AAA Texas 500 Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks
Joey Logano – Joey Logano will be a good fantasy NASCAR pick for the AAA Texas 500. Since he’s been a member of Penske Racing he’s performed very well here and has finished in the top five every race. Also over this three race stretch he’s the only driver who’s finished in the top ten every race. Also in the last three Texas races he has a 3.0 average finish, 8.7 average running position, led 110 laps and has the second best driver rating. This spring at Texas Logano was very impressive and raced his way to victory lane. In the event he earned the best driver rating, had a 5th place average running position and led 108 laps. The strength of his car was maintaining speed over long runs. In 2013 Logano performed very well. Last fall he started 12th, had a 4th place average running position, finished 3rd and earned the 3rd best driver rating. In April 2013 he had an eventful race. When the engines fired to start the race he wasn’t even in his car. The reason is because he had inspection issues and his team had to change the #22′s rear end. As a result he started in the back. Early in the race after he passed the low tier cars he was stuck in mediocrity for much of the event. The reason is because his setup was likely thrown off after changing his rear end. Late in the race he used pit strategy which got him into the top 5. When the checkered flag waved he finished 5th. In fall 2012 he finished 11th. This season on 1.5 mile tracks Joey Logano has been a very safe pick. In the nine races at tracks of this length he’s scored the most points, has two wins, the most top fives (6), the best average finish (5.9) and is the only driver who’s finished in the top fifteen every race. One advantage Logano has on much of the competition this week is that he recently tested at Texas. (Yahoo B Driver)
[box type=”tick”]Get the ifantasyrace Advantage and read all of our full exclusive content. Join Now![/box]
Jeff Gordon – Jeff Gordon will be a contender in the AAA Texas 500. This season on 1.5 mile tracks he’s been very strong. In the nine races at tracks of this length he’s scored the second most points, has a 6.7 average finish, 8.2 average running position and the second best driver rating. At these venues he always has a solid showing and his typical strength is being good over long runs. This spring at Texas Jeff Gordon looked very impressive. In the race he started in 12th, had a 4th place average running position, earned the 3rd best driver rating, finished 2nd and led 40 laps. It should be noted he wasn’t quite as good as his finish position. In the race there was a late Green-White-Checker and he opted for two tires and nearly everyone else got four. That got him the lead and prior to that strategy he was running in 6th place. Jeff Gordon was consistent at Texas last year. He started in 8th both races and finished 38th both races. Last fall in turn #2 on lap 74 Jeff Gordon got into the wall hard which effectively ended his day. The incident was tire related and at the time he was running in 12th. In a post wreck interview Jeff Gordon said he had a good car. He said he was good over long runs but wasn’t that great on short runs. In spring 2013 at Texas Jeff Gordon could’ve potentially had the best car. He passed Kyle Busch (2nd) during a long green flag run and he was going to pass Martin Truex Jr. for the lead but the 56 car was saved by a caution flag. In the race his strength was long green flag runs. Unfortunately we never got the chance to see just how good he truly was. With 28 laps left he was running in 3rd but his left front hub burned off. Despite having his problem he still had a 6th place average running position and earned the 6th best driver rating. In the three Texas races prior to that event he had results of 14th, 4th and 6th. In his career at Texas he has one win and has finished in the top ten 44% percent of the time. (Yahoo A Driver)
Further Recommended Reading – Front Runner Rankings, Mid Pack Predictions, Who will win at Texas, Texas Scouting Report
Brad Keselowski – Brad Keselowski should be strong in the AAA Texas 500. This season on 1.5 mile tracks he’s been one of the strongest performers in the series. There’s been nine races at tracks of this length and he’s won a third of them. Also at these venues he has a 7.4 average starting position, 8.5 average running position, and a highly skewed 16.4 average finish. One race that deserves an asterisk mark is his race at Texas this spring. In that event he finished 15th but that’s not reflective of how he performed. In the race Keselowski started in 2nd, earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 3rd place average running position and led 85 laps. The source of his troubles can all be traced to him getting a speeding penalty on pit road during the Green-White-Checker while he was running in 2nd. That dropped him down to 15th which is where he finished. Last fall he was arguably Jimmie Johnson’s biggest competition. In the race he finished 6th, earned the 5th best driver rating, had a 5th place average running position and led 30 laps. He likely would’ve finished better but with about 75 laps to go while he was running in 2nd he had a slow pit stop that dropped him back to 9th. At Texas in spring 2013 Keselowski rallied to a 9th place finish. It wasn’t an easy 9th though. Prior to the race his team was forced to change the rear end of their car and as a result it messed up the setup. Every time pit road was open early he came in to tune up his car. That lost him lots of track position. Then while he was running mid pack on lap 138 he thought he had a loose right rear and he made an unexpected pit stop that dropped him two laps down.From that point on he used pit strategy whenever he could to get back on the lead lap. All of these circumstances make his 9th place finish a little more impressive. In fall 2012 at Texas Keselowski had the race won but late cautions were his undoing. When the checkered flag waved he finished 2nd. In that race he started in 8th, had a 3rd place average running position, led 75 laps and earned the 2nd best driver rating. One advantage Keselowski has on much of the field is that he recently tested at Texas. (Yahoo B Driver)
Portions of this content are hidden. To view this ifantasyrace advantage content log in or join the site
Make sure you read the full spectrum of our AAA Texas 500 Fantasy NASCAR Rankings
Top Tier Elite Picks > Front Runners Rankings > Mid Pack Predictions > Yahoo C List Preview