Fantasy NASCAR Racing

Fantasy NASCAR practice recap: FedEx 400 benefiting Autism Speaks

May 14, 2011 @ 08:40:03

A wet weekend is expected at Dover International Speedway, but the Cup Series teams were able to get both practice sessions in Friday before the Mother Nature caused any problems. That being said, teams were definitely using different agendas during the two sessions. With qualifying scheduled for Saturday afternoon, the go or go home teams were in qualifying trim throughout the practices. Meanwhile, the teams guaranteed a starting spot had the luxury of practicing in race trim. As a result, fantasy owners can ignore the average speeds of the go or go home drivers when looking at the time sheets.

Six-time Dover winner Jimmie Johnson got things started by topping the charts in the opening session, and he was followed by A.J. Allmendinger. Fantasy owners have to love seeing both drivers near the top of the charts. Johnson was arguably the top option at the track entering the weekend, and Allmendinger was high on the list of potential sleepers after leading more than 100 laps at Dover last fall. A strong showing by both in practice cements their status as excellent plays this weekend.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. ranked third in the session, while Kasey Kahne and Joey Logano rounded out the top five. Logano has put up the best numbers at Dover out of the group, but the intriguing option is Kahne. He is getting comfortable with Red Bull racing and has finished in the top five in each of the last two weeks, and fantasy owners may want to play the hot hand this Sunday.

Johnson led all drivers in terms of 10-lap average speed as well in the first practice, and he was followed by defending race winner Kyle Busch. Busch and Johnson combined to win both races at Dover in 2010, and both drivers are worth roster spots this weekend. They are two of the top drivers in the series right now, and but have had a ton of success at the "Monster Mile."

Mark Martin, Allmendinger and Matt Kenseth completed the top five in terms of 10-lap average speed, Along with Allmendinger, fantasy owners need to strongly consider Kenseth this weekend. The Roush Fenway Racing cars have always run well at Dover, and Kenseth has finished in the top five in five of his last six starts at the track.

In the final session, Penske Racing drivers Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski jumped to the top of the charts. Both drivers were in qualifying trim, but considering Busch has three top-five finishes in his last four Dover starts, he is worth a look from fantasy owners. However, Busch has definitely been trending in the wrong direction lately, and he shouldn’t be used ahead of Johnson, Busch or Kenseth.

Roush Fenway Racing drivers Greg Biffle, Carl Edwards and David Ragan rounded out the top five in Happy Hour to continue the dominance for the organization. All three should be considered roster worthy this weekend, especially Edwards and Biffle. Both drivers are former winners at Dover, and Edwards owns the top average finish at the track and Biffle the fourth-best mark.

The 10-lap average speeds saw three familiar faces return to the top of the charts. Kahne, Johnson and Kenseth grabbed the top-three spots, and the all-around performance from Kahne should answer any questions about the strength of his No. 4 Toyota. Meanwhile, Johnson should be considered the No. 1 option heading into Sunday’s race.

Richard Childress Racing drivers Kevin Harvick and Paul Menard completed the top five in the category, and both drivers have had mixed results at Dover. Their overall records are less than impressive, but both drivers ran well at the track in 2010. Whether or not the success carries over to this season remains to be seen, but owners might want to give the benefit of the doubt to Harvick. He has been performing like a top-five driver this season and always seems to provide a quality finish.

Two big names that struggled were Jeff Gordon and Juan Pablo Montoya. Gordon struggled to crack the top 15 throughout the practices, and the same was true for Montoya. Given all the other options that ran well, fantasy owners might want to pass on both drivers this weekend.

Happy Hour Speeds (sorted by Avg. Speed)

Rk indicates Best Lap standing

Rk	Car	Driver	Team	Best Lap	Best Time	Avg. Speed	Laps
4	99	Carl Edwards	AFLAC Ford	157.370	22.876	156.660	11
18	66	Michael McDowell	HP Racing Toyota	155.086	23.213	154.882	3
13	34	David Gilliland	Taco Bell Ford	155.615	23.134	154.765	8
19	46	J.J. Yeley	Red Line Chevrolet	155.059	23.217	154.324	7
7	9	Marcos Ambrose	DeWalt Ford	156.733	22.969	154.234	27
20	81	Scott Riggs	Whitney Motorsports Chevrolet	155.025	23.222	153.732	7
17	71	Andy Lally	Interstate Moving Services Ford	155.347	23.174	153.548	14
25	30	David Stremme	Inception Racing Chevrolet	154.546	23.294	153.428	13
28	38	Travis Kvapil	A&W All American Food Ford	154.407	23.315	153.105	12
29	56	Martin Truex Jr.	NAPA Auto Parts Toyota	154.328	23.327	152.975	49
38	60	Mike Skinner	Big Red Toyota	153.433	23.463	152.932	9
15	5	Mark Martin	GoDaddy.com Chevrolet	155.440	23.160	152.857	40
12	39	Ryan Newman	Haas Automation Chevrolet	155.804	23.106	152.851	32
9	17	Matt Kenseth	Wiley X Sunglasses Ford	156.569	22.993	152.811	49
35	87	Joe Nemechek	NEMCO Motorsports Toyota	153.826	23.403	152.695	14
27	4	Kasey Kahne	Red Bull Toyota	154.440	23.310	152.688	66
3	16	Greg Biffle	3M Ford	157.522	22.854	152.640	40
24	43	A.J. Allmendinger	Best Buy Ford	154.646	23.279	152.560	67
5	6	David Ragan	UPS Ford	157.000	22.930	152.504	59
2	2	Brad Keselowski	Miller Lite Dodge	157.591	22.844	152.417	70
16	27	Paul Menard	CertainTeed/Menards Chevrolet	155.367	23.171	152.417	48
37	78	Regan Smith	Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet	153.446	23.461	152.345	54
8	33	Clint Bowyer	BB&T Chevrolet	156.603	22.988	152.171	43
11	14	Tony Stewart	Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet	156.101	23.062	152.149	53
33	18	Kyle Busch	M&M's Toyota	154.050	23.369	152.058	40
22	1	Jamie McMurray	Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet	154.772	23.260	152.028	41
14	13	Casey Mears	GEICO Toyota	155.602	23.136	151.988	20
42	37	Tony Raines	Front Row Motorsports Ford	152.964	23.535	151.985	16
31	29	Kevin Harvick	Budweiser Chevrolet	154.143	23.355	151.946	67
32	00	David Reutimann	Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota	154.063	23.367	151.859	60
44	7	Scott Wimmer	Fast Five/SPEED Energy Dodge	152.149	23.661	151.857	2
1	22	Kurt Busch	Shell/Pennzoil Dodge	157.922	22.796	151.838	52
23	48	Jimmie Johnson	Lowe's Chevrolet	154.765	23.261	151.797	79
10	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx Ground/Autism Speaks Toyota	156.135	23.057	151.762	68
40	83	Brian Vickers	Red Bull Toyota	153.146	23.507	151.729	74
43	24	Jeff Gordon	DuPont Chevrolet	152.775	23.564	151.630	66
36	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Target Chevrolet	153.807	23.406	151.544	63
6	31	Jeff Burton	Caterpillar Chevrolet	156.876	22.948	151.210	64
39	47	Bobby Labonte	Kingsford/BushsBestBakedBeans Toyota	153.302	23.483	151.190	55
21	20	Joey Logano	Home Depot Toyota	154.852	23.248	151.156	81
41	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	AMP Energy Sugar-Free/National Guard Chevrolet	153.113	23.512	150.570	58
30	36	Dave Blaney	Golden Corral Chevrolet	154.215	23.344	150.400	32
34	09	Landon Cassill	Security Benefits/Thank A Teacher Today Chevrolet	154.017	23.374	149.341	47
26	32	Mike Bliss	U.S. Chrome Ford	154.473	23.305	144.871	20

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

Rk	Car	Driver	From Lap	To Lap	Avg. Speed
1	4	Kasey Kahne	3	12	153.610
2	17	Matt Kenseth	2	11	153.433
3	48	Jimmie Johnson	54	63	153.189
4	27	Paul Menard	1	10	152.858
5	29	Kevin Harvick	21	30	152.710
6	43	A.J. Allmendinger	38	47	152.587
7	11	Denny Hamlin	4	13	152.482
8	6	David Ragan	40	49	152.415
9	33	Clint Bowyer	6	15	152.387
10	18	Kyle Busch	4	13	152.355
11	31	Jeff Burton	38	47	152.310
12	2	Brad Keselowski	31	40	152.228
13	00	David Reutimann	37	46	152.145
14	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	1	10	152.118
15	16	Greg Biffle	28	37	152.021
16	83	Brian Vickers	56	65	151.891
17	22	Kurt Busch	27	36	151.866
18	24	Jeff Gordon	48	57	151.687
19	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	18	27	151.479
20	20	Joey Logano	62	71	151.464
21	47	Bobby Labonte	41	50	150.413
22	09	Landon Cassill	29	38	148.437

First Practice Speeds (sorted by Avg. Speed)

Rk indicates Best Lap standing

Rank	Car	Driver	Team	Best Lap	Best Time	Avg. Speed	Laps
1	48	Jimmie Johnson	Lowe's Chevrolet	158.604	22.698	157.102	28
7	56	Martin Truex Jr.	NAPA Auto Parts Toyota	157.632	22.838	156.475	14
6	18	Kyle Busch	M&M's Toyota	157.673	22.832	154.931	21
2	43	A.J. Allmendinger	Best Buy Ford	158.562	22.704	154.912	27
8	29	Kevin Harvick	Budweiser Chevrolet	157.570	22.847	154.762	23
20	66	Michael McDowell	HP Racing Toyota	156.040	23.071	154.684	6
4	4	Kasey Kahne	Red Bull Toyota	158.186	22.758	154.345	35
9	78	Regan Smith	Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet	157.542	22.851	154.215	31
13	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Target Chevrolet	156.699	22.974	154.146	24
3	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	AMP Energy Sugar-Free/National Guard Chevrolet	158.493	22.714	154.075	26
12	0	David Reutimann	Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota	156.822	22.956	154.051	28
17	47	Bobby Labonte	Kingsford/BushsBestBakedBeans Toyota	156.617	22.986	154.049	22
10	6	David Ragan	UPS Ford	157.315	22.884	154.044	42
16	33	Clint Bowyer	BB&T Chevrolet	156.631	22.984	153.988	29
33	46	J.J. Yeley	Red Line Chevrolet	154.328	23.327	153.925	3
23	17	Matt Kenseth	Wiley X Sunglasses Ford	155.434	23.161	153.833	40
5	20	Joey Logano	Home Depot Toyota	158.033	22.780	153.807	33
14	27	Paul Menard	CertainTeed/Menards Chevrolet	156.678	22.977	153.669	34
24	16	Greg Biffle	3M Ford	155.139	23.205	153.567	42
27	9	Marcos Ambrose	DeWalt Ford	154.872	23.245	153.407	39
21	2	Brad Keselowski	Miller Lite Dodge	155.912	23.090	153.276	44
18	5	Mark Martin	GoDaddy.com Chevrolet	156.420	23.015	153.268	48
26	31	Jeff Burton	Caterpillar Chevrolet	155.139	23.205	153.111	47
22	22	Kurt Busch	Shell/Pennzoil Dodge	155.501	23.151	153.038	64
31	14	Tony Stewart	Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet	154.480	23.304	152.963	52
11	83	Brian Vickers	Red Bull Toyota	156.917	22.942	152.801	48
19	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx Ground/Autism Speaks Toyota	156.359	23.024	152.709	42
15	24	Jeff Gordon	DuPont Chevrolet	156.638	22.983	152.538	23
34	7	Robby Gordon	Fast Five/SPEED Energy Dodge	154.235	23.341	152.395	5
25	1	Jamie McMurray	Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet	155.139	23.205	152.305	37
38	87	Joe Nemechek	NEMCO Motorsports Toyota	153.244	23.492	152.282	11
35	34	David Gilliland	Taco Bell Ford	154.202	23.346	152.092	33
37	32	Mike Bliss	U.S. Chrome Ford	153.381	23.471	152.079	20
41	37	Tony Raines	Front Row Motorsports Ford	152.944	23.538	151.991	11
36	13	Casey Mears	GEICO Toyota	153.433	23.463	151.835	25
30	99	Carl Edwards	AFLAC Ford	154.692	23.272	151.742	41
40	71	Andy Lally	Interstate Moving Services Ford	153.035	23.524	151.214	26
39	81	Scott Riggs	Whitney Motorsports Chevrolet	153.126	23.510	151.200	8
29	60	Mike Skinner	Big Red Toyota	154.792	23.257	151.166	13
43	36	Dave Blaney	Golden Corral Chevrolet	152.607	23.590	151.156	26
42	30	David Stremme	Inception Motorsports Chevrolet	152.801	23.560	151.003	8
32	39	Ryan Newman	Haas Automation Chevrolet	154.400	23.316	150.330	42
28	9	Landon Cassill	Security Benefits/Thank A Teacher Today Chevrolet	154.825	23.252	149.835	33
44	38	Travis Kvapil	A&W All American Ford	151.598	23.750	149.461	33

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

Rk	Car	Driver	From Lap	To Lap	Avg. Speed
1	48	Jimmie Johnson	2	11	156.243
2	18	Kyle Busch	1	10	154.137
3	5	Mark Martin	8	17	153.865
4	43	A.J. Allmendinger	2	11	153.807
5	17	Matt Kenseth	28	37	153.678
6	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	2	11	153.449
7	4	Kasey Kahne	5	14	153.440
8	2	Brad Keselowski	29	38	153.438
9	31	Jeff Burton	3	12	153.361
10	9	Marcos Ambrose	28	37	153.272
11	78	Regan Smith	1	10	153.231
12	1	Jamie McMurray	2	11	153.218
13	14	Tony Stewart	33	42	153.096
14	33	Clint Bowyer	1	10	152.970
15	22	Kurt Busch	45	54	152.945
16	24	Jeff Gordon	7	16	152.071
17	13	Casey Mears	16	25	151.858

Combined Average Speeds (weighted by # of laps run in each session)

Rk	Car	Driver	Team	Average Speed	Total Laps
1	66	Michael McDowell	HP Racing Toyota	154.750	9
2	46	J.J. Yeley	Red Line Chevrolet	154.204	10
3	56	Martin Truex Jr.	NAPA Auto Parts Toyota	153.753	63
4	9	Marcos Ambrose	DeWalt Ford	153.745	66
5	17	Matt Kenseth	Wiley X Sunglasses Ford	153.270	89
6	4	Kasey Kahne	Red Bull Toyota	153.262	101
7	43	A.J. Allmendinger	Best Buy Ford	153.236	94
8	48	Jimmie Johnson	Lowe's Chevrolet	153.185	107
9	6	David Ragan	UPS Ford	153.144	101
10	16	Greg Biffle	3M Ford	153.115	82
11	5	Mark Martin	GoDaddy.com Chevrolet	153.081	88
12	18	Kyle Busch	M&M's Toyota	153.047	61
13	78	Regan Smith	Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet	153.027	85
14	27	Paul Menard	CertainTeed/Menards Chevrolet	152.936	82
15	33	Clint Bowyer	BB&T Chevrolet	152.903	72
16	39	Ryan Newman	Haas Automation Chevrolet	152.789	37
17	99	Carl Edwards	AFLAC Ford	152.782	52
18	2	Brad Keselowski	Miller Lite Dodge	152.749	114
19	29	Kevin Harvick	Budweiser Chevrolet	152.666	90
20	34	David Gilliland	Taco Bell Ford	152.614	41
21	00	David Reutimann	Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota	152.556	88
22	14	Tony Stewart	Mobil 1/Office Depot Chevrolet	152.552	105
23	87	Joe Nemechek	NEMCO Motorsports Toyota	152.513	25
24	30	David Stremme	Inception Racing Chevrolet	152.504	21
25	22	Kurt Busch	Shell/Pennzoil Dodge	152.500	116
26	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Target Chevrolet	152.262	87
27	1	Jamie McMurray	Bass Pro Shops/Tracker Boats Chevrolet	152.159	78
28	83	Brian Vickers	Red Bull Toyota	152.151	122
29	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx Ground/Autism Speaks Toyota	152.124	110
30	71	Andy Lally	Interstate Moving Services Ford	152.031	40
31	31	Jeff Burton	Caterpillar Chevrolet	152.015	111
32	47	Bobby Labonte	Kingsford/BushsBestBakedBeans Toyota	152.007	77
33	37	Tony Raines	Front Row Motorsports Ford	151.987	27
34	20	Joey Logano	Home Depot Toyota	151.923	114
35	13	Casey Mears	GEICO Toyota	151.903	45
36	60	Mike Skinner	Big Red Toyota	151.888	22
37	24	Jeff Gordon	DuPont Chevrolet	151.865	89
38	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	AMP Energy Sugar-Free/National Guard Chevrolet	151.655	84
39	7	Scott Wimmer	Fast Five/SPEED Energy Dodge	151.331	10
40	81	Scott Riggs	Whitney Motorsports Chevrolet	150.816	49
41	36	Dave Blaney	Golden Corral Chevrolet	150.739	58
42	38	Travis Kvapil	A&W All American Food Ford	150.433	45
43	09	Landon Cassill	Security Benefits/Thank A Teacher Today Chevrolet	149.545	80
44	32	Mike Bliss	U.S. Chrome Ford	148.475	40

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.