NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Texas

By Carol D'Agostino

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

By Race

Kevin Harvick - 5
Brad Keselowski - 4
All with 3 - Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch and Joey Logano

By Track 
Both with 8 - Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick

All with 7 - Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr.
Kyle Busch - 6
All with 4 - Chase Elliott, Matt Kenseth, Jamie McMurray and Denny Hamlin

Recent Pole Winners: 
2017 Kurt Busch

2016 Austin Dillon

Last Year's Race Winner: Kevin Harvick

The Likely Suspects: There are two tales of Texas, the traditional Texas elites and the up-and-coming drivers giving the traditional guys a run for their money. I will focus on these drivers this weekend: Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, Matt Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, and Ty Dillon

My 2 Cents: My no-brainer pick this week is Kevin Harvick. My next picks are Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Erik Jones, Jamie McMurray, and Ty Dillon. I will round out my team with William Byron and Chris Buescher.   

My Final Four: Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott, Erik Jones and William Byron.

Second-Look Driver: This week's second-look driver is Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Ricky runs fairly decently at Texas with an average finish of 12 with one top five, two top 10s and five top 20s. Last week's second-look driver AJ Allmendinger finished in 14th after starting in 15th place.

Points to Ponder:

• A total of 24 different drivers have won Busch Pole Awards at Texas Motor Speedway, led by Kurt Busch with three poles.
• Jimmie Johnson leads the series in wins at Texas with seven victories (2007, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 sweep and 2017) in 30 starts – a winning percentage of 23.3%. 
• Four active drivers have multiple wins at Texas Motor Speedway: Jimmie Johnson (seven), Kyle Busch (three), Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth. 
• Roush Fenway Racing and Hendrick Motorsports lead the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Texas Motor Speedway with nine each, followed by Joe Gibbs Racing with seven. 
• The third starting position is the most prolific starting spot in the field at Texas Motor Speedway, producing more wins than any other starting position with seven – most recently: Kevin Harvick’s win in last season’s Playoff race.
• Four different manufacturers have won a MENCS race at Texas, led by Chevrolet and Ford (13 wins each); followed by Toyota (six) and Dodge (three).
• A total of 19 different drivers have finished runner-up in the Monster Energy Series at Texas Motor Speedway, led by Jimmie Johnson with five second-place finishes.
• A total of 61 different Monster Energy Series drivers have finished in the top 10 at Texas Motor Speedway, led by Jimmie Johnson with 21 top-10 finishes.
• Chase Elliott (five starts) leads the series in average finishing position at Texas with a 7.4.

Remember, if you're playing Driver Group Game, make your picks by 8 a.m. EDT on Friday, Nov. 2nd, and your final picks by 3 p.m. EDT on race day Sunday, Nov. 4th.

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