Homestead Post Practice Fantasy NASCAR Predictions
The final race of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and it’s setting up to be a very good race. Martin Truex, Jr., Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, and Brad Keselowski are the four drivers that have a shot at the championship, and the first three have to be the co-favorites heading into Sunday. As we saw last season, though, anything can happen here at Homestead, and the best car doesn’t always win the championship.
The full starting lineup for Sunday’s final 2017 race can be found by clicking here. There were two practice sessions held here on Saturday, and the speeds from those two sessions can be found here: Practice #2 — Happy Hour. As always, our in-depth practice notes can be found here: Practice #2 — Happy Hour.
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Final Top 25 Rankings for the Ford EcoBoost 400
1. Martin Truex, Jr. – Starts 2nd – DraftKings Price: $11,100 – Yahoo! A Group
**Risk Factor: Low Risk**
One thing to remember about Martin Truex, Jr. this weekend is that the #78 team usually races better than they practice. And that in and of itself puts Truex as the favorite heading into Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400. This weekend, Truex and Kyle Busch came out and laid down blazing fast laps in the opening practice session (one and a half tenths faster than the field), and then during Practice #2, Truex came out with the 3rd-fastest lap. In Happy Hour, the #78 Toyota was the fastest of call cars, and a full two tenths and a half faster than the field. Finally, in terms of ten-lap averages, Truex was 2nd-best in the second session and 2nd-best in Happy Hour. This guy has an average finish of 2.7 on the 1.5-mile tracks this season and Homestead was often considered Truex’s best track on the schedule. If Martin doesn’t win the Championship here on Sunday, it won’t be the car’s fault, I’ll tell you that.
2. Kevin Harvick – Starts 9th – DraftKings Price: $9,700 – Yahoo! A Group
**Risk Factor: Low Risk**
Despite qualifying the worst of the four Championship drivers this weekend, Kevin Harvick is going to be a force on Sunday. Homestead-Miami Speedway is, statistically, his best track on the schedule, and his career average finish here of 6.9 (nice) is actually extremely impressive. With that being said, Harvick has just one win here at Homestead, but it was in 2014 when he ended up taking home the championship. Will that happen this weekend, though? We’ll have to wait and find out, but Harvick should get to the front sometime during the Ford EcoBoost 400 on Sunday. Speed-wise, the #4 Ford was 6th-best in ten-lap average during Practice #2 on Saturday and wound up 4th-best on that chart in Happy Hour with the 18th-fastest overall lap.
3. Kyle Busch – Starts 3rd – DraftKings Price: $10,500 – Yahoo! A Group
**Risk Factor: Low Risk**
It’s going to be a fun race on Sunday, I’ll tell you that. These top 3 cars are so close on speed that it’s going to come down to who doesn’t make the tiny mistakes, as well as whose pit crew can get them off of pit road the fastest. And then you have Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Larson right behind the top 3 on speed. Looking at Kyle Busch specifically, the #18 Toyota has been right there with Martin Truex, Jr. on all weekend long, and the same should be true during the race on Sunday–especially since they qualified 2nd and 3rd. Rowdy won here at Homestead-Miami Speedway during his championship run in 2015 and has finished 7th or better in four of his last five starts here. This weekend, Busch ranked 4th in ten-lap average during Practice #2 and then was the best in that category during Happy Hour. Kyle Busch is one of the best on old, worn out race tracks, too. He’s a great Fantasy NASCAR pick this weekend.
