Phoenix Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings
Chase Elliott – Chase Elliott should have a strong showing at Phoenix. This spring in his desert debut he ran well and had a successful showing. On Sunday I don’t see why he can’t build on that success because he’s improved as a driver over the course of the season. This spring he started 17th, had a 9th place average running position, finished 8th and earned the 6th best driver rating. In 2015 in the Xfinity Series Elliott has a pair of 7th place finishes. This year at shorter flat tracks he’s run well. Minus New Hampshire #1 where he was top ten good but was involved in a wreck he has a 13.0 average finish. (Yahoo C Driver)
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Kasey Kahne – Kasey Kahne is a solid dark horse at Phoenix. In 3 of the last 4 races in the desert he’s finished in the twenties. That should help keep him below the fantasy NASCAR radar of your competitors. At Phoenix he’s a past champion who won the first race on the current configuration. In 6 of the 11 races since the track changes he’s finished in the top 11. This spring he finished poorly but he didn’t have a bad car. He started in the rear of the field and finished 22nd. I will note that’s a misleading result. With 6 laps to go he was running in 14th but got into the wall hard. Last fall he crossed the finish line in 26th. I will note that result deserves an asterisk mark. He likely had top ten potential but during the competition caution he had contact with Matt DiBendedtto on pit road which damaged his car. After that he was no longer competitive. It wasn’t televised, but it must’ve been a big deal. In spring 2015 he had a great afternoon and consistently ran in the top ten. When the race reached its conclusion he finished 4th, had a 7th place average running position and earned the 7th best driver rating. One aspect I like about Kahne is how well he’s run in recent races at shorter flat tracks. He finished 6th at Richmond #2, and 9th at New Hampshire #2. Another attribute I like about him is his momentum. Since Darlington minus Talladega he’s finished in the top 12 every race and has an 8.1 average finish. (Yahoo B Driver)
Kyle Larson – Kyle Larson has shown potential at Phoenix. In 3 of the last 4 races he’s finished between 10th and 13th. When you pair that along with some of his recent success at shorter flat tracks then it’s clear he has solid fantasy potential. In the last two races on this track type he’s finished 2nd and 10th. This spring he had a solid race. He finished 12th and had a 15th place average running position. Last fall Larson started in 6th but over the course of the event he slowly faded back to his eventual 21st place result. Performance wise he was likely about 18th place good but the final caution during the pit cycle wasn’t favorable and dropped Larson back a few more positions. In spring 2015 he started 12th, finished 10th, earned the 10th best driver rating and had an 11th place average running position. His result does a pretty good reflecting his level of performance. In fall 2014 he performed relatively well and was better than his 13th place result. He had a 7th place average running position and earned the 7th best driver rating. For nearly the entire race until the caution with 24 laps to go he ran within the top 8. During that caution he took four tires and was leapfrogged by those who took two. Before the final caution he was running in 6th, but it dropped him to about 14th. On the final lap he was running in 11th but he had contact with Ryan Newman in the last turn which dropped him back two positions (finished 13th). (Yahoo B Driver)
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