Phoenix Fantasy NASCAR Mid Pack Predictions

Josh Berry
Phoenix Fantasy Outlook – At Phoenix, Josh Berry will be piloting the #9, and until Elliott’s return, he’ll be competing at every oval. This week, I would look for Josh Berry to be more competitive than he was at Las Vegas. He’ll have a race under his belt now in the #9, a week of prep which likely includes hitting the simulator, he’ll have an hour-long practice session on Friday and the new rules package should help even the playing field. Heading into the weekend, I think Josh Berry has teens potential if he can have a smooth incident free race.
Phoenix Track History – At Phoenix last year in the Xfinity series, Berry finished 13th in the fall and then 3rd in the spring.

Justin Haley
Phoenix Fantasy Outlook – Justin Haley had a clunker result last fall at Phoenix, but I think he has upside in year #2 in the #31. That said, I wouldn’t set the bar too high, and realistically I think he has high-teens to low-twenties potential. In 2022 at shorter-flat tracks in 4 of the 6 races, Haley finished between 14th to 21st.
Phoenix Track History – Justin Haley hasn’t fared well in the desert having finished between 24th to 27th in 3 of his 4 starts. Last fall, Haley actually had his worst Phoenix performance and simply never ran well. In the race he finished 27th, had a 26.6 average running position and had the 30th best Total Speed Ranking. I think he was operating in “Early Vacation Mode”, so I wouldn’t hit the panic button about it. Last spring, Haley had his best Phoenix performance. In the race he finished 17th, had a 24th place average running position and had the 25th best Total Speed Ranking. In 2021 in the less competitive #77, Haley had results of 24th and 26th for the season.

Ty Gibbs
Phoenix Fantasy Outlook – At Phoenix, Ty Gibbs has no Cup starts on his resume, but based off what we’ve seen from him, he’s likely about a high-teens driver at best.
Phoenix Track History – Ty Gibbs has no Phoenix Cup starts on his resume, but he’s been stellar in the Xfinity series. Last fall en route to capturing the lower series championship, Gibbs won the pole, won the two opening Stages, led 125 laps and raced his way to victory lane. In spring 2022, Gibbs finished 6th. In spring 2021 in his first ever overall Phoenix start, Gibbs ran well and finished runner-up.

Corey LaJoie
Phoenix Fantasy Outlook – The season is young, but Corey LaJoie is 3 for 3 at finishing in the top 20, can he stretch it to 4? LaJoie ran well given his equipment last fall (18th), so there’s hope! Also since Bristol last fall minus Talladega, LaJoie has a 17.8 average finish.
Phoenix Track History – Last fall at Phoenix, Corey LaJoie had his best result in the desert by a mile and finished 18th. His next best result over his 11 starts is 27th. Last fall en route to 18th, LaJoie had a 26.5 average running position and the 23rd best Total Speed Ranking. In all of his other starts as you can guess, he was really bad but since he’s running well right now, I would just focus on last fall and hope he keeps the good times going.

Make sure you read the full spectrum of our Phoenix Fantasy NASCAR Rankings

Top Tier Elite Picks > Front Runners Rankings > Mid Pack Predictions >The Low Tier