NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Kentucky




Track Classification: Intermediate
Similar Tracks: Atlanta Motor Speedway • Charlotte Motor Speedway • Chicagoland Speedway  Darlington Raceway • Homestead-Miami Speedway • Kansas Speedway 
Las Vegas Motor Speedway • New Hampshire Motor • Texas Motor Speedway
Distance: 1.5 Miles

Although Kentucky Speedway has hosted other NASCAR Series races, last spring the track hosted its inaugural Sprint Cup race, which was won by Kyle Busch. Busch was also the polesitter by virtue of owner's points since qualifying was rained out. Since we only have one race in the books, looking at statistics on similar tracks is a good place to start when thinking about your fantasy team.

Drivers with Most Top 10s - Intermediate Tracks (Last 5 Years):
Jimmie Johnson - 73
Carl Edwards - 67
Matt Kenseth - 59
Both with 58 - Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon
Greg Biffle - 56
Kevin Harvick - 55

Last year's race Top 10:
Winner: Kyle Busch
2. David Reutimann
3. Jimmie Johnson
4. Ryan Newman
5. Carl Edwards
6. Matt Kenseth
7. Brad Keselowski
8. David Ragan
9. Kurt Busch
10. Jeff Gordon

The Likely Suspects: When you look at intermediate tracks and then take the subset of "cookie-cutter tracks" (Atlanta, Charlotte and Texas) an elite group of likely suspects emerges. They include Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Kurt Busch and Denny Hamlin.

My 2 Cents: My prudent, no-brainer pick is Jimmie Johnson followed closely by Kyle Busch, although Matt Kenseth is also an excellent pick. I will round out my team with Martin Truex Jr., Dale Earnhardt Jr., Greg Biffle, Ryan Newman, Aric Almirola and David Reutimann.

Enjoy the race. Post your comments here or email me at ssfantasyracing@skirtsandscuffs.com.
NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Kentucky NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Kentucky Reviewed by Carol D'Agostino on Thursday, June 28, 2012 Rating: 5