Dover Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Kevin Harvick – Kevin Harvick will be a good fantasy NASCAR pick at Dover. In recent Monster Mile races he’s been more dominant than Jimmie Johnson. In the last four Dover races he has the best driver rating, best average running position (6.5), led the most laps (693) and has a misleading 8.3 average finish. Last fall Harvick put on a display of domination. In the race he started in 15th and quickly sliced and diced his way up through the running order. When the checkered flag waved he finished 1st, earned a near perfect driver rating, had a 2nd place average running position and led 355 laps. Nobody had anything for him that afternoon and if the race was long enough he probably could’ve lapped the field. In June 2015 I thought he had the best car except during a late restart while he was on old tires Johnson got around him and he couldn’t reel him back in. When the checkered flag waved he finished 2nd, earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 3rd place average running position and led 91 laps. In 2014 he had a great car in both events but walked away with a pair of misleading results. In fall 2014 I think he had the best car hands down. He started on the pole, led 223 laps but finished 13th. The reason for his lack luster result can be traced to lap 252 when he had a left front flat while leading. That dropped him down a lap back to about 20th. In June 2014 he also had the best car but had valve stem issues which led to a flat. In that race on lap 165 while he was leading that issue occurred and it dropped him down two laps. Prior to his flat he led 24 laps. His Yahoo Race Chart does a good job portraying his level of competitiveness. When the checkerboard flag waved he finished 17th. Between 2010 and 2013 when he drove the #29 at Dover he was extremely consistent. In the races over that stretch he had an 8.9 average finish, 10.5 average running position and the 6th best driver rating. (Yahoo A Driver)

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Jimmie Johnson – Jimmie Johnson is a fantasy NASCAR ace at Dover. He’s good at many tracks, but Dover is perhaps his best. In 28 races he has 10 wins, 5 poles, 15 top fives and 20 top tens. Since 2008 he’s only finished outside the top 9 three times and in all of those events you can put an asterisk mark next to his result. Last fall he had a good car but walked away with a misleading finish. In the race he started in 5th and at the time of the lap 40 competition caution he was running in 4th. Then during that stop he was caught speeding on pit road which dropped him back to the high-twenties. While he was in the process of bouncing back and running in the mid-teens on lap 104 trouble struck. At that time he made an unexpected pit stop and then eventually went to the garage because he had a broken rear axle seal. When the checkered flag waved he finished 41st. In three of the four races prior to that he went to victory lane. In spring 2015 he didn’t have the best car but over the course of the event the #48 car got better and better. During a late restart he passed Kevin Harvick for the lead and after that it was game over for the competition. In the race Johnson started 14th, had a 5th place average running position, earned the 3rd best driver rating and led 23 laps. In fall 2014 he had a good car but drove a conservative race because his team was focusing on the “big picture.” In that race he finished 3rd, had a 4th place average running position and earned the 4th best driver rating. In June 2014 Johnson was dominant. He started in 4th and took the lead on lap 82. Of the remaining 318 laps he paced the field for 272 of them. When the checkered flag waved he finished 1st, had a 2nd place average running position and earned a near perfect driver rating. In 2013 Johnson won in the fall and likely would’ve won in the spring if he didn’t jump a late restart. (Yahoo A Driver)

Make sure you read our exclusive Scouting Report for in-depth analysis on what happened last fall at the Monster Mile.

Kyle Busch – Kyle Busch is an elite performer at Dover. He gets around the Monster Mile with the best of them and his “attack the track” driving style has been very successful. In his career he has 2 wins and has finished in the top five 45% percent of the time, and the top ten 64% percent of the time. Since 2010 he’s finished in the top ten in every race that’s been incident free. Last fall he had a great car and finished runner-up. In addition to finishing 2nd it should be noted he earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 3rd place average running position and led 19 laps. In spring 2015 Busch had a great car that was strong over long runs. In the race he finished a very misleading 36th. The reason for his poor result can be traced to his involvement in a wreck with 24 laps to go while he was running in third. In fall 2014 Busch had a fast car and was very competitive. He earned the 5th best driver rating, had a 6th place average running position and finished 10th. In June 2014 he had a great car but his race wasn’t incident free. In that event he started 2nd, led the first 81 laps but unfortunately while he was running in 3rd on lap 125 Clint Bowyer sent him into the wall. In fall 2013 Kyle Busch was very good. He finished 5th, had a 5th place average running position and led 30 laps. In spring 2013 Kyle Busch had a great car. He earned the best driver rating, led the most laps (150), had the best average running position (3rd) and finished 4th. In fall 2013 Kyle Busch was dominant. He led 302 laps, had the best driver rating but late in the race under green he had to pit for fuel from the lead and as a result he finished 7th. (Yahoo A Driver)

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