The strategy for Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing is actually a little bit different than other games this weekend. We know that there are going to be some movers on Sunday, but since Yahoo! awards points based solely on how your drivers finish, it’s not necessary to target those guys that should make their way through the pack. Instead, it’s better to go with the guys that start up front and who also looked good during the practice sessions on Saturday. Another thing to note this weekend is how strong the B Group is. Don’t be surprised if the 2017 Kobalt 400 winner comes from the middle Yahoo! group on Sunday.
My team points last week (Atlanta): 326
Overall team percentile: 84th
Total team points for the season: 544
Yahoo! A Group Pick and Final Rankings for Las Vegas
It’s a no-brainer in the A Group this weekend, as Brad Keselowski is the best pick out there. He’s on the pole, he won last weekend at Atlanta, and he has won two of the last three races here at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Game, set, match. By starting Keselowski on Sunday, you’re essentially guaranteed the 10 bonus points for leading a lap, and the #2 Ford is probably fast enough to lead the most laps, too. Brad loves this low downforce package and is, by far, the best driver in the series in it. If you rostered Keselowski this weekend, you have to start him.
Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick both had poor qualifying efforts this week (16th and 19th, respectively) but should both be top 5 threats by the end of the Kobalt 400 on Sunday. Harvick is the safer bet between the two, as the #48 team has had some pretty bad luck to start off the 2017 season, but if nothing goes wrong, they should both be good. Johnson and his team found something at the end of Happy Hour that turned a lot of heads in the garage. Joey Logano is one of the safest options for this week’s race and should finish between 4th and 6th. He has two top 5s in the last three Las Vegas races and has led at least 44 laps in each of those events.
My Starter: Brad Keselowski
Final A Group Rankings: (1) Brad Keselowski, (2) Kevin Harvick, (3) Joey Logano, (4) Jimmie Johnson, (5) Martin Truex, Jr., (6) Matt Kenseth, (7) Kyle Busch, (8) Kurt Busch, (9) Denny Hamlin
Yahoo! B Group Picks and Final Rankings for Las Vegas
Don’t be surprised if this week’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas has a similar finishing order to last weekend’s race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Chase Elliott had the most consistent and fastest car in both Saturday practice sessions this weekend and is, no doubt, a threat to win the race. Meanwhile, Kyle Larson qualified up front and flashed top 5 speed during the final practice session of the weekend. His career best finish here at Las Vegas is only 8th, but Larson is a legitimate top 5 threat this weekend.
Austin Dillon and Ryan Newman are my other two B Group drivers, and while both are capable of finishing between 10th and 15th on Sunday, I’m going for max points this weekend and those kind of results aren’t going to cut it. If you want to stay away from Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson this weekend, though, Kasey Kahne is a nice replacement in the B Group, as it looks like the #5 team has brought their momentum from the end of 2016 into this new season. Kahne qualified 7th for Sunday’s Kobalt 400 and had the 9th-best ten-lap average in Happy Hour. He also has three top 10s in the last four Las Vegas races.
Keep an eye on Ryan Blaney this weekend, too. That #21 Ford has been a rocketship since the team unloaded it on Friday, qualifying 3rd and posting the best ten-lap average in final practice. Blaney had the 8th-fastest overall lap in that session as well, and wound up 6th on the speed chart in Practice #2 earlier on Saturday. Looking back at this race last season, Blaney started 14th and finished 6th in one of his strongest showings during his rookie campaign.
My Starters: Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson
Final B Group Rankings: (1) Chase Elliott, (2) Kyle Larson, (3) Ryan Blaney, (4) Kasey Kahne, (5) Kurt Busch, (6) Ryan Newman, (7) Jamie McMurray, (8) Austin Dillon, (9) Clint Bowyer, (10) Trevor Bayne, (11) Danica Patrick, (12) Paul Menard, (13) A.J. Allmendinger, (14) Chris Buescher, (15) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., (16) Aric Almirola
Yahoo! C Group Pick and Final Rankings for Las Vegas
Daniel Suarez had a nice qualifying effort this weekend (11th) but until he proves that he can put a full race together, it’s not recommended that you start him in Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing. Erik Jones also qualified up front this weekend (8th) and should be a solid top 15 all day on Sunday. With the right strategy, though, he might be able to make it inside the top 10. The #77 Toyota wasn’t blazing fast on Saturday but Jones showed signs of good speed and ranked 12th on the ten-lap average chart in Happy Hour. If you want to save your Jones starts, though, Ty Dillon is the guy to start, just like he was last week. The #13 Chevrolet qualified 24th for Sunday’s Kobalt 400 but should be inside the top 20 before it’s all said and done.
My Starter: Erik Jones
Final C Group Rankings: (1) Erik Jones, (2) Ty Dillon, (3) Daniel Suarez, (4) Landon Cassill, (5) Michael McDowell, (6) David Ragan, (7) Matt DiBenedetto, the rest
