Fantasy NASCAR Racing

Fantasy NASCAR practice recap: AdvoCare 500

September 3, 2011 @ 18:55:28

For the second week in a row, both practice sessions for the Cup race were held prior to qualifying. As a result, fantasy owners once again have to pay attention to the number of laps each driver ran before gauging average speeds. For the most part, the drivers locked in the top 35 spent time in race trim in both sessions. However, owners also need to take into account that there is going to be a difference in the average speed of a driver that ran 40 laps and one that ran 60.

In the first practice of the weekend, the red hot Brad Keselowski topped the charts. With four straight finishes of third or better, owners pretty much have to use him until his incredible run comes to an end. The one time sleeper pick is entrenching himself among the elite in the sport.

Denny Hamlin ranked second on the charts, but given his recent slump and poor Atlanta record, he is far from a sure thing. Clint Bowyer, Martin Truex Jr. and Mark Martin rounded out the top five, and all three are in the same boat as Hamlin. Bowyer has the best history at Atlanta out of the bunch, but even he is a coin flip pick at best. In 10 career starts, he has five top-10s and five finishes of 20th or worse.

In terms of 10-lap average speeds, Truex Jr. topped the charts, bolstering his status as a legitimate contender. Despite the fast times, fantasy owners still need to proceed with caution. No driver is more notorious for posting great times in practice, only to underperform on race day. There are only so many times a driver can burn fantasy owners before he gets written off for good.

The slumping Jamie McMurray ranked second in terms of 10-lap average speeds, but he is another driver that is struggling this season and has had little to no success at AMS. The rest of the top five included some more legitimate options with Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jimmie Johnson and Kurt Busch claiming the spots. All three drivers have won at Atlanta, and Johnson and Busch have both made multiple trips to Victory Lane. With the Chase just two races away, Johnson makes a particularly strong pick because he always does his best work from September on.

In Happy Hour Saturday, Jeff Gordon paced the field, followed by Tony Stewart. The two drivers are at opposite ends of the spectrum right now with Gordon running in championship form while Stewart struggling to be competitive. That being said, both drivers could make solid fantasy plays. After all, Stewart is the defending winner of this weekend's race and a three-time winner at Atlanta.

Bowyer, Keselowski and Greg Biffle completed the top five in the final session, and Biffle is the intriguing pick. He has been miserable this season, but he has had plenty of strong runs at Atlanta. His best cars this year have been at the 1.5-mile tracks, and owners willing to take a bit of a risk could gain some ground and the competition.

Stewart continued his strong Happy Hour by posting the best 10-lap average speed. He was followed by Keselowski and Kurt Busch. Kevin Harvick and Matt Kenseth rounded out the top five, and Kenseth should draw heavy consideration from fantasy owners. He has 11 straight finishes inside the top 15 at AMS, including a second-place effort last season.

Fantasy owners looking for Kyle Busch don't have to worry. He ranked inside the top 10 in terms of overall top speeds and 10-lap average speeds. Busch finished fifth at Atlanta last fall and currently leads the Cup Series with four wins. As always, he could help fantasy owners 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
30	66	Michael McDowell	Toyota	176.622	31.389	175.681	9
28	87	Joe Nemechek	Toyota	176.814	31.355	175.315	5
32	30	David Stremme	Chevrolet	176.459	31.418	175.222	9
34	38	J.J. Yeley	Ford	175.755	31.544	175.196	4
39	60	Mike Skinner	Toyota	174.790	31.718	174.790	1
36	36	Dave Blaney	Chevrolet	175.088	31.664	174.444	3
31	7	Robby Gordon	Dodge	176.521	31.407	174.382	5
19	29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	178.706	31.023	173.974	47
35	46	Scott Speed	Ford	175.738	31.547	173.945	9
37	55	Travis Kvapil	Ford	175.022	31.676	173.763	9
8	11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	180.363	30.738	173.110	40
38	34	David Gilliland	Ford	174.972	31.685	173.000	10
7	99	Carl Edwards	Ford	180.504	30.714	172.993	37
3	33	Clint Bowyer	Chevrolet	181.675	30.516	172.842	38
15	6	David Ragan	Ford	179.128	30.950	172.774	49
2	14	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	181.979	30.465	172.752	63
16	56	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	178.977	30.976	172.701	56
20	27	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	178.499	31.059	172.300	57
24	31	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet	177.539	31.227	172.065	49
12	17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	179.802	30.834	172.057	41
14	43	A.J. Allmendinger	Ford	179.365	30.909	172.024	42
27	1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	177.164	31.293	171.982	48
13	4	Kasey Kahne	Toyota	179.621	30.865	171.880	47
5	16	Greg Biffle	Ford	180.557	30.705	171.875	62
9	18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	180.258	30.756	171.846	44
4	2	Brad Keselowski	Dodge	180.669	30.686	171.765	66
18	5	Mark Martin	Chevrolet	178.758	31.014	171.705	63
41	95	David Starr	Ford	173.853	31.889	171.686	9
22	47	Bobby Labonte	Toyota	178.413	31.074	171.676	28
10	39	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	180.252	30.757	171.576	53
6	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	180.539	30.708	171.499	48
25	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Chevrolet	177.522	31.230	171.496	31
29	78	Regan Smith	Chevrolet	176.780	31.361	171.455	57
17	9	Marcos Ambrose	Ford	178.856	30.997	171.428	50
33	48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	176.336	31.440	171.384	42
46	35	Geoff Bodine	Chevrolet	172.345	32.168	171.239	13
1	24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	182.392	30.396	171.172	35
21	20	Joey Logano	Toyota	178.413	31.074	171.128	45
11	22	Kurt Busch	Dodge	179.872	30.822	171.021	74
26	00	David Reutimann	Toyota	177.272	31.274	170.906	37
45	37	Tony Raines	Ford	172.420	32.154	170.728	11
23	83	Brian Vickers	Toyota	178.138	31.122	170.676	66
47	32	Mike Bliss	Ford	171.870	32.257	170.296	10
44	13	Casey Mears	Toyota	172.904	32.064	170.194	29
43	50	T.J. Bell	Chevrolet	173.077	32.032	170.029	11
40	51	Landon Cassill	Chevrolet	174.290	31.809	168.648	64
42	71	Andy Lally	Ford	173.277	31.995	168.057	33

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

Rk	Car	Driver	From Lap	To Lap	Avg. Speed
1	14	Tony Stewart	1	10	176.630
2	2	Brad Keselowski	1	10	175.863
3	22	Kurt Busch	1	10	175.259
4	29	Kevin Harvick	1	10	175.100
5	17	Matt Kenseth	1	10	175.008
6	6	David Ragan	1	10	174.762
7	27	Paul Menard	1	10	174.563
8	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	1	10	174.391
9	18	Kyle Busch	1	10	174.310
10	48	Jimmie Johnson	1	10	174.235
11	99	Carl Edwards	24	33	173.710
12	43	A.J. Allmendinger	28	37	173.229
13	11	Denny Hamlin	21	30	173.203
14	56	Martin Truex Jr.	36	45	173.155
15	5	Mark Martin	50	59	173.137
16	16	Greg Biffle	50	59	173.130
17	34	David Gilliland	1	10	173.011
18	31	Jeff Burton	28	37	172.873
19	39	Ryan Newman	34	43	172.849
20	24	Jeff Gordon	3	12	172.785
21	1	Jamie McMurray	33	42	172.606
22	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	37	46	172.513
23	78	Regan Smith	39	48	172.384
24	20	Joey Logano	27	36	172.307
25	33	Clint Bowyer	27	36	172.147
26	83	Brian Vickers	43	52	171.725
27	51	Landon Cassill	1	10	171.249
28	47	Bobby Labonte	19	28	170.663
29	13	Casey Mears	9	18	170.427
30	00	David Reutimann	22	31	170.238

First Practice Speeds (sorted by Avg. Speed)

Rk indicates Best Lap standing

Rk	Car	Driver	Team	Best Lap	Best Time	Avg. Speed	Laps
15	99	Carl Edwards	Aflac Ford	183.509	30.211	179.05	13
39	30	David Stremme	Inception Motorsports Chevrolet	179.191	30.939	179.038	3
41	7	Robby Gordon	SPEED Energy Dodge	178.891	30.991	178.891	2
33	51	Landon Cassill	PhoenixConstruction/ThankATeacher Chevrolet	180.287	30.751	178.843	9
34	60	Mike Skinner	Big Red Chevrolet	180.269	30.754	178.755	7
35	66	Michael McDowell	James Fund Toyota	180.117	30.78	178.252	3
11	42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Target Chevrolet	183.905	30.146	177.57	23
37	55	Travis Kvapil	Lazy Days RV Ford	179.638	30.862	177.561	7
42	87	Joe Nemechek	ATBD Toyota	178.401	31.076	177.524	5
5	5	Mark Martin	CARQUEST/GoDaddy.com Chevrolet	184.794	30.001	177.308	21
16	39	Ryan Newman	Army Reserve Chevrolet	183.194	30.263	177.144	23
6	83	Brian Vickers	Red Bull Toyota	184.223	30.094	177.078	24
14	14	Tony Stewart	Office Depot / Mobil 1 Chevrolet	183.515	30.21	176.977	29
36	13	Casey Mears	GEICO Toyota	180.064	30.789	176.878	8
2	11	Denny Hamlin	Charter Communications Toyota	186.679	29.698	176.858	30
26	29	Kevin Harvick	Rheem.com Chevrolet	182.003	30.461	176.763	15
7	16	Greg Biffle	3M Ford	184.125	30.11	176.503	23
13	6	David Ragan	UPS Ford	183.814	30.161	176.44	28
4	56	Martin Truex Jr.	NAPA Auto Parts Toyota	184.911	29.982	176.426	32
8	43	A.J. Allmendinger	Best Buy Ford	184.113	30.112	176.42	42
17	1	Jamie McMurray	McDonald's Chevrolet	183.164	30.268	176.338	28
23	9	Marcos Ambrose	Kwikset Ford	182.213	30.426	176.302	29
43	35	Geoff Bodine	Luke & Associates Chevrolet	177.618	31.213	176.284	5
3	33	Clint Bowyer	Cheerios / Hamburger Helper Chevrolet	185.016	29.965	176.196	24
40	46	Scott Speed	Property Masters Ford	178.989	30.974	176.069	8
18	27	Paul Menard	Quaker State / Menards Chevrolet	182.838	30.322	176.04	25
19	18	Kyle Busch	Pedigree Toyota	182.476	30.382	175.901	38
24	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	National Guard Military Intelligence Chevrolet	182.147	30.437	175.839	40
12	17	Matt Kenseth	Crown Royal Ford	183.85	30.155	175.669	48
22	47	Bobby Labonte	Bush's Best Baked Beans Toyota	182.219	30.425	175.469	25
31	31	Jeff Burton	Caterpillar Chevrolet	181.402	30.562	175.424	21
9	48	Jimmie Johnson	Lowe's Chevrolet	184.107	30.113	175.332	45
27	24	Jeff Gordon	Drive to End Hunger Chevrolet	181.908	30.477	175.264	45
20	22	Kurt Busch	Shell Pennzoil Dodge	182.368	30.4	175.073	42
25	00	David Reutimann	Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota	182.051	30.453	174.939	35
1	2	Brad Keselowski	Miller Lite Dodge	187.722	29.533	174.818	20
10	4	Kasey Kahne	Red Bull Toyota	184.058	30.121	174.607	30
30	78	Regan Smith	Furniture Row / Farm American Chevrolet	181.414	30.56	174.375	25
28	34	David Gilliland	A&W All American Food Ford	181.651	30.52	174.264	19
29	36	Dave Blaney	Collective Soul / Golden Corral Chevrolet	181.61	30.527	174.208	26
21	20	Joey Logano	The Home Depot Toyota	182.296	30.412	173.694	59
38	71	Andy Lally	Interstate Moving Services Ford	179.319	30.917	173.517	29
45	95	David Starr	AdvoCare Ford	176.831	31.352	173.302	15
44	32	Mike Bliss	HEIL Trailer Ford	177.023	31.318	173.232	30
32	38	J.J. Yeley	Vampt Ford	180.392	30.733	172.867	23
46	50	T.J. Bell	Green Smoke Chevrolet	175.26	31.633	172.414	12
47	37	Tony Raines	MaxQ Motorsports Ford	173.288	31.993	172.396	6

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

Rk	Car	Driver	From Lap	To Lap	Avg. Speed
1	56	Martin Truex Jr.	1	10	179.291
2	1	Jamie McMurray	1	10	179.117
3	88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	1	10	178.813
4	48	Jimmie Johnson	1	10	178.420
5	22	Kurt Busch	1	10	178.382
6	14	Tony Stewart	1	10	178.080
7	20	Joey Logano	1	10	178.020
8	27	Paul Menard	1	10	177.278
9	39	Ryan Newman	1	10	176.988
10	17	Matt Kenseth	29	38	176.845
11	43	A.J. Allmendinger	27	36	176.729
12	24	Jeff Gordon	26	35	176.516
13	00	David Reutimann	22	31	176.225
14	18	Kyle Busch	23	32	176.068
15	33	Clint Bowyer	4	13	176.036
16	9	Marcos Ambrose	6	15	174.920
17	31	Jeff Burton	7	16	173.733

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

Car	Driver	Team	Average Speed	Total Laps
60	Mike Skinner	Toyota	178.259	8
87	Joe Nemechek	Toyota	176.420	10
66	Michael McDowell	Toyota	176.324	12
30	David Stremme	Chevrolet	176.176	12
7	Robby Gordon	Dodge	175.670	7
55	Travis Kvapil	Ford	175.425	16
46	Scott Speed	Ford	174.945	17
11	Denny Hamlin	Toyota	174.716	70
29	Kevin Harvick	Chevrolet	174.649	62
99	Carl Edwards	Ford	174.568	50
36	Dave Blaney	Chevrolet	174.232	29
43	A.J. Allmendinger	Ford	174.222	84
33	Clint Bowyer	Chevrolet	174.140	62
6	David Ragan	Ford	174.107	77
14	Tony Stewart	Chevrolet	174.084	92
42	Juan Pablo Montoya	Chevrolet	174.083	54
56	Martin Truex Jr.	Toyota	174.056	88
17	Matt Kenseth	Ford	174.005	89
34	David Gilliland	Ford	173.828	29
18	Kyle Busch	Toyota	173.725	82
1	Jamie McMurray	Chevrolet	173.587	76
24	Jeff Gordon	Chevrolet	173.474	80
88	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	Chevrolet	173.472	88
47	Bobby Labonte	Toyota	173.465	53
27	Paul Menard	Chevrolet	173.440	82
48	Jimmie Johnson	Chevrolet	173.426	87
39	Ryan Newman	Chevrolet	173.261	76
9	Marcos Ambrose	Ford	173.217	79
38	J.J. Yeley	Ford	173.212	27
16	Greg Biffle	Ford	173.127	85
5	Mark Martin	Chevrolet	173.106	84
31	Jeff Burton	Chevrolet	173.073	70
4	Kasey Kahne	Toyota	172.942	77
00	David Reutimann	Toyota	172.866	72
95	David Starr	Ford	172.696	24
35	Geoff Bodine	Chevrolet	172.640	18
20	Joey Logano	Toyota	172.584	104
32	Mike Bliss	Ford	172.498	40
22	Kurt Busch	Dodge	172.488	116
2	Brad Keselowski	Dodge	172.475	86
83	Brian Vickers	Toyota	172.383	90
78	Regan Smith	Chevrolet	172.345	82
13	Casey Mears	Toyota	171.639	37
37	Tony Raines	Ford	171.317	17
50	T.J. Bell	Chevrolet	171.273	23
71	Andy Lally	Ford	170.611	62
51	Landon Cassill	Chevrolet	169.905	73

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.