Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Joey Logano
Clash Fantasy Outlook – Defending NASCAR champion, Joey Logano will be tough to beat in the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray. Logano has proven to be a quick adapter, and there’s no doubt he’s willing to get aggressive and do whatever it takes to reach victory lane. Logano winning at “The Mad House” just sounds right to me. At the LA Coliseum, Logano was stout. Logano won the first Clash in 2022, ranked among the best last year and in 2 of the 3 he had an impressive 2.5. average running position. In 2024 at “The Coliseum,” I would rank Logano as the 2nd best, “performance-wise.” In the race, Logano finished 4th, had a 2.5 average running position, had the 3rd best Driver Rating, and led 8 laps. In terms of speed stats, Logano ranked 2nd for both Green Flag Speed and Speed Late in a Run. With 10 to go, Logano was running in 2nd, but then he had a horrendous late restart which dropped him back a few positions. In other Clash races, Logano finished a dud 16th in 2023 (just stuck in traffic all race long), and then in 2022, Logano finished 1st, led 35 laps, and had a 2.5 average running position. At Martinsville, which is another good comp track, Logano has the 2nd best Next Gen Average Finish (5.3) and the 6th best Next Gen Speed Ranking.

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Denny Hamlin
Clash Fantasy Outlook – Denny Hamlin is a super-elite short track driver who’ll be a factor in the Clash. Hamlin’s the defending Clash champ, so I have no doubt about his .25-mile oval prowess. Last year in LA, Hamlin finished 1st, earned the best Driver Rating, had a 3.2 average running position and led 58 laps. When it was closing time and the money was on the line, Hamlin took the lead during a late restart while running in 3rd, which propelled him to victory lane. In terms of speed stats, Hamlin ranked as the fastest driver late in a run and had the 4th best Green Flag Speed. In his other two Clash’s, Hamlin had results of 9th (2023) and 23rd (parts failure). At Martinsville, which is a great comp track, Hamlin has the 3rd best Next Gen Speed Ranking and the 3rd best average finish over the last five (5.8).

How I would approach the Clash at Bowman Gray

Ryan Blaney
Clash Fantasy Outlook – Ryan Blaney is a super-elite short track racer who should be high on your radar. Martinsville is a great comp track, and Blaney raced his way to victory lane there last fall; has the best Next Gen Speed Ranking and the best Next Gen average finish (3.5). Last year at the LA Coliseum, Blaney started 23rd but raced his way to a 3rd place finish, which is impressive because passing is extremely difficult. It was a legit showing, and he methodically worked his way up through the field. In terms of speed stats, Blaney ranked 3rd for Speed Late in a Run and 5th for Green Flag Speed. In his two previous Clash’s, which I wouldn’t read into too much, Blaney went 2 for 2 at finishing 17th.

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