Drivers who you don’t want to pick in the Phoenix Kobalt Tools 500
Brian Vickers – I don’t think I’m the only one who see’s payback for Vickers in the not so distant future (Montoya, McMurray, Kenseth, Ambrose ….). He’s raced extremely aggressive in recent weeks and I think there will be some consequences for it. At Richmond he finished 33rd in a complete Red Bull wipe out crash. Before his 33rd place effort he had four straight top twenty finishes at RIR. I don’t view Brian Vickers as a quick adapter and I think he’ll struggle if he doesn’t get crashed out.
How to approach the Phoenix Kobalt Tools 500 from a fantasy NASCAR perspective?
Joey Logano – No one can confuse Logano for a quick learner in the Sprint Cup Series. Logano has really struggled in the Chase. His momentum is terrible and he’s only finished in the top twenty in half the Chase races. If you’re looking to make a fantasy NASCAR “Hail Mary” please don’t consider Logano. He was good last fall at Phoenix and that still has some fantasy weight but Logano should not be making an appearance on your fantasy team this week. At Richmond in the fall race Logano finished 35th and had a 22nd place average running position.
Paul Menard – Richmond has always been a terrible track for Menard so the logical conclusion is that Phoenix shouldn’t be much better. At Richmond Menard has n0ine straight finishes of 25th or worse. It took him a long time to start getting good in the Sprint Cup Series so I think it will take him time to learn this track.
Martin Treux Jr. – Treux is a driver who I think will miss the old Phoenix track configuration. It was pretty good to him and who knows what the new track layout has in store for him. Treux is always a high risk driver and when you combine that with an unknown variable bad things happen. At Richmond which I theoretically believe is the key to fantasy success this week Treux has struggled. He’s only finished better than 15th twice and his last three finishes have been 22nd, 27th and 30th.
David Reutimann – Reutimann is a lame duck driver who will either race really hard or not try at all. I think he’ll race hard and in the past that has resulted in problems for him. I really don’t see any reason for optimism here. I think the only reason why someone might pick him is because no one else will. At Richmond in the fall Reutimann finished 26th and had a 18th place average running position.
Check out:
- Phoenix Kobalt Tools 500: Fantasy NASCAR “Top Tier Elite”
- PicksPhoenix Kobalt Tools 500: Fantasy NASCAR “Front Runner” Picks
- Phoenix Kobalt Tools 500: Mid Pack Projections
