Phoenix CampingWorld.com 500 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Ryan Newman – Ryan Newman has performed well at Phoenix since the track was reconfigured. In the five races on the new surface when he’s avoided problems he’s finished in these top 11 every race. Last fall at Phoenix Ryan Newman didn’t have a great car but he managed to reach the championship round with his last lap “video game pass” on Kyle Larson. In the event he started in 20th, had a 13th place average running position and finished 11th. In the middle portion of the race Newman ran a lot of laps around 10th but in the final quarter he started to struggle and fell back to the mid-teens. Then when a caution came out with 24 laps to go he choose not to pit and moved up to about 5th. Over the closing laps he fell back to 12th until he made his last lap pass. In spring 2014 he ran well. He finished 7th, earned the 8th best driver rating and had a 10th place average running position. It was just an all-around good afternoon for him. In fall 2013 he finished 10th, led 31 laps, had a 12th place average running position and earned the 12th best driver rating. In the spring race at Phoenix in 2013 Newman had a rough day. In the race he really struggled. He started in 10th but fell back in the running order as soon as the green flag waved. By lap 94 he fell all the way back to 25th. On lap 99 he got into the wall. Shortly after that on lap 141 he got into the wall again and that marked the end of his day. In his other races on the new surface he’s had solid performances. In November 2012 he finished 5th, led 5 laps and earned the 8th best driver rating. In spring 2012 he finished a misleading 21st. What happened in that race is that with 57 laps to go he was battling Carl Edwards for 6th but they got together and Newman hit the wall. In the first race on the new configuration he finished 5th and earned the 9th best driver rating. Last season on shorter flat tracks Newman was never a threat to win but he did perform consistently well. In the six races on this sub-track type he scored the 5th most points and had a 9.7 average finish. (Yahoo A Driver)

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Kurt Busch – Kurt Busch is a dark horse / sleeper pick who shouldn’t be overlooked at Phoenix. He ran well in both races in 2014. Last fall he had a 5th place average running position, finished 7th and earned the 4th best driver rating. He could’ve potentially finished better but on lap 222 while he was running in 2nd he got into the wall and faded back to 7th. In spring 2014 at Phoenix Kurt Busch also performed well. He started in 10th and ran in the top ten nearly all race long until engine problems started to surface two-thirds through the race. To give you a better idea about his level of performance here’s his Yahoo Race Chart. If he would’ve had an incident free race the likelihood he would’ve finished in the top ten was quite high. In fall 2013 he started 8th, earned the 8th best driver rating and finished 5th. At Phoenix in spring 2013 Kurt Busch performed better than his 25th place finish. In the middle segment of the race he consistently ran between 6th and 8th. Then in the final portion of the race he lost the handle of his car and with 66 laps to go he got into the wall. In fall 2012 in the 78 car he finished 8th. In that race he was likely better than his result. In the first third of the race he ran almost exclusively in the top eight. Then around the lap 125 pit cycle he fell from 4th to 26th because he had a loose wheel and had to make two pit stops to correct the problem. In the first race on the current configuration he could’ve won but late in the event while he was leading he ran out of gas and got a speeding penalty (Yahoo Race Chart). Richmond is the most similar track to Phoenix and last fall he finished 7th there. (Yahoo B Driver)

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Further Recommended Reading – Top Tier Elite Picks, Mid Pack Predictions, Yahoo C List Preview, Phoenix Scouting Report, Who will win at Phoenix

Martin Truex Jr. – Martin Truex Jr. is somebody who shouldn’t elude your fantasy NASCAR radar for Phoenix. Last season on shorter flat tracks he was a quality performer. In four of the six races on this sub-track type in 2014 he finished between 10th and 12th. Last fall at Phoenix he had a great car. In the event he started in 14th, finished 12th, had a 9th place average running position and earned the 8th best driver rating. In spring 2014 he didn’t run nearly as well. He started 27th, had a 21st place average running position, finished 22nd and earned the 23rd best driver rating. That race was early in his tenure with Furniture Row Racing so you can overlook that to some degree. In fall 2013 he was good. In that event he started in 10th, had the 10th best driver rating and finished 8th. In the two races in the desert prior to that event he had equipment failures which relegated him to a poor result. In spring 2012 he had his best race on the new surface and finished 7th after leading 29 laps. (Yahoo B Driver)

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