Sonoma Toyota / Save Mart 350 Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks
Kurt Busch – Kurt Busch is a driver who I think will prove tough to beat in the Sonoma Toyota / Save Mart 350. He’s an elite performer at this venue and if he uses the setup Harvick used last year watch out! Over the last four Sonoma races Kurt Busch has ranked as one of the best performers. Over this four race stretch he has the best driver rating, has led the most laps (93), has the 2nd best average finish (5.0) and the 3rd best average running position (8.8). Last summer it looked like he had top five potential and he was better than his 12th place finish. His somewhat less than stellar result can be traced to pit strategy. His performance in 2013 at Sonoma was very impressive. He started in 7th and on lap 19 he passed Marcos Ambrose for the lead. His race was far from incident free. On lap 36 while he was running in 2nd he got caught speeding on pit road. The following lap while he was serving his penalty he was once again busted for speeding on pit road. The end result of his problems was that he was in 38th place, one lap down. Later in the race when Danica Patrick spun he got the “Lucky Dog” and was once again on the lead lap. After that point in the race he used some pit strategy and drove his guts out to a 4th place finish. Also in that race he led 15 laps. In 2012 Kurt Busch willed his car to a third place finish. In that race he started in 8th, had a 4th place average running position and earned the second best driver rating. If the late Green-White-Checker didn’t come out he would’ve finished second. What also makes his finish so remarkable is that something was clearly wrong with his car’s rear end. In 2011 Kurt Busch dominated the race. In that event with Penske Racing he led 76 laps, had the best driver rating and took home the trophy. (Yahoo B Driver – DraftKings $12,400)
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Jeff Gordon – Jeff Gordon is a good fantasy NASCAR pick to win the Sonoma Toyota / Save Mart 350. Of the 23 tracks on the circuit a solid case could be made that Sonoma is his best track. In 22 races at this venue he has 5 wins, 5 poles, 14 top fives and 18 top tens. Statistically this is home to his best top five finish percentage (64%) and his second best top ten finish percentage (82%). At Sonoma you can’t find a safer pick than him. Currently at this venue he has 9 straight top tens and over this stretch he has the best driver rating and the best average finish (4.1). NASCAR’s no testing policy should really play into his hands with all of his experience. Last year at Sonoma Jeff Gordon had a great car. He was fast over long runs and when the checkered flag waved he finished 2nd and earned the 3rd best driver rating. In 2013 Jeff Gordon had a great car that came on strong at the end. In the race he started in 10th, led 4 laps and finished 2nd. His second place result didn’t come easy. On lap 25 while he was running in 9th he got penalized for pitting too early under caution and as a result it dropped him all the way back to 39th. In 2012 Gordon started in 2nd and finished 6th. Also in that race he led 13 laps and had a 6th place average running position. In the race Jeff Gordon had a very good car. It remained strong in runs for about 25 laps before it started to fall off. In that race Jeff Gordon’s car was better than 6th. What happened is that during a long green flag run around the mid-point he ran out of gas while he was running in second. After that pit cycle was completed he was 15th in the running order. In 2011 Gordon finished second. Look for Jeff Gordon to be a very popular fantasy pick and I expect lots of experts will be picking him. (Yahoo A Driver – DraftKings Price $11,300)
Recommended Reading – Sonoma Front Runner Rankings, Sonoma Mid Pack Predictions, Sonoma Scouting Report, Sonoma Asterisk Mark Report, Sonoma PROS Rankings, DraftKings Points From The Race Last Year at Sonoma
Kevin Harvick – In 2014 at Sonoma nobody was better than Kevin Harvick. Over a long run his car was in a league of it’s own. Prior to the first caution coming out he had a 12 second lead over 2nd! In the race he started in 6th and drove up to the lead on lap 22. Unfortunately his race wasn’t incident free. With how the cautions fell he was cycled mid-pack and while he was making his move up to the front Clint Bowyer spun in turn #11 and Harvick got some pretty severe looking damage from contact. Even with that issue he still finished 20th, had the 7th best driver rating and led 23 laps. In 2013 Kevin Harvick had a solid uneventful afternoon. In the race he started in 12th, had a 14th place average running position, earned the 14th best driver rating and finished 10th. In 2012 his race was anything but uneventful. Around lap #70 he ran out of gas while running near the top ten. That was a costly mistake which ultimately led to him getting lapped. Also a little later in the event after he got a “Lucky Dog” he lost several positions on the track after Hamlin spun in turn #11 and he had to make evasive maneuvers. When the checkered flag waved he finished 16th. In his next two most recent races at Infineon he’s come home with results of 9th and 3rd. (Yahoo A Driver – Draftkings $13,900)
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