Fantasy NASCAR rankings: Coca-Cola 600

May 28, 2011 @ 16:12:49

By Brian Polking

There is an old adage in racing that says it's not where you start but where you finish. That saying holds true in fantasy circles as well, particularly as the longest race of the year approaches. Fantasy owners shouldn't get too excited if their drivers are running well in the first half of the race. Once the sun sets, expect some new faces to work their way to the front of the field, and in the final 100 miles, expect a few contenders to falter.

When you think about 600 miles at an average speed of 185 mph a lap, it becomes pretty clear why the Coca-Cola 600 is often referred to as an endurance test. In fact, patience is one of the biggest assets a driver can have in such a long event. As a result, writing off drivers just because they qualified toward the back is a big mistake this weekend. Consider that Kurt Busch, Jamie McMurray and Kyle Busch are among the big names that will start outside the top 20 Sunday. Now consider that these same three drivers finished first through third in the Coca-Cola 600 one year ago.

If there was ever a race where the best cars have a chance to get to the front, it is the Coca-Cola 600. Fuel mileage and engine failures may cloud the picture along the way, but at the end of the night, the drivers with the best cars will find a way to contend.

Rk	Driver	Car No.	Make	Sponsor	Team	Starting Pos
1	Kyle Busch	18	Toyota	M&M's	Joe Gibbs Racing	21
2	Carl Edwards	99	Ford	Aflac	Roush Fenway Racing	3
3	Jimmie Johnson	48	Chevrolet	Lowe's Home Improvement	Hendrick Motorsports	6
4	Kasey Kahne	4	Toyota	Red Bull	Red Bull Racing	17
5	Matt Kenseth	17	Ford	Crown Royal	Roush Fenway Racing	19
6	Denny Hamlin	11	Toyota	FedEx	Joe Gibbs Racing	4
7	Greg Biffle	16	Ford	3M	Roush Fenway Racing	15
8	Jamie McMurray	1	Chevrolet	Bass Pro Shops	Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing	35
9	David Reutimann	00	Toyota	Aaron's	Michael Waltrip Racing	7
10	Jeff Gordon	24	Chevrolet	Drive to End Hunger	Hendrick Motorsports	11
11	Tony Stewart	14	Chevrolet	Office Depot	Stewart-Haas Racing	22
12	Kevin Harvick	29	Chevrolet	Budweiser	Richard Childress Racing	28
13	Clint Bowyer	33	Chevrolet	Cheerios	Richard Childress Racing	10
14	Kurt Busch	22	Dodge	Shell/Pennzoil	Penske Championship Racing	26
15	Mark Martin	5	Chevrolet	GoDaddy.com	Hendrick Motorsports	13
16	Paul Menard	27	Chevrolet	Menard's	Richard Childress Racing	16
17	Ryan Newman	39	Chevrolet	U.S. Army	Stewart-Haas Racing	12
18	Marcos Ambrose	9	Ford	Stanley Black & Decker	Richard Petty Motorsports	24
19	Jeff Burton	31	Chevrolet	Caterpillar	Richard Childress Racing	5
20	Juan Pablo Montoya	42	Chevrolet	Target	Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing	29
21	Joey Logano	20	Toyota	Home Depot	Joe Gibbs Racing	23
22	A.J. Allmendinger	43	Ford	Best Buy	Richard Petty Motorsports	2
23	David Ragan	6	Ford	UPS	Roush Fenway Racing	8
24	Brad Keselowski	2	Dodge	Miller Lite	Penske Championship Racing	1
25	Martin Truex Jr.	56	Toyota	NAPA	Michael Waltrip Racing	14
26	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	88	Chevrolet	Mountain Dew AMP Energy	Hendrick Motorsports	25
27	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	21	Ford	Motorcraft	Wood Brothers Racing	9
28	Brian Vickers	83	Toyota	Red Bull	Red Bull Racing	18
29	Regan Smith	78	Chevrolet	Furniture Row	Furniture Row Racing	20
30	Bobby Labonte	47	Toyota	Bush's Baked Beans	JTG Daugherty Racing	27
31	Casey Mears	13	Toyota	GEICO	Germain Racing	37
32	Travis Kvapil	38	Chevrolet	Long John Silver's	Front Row Motorsports	31
33	David Gilliland	34	Ford	Taco Bell	Front Row Motorsports	30
34	Robby Gordon	7	Dodge	SPEED Energy	Robby Gordon Motorsports	41
35	Mike Skinner	60	Toyota	Big Red	Germain Racing	43
36	Mike Bliss	32	Ford	C&J Energy	FAS Lane Racing	39
37	Landon Cassill	09	Chevrolet	Security Benefit	Phoenix Racing	40
38	Dave Blaney	36	Chevrolet	Golden Corral	Tommy Baldwin Racing	42
39	Michael McDowell	66	Toyota	RaceHP.com	HP Racing	33
40	David Stremme	30	Dodge	TBA	Inception Motorsports	38
41	David Starr	95	Ford	Jordan Truck Sales	Leavine Fenton Racing	32
42	J.J. Yeley	46	Chevrolet	Red Line Oil	Whitney Motorsports	34
43	Joe Nemechek	87	Toyota	NEMCO Motorsports	NEMCO Motorsports	36

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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.

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