Texas Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Alex Bowman
Texas Fantasy Outlook – At Texas, look for Alex Bowman to be a top ten contender. Bowman’s run well in the “Lone Star State” and had success, and I think the good times will continue on Sunday if he can avoid bad luck. Last year at high-speed 1.5’s, Bowman had a 9.3 average finish minus Las Vegas #2 and had the 13th best Total Speed Ranking over the combined races. This spring at Las Vegas, Bowman finished a less than stellar 18th.
Texas Track History – Alex Bowman is a high-risk/high-reward driver at Texas and over the last six races, Bowman has two top fives, a 12th but in the other three races he’s finished 29th or worse. Last fall, Bowman had a respectable showing. In the race, Bowman finished 12th, had a 16th place average running position and ranked 16th in terms of Total Speed Rankings. I’ll note, Bowman was in 8th with 7 laps to go, so he did fall back a little at the end following a wild late restart. In 2022, Bowman looked sporty but on lap 96 while running in 8th, he backed the #48 into the wall. Bowman continued racing and went on to finish 29th. Remember, this is the race Bowman got his concussion. In 2021, Bowman was collected in the lap 30 “Big One” which led to his 33rd. Since it happened so early, I have no real takeaways. Over the three races prior to that, Bowman had results of 5th, 30th and 5th.

Erik Jones
Texas Fantasy Outlook – If you’re looking for a dark horse in the “Lone Star State”, Erik Jones might just be your driver. “Performance Wise” last fall, Jones was a legitimate top 5 performer (finished 30th) and then in 2022, he came home 6th. Texas has historically been a great track for him and in 8 of his last 10 races, he’s finished in the top 12. This spring at Las Vegas which can be a good barometer, Jones finished 14th.
Texas Track History – Texas ranks as one of Erik Jones’s best tracks and if last year would’ve been incident free, then in 9 of the last 10 races he would’ve finished in the top 12. In the Next Gen over the combined Texas races, Jones has been fast and has the 8th best Speed Ranking. Last fall, Jones was a legit top 3 contender. In the race, Jones started 12th, finished 2nd in Stage #2, was in 2nd as late as 30 to go but then late bad pit strategy shuffled him back to the mid-teens late in the race only for him to get caught up in a “Big One” on lap 255 which doomed him to a 30th. In the race, Jones had the 3rd best Green Flag Speed and ranked 5th in terms of Total Speed Rankings. In 2022, Jones started 27th, had an 11.8 average running position and then finished 6th overall. Additionally, Jones had the 11th best Green Flag Speed and the 12th best Total Speed Ranking. In 2021, Jones finished 12th.

Chase Briscoe
Texas Fantasy Outlook – Chase Briscoe seems to have a knack for Texas, so don’t overlook him in the “Lone Star State.” Briscoe currently has back-to-back top tens and his overall average finish over his three starts is 10.0. Outside of Texas, things haven’t been pretty for Briscoe at high-speed 1.5’s. He was really bad at them in 2023 across the board, and at Las Vegas the lone high-speed 1.5-mile track visited earlier this year he finished 21st. At Texas, I’m going to view him as a teens driver and just hope he sneaks in another top ten.
Texas Track History – At Texas, Chase Briscoe has been great when it comes to the results column with his overall average finish being 10th. Last fall, Briscoe finished 10th, with the #14 being at its best late. In the race, Briscoe’s average running position was 15.3 and his Total Speed Ranking ranked 17th but take note his speed ranking over the segments were 27th, 21st, 9th and then 6th. In 2022, Briscoe started way back in 30th but snuck in a 5th place finish. I say “snuck”, because Briscoe wasn’t that good! In the race, Briscoe had the 26th best Total Speed Ranking and his speed over the segments were 31st, 27th, 22nd and 15th. Additionally, Briscoe’s average running position was 19.6, and he didn’t even have any problems in the race. In 2021, Briscoe finished 15th.

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