Dover Post Practice Fantasy NASCAR Predictions – FedEx 400
Back The Favorites
We’re at Dover International Speedway this weekend, which tends to be a very fun race. Dover is a one-mile race track that races like a short track and a speedway combined. For those fantasy players looking to use sleepers this weekend, I’d advise against it unless they look far too good to pass up. We often see the same faces up front here at Dover simply because this is a racer’s track and the best drivers will find their way to the lead. There was one practice on Friday followed by qualifying, and then two more practice sessions on Saturday. Brad Keselowski won the pole for Sunday’s FedEx 400, and the full starting lineup can be found by clicking here. I’m not too worried about Practice #1 because the speed chart was filled with qualifying runs. Here’s the practice results for the Saturday sessions, though: Practice #2 — Happy Hour. As always, be sure to see Ryan’s extensive notes on each practice: Practice #2 — Happy Hour.
[box type=”tick” border=”full”] Don’t get caught a lap down! For full access to all of our fantasy content, join now. This week you can get a 1 race pass for only $.98 so join now and sample all of our in-depth content[/box]
Final Top 15 Ranking For The FedEx 400:Portions of this content are hidden. To view this ifantasyrace advantage content log in or join the site
11. Greg Biffle – Starts 12th – Yahoo! B Group
**Risk Factor: Medium Risk**
The Biff is so inconsistent this year that it’s almost impossible to trust him on your fantasy team, but if you’re looking for a rock-solid top 15 pick, he’s your guy. Biffle owns a career average finish of 12.4 here at The Monster Mile and has finished inside the top 16 in nearly 75% of his starts. On Friday he qualified 12th, which is pretty much where I expect the #16 Ford to run on Sunday. Biffle was middle-of-the-road in both practice sessions on Saturday, too, and I’m not expecting much to change overnight. Of course the Roush-Fenway cars didn’t make any long runs in practice, so it’s hard for me to back up my statement with numbers, but the #16 Ford should finish between 11th and 15th on Sunday. I wouldn’t expect much more than that.
12. Clint Bowyer – Starts 10th – Yahoo! A Group
**Risk Factor: Medium Risk**
We’ve come to expect mediocrity out of Clint Bowyer and that’s probably what we’re going to get here again this weekend at Dover. Clint has never won here at The Monster Mile but he’s on a six-race streak of top 10s at this track and that’s hard to ignore. But you know what’s even harder to ignore? Clint’s lack of finishes this year, which is really the only thing that matters in fantasy racing. I have no doubt in my mind that the #15 Toyota is capable of bringing home a top 10 finish in Sunday’s FedEx 400, but it’s extremely difficult for me to recommend picking Bowyer right now simply because he has shown this year that he can’t finish. In Practice #2 on Saturday, Clint had the 3rd-best ten-lap average, which is encouraging. In Happy Hour, he went down to 17th on that chart out of 29 drivers. Like last week at Charlotte, I don’t see Bowyer as a terrible pick this weekend, but there are better, safer options. He should finish around 10th.
13. Kasey Kahne – Starts 17th – Yahoo! A Group
**Risk Factor: High Risk**
I’ll admit it, Kasey Kahne looked very impressive in the two practice sessions on Saturday. He was 4th in ten-lap average in Practice #2 and in Happy Hour he ended up 7th on that chart. But, as always, you have to lower your expectations out of the #5 team, and like I said before this really isn’t the track that you want to take chances at. Kahne owns a 21.1 career average finish here at Dover and has posted top 10s in just two of his last eight starts here. I don’t like those odds. I think the #5 has a shot at a top 10 finish on Sunday, but I’ll tell you this: you won’t find Kahne on any of my rosters this weekend. He’ll be his normal top 15 self on Sunday, which is how Kasey has been over the past two months. Hey, at least he’s consistent.
14. Denny Hamlin – Starts 7th – Yahoo! B Group
**Risk Factor: Medium Risk**
Denny Hamlin just continues to disappoint me so I don’t really pay much attention to him. If you take away his win at Talladega, this is the same guy that hasn’t posted a top 10 finish since Bristol in March. Yeah, it’s been that long, and that probably won’t change on Sunday. However, how this weekend has shaped up so far will make some people consider taking the #11 on Sunday. Hamlin went out and qualified 7th for the FedEx 400, which is good, and he had the 4th-fastest ten-lap average in Happy Hour, which is even better. That being said, Hamlin’s 20.5 average finish here at Dover isn’t that attractive and the fact that he has just one top 10 in the last six races here says a lot. If you’re looking for an off-sequence pick this weekend, Denny may be your best bet, but I would stick with the favorites.
15. Kyle Larson – Starts 15th – Yahoo! C Group
**Risk Factor: Medium Risk**
Dover is a track in which a skilled driver can find his way to the front even without a great car. Kyle Larson has all of the talent in the world, and although he has never made a Sprint Cup start at this track, I’m not really worried. He finished 2nd to Joey Logano in the Nationwide Series race here last fall and ended up 10th at Bristol on the Cup side a few months ago. Larson will roll off the grid in 5th on Sunday and I do think he has a shot at his sixth top 10 of this young 2014 season. In Practice #2 on Saturday he was 10th on the ten-lap average chart and in Happy Hour he was 16th out of the 29 drivers. This rookie hasn’t finished worse than 18th in the last six Cup races and that shouldn’t change on Sunday. The #42 is a solid option in most leagues this week.
Portions of this content are hidden. To view this ifantasyrace advantage content log in or join the site
**Risk Factor: Medium Risk**
**Risk Factor: Medium Risk**
**Risk Factor: High Risk**
**Risk Factor: Medium Risk**
**Risk Factor: Medium Risk**
