Phoenix Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Martin Truex Jr. – Martin Truex Jr. has shown good speed at shorter flat tracks but he’s had some misleading results along the way. Performance wise he’s been top ten good in all five races in 2015. At Phoenix Martin Truex Jr. has looked very strong on occasion but he’s walked away with a number of asterisk mark results. This spring he had a solid showing. He finished 7th, earned the 9th best driver rating and had an 11th place average running position. I would say his result is pretty representative of how well he performed. 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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Denny Hamlin – Denny Hamlin has me somewhat concerned heading into Phoenix. I haven’t liked what I’ve seen from him in recent races at this venue. This spring at Phoenix he struggled. He started 25th, had a 22nd place average running position and finished 23rd. Last fall at Phoenix Denny Hamlin had an interesting afternoon. He started on the pole, led the first 24 laps and was running in 2nd at the time of the first caution but after he completed his stop he had a flat tire and pitted again. As a result he lost all of his track position and was at the back of the pack. While he was back in the field his car was junk and he fell a lap down. Fortunately for him there was a few timely cautions that saved him from dropping more laps down because otherwise he would’ve finished poorly. On lap 94 he got his first “Lucky Dog” but it was for naught because he got lapped again on lap 164. On lap 206 he got back on the lead lap again and this time it was for good. The key moment for Hamlin came with 24 laps to go when he choose not to pit. It ended up being the right decision because he finished 5th with a car that was down a lap for much of the event. At Phoenix in spring 2014 Denny Hamlin had an OK race. He started in 12th, had a 12th place average running position and finished 19th. His result is misleading because he performed better than that. His lack luster finish can be traced to his crew chief calling him in for a late 4 tire pit stop and then losing positions on the track late. Where he finished is the worst he ran all day. In fall 2013 Hamlin started 2nd, led the first 18 laps but dropped like a rock in the running order over the first long run. In addition to his lack of competitiveness he spun and also got a speeding penalty during a pit stop with 49 laps to go. When the checkered flag waved he finished 28th. In the three Phoenix races prior to that he finished 1st, 2nd and 3rd. In the last two races at shorter flat tracks Hamlin has finished 2nd and 6th. (Yahoo A Driver)

Further Recommended Reading – Phoenix Top Tier Elite Picks, Phoenix Mid Pack Predictions, Who will win at Phoenix, Phoenix Scouting Report, Loop Data Box Score From The Last Race At Phoenix

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