Fantasy Racing Not So Fast: Auto Club 400
Marcos Ambrose – Marcos Ambrose hasn’t looked good in the Gen 6 car. When you combine that with his Auto Club track record there’s reason for concern. Ambrose has raced here seven times and not once has he finished on the lead lap. His Auto Club average finish is 27.7 and his best finish is 21st (2012). There is some room for optimism though. Michigan is the sister track of Auto Club Speedway and his track record there was terrible as well until last year. In 2012 he recorded finishes of 9th and 5th at MIS. A few weeks ago Ambrose really struggled at Vegas. He finished 22nd, had an average running position of 25th and ran zero percent of the laps in the top fifteen. In 2013 Ambrose has a best finish of 18th. (Yahoo! B Driver)
Juan Pablo Montoya – At California Montoya has two top tens and a 19.1 average finish. Last season he finished 17th. Another large part of his Not So Fast status is his performance at Las Vegas. In the Kobalt Tools 400 he started in the rear of the field and finished 19th. One positive aspect of him starting in the back is that he tied Top Tier Elite driver Matt Kenseth and Trevor Bayne for having the best passing differential (18). (Yahoo! B Driver)
Bobby Labonte – Since 2008 at Auto Club Speedway Labonte has a best finish of 20th and an average finish of 27.9. Also in these races he’s only run in the top fifteen in 2.2% of the laps. To put this in perspective Travis Kvapil has been in seven of these races and he’s ran in the top fifteen in 5.6% of the laps. This week in the Auto Club 400 Bobby Labonte has zero fantasy value because not only does he run poorly here but in two out of the last three races he’s had a DNF. At Las Vegas Labonte finished 30th and never ran higher than 25th. (Yahoo! C Driver)
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Danica Patrick – Danica Patrick’s Las Vegas performance was a clear warning sign. Picking her for the Auto Club 400 is asking for problems. At Vegas she finished 33rd and had a 34th place average running position. At some points in the race it appeared that she was getting lapped about every 25 laps. That’s unfathomable when you think about what type of equipment she’s in. In the Nationwide Series Danica Patrick has finishes of 35th (engine failure) and 31st. In her first start at Auto Club Speedway in the lower series Danica Patrick struggled just to run competitive lap times. Other drivers had to instruct her that she had to run up on the banking. (Yahoo! C Driver)
David Ragan – It shouldn’t be a surprise that David Ragan’s fantasy value is so low. Since he joined Front Row Motorsports his best finish on this track type is 20th. This season on high speed intermediate tracks it’s looking like his low fantasy value trend will continue. At Las Vegas he started in 29th and finished 31st. Last year at Auto Club Speedway he s tarted in 38th and finished 31st. (Yahoo! C Driver)
Make sure you read the full spectrum of our Auto Club 400 Fantasy NASCAR Rankings
Top Tier Elite Picks > Front Runners Rankings > Mid Pack Predictions > Not So Fast
