Phoenix AdvoCare 500 Fantasy NASCAR After Practice Contender Picks

Brad Keselowski

What to expect:

Brad Keselowski is playing cat and mouse games with Jimmie Johnson this weekend. The Blue Deuce looks good in the center of the turns and carries good speed off of them. That’s the key to being good at Phoenix. On Sunday at some point Keselowski will be in the lead and once he gets there he will be tough to beat. Brad is happy with his car and in Happy Hour they worked on fine tuning it. This race has come down to fuel mileage before and at that discipline the #2 team is very good. My prediction is that Brad Keselowski will win the AdvoCare 500.

Starting Position:

14th (Phoenix AdvoCare 500 Qualifying Results)

Average Practice Speed Rankings:

7th (Average Practice Speed Chart)

PROS Ranking:

6th (Phoenix PROS Rankings)

Chassis Selection:

Brad Keselowski is driving a brand new chassis this week (Phoenix Chassis Selection Links)

What I said about him earlier this week:

Keselowski had a very good car in March. He ran door to door with Jimmie Johnson in the last segment of the race and prevented the #48 from making a run at the leaders. In that race he started in 28th, had a 7th place average running position and finished in 5th. One variable you have to like about Brad in the AdvoCare 500 is that he recently tested here. That should almost guarantee that he’ll be competitive. Brad Keselowski isn’t going to lay down in this race and I think he’ll play into the mix for the win. Penkse Racing has traditionally made great horsepower at this venue and they’ll have it again. Fuel mileage will come into play in this race and the #2 team is still the best in the business at playing that game.

Desperate fantasy racers do desperate things. Smart fantasy racers get the ifantasyrace advantage

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Kyle Busch

What to expect:

Kyle Busch has won nearly everything this weekend. He won the pole, practice #1, practice #2 and Happy Hour. That will translate into a good performance on Sunday. Kyle Busch has a very good car for Phoenix. The #18 had the fastest 15 lap average, 10 lap average and 5 lap average. It’s hard not to like Kyle Busch this weekend. His car was good in the spring race and the #18 team has been close to victory lane in the Chase.

Starting Position:

1st

Average Practice Speed Rankings:

8th

PROS Ranking:

4th

Chassis Selection:

Joe Gibbs Racing doesn’t provide chassis selection information.

What I said about him earlier this week:

In March Kyle Busch had one of the fastest cars at Phoenix. He led 52 laps and finished 6th. Last fall in the other race on the new layout he had engine problems and finished 36th. Kyle Busch is a driver who I would feel comfortable having on my team. He’s had some fast cars this year on shorter flat tracks. He won at Richmond in the spring and had fast cars in both races at New Hampshire. The #18 has been good throughout the Chase and I think he’ll contend for a win in the AdvoCare 500. One advantage for him in this race over the Chasers is that he’ll be able to do gambles that they can’t take.