Texas Duck Commander 500 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings
Austin Dillon – This year at intermediate tracks Austin Dillon has run really well. He finished 5th at Las Vegas, 11th at Atlanta and was top ten good at Auto Club Speedway until he had problems on pit road. Outside of the elite drivers on this track type he’s been about as good as they come. At Texas Dillon doesn’t have the greatest track record but he showed improvement in 2015. Last fall Dillon started in 26th and moved up through the field at steady pace. When the race reached its conclusion he finished 11th, earned the 13th best driver rating and had a 16th place average running position. In his next four most recent Texas starts he finished between 20th and 22nd. Last spring he didn’t show any muscle and was basically a 20th place driver. He finished 20th, had a 19th place average running position and earned the 21st best driver rating. In fall 2014 Dillon ran well and performed better than his 21st place result. In that race he started in 29th and he raced his way up to the low teens around lap 140. At lap 200 he was running in 9th. He remained running right around that position for the next 80 laps but during a pit stop after lap 280 he left pit road running in the 20’s. He was never able to recover from that and when the checkered flag waved he finished 21st. (Yahoo B Driver / Draftkings $7,800)
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Denny Hamlin – Recently at Texas in incident free races Denny Hamlin has been a 7th to 13th place performer. In four of the last five Texas races he finished within that range. Over that stretch minus last falls race he has a 10.3 average finish and an 11.5 average running position. Last fall it’s hard to know how good he was because he had fuel related issues early in the race that sent him to the garage for many laps. When the race reached its conclusion he finished 30 laps down in 38th. Last spring he didn’t have the greatest car for much of the race but when the checkered flag waved he finished 11th. Also in the race it should be noted he had a 15th place average running position and earned the 13th best driver rating. In fall 2014 he was never a contender but he did have a solid race. He finished 10th, earned the 10th best driver rating and had a 12th place average running position. In spring 2014 at Texas he finished 13th but he was better than his result. He started 6th, had a 7th place average running position, earned the 7th best driver rating, and led 20 laps. On lap 122 he passed Brad Keselowski for the lead. Unfortunately his race wasn’t incident free. On lap 141 during green flag pit stops he was caught speeding on pit road. As a result of the penalty he dropped from 1st to 15th. Before the Green-White-Checker came out he was running in 7th, but when the checkered flag waved he finished 13th. In 2010 at Texas Hamlin pulled off the season-sweep. This year at 1.5 mile tracks Denny Hamlin has been a disappointment. He finished 16th at Atlanta and 19th at Las Vegas. Auto Club Speedway is the last intermediate visited and he finished 3rd there. (Yahoo A Driver / Draftkings $9,100)
Further Recommended Reading – Texas Top Tier Elite Picks, Texas Mid Pack Predictions, Fantasy NASCAR Scouting Report – Texas, DraftKings Texas Fall 2015 Points
Ryan Newman – Recently at Texas in incident free races Newman has proven himself to be a 9th to 16th place driver. In 11 of the last 14 Texas races he finished within that range. One finish not within that range was in last falls race. It’s important to note that race wasn’t incident free for him. On lap 145 while hew as racing just outside the top ten he had a tire go down and came to pit road. That dropped him two laps down back to 27th. When the race reached its conclusion he finished 22nd. Last spring he had a quality showing. He started in the rear of the field because of an engine change. By about lap 60 he climbed up to the low to mid teens and that’s where he ran for the majority of the race. When the checkered flag waved he finished 12th and earned the 14th best driver rating. In 2014 Newman had a respectable season at Texas. In November 2014 he raced well and was better than his 15th place finish. His misleading result can be traced to him getting a late tire rub and then pitting when others didn’t. In that event Newman started in 7th, had a 7th place average running position and earned the 6th best driver rating. At Texas in spring 2014 he had his worst result of the season at a 1.5 mile track. He started 8th, had a 16th place average running position and finished 16th. In the race Newman performed better than his result. He had about a 10th place car but a windshield tear off got on his car’s nose which caused heating issues and as a result he short pitted to remove it. Later in the race that hurt him with how the cautions fell. Before he had his issue he ran in the top ten. In 2013 Newman performed well and swept the top ten. That fall he finished 9th, and that spring he finished 10th. This year at intermediate tracks Newman has been solid. He finished 13th at Las Vegas, 14th at Auto Club Speedway and was about 12th place good at Atlanta until he had trouble. (Yahoo B Driver / Draftkings $7,100)
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