Sonoma Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Ranking Picks

1) Kurt Busch (Starting – 4th) (Odds To Win – 5/1)
Sonoma Fantasy Spin – Kurt Busch will be tough to beat at Sonoma and should be on your short list of fantasy options. He’s an elite road course racer and is one of the best wheelman in the series at this form of racing. In each of the last three years on this track type he’s scored the 4th most points in the series. At Sonoma Busch is a recent winner and over the last five years a very strong case could be made that he’s been the best performer in the series. Look for Busch to be in the mix for the win on Sunday.
Sonoma Track History – Kurt Busch, the 2011 Sonoma champion will be a driver to be reckoned with. Over the last five Sonoma races he has the best driver rating, best average finish (4.4) and the second best average running position (8.0). In 4 of the 5 Sonoma races over this stretch he’s finished in the top five. Last year he had a great car and was a serious threat to win. He finished 2nd, led the second most laps (43), earned the 2nd best PROS Ranking and earned the best driver rating. His strength in the race was being fast over long runs. In 2014 he had top five potential but finished 12th because of pit strategy. In 2013 he finished 4th and led 15 laps despite getting two speeding penalties. In the three Sonoma races prior to that he had results of 1st, 3rd and 4th.
Yahoo A Driver / DraftKings $10,700

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2) Carl Edwards (Starting – 1st) (Odds To Win – 10/1)
Sonoma Fantasy Spin – Carl Edwards should be pretty prominent on your fantasy NASCAR radar. He’s an elite road course racer and has been very successful at Sonoma recently. Over the last couple of years here he’s been one of the stronger performers in the series. On Sunday he should have another successful afternoon and be a factor to win from the pole. Last year on this track type Edwards scored the 20th most points because of a wreck at Sonoma. In the two seasons prior to that he scored the most points, and the 2nd most points on this track type. In practice Carl Edwards had a great car and it caught the attention of Tony Stewart’s crew chief.
Sonoma Track History – Carl Edwards is a recent Sonoma winner who’s finished in the top 3 in 3 of the last 5 races. Last year Edwards had a great car but finished 40th after being involved in a wreck while battling for 6th place. If his race would’ve been incident free he would’ve finished around that range. In 2014 he had a good car and raced his way to victory lane with a little help of pit strategy. In addition to finishing first he earned the 2nd best driver rating, had an 8th place average running position and led 26 laps. In both 2013 and 2011 he finished 3rd.
Yahoo B Driver / DraftKings $9,100

Further Recommended Reading – Post Practice Predictions (another fantasy take), Speed Cheat Sheet, Sonoma Practice Notes / Practice Speed Center, Qualifying Results, Asterisk Mark Report, PROS Rankings

3) Jimmie Johnson (Starting – 15th) (Odds To Win – 7/1)
Sonoma Fantasy Spin – Jimmie Johnson is a fantasy ace at Sonoma who’ll be one of the drivers to beat. It’s a great track for him and his level of consistency can’t be overlooked. Currently he has seven straight Sonoma top tens. Last year he had a great car and I would argue it was the best. Johnson’s primary strength at Sonoma is being good over long runs. At this venue that really separates the contenders from the pretenders. In practice Johnson had a great car and Chad Knaus was happy with his lap times. In practice #1 his ten lap average ranked as the best.
Sonoma Track History – Jimmie Johnson always run well at Sonoma. Over his current seven race top ten stretch he has the best driver rating, best average finish (5.6) and the best average running position (7.6). Last year at Sonoma nobody was better than Johnson. His Projected Ranking Of Strength was #1. If it wasn’t for a late caution that allowed drivers behind him to get a tire advantage he would’ve walked away with the win. When the checkered flag waved he finished 6th, earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 4th place average running position and led a race high 45 laps. In 2014 Johnson finished 7th, had an 8th place average running position and earned the 4th best driver rating. In the three Sonoma races prior to that he had results of 5th, 7th and 9th. In 2011 Johnson went to victory lane and led half the race.
Yahoo A Driver / DraftKings $10,100