Fantasy NASCAR Racing

Fantasy NASCAR practice recap: Toyota/Save Mart 350

June 25, 2011 @ 09:41:15

Practice at Infineon Raceway is as much about determining fuel mileage as it is dialing in the handling of a car. The race is scheduled for 110 laps, and on a full tank of gas, some teams have been able to run 35 laps. Sunday's race is likely going to feature just two pit stops for the drivers that plan on contending for the win, but crew chiefs have to know exactly how many laps their car can go in order to implement the proper strategy. A fast car is still important, but it won't end up in Victory Lane without the right calls on pit road.

In the first of two practice sessions Saturday, Jamie McMurray continued his strong weekend by topping the charts. Normally, it is his Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing teammate Juan Pablo Montoya leading the way, but McMurray qualified on the front row and appears to have a fast car in race trim as well. Despite a mediocre record at Infineon, McMurray may be worth a look from fantasy owners this weekend in need of a sleeper pick.

He was followed by Kurt Busch and Clint Bowyer, who have both had some success at Infineon in the past. Fast cars and bad luck have gone hand in hand for Busch at the track, but he is usually a top five threat when he stays out of trouble. Bowyer on the other hand is a more steady option, having finished eighth or better in three of his last four starts at Infineon.

Kyle Busch and A.J. Allmendinger rounded out the top five, and both should garner a lot of fantasy consideration. Busch is a former winner at Infineon, and Allmendinger has finished seventh and 13th in his last two starts at the track. With a background in road racing, Allmendinger in particular makes an exactly dark horse pick this weekend.

Just four drivers ran 10 or more consecutive laps in the first practice Saturday, and Brad Keselowski was the best of the bunch. Paul Menard and road racing expert Robby Gordon ranked second and third, and Carl Edwards was fourth out of four drivers.

Penske Racing continued to look strong in Happy Hour with Keselowski topping the charts. McMurray ranked second in the session, and Keselowski's teammate Kurt Busch ranked third. Montoya and Bowyer rounded out the top five, and Montoya solidified his status as one of the favorites Sunday. He has yet to finish outside the top 10 in four career starts at Infineon, and he won at the track in 2007.

Again, only four drivers ran 10 consecutive laps in Happy Hour, and Keselowski and McMurray ranked first and second. Denny Hamlin and Tony Stewart ranked third and fourth, but given the lack of competition, the feat isn't as impressive as it would be on a normal week. That being said, Keselowski has to be considered a possible fantasy option this weekend after topping or ranking near the top of the charts all afternoon.

Three big names struggled during the practices Saturday, highlighted by defending race winner Jimmie Johnson. He failed to crack the top 20 in either session, and the same was true for Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle. Stewart in particular is tough to write given his status as one of the top road racers in the series, but owners may want to look elsewhere this weekend given the suspect practice times.

Happy Hour Speeds (sorted by Best Lap)

Rk	CAR	DRIVER	MAKE	SPONSOR	Best Lap	Best Time
1	2	Brad Keselowski	Dodge	Miller Lite	91.725	78.103
2	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	McDonald's	91.623	78.190
3	22	Kurt Busch	Dodge	Shell/Pennzoil	91.591	78.217
4	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Chevrolet	Cottonelle	91.560	78.244
5	33	Clint Bowyer	Chevrolet	Cheerios/Hamburger Helper	91.361	78.414
6	56	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	NAPA Auto Parts	91.339	78.433
7	39	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	Haas Automation	91.331	78.440
8	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	Rheem Tankless Water Heaters	91.296	78.470
9	31	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet	Caterpillar	91.262	78.499
10	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	DuPont	91.206	78.547
11	78	Regan Smith	Chevrolet	Furniture Row Companies	91.158	78.589
12	43	A.J. Allmendinger	Ford	Best Buy	91.138	78.606
13	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	Amp Energy/National Guard	91.053	78.679
14	4	Kasey Kahne	Toyota	Red Bull	90.999	78.726
15	9	Marcos Ambrose	Ford	Stanley	90.981	78.742
16	83	Brian Vickers	Toyota	Red Bull	90.962	78.758
17	27	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	Duracell/Menards	90.961	78.759
18	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	FedEx Freight	90.926	78.789
19	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	Crown Royal	90.895	78.816
20	51	Boris Said	Chevrolet	Thank A Teacher Today/Security Benefit	90.887	78.823
21	7	Robby Gordon	Dodge	Speed Energy/GNC	90.858	78.848
22	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	Lowe's/Jimmie Johnson Foundation	90.851	78.854
23	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	M&M's Pretzel	90.818	78.883
24	34	David Gilliland	Ford	Taco Bell	90.717	78.971
25	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	Scotts Ortho	90.642	79.036
26	14	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	Office Depot/Mobil 1	90.642	79.036
27	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	3M	90.476	79.181
28	6	David Ragan	Ford	UPS "We Love Logistics"	90.443	79.210
29	20	Joey Logano	Toyota	The Home Depot	90.411	79.238
30	47	Bobby Labonte	Toyota	Clorox/Kleenex	90.362	79.281
31	46	Andy Pilgrim	Chevrolet	Red Line Oil	90.338	79.302
32	00	David Reutimann	Toyota	Aaron's Dream Machine	90.319	79.319
33	5	Mark Martin	Chevrolet	Farmers Insurance/GoDaddy.com	90.263	79.368
34	71	Andy Lally	Ford	Interstate Moving Services	90.179	79.442
35	36	Dave Blaney	Chevrolet	Big Red	90.092	79.519
36	32	Terry Labonte	Ford	C&J Energy	89.826	79.754
37	77	P.J. Jones	Dodge	Speed Energy/GNC	89.556	79.995
38	81	Brian Simo	Ford	ARMA Energy	89.504	80.041
39	66	David Mayhew	Toyota	HP Racing LLC	89.248	80.271
40	87	Joe Nemechek	Toyota	Hostetler Almonds	89.229	80.288
41	37	Chris Cook	Ford	"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"	88.643	80.819
42	13	Casey Mears	Toyota	GEICO	-	-
43	60	Mike Skinner	Toyota	Big Red	-	-

First Practice Speeds (sorted by Best Lap)

Rk	CAR	DRIVER	MAKE	SPONSOR	Best Lap	Best Time
1	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	McDonald's	92.295	77.621
2	22	Kurt Busch	Dodge	Shell/Pennzoil	92.073	77.808
3	33	Clint Bowyer	Chevrolet	Cheerios/Hamburger Helper	91.785	78.052
4	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	M&M's Pretzel	91.781	78.055
5	43	A.J. Allmendinger	Ford	Best Buy	91.695	78.129
6	27	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	Duracell/Menards	91.658	78.160
7	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	Crown Royal	91.631	78.183
8	39	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	Haas Automation	91.501	78.294
9	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	FedEx Freight	91.436	78.350
10	31	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet	Caterpillar	91.424	78.360
11	56	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	NAPA Auto Parts	91.421	78.363
12	9	Marcos Ambrose	Ford	Stanley	91.384	78.394
13	2	Brad Keselowski	Dodge	Miller Lite	91.344	78.429
14	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	Amp Energy/National Guard	91.336	78.436
15	51	Boris Said	Chevrolet	Thank A Teacher Today/Security Benefit	91.326	78.444
16	78	Regan Smith	Chevrolet	Furniture Row Companies	91.321	78.449
17	83	Brian Vickers	Toyota	Red Bull	91.226	78.530
18	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	Rheem Tankless Water Heaters	91.193	78.559
19	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Chevrolet	Cottonelle	91.175	78.574
20	34	David Gilliland	Ford	Taco Bell	91.130	78.613
21	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	DuPont	91.086	78.651
22	20	Joey Logano	Toyota	The Home Depot	91.071	78.664
23	4	Kasey Kahne	Toyota	Red Bull	91.070	78.665
24	47	Bobby Labonte	Toyota	Clorox/Kleenex	91.012	78.715
25	14	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	Office Depot/Mobil 1	90.953	78.766
26	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	Lowe's/Jimmie Johnson Foundation	90.944	78.774
27	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	3M	90.924	78.791
28	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	Scotts Ortho	90.917	78.797
29	7	Robby Gordon	Dodge	Speed Energy/GNC	90.863	78.844
30	00	David Reutimann	Toyota	Aaron's Dream Machine	90.817	78.884
31	6	David Ragan	Ford	UPS "We Love Logistics"	90.780	78.916
32	5	Mark Martin	Chevrolet	Farmers Insurance/GoDaddy.com	90.590	79.082
33	36	Dave Blaney	Chevrolet	Big Red	90.565	79.103
34	71	Andy Lally	Ford	Interstate Moving Services	90.400	79.248
35	81	Brian Simo	Ford	ARMA Energy	89.888	79.699
36	46	Andy Pilgrim	Chevrolet	Red Line Oil	89.622	79.936
37	13	Casey Mears	Toyota	GEICO	89.284	80.238
38	77	P.J. Jones	Dodge	Speed Energy/GNC	89.096	80.408
39	60	Mike Skinner	Toyota	Big Red	89.006	80.489
40	87	Joe Nemechek	Toyota	Hostetler Almonds	88.980	80.512
41	32	Terry Labonte	Ford	C&J Energy	88.830	80.648
42	66	David Mayhew	Toyota	HP Racing LLC	88.634	80.827
43	37	Chris Cook	Ford	"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"	88.183	81.240

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.