Auto Club Pepsi Max 400 Fantasy NASCAR Preview and Picks
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A= Really, Really Good Pick
Jimmie Johnson – How can you bet against Jimmie Johnson this week at Auto Club Speedway? He’s getting into his traditional Chase roll and he’s won three out of the last four races at California. Auto Club Speedway is Jimmie Johnson’s home track and is the site of his first career win. In the five COT races at Auto Club Speedway Jimmie Johnson has only finished outside the top two once, and that was a ninth place finish. (Yahoo A Driver)
Kevin Harvick – Harvick arguably had the best car the last time the series visited this venue. Unfortunately for him Jimmie Johnson had his lucky horseshoe that day. Other reasons to be optimistic about Kevin Harvick this week are that he won at Michigan, and was very impressive at Kansas. (Yahoo B Driver)
Carl Edwards – Carl Edwards and the 99 team didn’t start the season as an elite intermediate track team, but they are now. The reason why you should pick Carl Edwards is because of how strong he’s been on intermediate tracks since Michigan in August. (Yahoo A Driver)
A- = Really Good Pick
Jeff Gordon – Jeff Gordon is another California native who I think will contend for the win. Matt Kenseth and Jimmie Johnson won the races last year, but Jeff Gordon finished second twice. Gordon’s average running position in both races last year was 3.5. (Yahoo A Driver)
Matt Kenseth – Matt Kenseth is the last guy not named Jimmie Johnson who won at Auto Club Speedway. California has always been a good track for him and over the last five years his 5.2 average finish is second best to Jimmie Johnson. (Yahoo B Driver)
Tony Stewart – Tony Stewart really has something working well with his latest intermediate track chassis. He looked like a winner at Kansas for the first two-thirds of the race. I think we should expect him to challenge again. (Yahoo A Driver)
Greg Biffle – When Biffle gets on a roll watch out. Just like John Roberts used to say, “Stick with the Biff”. He’s a previous California winner who should be on your short list of picks this week. Earlier this year Biffle finished 10th. (Yahoo A Driver)
Kurt Busch – Kurt is very good at California. He’s won at this track before and is a three-time pole winner. He’s finished in the top eight the last three races here. (Yahoo A Driver)
Kyle Busch – In twelve starts at Auto Club Speedway Kyle Busch has finished in the top ten eight times. He’s finished in the top ten every race excluding his first two races and the last two. (Yahoo A Driver)
B+ = Good Pick
Jeff Burton – Earlier this year Burton finished 3rd at Auto Club. He’s consistently been strong all season long on intermediate tracks. (Yahoo B Driver)
Clint Bowyer – Bowyer has been a pretty effective fantasy driver at Auto Club Speedway. He’s not the most flashy driver but he’s never finished worse than 20th, and has three top tens in the last four races. (Yahoo B Driver)
Denny Hamlin – Hamlin looked lost earlier this year at Auto Club Speedway but he did win at Michigan. In nine races at California Hamlin has only finished in the top ten in three races. (Yahoo A Driver)
AJ Allmendinger – It’s kinda hard to be to high on Allmendinger at Auto Club. His average finish is 23.8, but the reason for optimism stems from the momentum this team has now. Allmendinger hasn’t finished worse than 12th in the last four races this season. (Yahoo C Driver)
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B = Just A Tier Below The Good Picks
Joey Logano – Logano finished 5th earlier this year at Fontana. At both of the Michigan races this year he finished 10th. Can you say “sleeper alert”! (Yahoo B Driver)
Juan Pablo Montoya – Earlier this year Montoya ran good and led 29 laps. What happened is Jamie McMurray got loose and took him out. Last fall Montoya finished 3rd which is his only top ten at this track in seven races. (Yahoo A Driver)
Mark Martin – Martin finished 4th earlier this year and finished there last fall. In the last eleven Auto Club races Martin’s passed more cars than anybody. (Yahoo A Driver)
David Reutimann – Reutimann’s career at Auto Club got off to a rocky start. He’s finished in the teens the last three races here. (Yahoo B Driver)
Jamie McMurray – The last time Jamie McMurray finished in the top ten at Auto Club was the first race he was in Roush equipment. I guess you could say its been a while. In his previous stint with Ganassi Racing he finished in the top eight in four of five races. His average finish in that time period was 7.2. (Yahoo B Driver)
Kasey Kahne – Kasey Kahne is a previous California winner but I don’t trust him. The consistency of this team hasn’t been there all season long so I certainly don’t expect it to show up now. Kasey Kahne has only led 1 lap in the COT and has finished 34th in the last two Auto Club races. (Yahoo B Driver)
B- = You Can Pencil Them In For Around 20th
Ryan Newman – Since 2006 Ryan Newman has only finished in the top ten once at Auto Club Speedway. His lone top ten over this time period was a tenth place finish in the February 2008 race. Since his last top ten Ryan Newman has only finished in the top fifteen once and has an average finish of 23.75. (Yahoo B Driver)
Marcos Ambrose – In my opinion Marcos Ambrose just isn’t a viable intermediate track pick. He looks lost at times on some of the big ovals. Ambrose has never finished better than 22nd at Auto Club Speedway. (Yahoo B Driver)
David Ragan – Auto Club is a good place for Roush cars but David Ragan appears to be marching to a different beat. The good news about David Ragan is that he’s only finished outside the top twenty once. The bad news is that his worst finish was earlier this year. (Yahoo B Driver)
Who will win at Auto Club Speedway? Make sure to VOTE for who you think will win.
C+ = Proceed With Caution
Dale Earnhardt Jr. – With no shake up coming in this lame duck portion of the season expect nothing to change about the 88. In the COT era Earnhardt Jr. probably has about the worst average finish. In the COT his average finish is 29.4. He’s finished 11th, 25th, 32nd, 39th, and 40th in the COT. (Yahoo B Driver)
Martin Treux Jr. – In the COT era Martin Treux Jr. has accomplished quite the feat. In the five COT races held at Auto Club Treux has managed to finish worse each consecutive race (6, 19, 22, 27, and 39th). (Yahoo B Driver)
Elliott Sadler – Auto Club is the site of a rare Elliott Sadler win. His lone top ten this season came at Michigan which is the sister track. (Yahoo B Driver)
C = I’m Not Picking Them
Brad Keselowski – Brad has been extremely consistent at Auto Club Speedway. He’s only raced here once and finished exactly where he started (21st). On other similar tracks this season Brad’s never cracked the top twenty. (Yahoo B Driver)
Sam Hornish Jr. – Loop data wise Hornish Jr. is mid twenties across the board. There’s really no reason to pick him. (Yahoo C Driver)
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Auto Club Fantasy NASCAR Picks
My Pick : Jimmie Johnson
Top Onpitrow.com Expert Pick : Jimmie Johnson
Top Onpitrow.com Darkhorse Pick : Joey Logano
