How to make a fantasy NASCAR pick for the Busch Light Clash At The Coliseum
On Sunday, NASCAR will be returning to the track and will be kicking off the season in the exhibition Clash At The Coliseum. The Coliseum is a unique .25-mile oval that was a Millon dollar plus pave for this one-time event. Also, the NextGen car is making its long-anticipated debut! The amount of uncertainty heading into the Clash might be on par, or higher than Bristol Dirt 2021!
Here’s how I would go about making fantasy NASCAR picks for the Clash …..
- Know the schedule! Be patient! Approach the weekend heavily with a “Live Betting Approach” and continue to adapt as track activity commences (Practice, Heat races and Last Chance Qualifiers). If you make final decisions prior to all the preliminary races, there’s a great chance you’ll have drivers on your team who didn’t even make the Clash. Kyle Larson is the only driver locked into the main event, and nearly half the field will go home early.
- My #1 thing to make decisions for the Clash will be the preliminary races. Those are “simulation races” and drivers will be showing their hand. Also, those races will be locking in the field and setting the starting lineup for the Clash.
- Practice! Yes, practice is back for 2022, and practice will be unique for the Clash. There will likely be some standouts in practice, so make sure you put those drivers high on your radar. Practice Coverage is of course back to ifantasyrace.com this year!
- Starting Position! I think there’s no question this will be a track position heavy race! It’s an extremely short race (150 laps in total) and passing will be difficult, without using the bumper.
- If you need to make a fantasy pick prior to the preliminary races and practice, I would focus on how drivers performed at Martinsville and Shorter-Flat tracks last year. Martinsville is by far the best barometer in my opinion even though its twice as big. Here’s Total Speed Rankings from 2021 for Martinsville Combined and Shorter-Flat Tracks + Martinsville.
