Phoenix Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Kevin Harvick – Kevin Harvick will be a good fantasy NASCAR pick for the Phoenix Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500. In recent races at Phoenix he’s really taken a liking to the track and has won three of the last four races. In the last five Phoenix races he has the best driver rating, best average running position (5.0), led the most laps and has a 3.6 average finish. This spring Kevin Harvick dominated in the desert. There’s no question he had the best car. In the race he started in 13th and in just 17 laps he was up to 4th. What made him so good is that he could get back into the throttle quicker than everyone else. On lap 74 he passed Joey Logano for the lead and after that the race was smooth sailing for him without much difficulty. In the race he had a 2nd place average running position, led 224 laps and came up just .1 shy of having a perfect driver rating. Last fall at Phoenix Kevin Harvick had an awesome car. It was good over long runs and it stuck to the bottom of the track around the turns like it was on rails. In the race he started 9th, finished 1st, had the best driver rating and led 70 laps. In the 2013 spring race at Phoenix Harvick felt he had a top three car but he had a broken left front rotor which led to his 13th place result. In 2012 Harvick had a phenomenal season at Phoenix. In the 2012 spring race he finished runner-up and in the fall he took advantage of the late cautions and went to victory lane. This season on shorter flat tracks minus the summer New Hampshire race he has a 5.5 average finish and a 3.3 average running position. (Yahoo A Driver)

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Jimmie Johnson – Phoenix has been an awesome track for Jimmie Johnson throughout his career. Over his 22 starts he has a 6.3 average finish and has led 933 laps. Also at Phoenix he’s been to victory lane four times but it should be noted not one of those wins have come on the new surface. Since the track was reconfigured he’s been a quality performer. This spring the 48 car was fast but was never a serious threat to win. In the race he started 4th, had a 6th place average running position and finished 6th. In terms of strength I think his 5th best driver rating does a good job portraying how he stacked up against the competition. Last fall at Phoenix Johnson essentially clinched the championship with Matt Kenseth’s un-clutch performance. In the race Johnson won the pole, finished 3rd and earned the 3rd best driver rating. He could’ve potentially finished better but on a few occasions in the race he had contact with other cars which cost him positions on the track. In that event the strength of his car was being good over long runs. That strength was also present in the 2013 spring race. In that race Johnson started in 3rd, finished 2nd and earned the 2nd best driver rating. In fall 2012 when Johnson was competing against Keselowski for the championship he appeared to be a little off all weekend long compared to how he’s typically performed at Phoenix. In that race he started in 24th and raced up to 8th around lap 230 but he had a cut tire and got into the wall hard which ended his championship chances. In spring 2012 he arguably had the best car and he rolled through the corners with ease and had excellent drive off. In that race he finished 4th, had a 7th place average running position and led 55 laps. His stats would be even more impressive but while he was leading he had hub issues that led to timely pit stops that put him back in the running order. In the combined races on the new Phoenix surface minus fall 2012 he has a 5.8 average finish and an 8.8 average running position. (Yahoo A Driver)

Further Recommended Reading – Front Runner Rankings, Mid Pack Predictions, Who will win at Phoenix, Phoenix Scouting Report

Brad Keselowski – Brad Keselowski will be a good fantasy NASCAR pick in the Phoenix Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500. This season on shorter flat tracks Brad Keselowski has been an extremely strong performer. In the five races on this sub-track type in 2014 he’s scored the most points, has 2 wins, 4 top fives and a worst result of 7th. Also on this track type this season he has a 3.2 average finish, 3.6 average running position and has led 716 laps. That’s almost twice as many as Kevin Harvick who led the second most. Part of the reason for his success comes on Friday because he’s been a qualifying ace and has a 2.4 average starting position with three poles and four front row starts. Earlier this season at Phoenix Keselowski had a very strong showing. He started on the pole, finished 3rd, had a 4th place average running position and earned the 4th best driver rating. His PROS Rankings for the race which reflects his strength came in as the 4th best. Last fall at Phoenix Brad Keselowski had a good car. He finished 11th, led 29 laps, had a 9th place average running position and earned the 7th best driver rating. In the 2013 spring race at Phoenix he finished 4th, had a 7th place average running position, and earned the 3rd best driver rating. In fall 2012 Keselowski was very competitive. In that race he finished 6th and led 10 laps. In that event he performed better than his result and earned the #1 position in the PROS Rankings. What happened is that as soon as he took the lead from Kyle Busch with 79 laps to go Jimmie Johnson wrecked the following lap. After that he drove conservative and no longer raced for the win because of his point’s situation. Over long runs in November 2012 no one was better than Keselowski. In March 2012 Brad was also very fast. He had a 7th place average running position and finished 5th. Over the last five Phoenix races Keselowski has the 2nd best driver rating, a 5.8 average finish, 6.8 average running position and has led in every race for a combined 59 laps. (Yahoo B Driver)

Make sure you read the full spectrum of our Phoenix Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 Fantasy NASCAR Rankings

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