Road America Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Rankings / Post Practice Predictions
On Sunday, NASCAR will be racing at Road America! Road America is a gigantic +4-mile, 14 turn road course. This Wisconsin track went unvisited for 65 years by NASCAR’s top series, but last year it made its return on the 4th of July with Chase Elliott racing his way to victory lane after starting near the back.
Two road courses have already been visited this year (COTA and Sonoma), and both are applicable for Road America, so definitely look back to those races. From those combined events, here’s Road Course 2022 Total Speed Rankings and Road Course 2022 Fastest Drivers Late In A Run.
On Saturday, NASCAR held a short practice session for Road America. Keep in mind in practice, teams have different agenda’s for how they want to approach the session (some want to focus on long runs, some just want to feel out their car, some might focus on qualifying so they can start near the front etc.). Make sure you check out our Road America Practice Notes, Road America 5 Lap Average Speed Cheat Sheet and Road America Practice Speeds.
Here’s the Road America Starting Lineup.
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Road America Full Field Fantasy NASCAR Rankings
1) Chase Elliott
Start 1st / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Speed Rankings| Practice 5 Lap Average – 10th / 2022 Road Course Total Speed Ranking – 4th / 2022 Road Course Speed Late In A Run Ranking – 4th
Road America Breakdown – At Road America, the road to victory lane will likely go thru polesitter, Chase Elliott. Elliott’s the undisputed road course king, and he’s the defending Road America champion. At road courses, Elliott’s a 7-time winner and since 2018 minus Sonoma 2019 (engine blew up while running in 3rd), Daytona RC 2021 (rain caution cost him the win) and last year’s race at the Charlotte Roval (Harvick wrecked him), Elliott has a 2.6 average finish. Road America will mark race #3 with the Next Gen on this track type, and I think Elliott is ready to race his way to victory lane. This year at road courses, Elliott finished 4th at COTA, and at Sonoma a few weeks ago, I would argue he likely had the best car but pitting outside his pit box cost him the win (8th). In the two segments just prior to his problem, Elliott’s speed rankings were 2nd and 1st. Last year at Road America, Elliott started 34th, but that wasn’t a problem. Elliott led 24 of the final 25 laps and his margin of victory was 5.7 seconds. Also in the race, Elliott had the best Driver Rating, had the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking, the 2nd best Green Flag Speed and was the 2nd Fastest Driver Late In A Run. In both the 3rd and 4th segments of the race, the #9 car was the fastest car on the track. Fresh off his Nashville win, look for Elliott to race with a ton of confidence and be tough to beat.
DraftKings $11,100 / FanDuel $14,000 / DK Betting Odds To Win +500
Further Recommended Reading = Projected Finish Ranges, DraftKings Playability Value Chart, FanDuel Playability Value Chart
2) Kyle Larson
Start 3rd / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Speed Rankings| Practice 5 Lap Average – 2nd / 2022 Road Course Total Speed Ranking – 10th / 2022 Road Course Speed Late In A Run Ranking – 9th
Road America Breakdown – At Road America, look for Kyle Larson to be a factor. Larson is one of the best road course racers in NASCAR, and I think the #5 crew has figured out the Next Gen for this track type. At Sonoma a few weeks ago, the #5 might’ve just been the best, but pit strategy and then the tire coming off completely ruined his afternoon. Prior to their pit strategy play which put them back in the field, the #5 was the fastest car on the track and Larson led the opening 26 laps. Last year at Road America, Larson was strong and was clearly a top five contender, but he finished an asterisk mark 16th. In the race, Larson finished 3rd in Stage #1, 4th in Stage #2, had a race best 6.7 average running position but then on lap 56 while running in 4th, Larson spun after contact with Bowman and the #5 simply wasn’t as fast after that. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Larson ranked 9th overall, but take note his speed over the segments were 3rd, 7th, 7th and then 23rd. Larson is doing double duty racing in the Xfinity series this weekend, so that extra track time is definitely a plus. In practice, Larson was fast and in Group #1 practice on lap 5, Larson was one of just 2 drivers in the 107 MPH range. Larson’s overall 5 lap average ranked as the 2nd best.
DraftKings $11,400 / FanDuel $13,500 / DK Betting Odds To Win +700
3) Austin Cindric
Start 5th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Speed Rankings| Practice 5 Lap Average – 3rd / 2022 Road Course Total Speed Ranking – 5th / 2022 Road Course Speed Late In A Run Ranking – 1st
Road America Breakdown – At Road America, Austin Cindric could definitely be a factor. Cindric’s a road course racing ace and in 2022 on this track type, Cindric has been the Fastest Driver Late In A Run, has the 5th best Total Speed Ranking and his average finish is 6.5, with him finishing 5th at Sonoma and then 8th at COTA. Last year at Road America, Cindric was strong, but finished an asterisk mark 38th after having rear gear problems after just pacing the field for 2 laps around lap 23. Over the opening two segments of the race, Cindric had speed rankings of 5th and 3rd. Another attribute you have to like about Cindric is how well the #2 team is running and in 4 of the last 5 races heading into the weekend he’s finished in the top 11. In practice, Austin Cindric was fast and in Group #1 practice on lap 5, Austin Cindric was one of just two drivers in the 107 MPH range, with Larson being the other, but take note, Cindric was faster. His overall 5 lap average ranked as the 3rd best.
DraftKings $8,500 / FanDuel $10,500 / DK Betting Odds To Win +1500
