Chicagoland Geico 400 Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks
Matt Kenseth – Matt Kenseth is a good pick for the Chicagoland Geico 400. He’s been one of the drivers to beat every time the series visits a 1.5 mile track. On tracks of this length this season he’s won half the races, earned the best driver rating (118.5), led the most laps (355) and has a 7.0 average finish. Times have been tough for Matt Kenseth recently at Chicagoland. Last season the race wasn’t trouble free for him. His car lost a shock on the track and he was never competitive after that. When the checkered flag waved he finished 18th. In 2011 he won the pole, led 46 laps but ran out of gas on the last lap. To make matters worse he was pushed across the finish line which was an automatic penalty on the last lap. If he didn’t have that problem in the race he would’ve finish quite well. With 10 laps to go he was running in 2nd. In twelve total races at Chicagoland he has four top tens and a 12.8 average finish. (Yahoo! A Driver)
Kyle Busch – Based on his performances on similar 1.5 mile tracks this season Kyle Busch is poised to be a serious contender in the Chicagoland Geico 400. Minus Charlotte where he was very strong but had engine problems and Kansas where he wrecked, he’s been one of the drivers to beat. In the four other races on 1.5 mile tracks minus Charlotte and Kansas he has two wins and a 2.8 average finish. In all of the combined races on 1.5 mile tracks he has the third best driver rating and has led the second most laps. Chicagoland has been a pretty good track for Kyle Busch. He’s a former winner (2008) and has a 13.4 average finish. Last year at this venue he started in 21st, had a 7th place average running position, finished 4th and earned the 4th best driver rating. In 2011 he was one of the drivers who ran out of gas on the last lap. He finished 22nd but before he ran out of gas he was running in 8th. (Yahoo! B Driver)
Recommended Reading: Chicagoland Mid Pack Predictions, Chicagoland Front Runner Rankings, Chicagoland Review Recap, Weekly Poll, Expert Chase Predictions, Yahoo! C List Fantasy Preview
Jimmie Johnson – Chicagoland is one of a handful of tracks that Jimmie Johnson hasn’t won at yet. In terms of him going onto victory lane here it’s only a matter of time. He’s certainly not hurting performance wise. He has a 9.3 average finish and has only twice finished outside the top ten (crash in 2007 and multiple problems in 2010). Another amazing fantasy feat of his at Chicagoland is that he almost always leads laps here. In his 11 starts he’s only failed to not lead a lap once. In last season’s race Johnson was very good and led 172 laps. In 2012 he started on the pole, finished 2nd, had a 2nd place average running position and earned the best driver rating. He had the race all but won but during the last round of pit stops Brad Keselowski passed him and drove away. If he maintained the lead during that pit cycle I think he would’ve won. In 2011 he finished 10th but he was a driver who ran out of gas on the last lap. Before he ran out of fumes he was running in third. This season on 1.5 mile tracks Johnson has been strong. Minus the two races where he had problems (Atlanta & Charlotte) he has a 6.0 average finish and a 5.3 average running position. He’s been really good over these races but he was only truly a contender for the win at Kentucky. Look for Jimmie Johnson to be tough to beat in the Chicagoland Geico 400. (Yahoo! A Driver)
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