Watkins Glen Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings
Matt Kenseth – Matt Kenseth doesn’t strike anybody as a road course racer but he’s been really good at Watkins Glen recently. In 4 of the last 5 races he’s finished in the top ten. He’s also been a remarkably safe fantasy option having only once finished lower than 14th since 2007. Over the last three Watkins Glen races Kenseth has a 7.7 average finish, a 10.3 average running position and the 8th best driver rating. Last year he had a solid showing. He finished 10th, had a 10th place average running position and earned the 6th best driver rating. In 2015 he had a solid car and came home with a “fuel mileage 4th.” Additionally in the race he earned the 10th best driver rating and had a 13th place average running position. In 2014 he also ran well. He started 8th, had an 8th place average running position and finished 9th. In 2013 he had his lone recent result outside the top fourteen. He had a solid afternoon and performed better than his misleading 23rd place finish. The reason for his poor result is that he damaged his car with 9 laps to go while running in 10th. In 2012 he finished 8th. In the five Watkins Glen races prior to that he finished between 12th and 14th. (Yahoo A Driver)
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. – Dale Earnhardt Jr. shouldn’t be overlooked at Watkins Glen. He’s a pretty solid road course driver who I think is flying below the radar. Over his six road course starts since 2014 he has an 8.2 average finish. Earlier this year at Sonoma, the other road course on the schedule he finished 6th. Last year at Watkins Glen Earnhardt Jr. missed the race because of his concussion. At Watkins Glen its been a decade since he last finished in the top ten but he’s been knocking on the door recently. In the last two Watkins Glen races he’s finished 11th. In 2015 he had a quality showing and ran well throughout the event. He earned the 5th best driver rating, had an 8th place average running position and finished 11th. If he didn’t have to save fuel at the end he likely had top five potential. In 2014 he was very competitive and was better than his 11th place result. He was potentially top five good but an unfavorable caution in the second half of the event shuffled him from 2nd back to about 20th. Also in the race it should be noted he earned the 5th best driver rating and had a 9th place average running position. (Yahoo A Driver)
Jamie McMurray – Jamie McMurray is a solid road course driver who shouldn’t be overlooked at Watkins Glen. In recent races he’s performed pretty well here. Since 2013 minus 2015 when he was caught up in an accident he has an 11.0 average finish and a 12.0 average running position. Last year he had a strong showing. He finished 8th, earned the 8th best driver rating and had a 13th place average running position. In 2015 McMurray didn’t have an incident free race and was caught up in a multi-car wreck just after a restart. Prior to his problem it looked like he had mid-teens potential. In 2014 he had a solid race. He started in 14th and finished 14th. Performance wise I thought he was better than his result. Late in the race while he was running around 9th he came down pit road and a lot of other drivers didn’t, that dropped him to about 20th. Also in the race it should be noted that he earned the 9th best driver rating and had a 12th place average running position. In 2013 he had a solid afternoon. He started 6th, had an 11th place average running position and finished 11th. (Yahoo B Driver)
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