Charlotte Bank Of America 500 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Jeff Gordon – In 1994 Jeff Gordon won his first race at Charlotte. On Saturday night he’ll be competing in his last race here. In his career at Charlotte he has five wins and has finished in the top ten 53% percent of the time. Recently he’s performed pretty good here. Over the last four races he has the 2nd best driver rating, a 7.8 average finish, 7.8 average running position and has led 108 laps. This spring he was top ten good but finished 15th because of the fuel mileage aspect at the end. Last fall he had a great car and was fast over long runs. In that event he started 2nd, finished 2nd, earned the 2nd best driver rating and led 74 laps. Outside of Kevin Harvick he had the next best car. In spring 2014 Jeff Gordon scared away a lot of fantasy racers with his hurting back and backup driver on standby. Both of those turned out to be a non-factor. In the race he finished 7th, had a 7th place average running position, earned the 5th best driver rating and led 8 laps. In fall 2013 he had a good race. He started on the pole and was a top ten mainstay. Outside of pit cycles he never really ran lower than 7th. Also in the race he earned the 3rd best driver rating, had a 5th place average running position and led 26 laps. Towards the end of the race he had a good chance to win but following a late pit stop only him and Kasey Kahne got two tires and everyone else got four. His gamble got him up to 2nd but he faded back to 7th in the closing laps. At Charlotte in May 2013 Jeff Gordon had a good car. When darkness set in and the track cooled down it came to life. From lap 140 until his early exit he was on a constant march forward that peaked when he got up to around 4th. Then in the race there was a caution during the pit cycle and that burned Jeff Gordon. That trapped him back in the field and then with 75 laps to go he was involved in an accident that led to his 35th place finish. Chicagoland is the last 1.5 mile track visited and at that venue he was very strong but faded at the end. (Yahoo A Driver)

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Kasey Kahne – Charlotte Motor Speedway has historically been a good track for Kasey Kahne. He’s won here four times and has finished in the top ten 57% percent of the time. At no other venue is he higher in that statistic. His Charlotte top fifteen finish percentage is 74%. Currently he has 8 straight results within that range. This spring at Charlotte he didn’t have a good car but he managed to escape with a 12th place finish. Also in the race he earned the 13th best driver rating and had a 16th place average running position. Last fall Kahne was never that competitive but when the checkered flag waved he finished 10th. Also in the race he earned the 15th best driver rating and had a 16th place average running position. In May 2014 he was a fantasy let down. On lap 47 he was running in 6th but while he was attempting to make a pit stop he missed his stall and essentially served a pass through penalty. That mistake dropped him down a lap and set the tone for the rest of the night. Then 100 laps later after he took the wave around, he was forced to pit earlier then the field, but just after he completed his stop a caution came out and it cemented him further back in the running order. When the checkered flag waved he finished 14th. Prior to that race he had 5 straight top tens at Charlotte. In 2013 Kahne came close to winning both races but came up short at the end. In fall 2013 he had an impressive performance. He finished 2nd, had a 2nd place average running position and led 138 laps. In spring 2013 Kahne once again almost won. In the race he earned the best driver rating, led the most laps, had a second place average running position and finished 2nd. He likely would’ve won but there was a caution with less than 20 laps remaining and everyone pitted except him. Also in the race he struggled on restarts and that’s how Kevin Harvick got around him for the win. This year at 1.5 mile tracks Kahne has been an OK performer. At these venues using the 2015 standard rules package he has a 15.3 average finish and an 11.3 average running position. One of the main aspects I like about Kahne is that he’s been running better in recent weeks. (Yahoo B Driver)

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Ryan Newman – Ryan Newman has had recent success at Charlotte. In four of the last five races he’s finished between 6th and 8th. Over the last five races he has an 8.4 average finish and a 14.2 average running position. This spring Newman did not run well but finished 6th. That result is the product of fuel mileage strategy. In the race his average running position was 20th. Last fall he had a successful evening. He started 5th, finished 7th and earned the 9th best driver rating. It should be noted performance wise he finished better than he ran. If I were to project his strength he was likely about 12th place good. He’s a driver who greatly benefited from the late restart which got him up from 13th to his result. In spring 2014 he started 42nd but finished 15th. In the race he had top ten potential and performed better than his result. The reason for his lack luster finish can be traced to when the field went back to green following Danica Patrick’s engine failure. What happened is that Newman was running in the top ten but as soon as the race got restarted he came down pit road for some sort of issue. That dropped him back to about 23rd in the running order, one lap down. When he got back on the lead lap he was able to rally up to his 15th place finish. In fall 2013 Newman had a very solid performance. He started 7th, had a 7th place average running position and finished 8th. In spring 2013 he finished 6th. That result isn’t reflective of his performance. In that race he had a 15th place average running position and only ran in the top fifteen in 50% percent of the laps completed. (Yahoo A Driver)

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