Fantasy NASCAR Racing

Fantasy NASCAR practice recap: Coke Zero 400

July 1, 2011 @ 09:39:33

Mother Nature did her best to keep the Cup Series drivers off the track Thursday afternoon at Daytona, but in the end, the rain faded away long enough for one session to be run. The abbreviated, 45-minute practice featured the two-car drafting packs that have become the norm at restrictor-plate tracks in 2011. Drivers topped out just under 200 mph, and it appears Saturday night's race will be an awful lot like February’s season opener.

Leading the way in the lone practice were Richard Petty Motorsports drivers Marcos Ambrose and A.J. Allmendinger. The teammates were the only drivers to crack 199 mph in the session. Allmendinger has the better career numbers at Daytona of the two, but at an unpredictable track, owners can’t rule out any driver with a fast car.

Penske Racing teammates Kurt Busch and Brad Keselowski ranked third and fourth, and fantasy owners have to strongly consider both drivers. Busch had one of the top cars in the Daytona 500 before finishing fifth, and he is coming off a win last weekend. Both Penske drivers have been running well lately, and Keselowski is a former superspeedway winner.

Jeff Gordon posted the fifth-fastest lap, and he is another driver that deserves a lot of fantasy consideration. He is in the middle of a hot stretch, having finished in the top five in three of his last four starts. Gordon is coming off a strong plate track performance at Talladega in April as well. He sat on the pole and finished third that afternoon, and a similar performance could be in the works Saturday night.

Ambrose and Allmendinger led the way in terms of 10-lap average speeds as well, but Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Joey Logano and Kyle Busch jumped to third and fourth. While Logano has never had much success at Daytona, Busch is a former winner and has actually been one of the more consistent options at the track. Keselowski rounded out the top five.

In terms of overall average speeds, Richard Childress Racing teammates Jeff Burton and Clint Bowyer topped the charts. Bowyer has established himself as one of the premier plate racers in the sport, but Burton actually makes an intriguing play in limited start fantasy formats. He has had such a terrible season that many owners have been shying away. However, he finished in the top five at Daytona last July, and this weekend could be the perfect time to employ Burton and save a start from some of the more reliable drivers.

Busch and Keselowski ranked third and fourth, while Carl Edwards rounded out the top five. Edwards has never won a plate race, but he has finished in the top 10 in his last four starts at Daytona. The point leader could break through this weekend, and he should be good for a solid finish either way.

Happy Hour Speeds (sorted by Avg. Speed)

Rk indicates Best Lap standing

Rk	Car	Driver	Team	Best Lap	Best Time	Avg. Speed	Laps
8	31	Jeff Burton	Caterpillar Chevrolet	197.885	45.481	193.652	19
7	33	Clint Bowyer	Wheaties FUEL Chevrolet	197.885	45.481	193.625	19
3	22	Kurt Busch	Shell / Pennzoil Dodge	198.474	45.346	193.253	29
4	2	Brad Keselowski	Miller Lite Dodge	198.470	45.347	193.229	22
21	99	Carl Edwards	SUBWAY Ford	196.249	45.860	193.058	16
6	5	Mark Martin	CARQUEST / GoDaddy.com Chevrolet	198.085	45.435	192.984	15
5	24	Jeff Gordon	PepsiMAX Chevrolet	198.085	45.435	192.983	15
22	16	Greg Biffle	3M Ford	196.249	45.860	192.740	17
17	18	Kyle Busch	Interstate Batteries Toyota	196.301	45.848	192.685	23
19	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	NationalGuardHeritage/AMPEnergy Chevrolet	196.284	45.852	192.667	14
1	9	Marcos Ambrose	DeWalt Ford	199.411	45.133	192.561	28
2	43	A.J. Allmendinger	U.S. Air Force Ford	199.402	45.135	192.542	28
14	39	Ryan Newman	NRA / Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet	197.083	45.666	192.436	15
13	11	Denny Hamlin	FedEx Express Toyota	197.087	45.665	192.426	15
9	29	Kevin Harvick	Budweiser Chevrolet	197.707	45.522	192.212	27
10	27	Paul Menard	Quaker State / Menards Chevrolet	197.689	45.526	192.193	27
12	14	Tony Stewart	Burger King Chevrolet	197.165	45.647	192.025	11
20	48	Jimmie Johnson	Lowe's Summer Salute Chevrolet	196.279	45.853	191.814	16
25	0	David Reutimann	Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota	195.742	45.979	191.796	28
26	56	Martin Truex Jr.	NAPA Auto Parts Toyota	195.737	45.980	191.795	28
31	83	Brian Vickers	Red Bull Toyota	194.578	46.254	190.365	28
11	34	David Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports Ford	197.170	45.646	190.328	14
27	78	Regan Smith	Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet	195.546	46.025	190.301	18
30	4	Kasey Kahne	Red Bull Toyota	194.578	46.254	190.229	21
15	17	Matt Kenseth	Affliction Clothing Ford	196.803	45.731	189.499	28
16	6	David Ragan	UPS Ford	196.803	45.731	189.498	28
32	13	Casey Mears	GEICO Toyota	194.393	46.298	189.114	19
29	47	Bobby Labonte	Kingsford Toyota	194.746	46.214	188.910	26
24	1	Jamie McMurray	McDonald's Chevrolet	196.078	45.900	186.736	20
23	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Target Chevrolet	196.087	45.898	186.724	20
33	46	J.J. Yeley	Red Line Oil Chevrolet	190.795	47.171	184.706	15
37	51	Landon Cassill	Security Benefit / Thank A Teacher Today Chev	182.500	49.315	181.984	2
34	21	Trevor Bayne	Motorcraft / Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford	183.262	49.110	181.849	8
18	20	Joey Logano	The Home Depot Toyota	196.301	45.848	181.628	24
36	60	Mike Skinner	Big Red Toyota	182.578	49.294	180.374	7
38	38	Travis Kvapil	Long John Silver's Ford	181.251	49.655	180.242	8
40	7	Robby Gordon	Speed Energy Dodge	180.050	49.986	179.912	2
39	97	Kevin Conway	ExtenZe Toyota	180.054	49.985	179.071	2
28	32	Terry Labonte	C&J Energy Ford	194.750	46.213	178.957	13
41	35	Geoffrey Bodine	Luke & Associates Chevrolet	179.932	50.019	178.502	5
45	87	Joe Nemechek	NEMCO Motorsports Toyota	178.554	50.405	177.609	2
44	36	Dave Blaney	Golden Corral Chevrolet	179.501	50.139	177.548	6
42	37	Tony Raines	BlackCat Fireworks.com Ford	179.659	50.095	177.421	6
43	66	Michael McDowell	HP Racing LLC Toyota	179.530	50.131	177.323	5
35	71	Andy Lally	Interstate Moving Services Ford	182.949	49.194	176.097	11

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

Rk	Car	Driver	From Lap	To Lap	Avg. Speed
1	9	Marcos Ambrose	3	12	194.917
2	43	A.J. Allmendinger	3	12	194.870
3	20	Joey Logano	3	12	194.151
4	18	Kyle Busch	3	12	194.102
5	2	Brad Keselowski	2	11	194.064
6	22	Kurt Busch	2	11	194.062
7	29	Kevin Harvick	12	21	192.970
8	27	Paul Menard	12	21	192.927
9	34	David Gilliland	2	11	192.681
10	14	Tony Stewart	2	11	192.635
11	56	Martin Truex Jr.	4	13	191.753
12	0	David Reutimann	4	13	191.706
13	78	Regan Smith	2	11	188.788
14	83	Brian Vickers	7	16	188.786
15	4	Kasey Kahne	6	15	188.620
16	17	Matt Kenseth	11	20	186.170
17	6	David Ragan	11	20	186.115

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.