Fantasy NASCAR rankings: Kobalt Tools 500

November 12, 2011 @ 15:43:18

By Brian Polking
Edited by Cory J. Bonini

Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart just can't seem to get away from each other. The two title contenders are separated by just three points with two races remaining, and fresh off a 1-2 finish at Texas, Stewart and Edwards qualified eighth and ninth for Sunday's race at Phoenix. Both teams are firing on all cylinders, and at this point, there is a good chance the championship will be up for grabs until the checkered flag waves at Homestead next weekend.
While the focus will be on Stewart and Edwards Sunday, fantasy owners have plenty of other options to choose from as well. Qualifying provided a host of potential sleeper options, while several big names struggled on the track's new configuration. A.J. Allmendinger, Marcos Ambrose, Mark Martin and Martin Truex Jr. will all start in the top five Sunday, and Jamie McMurray and David Reutimann will join them in the top 10. Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Kurt Busch are among the drivers that will start outside the top 15, while Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Clint Bowyer are just a few of the big names starting outside the top 25.
With the newly repaved track expected to have one groove for a majority of the race, track position is more valuable than ever. As a result, fantasy owners have to seriously consider taking a chance on some of the surprise drivers starting in the top 10. While nobody seems exactly sure of what to expect Sunday, the consensus among drivers seems to be that passing will be difficult. A wrecked-filled race could be in the works, and being out front early could be the key to staying out of trouble.

Rk	Driver	Car No.	Make	Sponsor	Team	Starting Pos
1	Carl Edwards	99	Ford	Aflac	Roush Fenway Racing	9
2	Tony Stewart	14	Chevrolet	Office Depot	Stewart-Haas Racing	8
3	Jimmie Johnson	48	Chevrolet	Lowe's Home Improvement	Hendrick Motorsports	16
4	Matt Kenseth	17	Ford	Crown Royal	Roush Fenway Racing	1
5	Jeff Gordon	24	Chevrolet	Drive to End Hunger	Hendrick Motorsports	23
6	Kevin Harvick	29	Chevrolet	Budweiser	Richard Childress Racing	27
7	Brad Keselowski	2	Dodge	Miller Lite	Penske Championship Racing	12
8	Ryan Newman	39	Chevrolet	U.S. Army	Stewart-Haas Racing	30
9	Kasey Kahne	4	Toyota	Red Bull	Red Bull Racing	10
10	Kurt Busch	22	Dodge	Shell/Pennzoil	Penske Championship Racing	17
11	Mark Martin	5	Chevrolet	GoDaddy.com	Hendrick Motorsports	4
12	A.J. Allmendinger	43	Ford	Best Buy	Richard Petty Motorsports	2
13	Jeff Burton	31	Chevrolet	Caterpillar	Richard Childress Racing	14
14	Denny Hamlin	11	Toyota	FedEx	Joe Gibbs Racing	33
15	Dale Earnhardt Jr.	88	Chevrolet	Mountain Dew AMP Energy	Hendrick Motorsports	22
16	Marcos Ambrose	9	Ford	Stanley Black & Decker	Richard Petty Motorsports	3
17	Clint Bowyer	33	Chevrolet	Cheerios	Richard Childress Racing	28
18	Paul Menard	27	Chevrolet	Menard's	Richard Childress Racing	11
19	Kyle Busch	18	Toyota	M&M's	Joe Gibbs Racing	34
20	Martin Truex Jr.	56	Toyota	NAPA	Michael Waltrip Racing	5
21	Greg Biffle	16	Ford	3M	Roush Fenway Racing	29
22	Joey Logano	20	Toyota	Home Depot	Joe Gibbs Racing	25
23	David Reutimann	00	Toyota	Aaron's	Michael Waltrip Racing	7
24	Juan Pablo Montoya	42	Chevrolet	Target	Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing	26
25	David Ragan	6	Ford	UPS	Roush Fenway Racing	13
26	Jamie McMurray	1	Chevrolet	Bass Pro Shops	Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing	6
27	Brian Vickers	83	Toyota	Red Bull	Red Bull Racing	18
28	Bobby Labonte	47	Toyota	Bush's Baked Beans	JTG Daugherty Racing	31
29	Regan Smith	78	Chevrolet	Furniture Row	Furniture Row Racing	15
30	Casey Mears	13	Toyota	GEICO	Germain Racing	38
31	Robby Gordon	7	Dodge	SPEED Energy	Robby Gordon Motorsports	20
32	Geoff Bodine	36	Chevrolet	Luke & Associates	Tommy Baldwin Racing	40
33	J.J. Yeley	38	Ford	Long John Silver's	Front Row Motorsports	41
34	Dave Blaney	35	Chevrolet	Golden Corral	Tommy Baldwin Racing	43
35	Mike Bliss	32	Ford	U.S. Chrome	FAS Lane Racing	39
36	Landon Cassill	51	Chevrolet	Phoenix Construction	Phoenix Racing	21
37	David Gilliland	34	Ford	Taco Bell	Front Row Motorsports	42
38	Scott Speed	46	Ford	Red Line Oil	Whitney Motorsports	24
39	Cole Whitt	84	Toyota	Red Bull Racing	Red Bull Racing	19
40	Travis Kvapil	55	Ford	Aloft Hotels	Front Row Motorsports	37
41	Mike Skinner	37	Ford	Max Q Motorsports	Front Row Motorsports	36
42	Michael McDowell	66	Toyota	James Fund	HP Racing	35
43	Joe Nemechek	87	Toyota	NEMCO Motorsports	NEMCO Motorsports	32

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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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