Indianapolis Road Course Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Tyler Reddick
Indy Fantasy Spin – At Indy RC, the road to victory lane likely goes thru Tyler Reddick. Tyler Reddick put on a display of domination and smoked the field last year en route to victory lane, and since 2022 at road courses his Track Type Total Speed Ranking ranks as the best. In 2023 over the three road courses already visited, Reddick also ranks first which is highlighted by his COTA win. The Indy Road Course is made for Tyler Reddick, and there’s no question in my mind he’s poised to finish in the top five and compete for the win if the #45 team can just execute.
Indy Track History – Last year at Indy RC, there’s no debate that Tyler Reddick was the class of the field. In the race, Reddick started 1st, finished 1st, led 38 laps, was the fastest driver late in a run and had a perfect Total Speed Ranking, ranking as the fastest driver on the track over all four segments. Additionally, Reddick had the best Driver Rating and a 3.7 average running position. In 2021, Reddick was points racing and as a result he won Stage #1, won Stage #2 and led 6 laps. Doing that strategy is good for an overall points day, but it’s not a good strategy to try to win the race. With 14 laps to go until the scheduled distance before mass mayhem ensued, Reddick was running in 20th. Reddick dodged the “Track Failure Big One”, but then in overtime he was collected in round #2 of carnage which led to his 21st place finish. In the race, Reddick had a 15.8 average running position, was the 4th Fastest Driver Late In A Run and had the 9th best Total Speed Ranking. If Reddick would’ve just tried to race normally and have an incident free race, I think he was a top ten contender.

Chase Elliott
Indy Fantasy Spin – Chase Elliott is still the reigning road course king and at Indy RC, look for him to be a factor. At road courses, Elliott’s a 7-time winner and since 2022 on this track type minus Indy RC where he was spun with 3 to go while running in 2nd and Charlotte where the late caution denied him what looked like certain victory, Elliott has a 4.3 average finish. This year at road courses, Elliott’s 2 for 2 at finishing in the top five. In terms of Track Type Total Speed Rankings since 2022, Elliott ranks 2nd.
Indy Track History –At Indy RC, Chase Elliott has performed at a high-level and is 2 for 2 at running in 2nd in both races before late mass mayhem ensued. In the results column though, you’ll see that his average finish is 10th. Last year, Chase Elliott had a hot rod that got better as the race progressed but finished an asterisk mark 16th after getting spun out during a late restart with 3 to go while running in 2nd. In the race, Elliott had the 5th best Total Speed Ranking and over the final quarter of the race he ranked 3rd in terms of speed. In 2021, Elliott was one of the best and “Performance Wise”, I would rank him as being the 2nd best. In the race, Elliott finished 4th, had a 4.8 average running position, had the 2nd best driver rating and had the 3rd best Total Speed Ranking. With 14 laps to go before late cautions and mass mayhem ensued, Elliott was running in 2nd behind Kyle Larson. I’ll also note, late in the race Elliott had a slow pit stop which cost him quite a few positions.

AJ Allmendinger 
Indy Fantasy Spin – At Indy RC, look for AJ Allmendinger the inaugural winner to be tough to beat. Allmendinger ranks among the premier performers at road courses, and he was brought back up to full-time Cup competition to win at these venues and make the Playoffs, so you better believe this race is circled on his schedule. This year at road courses, Allmendinger has been strong and minus Chicago, he ranks #1 for the season in terms of Track Type Total Speed Rankings. Going back to 2022 on this track type over all the combined events, Allmendinger ranks 5th in that speed stat. In 5 of the last 7 races held at road courses going back to last year, Allmendinger has finished in the top 9.
Indy Track History – Nobody has been better at Indy RC between the combined events than inaugural winner, AJ Allmendinger. Allmendinger is one of just 2 drivers who are 2 for 2 at finishing in the top ten (Cindric is the other) and his average finish is a series best 4.0. Last year, Allmendinger had a great car and finished 7th, despite powering thru a sand trap while running in 5th on lap 27 and racing in an oven (car was said to be extremely hot). With 7 to go until the scheduled distance before late mass mayhem ensued, Allmendinger was running in 4th. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Allmendinger ranked 12th but take note his speed rankings over the final two segments were 2nd and 5th. When it came to long run speed, Allmendinger ranked 4th. In 2021, Allmendinger didn’t have an incident free race, but he dodged the carnage and was in position to take advantage of the situation at the end. In the race, Allmendinger started 8th, had a 12th place average running position, had the 13th best Total Speed Ranking and led 2 laps. Following the race, Allmendinger said, “It was survival of the fittest. We probably had, like, an eighth- to 10th-place car. I sped on pit road. I thought I was gonna finish 12th to 15th. And then those restarts were just insane (Source)”. Prior to Allmendinger’s speeding on pit road on lap 39, he was running in the top ten, but that dropped him back into the 30’s.

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