Fantasy NASCAR Racing

Fantasy NASCAR practice recap: Aaron's 499

April 15, 2011 @ 19:44:09

Much like the season opener at Daytona, practice sessions at Talladega Superspeedway take on a different purpose. The only concern for drivers and teams is staying out of trouble and getting the car comfortable. Topping the charts is nice, but any car that is able to handle well in the draft is capable of winning at Talladega. As a result, the practice results are sorted by top speeds this week, and even then, fantasy owners shouldn't base their picks solely on the practice speeds.

In the opening session, Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Tony Stewart and Ryan Newman got hooked and posted the top-two times. Both drivers have had success at the track throughout their careers, but they have actually struggled at the track since becoming teammates. That being said, Stewart was a one good push away from winning the Daytona 500, and the SHR duo should have cars capable of winning again this weekend.

Kyle Busch ranked third in the first practice, and he always seems to have a car capable of winning whenever the series visits a restrictor-plate track. He has also been known to wreck at the plate tracks as well from time to time, but he has as much potential as any driver in the field. At an unpredictable track, the former Talladega winner isn't a bad option.

Five-time champ Jimmie Johnson and A.J. Allmendinger rounded out the top-five. NASCAR's biggest track can make any driver look human, including Johnson. Fantasy owners that play in a league that limits the amount of starts for each driver should definitely stay away from Johnson this weekend. They should probably do the same with Allmendinger. He has been involved in some type of wreck in all but one of his Talladega starts.

In terms of 10-lap average speeds, Newman and Stewart switched places but again topped the charts. Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano ranked third and fourth, and last year's race winner Kevin Harvick completed the top-five. Considering Harvick finished first and second at Talladega last season, he is one of the few big names worth playing in a limited start format.

Happy Hour was wiped out by a wave of storms after only four laps. Only eight drivers took the track before Mother Nature caused a change of plans. Fantasy owners can ignore the final practice speeds because NASCAR was forced to cancel the session before the drivers in got up to full speed.

Owners should also keep a few other names in mind when setting their lineups this weekend. Clint Bowyer won the fall race at Talladega last year and is one of the up and coming plate drivers in the series. Juan Pablo Montoya has posted back-to-back third-place runs at the track, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a five-time winner at the track. Kurt Busch has been one of the most consistent options as well.

In terms of sleepers, Paul Menard and David Ragan top the list. Menard has finished as high as second at the track, and he is now driving for a Richard Childress Racing organization that swept both races at Talladega in 2010. Ragan has the fifth-best average finish at the track, and he was in the mix for a win at Daytona earlier this year before a late penalty dropped him from first to 14th.

Despite having a great season, including a dominating showing last weekend, Roush Fenway Racing drivers could hurt fantasy owners this weekend. With the exception of Ragan, the organization's current lineup has struggled. Even the normally strong Carl Edwards has managed just three top-10s in 13 starts at Talladega.

Happy Hour Speeds (sorted by Best Lap)

Rk	Car	Driver	Team	Best Lap	Best Time	Avg. Speed	Laps
1	24	Jeff Gordon	Drive to End Hunger / AARP Chevy	190.412	50.291	179.329	4
2	5	Mark Martin	CARQUEST / GoDaddy.com Chevy	190.412	50.291	179.558	4
3	38	Travis Kvapil	Long John Silver's / TMone Ford	175.102	54.688	166.706	3
4	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx Office Toyota	158.344	60.476	158.344	1
5	20	Joey Logano	The Home Depot Toyota	156.786	61.077	156.786	1
6	66	Michael McDowell	HP Racing LLC Toyota	156.215	61.300	156.215	1
7	2	Brad Keselowski	Miller Lite Dodge	153.649	62.324	153.649	1
8	17	Matt Kenseth	Crown Royal Black Ford	126.201	75.879	126.201	1

First Practice Speeds (sorted by Best Lap)

Rk	Car	Driver	Team	Best Lap	Best Time	Avg. Speed	Laps
1	14	Tony Stewart	Office Depot / Mobil 1 Chevy	194.239	49.300	180.055	20
2	39	Ryan Newman	Haas Automation Chevy	194.235	49.301	165.798	15
3	18	Kyle Busch	M&M's Pretzel Toyota	193.713	49.434	184.238	32
4	48	Jimmie Johnson	Lowe's Chevy	193.713	49.434	179.329	26
5	43	A.J. Allmendinger	Best Buy Ford	193.080	49.596	166.093	17
6	31	Jeff Burton	Cat Financial Chevy	193.076	49.597	167.488	15
7	20	Joey Logano	The Home Depot Toyota	192.692	49.696	185.213	22
8	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx Office Toyota	192.684	49.698	184.104	23
9	34	David Gilliland	Taco Bell Ford	192.544	49.734	183.102	17
10	09	Landon Cassill	Security Benefits / Thank A Teacher Chevy	192.544	49.734	179.470	15
11	29	Kevin Harvick	Budweiser Chevy	192.351	49.784	175.392	24
12	2	Brad Keselowski	Miller Lite Dodge	192.347	49.785	185.147	17
13	22	Kurt Busch	Shell / Pennzoil / AAA Dodge	192.336	49.788	183.813	25
14	27	Paul Menard	Schrock / Menards Chevy	192.336	49.788	174.414	14
15	24	Jeff Gordon	Drive to End Hunger / AARP Chevy	191.558	49.990	179.938	21
16	5	Mark Martin	CARQUEST / GoDaddy.com Chevy	191.554	49.991	180.010	21
17	83	Brian Vickers	Red Bull Toyota	191.248	50.071	179.653	32
18	33	Clint Bowyer	BB&T Chevy	191.012	50.133	174.760	16
19	00	David Reutimann	Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota	190.700	50.215	181.624	27
20	78	Regan Smith	Furniture Row Racing Chevy	190.689	50.218	178.800	23
21	16	Greg Biffle	3M Scotch Blue Ford	190.677	50.221	183.079	21
22	47	Bobby Labonte	Bush's Toyota	190.670	50.223	174.695	13
23	17	Matt Kenseth	Crown Royal Black Ford	190.666	50.224	180.651	26
24	13	Casey Mears	GEICO Toyota	190.662	50.225	178.616	18
25	9	Marcos Ambrose	DeWalt Ford	190.616	50.237	182.522	17
26	6	David Ragan	UPS Ford	190.613	50.238	182.620	17
27	21	Trevor Bayne	Good Sam / Camping World Ford	190.442	50.283	182.095	33
28	99	Carl Edwards	Aflac Ford	190.442	50.283	183.615	18
29	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	National Guard / AMP Energy Chevy	189.959	50.411	175.375	14
30	4	Kasey Kahne	Red Bull Toyota	189.646	50.494	175.216	23
31	56	Martin Truex Jr.	NAPA Auto Parts Toyota	189.646	50.494	182.159	17
32	46	Bill Elliott/J.J. Yeley	Red Line Oil Chevy	189.635	50.497	177.767	18
33	32	Terry Labonte	C&J Energy Services Ford	188.211	50.879	161.594	18
34	7	Sam Hornish Jr.	Fast Five / Speed Energy Dodge	188.208	50.880	173.231	16
35	15	Michael Waltrip	Aaron's / Auburn National Championship Toyota	177.166	54.051	165.888	10
36	1	Jamie McMurray	Bass Pro Shops / Tracker Boats Chevy	176.757	54.176	165.815	7
37	35	Steve Park	Tommy Baldwin Racing Chevy	176.318	54.311	180.828	7
38	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Target Chevy	175.471	54.573	184.112	3
39	97	Kevin Conway	ExtenZe Toyota	175.330	54.617	158.021	2
40	87	Joe Nemechek	NEMCO Motorsports Toyota	175.048	54.705	166.076	3
41	60	Mike Skinner	Big Red Toyota	174.994	54.722	179.001	4
42	36	Dave Blaney	Golden Corral Chevy	174.978	54.727	166.405	3
43	38	Travis Kvapil	Long John Silver's / TMone Ford	174.917	54.746	166.840	7
44	71	Andy Lally	Interstate Moving Services Ford	174.490	54.880	165.060	3
45	37	Tony Raines	Front Row Motorsports Ford	173.027	55.344	165.914	3
46	66	Michael McDowell	HP Racing Toyota	0	0	0	0

10-Lap Average Speeds (must run 10 consecutive laps)

Rk	Car	Driver	From Lap	To Lap	Avg. Speed
1	39	Ryan Newman	6	15	189.825
2	14	Tony Stewart	6	15	189.785
3	11	Denny Hamlin	13	22	189.736
4	20	Joey Logano	13	22	189.694
5	29	Kevin Harvick	14	23	188.732
6	27	Paul Menard	5	14	188.688
7	00	David Reutimann	13	22	188.607
8	78	Regan Smith	9	18	188.607
9	5	Mark Martin	2	11	188.591
10	24	Jeff Gordon	2	11	188.492
11	48	Jimmie Johnson	13	22	188.167
12	18	Kyle Busch	12	21	188.126
13	21	Trevor Bayne	9	18	187.296
14	99	Carl Edwards	4	13	187.294
15	34	David Gilliland	8	17	186.493
16	09	Landon Cassill	6	15	186.449
17	16	Greg Biffle	2	11	186.185
18	83	Brian Vickers	23	32	185.571
19	17	Matt Kenseth	7	16	183.764
20	31	Jeff Burton	3	12	175.143

Author Bio

Brian Polking

Racing has been part of Brian's life ever since he can remember, and he spent his childhood at dirt tracks throughout Ohio and Kentucky watching his father race. NASCAR naturally became his favorite sport, and he has been following the Cup, Nationwide and Truck Series for most of his life. Brian majored in journalism and economics at Ohio State University and becoming a sports writer has always been his dream. Although he has covered everything from minor league baseball to the NCAA tournament, his passion has always been NASCAR. Brian has served as a NASCAR writer for a variety of sites, eventually becoming head editor of the NASCAR section for Fanball.com. His knowledge of NASCAR comes from his life-long love of racing, and he tries to add a personal touch to every article he writes. Brian is always up for talking NASCAR with anyone that wants to. Brian joined KFFL's team in 2011.