Texas Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Kevin Harvick – Kevin Harvick will be tough to beat at Texas. He’s the defending champion of this particular event and over the three combined races on the current layout nobody has been better. Over the three combined races on the new Texas track configuration he has the best driver rating, the best average finish (2.3), the best average running position (4.3), he’s led the most laps (202) and has finished in the top 4 every race. Earlier this year at Texas, Harvick had a great car. He finished 2nd, earned the 2nd best driver rating, led 87 laps, ran the most fastest laps and won Stage #1. It’s important to note his race wasn’t incident free. In Stage #2 he had a slow pit stop while leading which cost him 8 positions and then shortly after the restart he made an unexpected pit stop for a loose wheel which dropped him a lap down back to 21st. Last year at Texas, Harvick was a great and was the only driver who swept the top five. Last fall he raced his way to victory lane after making a late pass on Truex Jr. In addition to wining he earned the best driver rating, had a 3rd place average running position, led 38 laps, won Stage #1 and finished 2nd in Stage #2. In spring 2017 he had a great car. He earned the best driver rating, had a 3rd place average running position, finished 4th and led 77 laps. On Sunday look for Harvick to finish in the top five and compete for the win.

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Kyle Busch – Kyle Busch will be a favorite at Texas. He raced his way to victory lane in impressive fashion this spring, and over the course of the season he’s arguably been the best performer at 1.5 mile tracks. For the season at tracks of this length he has 3 wins, the best average finish (3.9), best average running position (6.0) and is the only driver who’s finished in the top ten every race. Earlier this year nobody was better than Kyle Busch. He finished 1st, earned the best driver rating, had a 4th place average running position and led a race high 116 laps. Additionally, he finished 2nd in Stage #1 and won Stage #2. Last fall, Busch had a tough race and finished 19th. I wouldn’t read into it at all. At the very start of the race he damaged his car and was missing a good amount of sheet metal after contact with Keselowski. That caused him to make an immediate pit stop that dropped him two laps down. In spring 2017 in the first race on the current surface there was nothing special about his performance and at that time Joe Gibbs Racing was in a performance lull. In that event he finished 15th, had a 14th place average running position and earned the 14th best driver rating.

Martin Truex Jr. – Martin Truex Jr. should be on your short list of favorites at Texas. He’s a super-elite performer at 1.5 mile tracks and Texas has been a great track for him. For the season at tracks of this length minus Texas #1 he’s finished in the top 5 every race, has a 3.3 average finish and a 6.3 average running position. Earlier this year at Texas he had a great car but finished a misleading 37th after crashing. In the race he started 6th but on lap 80 while he was running in 2nd he got into the wall hard and that marked the end of his race. Last year at Texas, Truex Jr. had a great season. Between the combined events he had the 2nd best driver rating, a 5th place average running position, and led the most laps (156). Last fall Truex Jr. had an extremely strong car. He finished 2nd, earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 4th place average running position and led a race high 107 laps. Late in the race it looked like he would win, but Kevin Harvick reeled him in. Additionally, he finished 2nd in Stage #1 and 4th in Stage #2. In spring 2017 he had a great car that ranked as one of the best. When the race reached its conclusion he earned the 3rd best driver rating, had a 6th place average running position, finished 8th and led 49 laps. I will note he was better than his result but some late pit strategy hurt him. Also in that race he finished 2nd in Stage #1 and 10th in Stage #2. On Sunday I would look for Truex to finish in the top five and compete for the win.

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