Texas Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Martin Truex Jr. – Martin Truex Jr. has never won at Texas, but he’s come close to victory lane. On Sunday, I think he’ll have a strong performance and compete for a top five and potentially be a factor to win. This year at 1.5 mile tracks visited he’s been fast and over the combined races he has the best average finish (8.6) and the 2nd best average running position (9.7). At the two 1.5 mile tracks visited in the Playoffs he has results of 1st (Las Vegas) and 6th (Kansas). This spring at Texas, Truex was solid. He finished 12th and had an 11th place average running position. That race was early in the season and his team has been running better since then. Last fall he finished 9th, but I’ll note that’s a misleading result. On lap 245 while he was running in the top ten he made an unexpected pit stop because of a vibration. During his pit stop he got a penalty because he drove thru too many pit stalls. From the race it should be noted he finished 5th in Stage #1 and 3rd in Stage #2. In spring 2018 he had a good car, but finished a misleading 37th. On lap 80 while he was running in 2nd he got into the wall hard which marked the end of his race. In fall 2017, 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. He finished 8th, had a 6th place average running position and led 49 laps.

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Chase Elliott – Chase Elliott should be on your short list of favorites at Texas. It’s been a great track for him and on Sunday I would look for him to compete for a top five and potentially be a factor to win. In the Playoffs at 1.5 mile tracks visited he’s been fast and has results of 2nd (Kansas) and 4th (Las Vegas). At Texas, Elliott has run well and over the combined races on the current configuration (5 races) he has a 9.4 average finish, a 10.0 average running position and the 7th best driver rating. This spring at Texas, Elliott finished 13th, but I’ll note he was better than his result. He earned the 4th best driver rating, had a 9th place average running position and led 35 laps. Last fall in the “Lone Star State” he had a strong showing. He finished 6th, earned the 9th best driver rating and had a 10th place average running position. Additionally, he finished 9th in Stage #1 and 10th in Stage #2. In spring 2018 he finished 11th, had a 9th place average running position, earned the 9th best driver rating, finished 9th in Stage #1 and 6th in Stage #2. I’ll note his race wasn’t incident free. While he was running in 3rd on lap 214 he made an unexpected pit stop for a vibration. If that didn’t happen I think he would’ve had a great chance to finish in the top five. In 2017 at Texas he started in the 30’s both races, but came home with results of 8th and 9th.

Denny Hamlin – Denny Hamlin will be a favorite at Texas. He raced his way to victory lane there this spring, and at Kansas the most recent 1.5 mile track visited he led 153 laps and emerged victorious. At Texas on the new configuration, Hamlin has been somewhat of a hero or zero driver. He has two results in the top 3 and in his other three races he’s finished 25th or worse. Earlier this year at Texas, Hamlin had a great car. He finished 1st, earned the 2nd best driver rating, won Stage #2 and led 45 laps. His win is a little more impressive when you take into account just after winning Stage #2 he got a pit penalty. Last fall on the opening lap he had contact with Clint Bowyer which resulted in him making an unexpected pit stop on lap 10 for a flat tire. A few laps later he came down pit road again and that doomed him to a 30th place finish. In spring 2018 he had a troubled race and finished a misleading 34th after crashing. In the race he finished 9th in Stage #2 but during the opening lap of the final segment he was caught up in a multi-car accident that doomed him to a 34th place finish. In fall 2017 he had a strong performance. He finished 3rd, earned the 3rd best driver rating and had a 6th place average running position. Additionally, he finished 3rd in Stage #1 and 6th in Stage #2.

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Top Tier Elite Picks > Front Runners Rankings > Mid Pack Predictions > The Low Tier