Scouting Report: Chicagoland Geico 400
How to make good fantasy pick for Geico 400:
1)Practice will be very important this week. NASCAR only visits Chicagoland once a year and as a result practice becomes that much more important. It’s extremely meaningful that this race will be run during the day which will be a change from the norm at the Windy City. One more variable that makes practice more important this week is the calender. NASCAR normally visits Chicago in July (87 avg temp), not September (78 avg temp).
2)When NASCAR only visits tracks once a year it’s important to study results on similar tracks. For this race I would study what happened at Atlanta, Michigan, Kentucky, Kansas and Auto Club Speedway.
3) Qualifying isn’t very important this week. In 2008 Kyle Busch won from the pole, but every other race winner at Chicagoland has started outside the top five.
Drivers to watch in the Chicagoland Geico 400:
Jimmie Johnson – This is the moment Jimmie Johnson has been waiting for since Homestead. Chicagoland is a good track for him to get the “race for seis” rolling. Johnson is a lock for a top five this week. He’s only finished lower than 8th twice but in those two races he’s led 92 and 82 laps respectively. Jimmie Johnson is also an A+ qualifier. In the last eight races he hasn’t started worse than 8th. At Michigan (similar track) Johnson finished second to Kyle Busch.
Jeff Gordon – Chicagoland used to be a winless track for Gordon but since he visited victory lane in 2006 he’s never looked back. Win number 86 could easily happen in the Geico 400. In the last two Chicagoland races he’s finished 2nd and 3rd. Gordon has lots of momentum right now and should be very impressive Sunday afternoon.
Carl Edwards – Edwards may be perceived as a risky pick this week but he’ll be an elite driver Sunday afternoon. His overall history at Chicagoland is shaky but last year he finished second. Edwards also has a third place finish to his name but he boasts three finishes of 20th or worse. In 2011 Edwards has been as good as anyone on intermediate tracks.
Matt Kenseth – Matt Kenseth almost won at Chicagoland in 2006 but Jeff Gordon nudged him out of the lead in the closing laps. Only Tony Stewart and Jimmie Johnson have led more laps than Kenseth at Chicago (300). Matt will be tough to beat but he’s been fading in the closing segments of races far to often lately.
Kevin Harvick – Harvick won the first two races at Chicagoland in 2001 and 2002. He really hasn’t been that good on intermediate tracks since he won at Charlotte but his seventh place finish at Atlanta has helped restore my faith in him. Harvick’s average finish at Chicago is 11th.
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FantasyRacingCheatSheet.com driver momentum over the last five races:
1)Jeff Gordon 2)Brad Keselowski 3)Kyle Busch 4)Jimmie Johnson 5)AJ Allmendinger 6)Kevin Harvick 7)Ryan Newman 8)Matt Kenseth 9)Carl Edwards 10)Martin Truex Jr.
VegasInsider.com Odds to win the Geico 400:
Jimmie Johnson 5/1, Denny Hamlin 5/1, Kyle Busch 6/1, Jeff Gordon 7/1, Carl Edwards 7/1, Brad Keselowski 8/1, Matt Kenseth 10/1, Kevin Harvick 10/1, Tony Stewart 14/1, Kurt Busch 15/1
Racing4Glory.com Stat Center
