Charlotte 2 Post Practice Fantasy NASCAR Predictions – Bank of America 500

11. Ryan Newman – Starts 10th – Yahoo! A Group
Pre-Practice Rank: 10th
**Risk Factor: Low Risk**

Mr. Consistency once again did just enough to make it to the second round of the Chase, and now we’re at a race track that Newman has actually been pretty good at as of late. “The Rocketman” came home 7th in this fall race at Charlotte one year ago, and then followed that up with a 6th-place finish in this year’s Coca-Cola 600. That makes it four finishes inside the top 10 for Newman in the last five points-paying races at this track, with a worst finish of 15th. Not too shabby. This weekend, the #31 Chevrolet will roll off the grid in 10th, which should help this team for the race because I don’t think they have a whole bunch of speed heading into race day. Newman was 3rd-fastest in Practice #2 on Friday, but that session was ran during the afternoon. In Happy Hour, though he was 4th on the speed chart in terms of one fast lap. Ryan was 26th in the session when it came to ten-lap average. “The Rocketman” has been pretty solid on 1.5-mile race tracks this season with an average finish of 9.3 (as you can see by this chart). Newman is never a driver that many fantasy experts recommend heading into a race, but he’s always there at the end. I don’t expect many people to have the #31 on their roster this weekend but I won’t be surprised when Ryan Newman posts a top 10 finish in this year’s Bank of America 500.

12. Martin Truex, Jr. – Starts 15th – Yahoo! B Group
Pre-Practice Rank: 11th
**Risk Factor: Medium Risk**

Truex led the most laps here last time around but that’s back when this #78 team was performing out of their mind. Now, they’ve come back down to earth, and Martin can only be counted on for a teens finish–possibly a top 10 if they play their cards right. The same thing can be said this weekend. Truex will roll off the grid in 15th on Saturday night and he was 4th on the overall speed chart in Practice #2. In Happy Hour, he was 15th on the speed chart while ranking 22nd in terms of ten-lap average. The good news with Truex is that he has finished 13th or better in all three of the Chase races thus far, and I think he will be able to continue that streak at Charlotte on Saturday night. The #78 team is one of those than can surprise you on a weekly basis, but they haven’t posted a top 5 finish since Michigan back in August, and that’s the kind of runs I’m looking for in my fantasy options now that we’re in the final stretch of the season. If Truex started more toward the front, I might consider him, but I doubt he finds any of my rosters this weekend.

13. Austin Dillon – Starts 14th – Yahoo! B Group
Pre-Practice Rank: 18th
**Risk Factor: Medium Risk**

Here’s a solid sleeper pick for you. Not only does Austin have a nice starting spot for this year’s Bank of America 500, but he looked pretty good during practice as well. In the first session on Friday, the #3 Chevrolet was 23rd on the overall speed chart but ranked 10th in terms of ten-lap average. By Happy Hour, though, which was the session that really mattered, the #3 Chevrolet was 23rd-fastest once again but 13th when it came to ten-lap average. Now, these numbers clearly aren’t out of this world fast, but Austin was consistently fast, which is what I look for. Also, I haven’t even revealed my favorite statistic about Dillon yet: in three career starts here at Charlotte, he has averaged a finish of 15th with no result worse than 16th. Now for the bad news: this #3 Chevrolet hasn’t ended up better than 22nd in the last five Sprint Cup races, and he has only one top 10 in the last ten events. I guess that’s why you call ’em sleepers, right?

14. Greg Biffle – Starts 4th – Yahoo! B Group
Pre-Practice Rank: 19th
**Risk Factor: High Risk**

Okay, I guess it’s time to give Greg Biffle some love. I’ve sent enough hate toward the Roush-Fenway organization in 2015. There’s a few reasons that I’m going to let up on them this weekend, though. First of all, the last two races have been the best two-race stretch this #16 team has had since Kansas-Charlotte earlier this year. Remember, Biffle finished 2nd in this year’s Coca-Cola 600, although I’m pretty sure a good amount of luck went into that result. Still, it’s all about finishes in the fantasy world. Next up on what I like about The Biff this weekend is his starting spot: 4th. Greg also hasn’t had a top 5 starting spot since Charlotte back in May. You see this all coming together now? Finally, the #16 Ford won the Sprint Showdown earlier this year, and that has to be worth something. The #16 Ford was 14th-fastest in Practice #2 on Friday and then ended up 22nd-quickest in Happy Hour. With decent speed, a good starting spot, and some luck, Greg Biffle might be able to sneak out of Charlotte with a top 15 finish. I wouldn’t trust him, though, but that’s just me.

15. Aric Almirola – Starts 9th – Yahoo! B Group
Pre-Practice Rank: 16th
**Risk Factor: Medium Risk**

Aric Almirola has been a solid sleeper pick for the last couple of months and this weekend at Charlotte is no exception. The #43 Ford was solid on Thursday and qualified 9th, which will actually be Aric’s best start at this track since the 2012 Coca-Cola 600. For the record, he started on the pole that race and finished 16th. Almirola ended up 17th in this year’s Coca-Cola 600 and wound up 11th in that race in 2014. Looking at this weekend, the #43 Ford looks like a solid car. Almirola wasn’t that great in Practice #2 on Friday but by Happy Hour he was 7th on the ten-lap average chart. Looking at recent momentum, in addition to his top 5 run at Dover last week, Almirola has finished 11th or better in four of the last five Sprint Cup races. And, he had a good car at Loudon a couple of weeks ago but mechanical failure relegated him to a 43rd-place finish. In seven career starts at Charlotte, AA has averaged a finish of 19.1 with four top 20s. I expect both of those numbers to improve after Saturday night.

The Next Ten:

16. Jeff Gordon
17. Jamie McMurray
18. Kasey Kahne
19. Kyle Larson
20. Clint Bowyer
21. Paul Menard
22. Ryan Blaney
23. David Ragan
24. A.J. Allmendinger
25. Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.