Indianapolis Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Rankings/ Driver Breakdowns

1) Kevin Harvick (Starting 11th) Kevin Harvick is a super-elite performer at Indy who should be at the top of your fantasy NASCAR radar. Harvick put on a display of domination en route to victory lane last year, and he’s consistently performed at high level. Over the last six Indy races, Harvick has a 4.6 average finish and he’s had a result in the top 8 every race. Last year at Indy, Harvick had a great car and raced his way to his first win at Indy since 2003. In addition to finishing 1st he started 1st, earned the best driver rating, finished 3rd in Stage #1, won Stage #2, had a 1.9 average running position and led 118 laps. In terms of speed late in a run, he ranked as the best by over .5 MPH. In 2018, Harvick had a strong showing. He finished 4th, earned the 5th best driver rating and led 22 laps. In 2017, Harvick also ran well. In that event he finished 6th, had a 6th place average running position, earned the 3rd best driver rating, finished 4th in Stage #1 and 5th in Stage #2. In 2016 he finished 6th, earned the 6th best driver rating and had a 9th place average running position. In 2015, Harvick had a great car that was arguably the best. If he would’ve had a good late restart I think he would’ve won. When the race reached its conclusion he earned the best driver rating, led the most laps (75), had the best average running position (3.0) and finished 3rd. Pocono is a great barometer for who’ll be good at Indy and last week Harvick won race #1 and finished 2nd in Stage #2. (DraftKings $11,000 / FanDuel $14,200 )

[themify_box icon=”warning”]Fantasy Alert : Jimmie Johnson will NOT BE RACING in the Brickyard 400 after testing positive for COVID-19. JUSTIN ALLGAIER WILL BE DRIVING THE 48 and will be scored from the 4th place starting position. Allgaier will also be starting in the rear of the field. [/themify_box]

2) Denny Hamlin (Starting 6th) Denny Hamlin has never won at Indy, but he’s proven to be one of the premiere performers at “The Brickyard.” At Indy, Hamlin has consistently run well and in 5 of the last 6 races he’s finished between 3rd to 6th. Last year at Indy, Hamlin started in the rear of the field in a backup car, finished 8th in Stage #1, made an unexpected pit stop in Stage #2 which put him back in the pack and still rebounded to finish 6th. In terms of speed late in a run, Hamlin ranked as the 4th Fastest. In 2018, Hamlin had a great car and if there wasn’t a late caution he was poised to win. When the checkered flag waved he finished 3rd, earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 5th place average running position and tied for leading the most laps (37). In 2017, Hamlin was a top five contender but finished a misleading 17th. Late in the race while he was running in the top five he was caught up in a wreck. In the three races prior to that he had results of 4th, 5th and 3rd. Pocono is a great way to gauge who’ll be good at Indy and last week he had results of 1st and 2nd. One attribute you have to love about Hamlin is how well he’s been running. Since NASCAR returned minus short tracks and Charlotte #1, Hamlin’s finished in the top five every race, has a 2.6 average finish and he’s been to victory lane three times. (DraftKings $10,100 / FanDuel $13,700 )

3) Joey Logano (Starting 1st) Joey Logano is a strong performer at Indy who’ll be a factor from the pole. It’s been a great track for him and in 7 of the last 9 races he’s finished in the top 8. Over the last five Indy races, Logano has the 2nd best average finish (5.6), the 2nd best average running position (8.5) and his driver rating ranks as the 4th best. Last year at Indy, Logano had a great car and was a contender. In the race he won Stage #1 using pit strategy, finished 4th in Stage #2, led 11 laps and finished 2nd when the checkered flag waved. Additionally, Logano had a 5.2 average running position and ranked as the 9th Fastest Driver Late In A Run. In 2018, Logano finished 13th and had a 14th place average running position. His car wasn’t good and his team even did a shock change during a competition caution, so that should tell you something. In 2017, Logano had a strong showing. He finished 4th, earned the 5th best driver rating, finished 5th in Stage #1 and 7th in Stage #2. In 2016, Logano had a good performance. He finished 7th, earned the 7th best driver rating and had an 8th place average running position. In 2015, Logano was a consistent front runner. He started 2nd, finished 2nd, had a 5th place average running position, earned the 3rd best driver rating and led 28 laps. (DraftKings $9,200 / FanDuel $12,500 )