Texas All-Star Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite/ Front Runner Rankings
Kyle Busch – In the All-Star Race at Texas, Kyle Busch should be on your short list of favorites. The #18 team has been strong at 1.5-mile high-speed intermediate tracks this year, and a strong case could be made that they’ve been the best. This year in the combined races held at high-speed 1.5-mile tracks, Busch is tied for having the 3rd best Total Speed Ranking, and just last week at Kansas, Busch had the best Total Speed Ranking, the best Green Flag Speed and then finished 3rd. If Busch’s race would’ve been incident free, I think he was likely the driver to beat. At Las Vegas, the one other regular conventional 1.5-mile track visited this year, Busch was likely poised to walk away the winner until a late caution came out. Also between the two 1.5’s visited, Busch has the 2nd best driver rating and the 2nd best average finish (3.5). At Texas, Busch has been strong. He’s won twice since 2018 and over the last three races among drivers who competed in every event he has a series best 4.3 average finish. Last fall, Busch finished 8th.
Kyle Larson – Kyle Larson is the defending All-Star Race champion and on Saturday night, he’ll definitely be a factor. Technically speaking, Larson has back-to-back All-Star wins at 1.5-mile tracks since the 2020 race was held at Bristol. At Texas, Larson has been stellar and in 2021 he pulled out the broom. Last fall, Larson had a perfect driver rating, a perfect Total Speed Ranking and led 256 laps. In last summer’s All-Star Race, Larson started on the pole, led 17 laps and raced his way to victory lane. This year at high-speed 1.5-mile intermediate tracks, Larson has been strong. He didn’t have the best car in either race, but in the results column he’s 2 for 2 at finishing 2nd (Las Vegas and Kansas). In terms of Total Speed Ranking between the combined events, Larson’s tied for being the 3rd fastest with rankings of 4th (Kansas) and 5th (Las Vegas). Also, between the combined events, Larson has the 2nd best average running position (6.8) and the 3rd best driver rating.
Ross Chastain – Ross Chastain won’t be afraid to get rough in the All-Star Race, and you can count on him to be tough to beat. Chastain’s been fast at high-speed intermediate tracks this year, and he has a great pit crew which is an important variable. This year at 1.5-mile high-speed intermediate tracks, Chastain has been one of the best. Between the combined events, Chastain has the best Total Speed Ranking (ranked 2nd at Las Vegas and 3rd at Kansas), the best driver rating and the best average running position (5.5). In the results column his finishes are 3rd (Las Vegas) and 7th (Kansas). At Texas, don’t bother looking at Chastain’s track record, and just focus on how strong he’s been this year.
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