Phoenix Freeway Insurance 500 Fantasy NASCAR Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Josh Berry
Phoenix Fantasy Outlook – If you’re looking for a Phoenix dark horse, don’t overlook Josh Berry. Berry is at his best at shorter-flat tracks and in 2026 on this track type over the last four races, Berry has a 5.3 average Speed Ranking and a 5.0 average finish minus Gateway. At Phoenix, Berry has finished in the top 7 in 2 of his last 3 races and over the combined races in the Next Gen he ranks 12th for average finish (17.2), 14th for Driver Rating and then 15th for Speed.
Phoenix History – At Phoenix, Josh Berry has finished in the top ten in 50% of his races but in the other 50%, he’s finished 24th or worse. This spring when the #21 wasn’t running well anywhere, Berry finished 32nd. In the race, Berry started 10th, finished 15th in Stage #1, was in 17th on lap 103 but he was then damaged in a wreck, but not too badly. Later, Berry actually used pit strategy and got the lead on lap 216. During a later caution, Berry had to pit which dropped him back to 25th on lap 252 and then on lap 253 he was collected in another wreck which doomed him to his 32nd. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Berry ranked 23rd. In 2025, Berry swept the top ten with a 5.5 average finish. Last fall, Berry finished 7th, had the 7th best average running position (8.9), earned the 6th best Driver Rating and had the 8th best Total Speed Ranking. Last March, Berry finished 4th, earned the 5th best Driver Rating and had the 6th best average running position (9.1). In terms of speed stats, Berry ranked 3rd for Total Speed Rankings and 5th for Speed Late In A Run.

Carson Hocevar
Phoenix Fantasy Outlook – Phoenix hasn’t been a good track for Carson Hocevar. His best result is a 15th and over his combined races his average finish is 22.7 (25th best). That said, Hocevar does rank 13th for both Speed and Driver Rating, so he’s certainly performed better than what you’ll see in the results column. This year at shorter-flat tracks, Hocevar finished 8th at Gateway in the most recent race but over the combined races he ranks 18th for Speed and has a 21.3 average finish. Heading into the weekend, I would view Hocevar as a teens driver who’ll have top ten upside.
Phoenix History – At Phoenix, Carson Hocevar is 4 for 6 at finishing between 15th to 20th and has a 22.7 average finish. This spring, Hocevar looked good and was a top ten contender but finished an asterisk mark 20th. In the race, Hocevar started in the rear of the field for unapproved adjustments, finished 24th in Stage #1, finished 7th in Stage #2, ran in the top ten for much of the last Stage, was in 10th on lap 300 but then somehow over the last 10-laps, he faded back to finish 20th. Perhaps he had a tire going down or something? In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Hocevar ranked 13th with his speed over the segments being 24th, 9th, 10th and then 12th. Last fall, Hocevar was a top ten contender but finished a misleading 28th. In the race, Hocevar finished 6th in Stage #1, finished 9th in Stage #2 but then in the last Stage on lap 220 while running in 8th, he had a flat tire which brought out a caution and led to his misleading finish. Additionally, Hocevar had a 12.2 average running position and ranked 14th in terms of Total Speed Rankings. To break down his speed more, Hocevar ranked 6th, 5th, 12th and then 32nd over the segments. Last spring, Hocevar had a short afternoon and finished 36th. In the race, Hocevar started 3rd, finished 7th in Stage #1 (Lap 60), had fallen back to 17th on lap 96 but then on lap 99 he was caught up in a “Big One” which marked the end of his race. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Hocevar ranked 18th.

Ryan Preece
Phoenix Fantasy Outlook – Ryan Preece is a great mid-tier option at shorter-flat tracks and at Phoenix, I would view him as low double-digit to mid-teens driver who might just sneak in a top ten. Preece nearly notched a top ten this spring (13th), his average finish over the last three Phoenix races is 12.3 and for the season at shorter-flat tracks he ranks 9th in terms of average finish (14.3) and then 14th for Speed.
Phoenix History – At Phoenix in the Next Gen, Ryan Preece is 5 for 7 at finishing between 9th to 15th and his average finish minus fall 2024 is 14.3. This spring, Preece finished 13th, earned the 16th best Driver Rating, had a 17.7 average running position and ranked 18th in terms of Total Speed Rankings. Last fall, Preece didn’t look good for much of the race, but when the checkered flag waved, he finished 9th. On lap 308 right before the GWC caution, Preece was in 13th and then during the late caution he elected not to pit. Last spring early in his #60 tenure, Preece started 28th, had a 10.7 average running position, earned the 8th best Driver Rating, had the 13th best Total Speed Ranking and then finished 15th overall. Additionally, Preece led 34 laps but that’s also the product of out of sync pit strategy on the option tires.

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