Kurt Busch 2011 Fantasy NASCAR Preview
2010 Stats: Points Finish 11th, 2 Wins, 9 Top Fives, 17 Top Tens, Average Running Position 14.0, Average Finish 15.3, Laps Led 842, Driver Rating 91.1
In 2010 Kurt Busch had a season with early ups and late season downs. He started off the season hot by winning at Atlanta for the second consecutive season. Then the following week he backed it up with an impressive third place showing at Bristol (Led 278 laps). In May Kurt Busch dominated Charlotte by winning the All-Star race and the prestigious Coca Cola 600. That however was his last win of the season.
In the Chase the former blue deuce driver performed poorly on the track. He finished in the top ten twice and in the last seven races he only finished in the top fifteen once.
The tell-tale story of this team for the 2010 season can be summed up like this: good race, good race, bad race.
Strengths- Kurt Busch is strong on intermediate tracks, restrictor plate tracks, and flat tracks.
Weaknesses- Last season Kurt Busch finished outside the top twenty in a third of the seasons races. Can you say consistency problems?
Intermediate Track Grade- A-, Early in the season Kurt Busch accomplished a feat fantasy racers should droll over. In the first three “cookie cutter” races of the season he won at Atlanta, finished 4th at Texas, and won at Charlotte. In these three races he led a combined 532 laps. That’s impressive. In the last two races of the year on these tracks he threw fantasy racers for a loop. He finished an uninspired 30th and 24th. Where did this come from? I sure hope he was testing new things.
At other intermediate tracks Kurt Busch really shown his inconsistency. At nearly every intermediate track that NASCAR visits twice a year he finished good once and poorly once. If you’re in an allocation league make sure you have good timing.
Flat Track Grade- B+, Kurt Busch is strong on both the big flats and small flats. On the small flats he finished inside the top thirteen 75% of the time. On the big ones he finished inside the top ten 66% of the time. His bad finishes on flat tracks were both sub thirty finishes.
Restrictor Plate Track Grade- A-, Busch is as good as it gets on restrictor plate tracks. Last season he finished in the top ten at both tracks. Busch is the best plate racer who’s never won a race on this track type.
Short Track Grade- B-, Mr.Bristol was back in action in the spring race. In my opinion I thought he was better than Johnson. He just started in the slow lane on the last restart. In the night race at Bristol he finished 9th. In 2010 Bristol was the only track that Busch finished in the top fifteen on. His average finish on the other short tracks in 2010 was 18.75.
Road Course Track Grade- B, I’ve said for a long time that he’s a good road course driver but his finishes stink. In 2010 he finished 2nd at Watkins Glen and 32nd at Infineon. In twenty career road course races he’s finished in the top ten seven times.
How to use Kurt Busch from a Fantasy NASCAR Perspective in 2011? Kurt Busch is an elite driver but inconsistency is fantasy racing poison. Focus on using Kurt Busch on intermediate tracks, plate tracks, flat tracks and Bristol.
