Auto Club Post Practice Fantasy NASCAR Predictions
We’re at Auto Club Speedway this weekend for the third race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. Auto Club, or Fontana, is a 2-mile track that is the sister track to Michigan–so when you see that reference in this article, that’s why. Fontana is also a high wear track, with the others on the schedule being Atlanta, Chicagoland, Darlingon, and Homestead. Rain didn’t affect qualifying this weekend, and Clint Bowyer (surprisingly) won the pole for Sunday’s Auto Club 400. The full starting lineup can be seen by clicking here. There were two practices held on Friday, and those speeds can be found here: Practice #1 — Happy Hour. As always, you should check out our in-depth notes for those practices as well, and those can be found here: Practice #1 — Happy Hour. [themify_box ]Want to be a better fantasy racer? Get the ifantasyrace advantage and read all of our full, exclusive content. FULL SEASON PASSES AVAILABLE FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER! We offer tons of content every week to help you dominate your leagues, both season-long and DFS weekly. Click here to Join Now.[/themify_box]
Final Top 25 Fantasy NASCAR Rankings for the Auto Club 400
1. Kevin Harvick – Starts 5th – DraftKings Price: $11,600 – FanDuel Price: $14,500 – Slingshot Price: $12,400
At the high wear tracks in 2019, Kevin Harvick was the best. He had the best average finish (6.0) and also the best average running position (6.3). The only surprising part about “Happy” at these tracks was that he didn’t put up the most fastest laps. He still put up a decent amount (he averaged 22 per race) but Kyle Busch led the way in that category with 37.6 per race. Still, Harvick was the best at these tracks in 2019, in my opinion. As far as track history at Auto Club Speedway, Harvick finished 4th here last year and surprisingly only has one win at Fontana, back in 2011. Still, he’s finished 4th or better in three of the last five races here, and he’s won two of the last three Michigan races. Looking at the two practice sessions here on Friday, there’s no doubt that the #4 Ford is strong yet again, but it looks to be lacking speed on the long runs for the second week in a row. Harvick was 10th-best in 10-lap average in Happy Hour, 11th-best in 15-lap average, and 6th-best (out of 8) in 20-lap average. But remember, even with those long run “struggles” last weekend, Harvick still led the most laps at Las Vegas.
2. Joey Logano – Starts 7th – DraftKings Price: $10,900 – FanDuel Price: $13,500 – Slingshot Price: $12,300
It felt good getting the first correctly predicted win of 2020 out of the way early here on ifantasyrace, with Joey Logano getting the victory at Las Vegas last Sunday. And honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if he made it 2-for-2 on this west coast swing at Fontana this weekend. Joey has never gone to victory lane at Auto Club Speedway in 13 career starts, but that’s going to change soon. He’s currently on a five-race streak of finishes of 7th or better here, including a career-best 2nd-place result last season. Looking at Michigan, the sister track to Fontana, Logano goes his third career MIS win there last season. Speed-wise here at Auto Club, the #22 Ford ranked 2nd-best in 10-lap average in Happy Hour on Friday and was on top of the chart when it came to 15-lap average. Logano should be at least a top 5 pick on Sunday. For what it’s worth, my algorithm has Logano and Harvick neck-and-neck when it comes to who it predicts to win on Sunday.
3. Martin Truex, Jr. – Starts 38th – DraftKings Price: $10,400 – FanDuel Price: $12,500 – Slingshot Price: $12,200
Honestly, I think Martin Truex, Jr. has a shot to win the Auto Club 400 on Sunday even though he has to start in the back after failing inspection three times on Saturday. He went to victory lane in this race two years ago and has finished 1st or 2nd in four of the last six Stages at this track. Additionally, Truex swept the top 5 at Michigan last season, which is the sister track to Fontana. As far as practice speeds go, the #19 Toyota was once again the class of the Toyota camp, but was also impressive among all drivers, ranking 3rd-best in overall average speed over the two practice sessions on Friday while also coming in 3rd-best in 15-lap average during Happy Hour. Truex has finished 8th or better in four of the last five Fontana races and should easily make it five of the last six on Sunday.
