Indianapolis Brickyard 400 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Chris Buescher
Indianapolis Fantasy Outlook – At Indy, I would look for Chris Buescher to have a solid but not flashy afternoon. Pocono is the best comp track and just last week, Buescher finished 11th, led 19 laps and had the 7th best Total Speed Ranking. Pit strategy could be big, and Buescher’s not afraid to roll the dice.
Indianapolis Track History – Chris Buescher doesn’t have a bad track record at Indy and in 3 of his 5 starts he’s finished in the top 15. Back in 2020 when it was most recently visited, Buescher finished 31st but you can get out an asterisk mark for that result since he crashed. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, he ranked 36th. In 2019, Buescher finished 15th, had a 16.5 average running position and ranked as the 12th “Fastest Driver Late In A Run.” In 2018, Buescher didn’t have a great race and finished 25th. I will note his race wasn’t incident free. On lap 121 shortly before the pit cycle started, he had a flat tire. Also from the race I’ll note he had a 23rd place average running position. In the two races prior to that which were high attrition races, Buescher looked poised to finish in the 20’s but then snuck in good results of 9th and 14th.

Ross Chastain
Indianapolis Fantasy Outlook – At Indianapolis, look for Ross Chastain to be a top ten contender, but when I say that, I mean he’ll likely have about 10th place upside at best. That’s essentially the #1’s weekly baseline level of performance right now and I would expect more of the same this weekend. Pocono wasn’t pretty for Chastain, but I won’t overreact to that.
Indianapolis Track History – At Indy, I would view Ross Chastain as a driver without a track record. He’s never been in competitive equipment here with his previous best ride being the #77. That said, Chastain is 3 for 3 at finishing between 17th to 26th with his average finish being 21.6. Back in 2020 when the series most recently raced here, Chastain finished 17th but take note that was a high attrition race and BJ McLeod even finished 22nd. In the two races prior to that, Chastain had results of 22nd and 26th.

Bubba Wallace
Indianapolis Fantasy Outlook – Bubba Wallace is a solid big flat track performer and at Indy, I would look for Wallace to run well and be a top ten contender, but I wouldn’t get overly bullish despite his good track record. Those races were now years ago, and they were also high attrition races. Just last week at Pocono, Wallace finished 10th with the #23 team getting better as the race progressed.
Indianapolis Track History –At Indy, Wallace has run well in the past and has a 6th place average finish between the last two races. Back in 2020 when the series most recently competed, Wallace finished 9th, had a 16.1 average running position and his Total Speed Ranking ranked 19th. In 2019, Wallace finished 3rd, ranked as the 8th Fastest Driver Late In A Run and had a 14.5 average running position. At the end of the race, his car was at its best. In 2018, Wallace’s afternoon was cut short by an accident around lap 59 while running in the high-twenties which led to a 38th place finish.

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