Texas NRA 500 Fantasy NASCAR Mid Pack Predictions

Brian Vickers – Brian Vickers will pilot the #11 in the Texas NRA 500 for the injured Denny Hamlin. If Hamlin was racing he would be ranked as a Top Tier Elite Pick. In many ways I think Vickers and Hamlin have similar driving styles on this track type. Both of them are at their best when they run the high line. I think Vickers will be a good fit for this race and I wouldn’t be shocked if he competes for a top ten finish. Texas hasn’t historically been a good track for Vickers. He has a 23.9 average finish and had his best result in his first start. There’s two factors about Vickers that should be noted pertaining to this race. He’s employed with JGR. This will minimize his learning curve. Also you can’t forget he’s a professional back up driver with the #55 team. (Yahoo! B Driver)

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Ryan Newman – In 2003 Ryan Newman won in just his second Sprint Cup race at Texas. That victory can be chalked up to him taking two tires and making it work against other drivers with four. Since then he’s only finished in the top ten twice with his most recent being in 2008. A realistic finish for Newman in the NRA 500 would fall between 11th and 21st because he’s finished within that range the last eight races in a row. Las Vegas is the most similar track visited this season and in that race Newman really struggled. He got lapped during a long green flag run, ran around 20th for the entire afternoon and then lost a motor around lap #230. At Auto Club Speedway he finished 10th. (Yahoo! B Driver)

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Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has been somewhat of a disappointment at intermediate tracks this season. In the two races on this track type this season he’s had finishes of 18th (Las Vegas) and 20th (Auto Club). In Roush Fenway equipment I think he should be running better because this track type was his strength in the Nationwide Series. In the NRA 500 I would look for Stenhouse Jr. to finish in the teens.

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