Dover International Speedway is a great track to sit back and watch a race, but as far as Fantasy NASCAR goes, there’s not many changes with the drivers finishing up front. The cream rises to the top here at “The Monster Mile” and we consistently see the top teams challenging for the win. That’s why, in my Early Week Yahoo! article, I said to go with the best options in each Yahoo! Group and not worry about starts this weekend. Hopefully you listened to that bit of advice, because if so, you should have a chance at a great score in this game on Sunday.
My team points last week (Charlotte): 294
Overall team percentile: 94th
Total team points for the season: 3,406
Yahoo! A Group Pick and Final Rankings for Dover
Martin Truex, Jr. or Kyle Busch? That’s the question this weekend as far as who is going to lead the most laps and have the best shot at victory lane. I am leaning toward the former heading into Sunday, but honestly you can’t go wrong with either of those drivers. Both Truex and Busch have solid top 5 cars this weekend and should each lead a good chunk of laps. Unfortunately, I don’t have the task of choosing between the two because I went with Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth in the A Group this weekend.
Both Johnson and Kenseth also have good, top 5 cars heading into the race this weekend, but they’re just a tick behind Truex and Kyle Busch in terms of speed. Johnson is a ten-time winner here and is on 45% of Yahoo! rosters this weekend. It’s not ideal to go with the crowd, but the #48 Chevrolet has a better shot at winning the race this weekend than the #20 Toyota does.
As far as the other A Group drivers, if you’re in a position where you don’t have any of the four guys mentioned above, then I don’t really know what to say. Brad Keselowski is probably the best option of the remaining A Group drivers, but he probably won’t get the chance to lead and doesn’t seem to have the speed to be considered a ‘sure’ top 5 pick. Kevin Harvick qualified back in 18th this weekend and just seems a little bit off. The #4 Ford should still come home inside the top 10 on Sunday but I don’t see Harvick contending for the win.
My Starter: Jimmie Johnson over Matt Kenseth
Final A Group Rankings: (1) Martin Truex, Jr., (2) Kyle Busch, (3) Jimmie Johnson, (4) Matt Kenseth, (5) Brad Keselowski, (6) Kevin Harvick, (7) Denny Hamlin, (8) Dale Earnhardt, Jr., (9) Joey Logano
Yahoo! B Group Picks and Final Rankings for Dover
While most people are focusing in on Kyle Busch and Martin Truex, Jr. this weekend, let’s not overlook Kyle Larson. That #42 Chevrolet was super fast during the final practice session on Saturday and there’s a very good chance that Larson leads for a while on Sunday. Don’t forget that he led 85 laps and finished 2nd in this race one year ago. If Larson is able to get ahead of Kyle Busch and Martin Truex early on Sunday, he could very well lead the most laps in this year’s AAA 400. I’m more than comfortable in using my fourth Larson Yahoo! start of the season this weekend.
The next best option in the B Group this weekend is Kurt Busch and the #41 Ford. That car has been fast ever since the team unloaded it, qualifying 6th and posting top 10 speed in both practice sessions on Saturday. Kurt should be good for a solid top 10 result on Sunday. Remember, he wound up finishing 5th in this race last year.
Jamie McMurray and Clint Bowyer both have some work to do after qualifying 19th and 22nd (respectively) here at “The Monster Mile” on Friday. Both the #1 Chevrolet and the #14 Ford looked good during practice on Saturday, though, with Jamie Mac posting the best and 6th-best ten-lap averages in the two sessions while Bowyer wound up 2nd and 13th on those two charts. Despite their lower starting spots, both McMurray and Bowyer are top 10 threats here at Dover on Sunday.
Chase Elliott finished 3rd in both Dover races last season and is in desperate need of a good run here on Sunday after that disastrous bad luck at Charlotte one week ago. With that being said, the #24 team now has four straight finishes outside of the top 20, thus virtually no momentum heading into this weekend. Chase didn’t look terrible during practice here at Dover on Saturday (he was 5th in ten-lap average during Happy Hour) but I’m not sure I would burn a Chase Elliott start in a situation like this. At best, the #24 Chevrolet comes home 5th on Sunday, after he starts back in 16th when the AAA 400 goes green.
As mentioned earlier this week, Dover isn’t the place to skimp on starts. The best cars usually find their way to the front at “The Monster Mile” and it’s kind rare for a sleeper to have a good run. With that being said, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. is an option in the Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing game this weekend. He qualified 12th for this weekend’s race and has finished 11th, 14th, and 8th in the last three Dover races. Additionally, don’t forget that the #17 Ford hasn’t wound up worse than 15th since the Fontana race in March!
My Starters: Kyle Larson and Kurt Busch over Chase Elliott and Clint Bowyer
Final B Group Rankings: (1) Kyle Larson, (2) Kurt Busch, (3) Jamie McMurray, (4) Clint Bowyer, (5) Chase Elliott, (6) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., (7) Ryan Blaney, (8) Austin Dillon, (9) Ryan Newman, (10) Trevor Bayne, (11) A.J. Allmendinger, (12) Kasey Kahne, (13) Chris Buescher, (14) Paul Menard, (15) Danica Patrick
Yahoo! C Group Pick and Final Rankings for Dover
This weekend at Dover, the Toyotas as a whole came out with a bunch of speed, as Kyle Busch won the pole followed by Martin Truex, Jr., Daniel Suarez, and Matt Kenseth rounding out the front two rows for Sunday’s AAA 400 Drive for Autism. Yes, Daniel Suarez qualified 3rd at Dover, and he showed pretty good speed during the two practice sessions on Saturday as well. Obviously it’s hard to say for sure that Daniel will have a good run here on Sunday but a top 15 is well within reach for this #19 team–as well as a possible lap led (and ten valuable bonus points in Yahoo!) because of his qualifying effort. If you have Suarez on your team this weekend, I think you have to start him. Erik Jones also had a top 10 qualifying effort this weekend but didn’t look as impressive during the practices on Saturday. Still, the #77 Toyota has shown speed during almost every race this year, and that should be the case at “The Monster Mile” on Sunday as well. Both Suarez and Jones are previous Xfinity Series winners here at Dover and by far and away the best fantasy choices in the Yahoo! format. The other viable options in this group–Ty Dillon and Regan Smith–might have trouble cracking the top 20 on Sunday. They start 21st and 30th, respectively.
My Starter: Daniel Suarez over Erik Jones
Final C Group Rankings: (1) Daniel Suarez, (2) Erik Jones, (3) Ty Dillon, (4) Regan Smith, (5) Michael McDowell, (6) Landon Cassill, (7) David Ragan, (8) Cole Whitt, the rest
Jordan, I love your articles and insight. I read them each week to help me figure out who to start for my Yahoo league. Keep up the great work, it’s greatly appreciated!!!!
Thanks Blake!