Last weekend we didn’t have qualifying. This weekend we had qualifying, but it definitely didn’t go as expected. First off, Martin Truex, Jr. wasn’t even able to make a lap because he couldn’t pass inspection in the first three tries. He will start from and be scored from 38th on Sunday. Ryan Preece will also join him in the rear to start the Auto Club 400, but Preece will be scored from his original starting spot of 20th. A driver’s qualifying time is NOT disallowed with an engine change (which is what Preece’s team did).
The other weird thing about qualifying is that several drivers that were, coming into the weekend, expected to be very fast, weren’t too quick on Saturday. You can click here for the starting lineup for this weekend’s Auto Club 400 at Fontana and see what I mean. Also, there were two practices on Friday, and those speeds can be found by clicking here: Practice #1 — Happy Hour.
*Please note: the picks and suggestions below are my opinions and strategy for the Slingshot Fantasy Auto Contest. These are not meant to sway your thinking in any way, but rather give you insight into the drivers I am most likely to pick on race day.*
Slingshot Fantasy Auto Contest Picks for Fontana
Martin Truex, Jr. ($12,200) – Sometimes, weeks like these happen. When it comes to the Slingshot Fantasy Auto Contest, you need to start with Martin Truex, Jr. and build around him at Fontana. The #19 team failed inspection three times and weren’t allowed to qualify, so Truex will start from the rear of the field on Sunday. His official starting position will also be back there, and with the importance of place differential points in this NASCAR Fantasy game, it’d be unwise to go against Truex and hope something happens to him. I could make that case with a mid- or lower-tier guy, but not Truex. Not to mention, the #19 Toyota was one of the strongest during the two practices on Friday, and Martin ranked 4th-best in the series last year at the high wear race tracks, with an average finish of 7.2.
Joey Logano ($12,300) – At first, I had Kyle Busch ($12,500) in this spot, simply because he starts 17th and there’s a ton of room for place differential points. And then I thought about plugging Brad Keselowski ($12,000) in here, since he starts back in 15th and should also move up. But as of Saturday evening, I’m going to roll with Joey Logano. Last week’s Las Vegas winner qualified 7th for Sunday’s Auto Club 400 but he should be contender to win it. Logano has finished 7th or better in each of the last five Fontana races, and he posted a career-best 2nd-place finish here last year. I’m banking on the #22 team getting plenty of Stage points to help offset the limited place differential points. For what it’s worth, the Fantasy Racing Online algorithm has Logano and Harvick neck-and-neck for who it predicts to win on Sunday.
William Byron ($10,500) – There’s some good place differential plays priced a little higher–such as Denny Hamlin ($11,800) and Erik Jones ($11,100), who start back in 28th and 29th (respectively)–but I’m going to roll with William Byron. There’s no doubt that the Hendrick Chevrolets have speed once again, and with Byron starting back in 21st, that gives him a bunch of place differential potential for extra points in this Slingshot Fantasy Auto Contest. Now, William’s record here at Fontana isn’t stellar (15th-place finishes in both career attempts) but he’s arguably got the best car he’s ever had here. The #24 Chevrolet ranked 6th in 10-lap average during the Happy Hour practice on Friday.
Austin Dillon ($9,000) – If you read my NASCAR Fantasy Preview for Fontana, you know that I’ve been high on Austin Dillon all week. So when he went out and posted a slow lap in qualifying on Saturday, he was pretty much a lock to make my lineup in the Slingshot Fantasy Auto Contest (and other games that rely on place differential). Austin’s record here at Fontana is surprisingly good–three straight finishes of 10th or 11th along with an average result of 13.7 over the last six years here. The #3 Chevrolet also showed decent speed in practice on Friday; I had Austin as the 14th-fastest in overall speed over the two practice sessions this weekend.
Daniel Suarez ($6,000) – This one is just a team filler. I don’t fully trust any driver priced below Daniel Suarez this weekend, and Corey LaJoie ($6,200) and John Hunter Nemechek ($6,600) start a littler higher than I’d like, so I’m not going to re-arrange my other drivers to get that extra cap space. The thing with Suarez this week is he out-qualified who he should have, and he should be able to out-race them, too. So that means it’s unlikely he gets negative place differential fantasy points on Sunday. As far as the ceiling for Suarez, I don’t see him finishing much better than 28th or so unless there’s quite a bit of attrition. I just hope this #96 Toyota can actually complete a lap before having mechanical issues this weekend.
