Trouble in Turn2

You did your Fantasy NASCAR homework during the week. You read articles, studied the stats, threw the darts (or if you prefer, illegal lawn darts) randomly at the dartboard and filled out your team. Now it’s the weekend and you still want to fine tune your lineup. Here’s a few more ideas for those last minute lineup decisions.

If a driver has to make the race on speed, it’s tougher to run well.

Teams that have to worry about qualifying well on Fridays puts them at a disadvantage for the entire weekend. Teams inside the top 35 can spend all of their practice times focusing on a fast race setup. Meanwhile “Go Fast or Go Homers” are spending that same time making mock qualifying runs and perfecting their qualifying setups. Cars also get through inspection in the order of their point position. Again, that means less time on the track for the lesser teams.

What Car is your driver bringing?

Racingone.com provides great information about the top drivers and which chassis they will drive in the upcoming race. For example, at this weekend’s Richmond race, Denny Hamlin will drive the same car that he won in at Martinsville. That’s a good sign. Greg Biffle is also bringing his Martinsville car. He finished 20th in that race.

Look at Practice Times With a Grain of Salt

As the esteemed Flava Flav used to say, “Don’t believe the hype!” Websites and announcers often tout the drivers that are fastest in practice sessions. All that means is they had the fastest lap of practice. All teams treat practices differently. Some are working on qualifying runs, while others are tuning their car for long, green flag runs in race trim. Sometimes teams feel confident in what they have and are simply focusing on one or two adjustments to the car. Dale Earnhardt Sr used to skip entire practice sessions when he felt comfortable with his weekend ride. When scanning practice times, it’s helpful to look at all the numbers for better context. Look at the average speed, and total number of laps run, rather than just their best single lap time.

Also keep in mind what time of day the sessions are held. This is especially key with three straight night races on the schedule. A practice session during the day will create different conditions compared to the cooler, gripper night temperatures. Weather can also change the track conditions, as we saw last year with both the Richmond and Darlington spring races delayed by rain.

Don’t Overthink Your Selections

NASCAR is loaded with variables, which is both a blessing and a curse. It makes for great, unpredictable races, but can also occasionally cause Fantasy players to throw up their arms in bewilderment. In the end if it is causing you stress over who to start, keep it simple. Don’t try and outsmart yourself by trying to account for everything. It will make your head spin and your team may still wind up in shambles.