Phoenix Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Jimmie Johnson – At Phoenix, I’m going to view Jimmie Johnson as a low double-digit driver who might sneak in a top ten. Over the last four races in the desert, Johnson has a 12.8 average finish and a 13.8 average running position. In 3 of those 4 races it should be noted he finished between 14th to 15th. Last fall at Phoenix, Johnson finished 14th, had a 16th place average running position and his Green Flag Average Speed ranked as the 18th best. In spring 2019, Johnson was strong. He finished 8th, had an 8th place average running position and earned the 7th best driver rating. In 2018 he had results of 14th and 15th. In 2019 over the combined events at shorter-flat tracks minus New Hampshire where he had problems, Johnson had an 11th place average finish.

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Matt DiBenedetto – If you’re looking for a dark horse at Phoenix, consider Matt DiBenedetto. In his quasi Penske car I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if he competes for a top ten. Last year at shorter-flat tracks, DiBenedetto showed prowess on this track type and over the last three races his 11.0 average finish ranked as the 10th best. Last fall at Phoenix, DiBenedetto was solid. He finished 13th, earned the 14th best driver rating and had a 15th place average running position. In spring 2019, DiBenedetto was having a respectable race but he finished an asterisk mark 28th after developing engine issues late. With 61 laps to go he was running in 14th, with 50 laps to go he came in for an unexpected pit stop to try to solve his engine issues. If his race would’ve been incident free, I think he was clearly a low double-digit to mid-teens driver.

Alex Bowman – Alex Bowman is a fantasy enigma at Phoenix. He earned his #88 ride after nearly racing his way to victory lane in fall 2016 here. In that race he started on the pole, led 194 laps and finished 6th. Since then, Bowman hasn’t come close to duplicating that performance. Last fall at Phoenix, Bowman didn’t run well. He finished 23rd, had the 23rd best Green Flag Average Speed and his average running position was 22nd. I’m hoping he had some sort of problem that wasn’t made known because he was that bad. In spring 2019, Bowman crashed and finished 35th. In the race he started 6th and on lap 147 while he was running around 17th he got into the wall hard and brought out a caution. About 50 laps later he slammed into the wall again and it marked the end of his race. In fall 2018, Bowman had a solid performance and was a top ten contender, but finished an asterisk mark 30th after crashing. In the race he finished 9th in Stage #1, would’ve finished in the top ten in Stage #2 until he got a late penalty and then with about 50 laps to go while he was running in the top ten he was caught up in a multi-car wreck. He later wrecked again with 27 laps to go while he was running in 15th which marked the end of his race. In spring 2018 he had a solid performance and finished 13th despite getting a speeding penalty around the midpoint while running in 11th. On Sunday, I’m going to view Bowman as a low double-digit to mid-teens performer.

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