it comes to Joey Logano this weekend (he starts 7th), but we’re going more for the reliability of a good finish. Joey emerged as a very good road course racer last season, and after his dominating performance at Michigan a couple of weeks ago, he’s looking to continue that momentum on into wine country. Logano posted a career-best finish of 5th in this race one year ago and showed decently consistent speed during the two practice sessions held here on Friday. Momentum-wise, this #22 team has three straight top 10 finishes.
