Success In Fantasy NASCAR
An interesting argument came up recently and it got me thinking… is success in fantasy racing more due to luck or skill? Anybody can pick Jimmie Johnson every week—or Kevin Harvick in 2010—and it would have simply been bad luck if they didn’t have a good race. There are numerous fantasy games available for race fans to play every season, there is even https://www.easyslots.com games, and each requires a different mindset as you make your weekly driver decisions. Here are three of the NASCAR fantasy games that I have found to be the most popular:
Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Auto Racing – Each week, before qualifying, you choose an eight-driver team from among three groupings of eligible drivers (A-class, B-class, and C-Class). Then, before the race, you select four of those eight drivers for your starting lineup that you think will accumulate the most points. There is a catch, though: each driver can only be used nine times throughout the season. Mindset: Most people are conservative with this game. Although many would like to pick Jimmie Johnson every week, you need to save the starts so you have him available at his best tracks (like Phoenix) and don’t waste them on the week the boys go to Indianapolis because he is so hit-or-miss there.
NASCAR.com Fantasy Cap Challenge – You have a $100M cap for each race, which is spent to put together a roster of six drivers to achieve maximum points. There are three segments, and the prices for drivers are usually set by their points standing after each segment. For example, Kevin Harvick cost $27M (the highest) for the last two segments due to his position in the points. Mindset: I have found that, with this game, you are geared more toward finding the underdog that can get you points without costing you much so you can afford the high-cap drivers. A “Hail Mary” can be done nearly every week–if you decide to take the risk. For example, at Homestead I took a shot with both Aric Almirola and Bill Elliott. This allowed me to afford Harvick, Johnson, and Edwards. By taking a risk, I was able to pick 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 15th, netting me a bunch of points. However, I also had Reutimann, who finished 38th and kept my roster from being the best.
OnPitRow.com’s One and Done – Each week, you pick one driver and you get his points for the week. Here’s the catch, though: once you pick someone, you can’t use them again for the rest of the season. This makes it very strategic on how you select your drivers week in and week out. Mindset: Having never played this game (although I plan on it next year), I’m not sure what kind of mindset players would have. I guess I will find out when I play!
To be successful as a fantasy player in these games, there are two major things that you need to do: put your “fan” feelings aside and do some research. You may hate Denny Hamlin, but I’d hope that that doesn’t keep you from putting him on your roster when Pocono rolls around. Also, every diehard Dale Earnhardt, Jr. fan should know not to pick him when the series goes to Sonoma; he’s simply not good there. Once you get past that stage, all you need to do is take some time to research to perfect your fantasy roster each week.
Research is something I spend most of my weekend doing before I submit a final roster. I mostly pay attention to each drivers’ average practice speed (not just the practice charts that show one fast lap) as well as their past history at the track and their average running positions in previous races. Add in the qualifying results and you get a bunch of information that some people would rather not sift through. However, all of this information can be very valuable in predicting a winner–or an overrated driver–and it will allow you to become great at fantasy NASCAR.
So, is success in this fantasy world due to skill, or is it just luck? For me, I believe it is skill, mixed in with a little bit of luck. Being able to decipher statistics will make you that much more knowledgeable, but your drivers avoiding “The Big One” at Talladega is probably a little luck. If the anchor to your fantasy roster is dominating the race and blows an engine, I see that as just bad luck. What do you think?
