NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Camping World 400 at Chicagoland


Drivers with Most Top 10s (Last 5 Years):
By Race & Track
All with 5- Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, and Brad Keselowski
Both with 4 -  Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch
Both with 3 - Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick

Driver Rating 
Since 2005 - Factors in Wins, Finishes, Top-15 Finishes, Average Running Position While on Lead Lap, Average Speed Under Green, Fastest Lap, Led Most Laps and Lead-Lap Finish. SOURCE: MRN.com


Rank
Driver
High Rating
Avg. Rating
1
Chase Elliott
129.1
111.4
2
Jimmie Johnson
144.0
110.2
3
Kyle Busch
146.3
107.8
4
Kyle Larson
121.3
101.9
5
Kevin Harvick
129.1
101.1
6
Brad Keselowski
133.3
101.1
7
Martin Truex Jr
129.9
95.6
8
Joey Logano
111.1
91.6
9
Denny Hamlin
112.8
89.6
10
Kurt Busch
125.6
89.2

Recent Pole Winners:
2018 Paul Menard
2017 Kyle Busch

Last Year's Race Winner: Kyle Busch


The Likely Suspects: Here are my Chicagoland Speedway elite drivers: Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, and Jimmie Johnson.

My 2 Cents: My no-brainer pick is Kyle Busch. My next picks are Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones, Ryan Blaney, and Jimmie Johnson. I will complete my team with Chris Buescher and Michael McDowell.

My Final Four: Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, and Chris Buescher.

Second-Look Driver: This week's second-look driver is Erik Jones. Although this is only Erik's third Chicagoland Cup race, he finished sixth last year and a disappointing 33rd when he raced for Barney Visser in 2017. In his four starts at this track in the Xfinity Series, he earned two wins, and in his solo appearance at Chicagoland in the Truck Series, he finished sixth. He has some impressive runs this year at Joe Gibbs Racing, who happens to have a stellar record at Chicagoland. In 55 starts here, the team has earned six wins, 16 top-five finishes, 29 top-10 finishes and two pole starting positions.

Last week's second-look driver, Ryan Preece, had a challenging race day at Sonoma. He started in 20th place and finished in 29th place. During stage three, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. got into the back of the No. 47 car and spun out Preece in Turn 11.

Points to Ponder:
  • Jimmie Johnson leads the series in Busch Pole awards at Chicagoland Speedway with two (2005 and 2012). 
  • Kevin Harvick (first two series events at the speedway; 2001 and 2002), Brad Keselowski (2012 and 2014), Kyle Busch (2008 and 2018), and Martin Truex Jr. (2016 and 2017) lead all active drivers in wins at Chicago with two each. 
  • A total of eight different organizations have won at Chicagoland Speedway in the Monster Energy Series, led by Joe Gibbs Racing with six victories. 
  • Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in the series in runner-up finishes at Chicagoland with three. 
  • Kevin Harvick leads the series in Top 5 finishes at Chicagoland with 10 Top 5s. 
  • Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick lead the series in Top 10 finishes at Chicagoland with 11 each. 
  • Chase Elliott leads all active drivers in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Chicagoland with a 2.5.
Remember, if you're playing Driver Group Game, make your picks by 8 a.m. ET on Saturday, June 29th and your final picks by 3 p.m. ET on race day Sunday, June 30th.

Enjoy the race!
________




Carol D’Agostino wields fantasy-racing superpowers. Each week, Carol researches statistics and combs through her personal racing notes to provide fans with fantasy racing advice at NASCAR Fantasy Fusion, a column she has written for Skirts & Scuffs since October 2011. Carol also does race coverage for Skirts & Scuffs at Richmond Raceway, and occasionally at her home track, Dover International Speedway. This year she joins the NASCAR Expert Picks panel at
Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet When she isn’t crunching numbers, you’ll find Carol in business meetings or hammering out a news release or creating a marketing strategy at a small niche public relations firm she founded called Purple Cat. 
NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Camping World 400 at Chicagoland NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Camping World 400 at Chicagoland Reviewed by Carol D'Agostino on Thursday, June 27, 2019 Rating: 5