Tony Stewart 2014 Fantasy NASCAR Preview
2013 Stats: 1 Win, 5 Top Fives, 8 Top Tens, Average Running Position 17.6, Average Finish 16.1 , Laps Led 114, Driver Rating 78.98
Strengths- This three-time champion is a versatile driver who’s capable of being good on every track type. When Tony Stewart has momentum he’s nearly unstoppable. Look for Tony Stewart to be at his best on flat tracks, road courses and the Daytona night race in 2014.
Weaknesses- In 2013 Tony Stewart really struggled on the track almost across the board. Before his season ended early due to injury his performances were finally starting to get better. Look for Tony Stewart’s fantasy value to be at its lowest at venues like Martinsville and Bristol. Tony Stewart’s one win of the season came at Dover but I wouldn’t recommend picking him there.
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Intermediate Track Grade- B+, From a career standpoint Tony Stewart almost always ranks high on this track type. In recent years though he hasn’t been as good as he normally is. In 2012 on this track type minus his two early wins at Las Vegas and Auto Club Speedway he had a lot of struggles. In 2012 he scored the 14th most points on this track type. In 2013 Tony Stewart raced on this track type nine times and had a 13.7 average finish. I think that average finish is a little misleading because by no means should he have won at Dover. Also on this track type last season he had 2 top fives and 3 top tens. He also had four results of 20th or worse. If Tony Stewart raced the full season performing at the same level he did his average finish likely would’ve been in the high-teens. 1.5 mile tracks comprise much of the schedule and at those venues last season he had results of 11th, 21st, 21st, 7th and 20th.
Flat Track Grade- A, Tony Stewart is a strong performer on big flat tracks like Pocono and Indy. At those venues on a year to year basis he’s as good as anybody. In the three races on the big flat tracks last season he had results of 4th, 4th and 9th. In 2012 on the big flat tracks he was also 3 for 3 in terms of finishing in the top ten.
On shorter flat tracks such as New Hampshire and Phoenix he’s extremely capable of coming home with a good result. At Phoenix in March he finished 8th and at New Hampshire in July he led 84 laps but ran out of gas at the end.
Short Track Grade- B, Tony Stewart’s fantasy value is at its lowest on short tracks. I think his fantasy value is extremely low at Martinsville and Bristol. At Bristol in 2013 he had problems very early in the race and it’s hard to estimate just how good he was. We do know that since 2009 he’s only finished in the top ten once at Thunder Valley. At Martinsville he wasn’t competitive and finished 17th. In 2011 he won at Martinsville but that’s a win that deserves an asterisk mark because at one point in that race he went a lap down under green. At Richmond his fantasy value is strong and prior to his wreck this spring he had four consecutive top tens.
Restrictor Plate Track Grade- B+, Tony Stewart is an elite driver when it comes to drafting. I think the current drafting package really plays to his hand. In the first two races on this track type in 2013 he had problems but in the July Daytona race he finished 2nd. That particular event in the summer heat has traditionally been his best race on this track type. The reason for that is because the track is slicker and the race is in the drivers hands more.
Road Course Track Grade- A-, Tony Stewart is revered road course racer. Between the two road courses he has 7 wins. 5 of them are at Watkins Glen and 2 of them are at Infineon. Prior to the two most recent races at Watkins Glen he was a lock for a good finish. If he can avoid problems he’ll get a great result. At Infineon his fantasy value isn’t quite as high but he’s still very good there.
How to use Tony Stewart from a fantasy NASCAR perspective in 2014? In 2014 I would be patient and watch Tony Stewart get track time before you start picking him. There’s a few question marks about him such as, will his injury have any lingering effects on him and will adding a 4th SHR team impact the organization negatively from a performance standpoint. Historically adding a new team to an organization hasn’t played out favorably.
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