Austin Dillon 2017 Fantasy NASCAR Preview
Austin Dillon 2016 Stats : Points Finish 14th, 0 Wins, 4 Top Fives, 13 Top Tens, 15.9 Average Finish, 15.7 Average Running Position, 17 Laps Led
Strengths – In 2017 look for Austin Dillon to be at his best at intermediate tracks and plate tracks. One important attribute that should be noted about Austin Dillon is that he does a good job avoiding trouble.
Weaknesses – Austin Dillon and the #3 team are down on speed against the elite teams. Last year he only led 15 laps and never led more than 6 in a race. In terms of a track type weakness I would recommend you avoid him at road courses.
Track Type Fantasy Value Key = Elite > High > Medium High > Medium > Low
Intermediate Track Fantasy Value – High
Austin Dillon is a good intermediate track driver. From an allocation perspective picking him at high-speed intermediate tracks is the way to use him. Last year at those venues he was typically a high-single digit to low-double digit finisher.
In 2016 on this track type he scored the 14th most points and finished in the top fifteen 59% percent of the time.
In 2017 look for Austin Dillon to continue to perform at a competitive level on this track type.
Flat Track Fantasy Value – High
Austin Dillon is a good flat track driver. Last year on this track type he was a strong performer. He had two really bad finishes (Pocono #1 and Phoenix #2), but in the other five he had a 12th place average finish. In his five incident free races he finished between 9th and 16th.
New Hampshire is his best flat track. Statistically it ranks as his second best track overall (14.0 avg. finish). Last year he had results of 13th and 16th. In five of his six overall starts he’s finished between 8th and 16th.
At Phoenix he’s always finished better in the spring event. Last fall he finished 39th, in the spring event he ran well and finished 9th. It should be noted in the fall event it looked like he had top ten potential but he had trouble under his hood.
At Pocono he’s been consistent. He had a parts failure in June but in August he finished 13th. Minus the June 2016 race he’s always finished in the teens.
At Indy he has four starts under his belt. In even years he has results of 9th (2016) and 10th. In odds years he has results of 25th and 26th.
Short Track Fantasy Value – Medium High
Last year at short tracks Austin Dillon scored the 11th most points. That sounds good, but he really wasn’t that great. Last year in the six races on this track type he had two top tens, two results in the teens, and two results in the twenties.
Bristol ranks as his best short track. He has a 15.3 average finish and has had a result of 13th or better in 4 of his 6 races. Last August he finished 4th, in spring 2016 he finished 26th.
At Martinsville he’s been an OK performer. At that venue minus spring 2015 when he had electrical problems he has a 13.2 average finish. Last year he had results of 4th and 17th.
At Richmond he finished 13th last fall, that marks his best RIR result. In his other five starts there he’s finished in either 20th or 27th.
Plate Track Fantasy Value – High
Last year at plate tracks Austin Dillon had a successful season. He scored the most points in the series and was the only driver who finished in the top ten every race.
Between the two plate tracks I like him more at Daytona. Last year he had results of 7th and 9th. Over the last six Daytona races his average finish is 8.5.
At Talladega last year he had results of 3rd and 9th. In 3 of the 4 Talladega races prior to last year he finished in the teens.
Road Course Track Fantasy Value – Medium
Road courses haven’t been great venues for Austin Dillon. Between both venues he’s never finished in the top 15.
Watkins Glen has been the worse of the two. In the last two races he’s finished 31st and 36th.
At Sonoma last year he finished 22nd. In the two races prior to that he had back to back 17th place results.
