NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: The ultimate do or die in Phoenix

By Carol D'Agostino

Drivers with Most Top 10s (Last 5 Years):

By Race

Both with 5 - Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch
All with 4 - Joey Logano, Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin
Both with 3 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Brad Keselowski  

By Track

Kevin Harvick - 8
All with 6 - Brad Keselowski, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano and Kurt Busch
Jimmie Johnson - 5

Recent Pole Winners:

2016 Alex Bowman
2015 Jimmie Johnson

Last Year's Race Winner: Joey Logano

The Likely Suspects: For the last race before  Homestead, do we pick Phoenix elites or drivers with playoff momentum? I do like the drivers do -- take it each race at a time focusing on that track. These are my Phoenix go-tos: Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jimmie Johnson.

My 2 Cents: The winner of the Phoenix Raceway Playoff race has gone on to win the title four times. It's not looking so good for Jimmie Johnson, but he could pull off a win here. Kevin Harvick, last week's race winner, is laser focused, and that's not so good for the rest of the contenders. Harvick is an elite driver at Phoenix. Could he go back to back and make it a points race for that last spot in the Championship Four? That brings me to my no-brainer pick: Kevin Harvick, of course!

My next choices are Kyle Busch, Kasey Kahne, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney and Ryan Newman. I will round out my team with Matt DiBenedetto and Ty Dillon.

My Final Four: Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney and Ty Dillon.

Points to Ponder:

• Nine drivers have won the pole for the Playoff races at Phoenix, led by Jimmie Johnson with three, followed by Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin with two each, and Alex Bowman, Jeff Gordon, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman with one each. 
• The top five MENCS Playoff race (2004-Present) lap leaders at Phoenix are: Kevin Harvick (744), Jimmie Johnson (596), Kyle Busch (307), Denny Hamlin (305) and Carl Edwards (243).
• There have been 23 different MENCS Coors Light pole winners, led by Ryan Newman with four. Newman is also the only driver to win consecutive poles at Phoenix. 
• Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in wins at Phoenix with 10, followed by Roush Fenway Racing with seven. 
• Jimmie Johnson leads active drivers in the series in top-five finishes at Phoenix with 15, followed by Kevin Harvick with 13. Johnson also leads active drivers in top-10 finishes, followed again by Harvick with 18.
• Jimmie Johnson (28 starts) leads all active drivers in average finishing position at Phoenix with a 8.964. 
• Jimmie Johnson (8.964), Chase Elliott (9.667) and Kevin Harvick (9.879) are the only three active drivers with average finishes inside the top 10 at Phoenix. 

Remember, if you're playing Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing, your pick deadline is Friday, November 10, at 5 a.m. EST.

Enjoy the race! Post your comments here or follow me on Twitter at @purplecatpr.