FOX Fantasy Auto Picks for Texas 2

Although the FOX Fantasy Auto game is built around place differential points, the strategy of specifically targeting them is usually not the best whenever we’re at Texas Motor Speedway. Recent trends have shown that the drivers that qualify up front in the Lone Star State also finish there, unless, of course, a driver really messes up in qualifying despite having a very fast race car. When we last raced here back in April, six of the top 15 qualifiers ended up inside the top 10, and that number was seven and eight in the previous two events at Texas.

NOTE: Chase Elliott has flu-like symptoms and may not finish the race today. Justin Allgaier is on standby. He will still accumulate points (as long as he starts the race) but obviously is a little more risky. An alternate roster is: Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex, Jr., Ryan Newman, and Carl Edwards.

Last week at Martinsville 2 we deviated from our posted FOX Fantasy Auto roster and that wasn’t the right move, as our official Fantasy Racing Online team scored 172 points. We are now in 341st place overall and dropped back to 3rd in our private league.

FOX Fantasy Auto Picks for the Texas 2 AAA 500

Jimmie Johnson ($11,000) – This might be the most under-priced driver this weekend. Jimmie Johnson is a fantasy ace at Texas Motor Speedway, and the fact that he qualified back in 19th for Sunday’s race makes him an absolute must own in FOX Fantasy Auto. Johnson has won the last four November races here at Texas and five of the last eight events here overall. Additionally, Hendrick Motorsports has had a resurgence on these intermediate tracks over the last couple months, and they’re probably running the best on these “cookie cutter” venues than any other organization in the Sprint Cup garage. “Six Time” is going to be very high owned this weekend, which would typically make a driver a great fade option, but there’s no possible way that we could recommend leaving Johnson off of your team this weekend. Even a sub-par race out of this #48 team on Sunday will net FOX Fantasy Auto owners at least 40 points.

Kyle Busch ($10,800) – Kyle Busch’s record here at Texas Motor Speedway isn’t quite as impressive as Jimmie Johnson’s, but it’s close. The #18 team went to victory lane the last time we were here (back in April), which was only Rowdy’s second career win in the Lone Star State. With that being said, he has finished inside the top 5 in six of the last seven races at this track, and with the way this team has been running in the Chase thus far, there’s no reason to think that Busch won’t be able to make it up there this weekend, too. And for FOX Fantasy Auto players, that’s going to be a big points day. Busch qualified 24th for Sunday’s AAA Texas 500 but has a much better car in race trim. We know we said that it’s kind of hard to pass here at Texas, but if there’s any driver that can come through the field here, it’s Kyle Busch. He’s also a must own this weekend.

Kasey Kahne ($9,900) – It’s kind of difficult to justify paying this high of a salary for Kasey Kahne, but at the same time his qualifying effort this weekend (31st) makes him a top tier option in this FOX Fantasy Auto game. Kahne’s record here at Texas isn’t stellar, but he is a former winner in the Lone Star State (back in 2006), and he does have seven finishes of 11th or better in the last ten races here. Additionally, this #5 team has kept their momentum rolling on over the last couple of months, and even when they don’t qualify particularly well, they always seem to find a way to get near the front during the race. As far as speed this weekend, the #5 Chevrolet was 13th-fastest on the overall speed chart in Happy Hour and ranked 19th in ten-lap average. Even if Kahne is only able to muster a 20th-place finish on Sunday, FOX Fantasy Auto owners are looking at a 30+ points day out of him. Anything above that is just extra. And the best part? As of this post, only 12% of teams had Kahne on them.

Carl Edwards ($8,700) – Here’s another driver that’s wildly under-priced this weekend. Despite being a three-time winner here at Texas Motor Speedway, Carl Edwards is just a tick above guys like A.J. Allmendinger and Trevor Bayne in terms FOX Fantasy Auto salaries. His fantasy output on Sunday should be much better than those guys, though, and there’s a possibility that it will be up near the highest-priced drivers this week. Currently, Edwards is on a four-race streak of top 10 finishes here at Texas, and he had one of the best cars when we last raced here in April but ended up finishing 7th. This weekend, the #19 Toyota looks to have a good amount of speed once again, as Carl ended up inside the ten-lap average top 5s during both practice sessions on Saturday. This #19 team is viewing this race a must-win if they want to keep their championship hopes alive, and although he hasn’t been to victory lane since April, it’s hard to go against Edwards at one of his best tracks (at least in terms of number of wins).

Chase Elliott ($9,600) – With every track that the Sprint Cup Series has made a second stop at this season, Chase Elliott has seemed to improve. That might be hard for him to accomplish this weekend, though, as he finished 5th here at Texas back in April. However, there’s no reason think that Elliott can’t get up there and run with the leaders here on Sunday. Don’t forget that he has gotten to the lead in the last four intermediate track races, and probably had a race-winning car in two of those events. Chase’s problem has been simply finishing the races, but eventually that’s going to change. The #24 Chevrolet will roll off the grid from 11th when the AAA Texas 500 goes green, and Elliott should be good for a top 10 finish if nothing crazy happens. He had the 2nd-best ten-lap average during Happy Hour on Saturday.