NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: AAA Texas 500

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

By Race

Kevin Harvick - 5
Both with 4 - Martin Truex Jr. and Kurt Busch
All with 3 - Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, and Denny Hamlin

By Track 

Kevin Harvick - 9
Joey Logano - 8  

Both with 7 -Martin Truex Jr. and Kurt Busch
Kyle Busch - 6
All with 5 - Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski and Chase Elliott 

Recent Pole Winners: 
2018 Ryan Blaney
2017 Kurt Busch

Last Year's Race Winner: Kevin Harvick

The Likely Suspects: These are my Texas elites for this weekend: Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, and Denny Hamlin.

My 2 Cents: Texas Motor Speedway used to be my favorite track to pick fantasy drivers. The tried and true Matt Kenseth, Mark Martin, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Jimmie Johnson never let me down or at least that's how I remember it! Over the past few years the up and coming drivers have been quietly filling the void. My no-brainer pick this week is Kevin Harvick. My next picks are Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Daniel Suarez, and Jimmie Johnson. I will round out my team with Ty Dillon and David Ragan.  If you have any Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney starts left, pull Jimmie Johnson and Daniel Suarez, and play Denny and Ryan.

My Final Four: Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch, Jimmie Johnson and Ty Dillon.

Points to Ponder:

• The third starting position is the most proficient starting position in the field at Texas Motor Speedway, producing more wins (eight) than any other starting position – most recently: Kevin Harvick’s win in last season’s playoff race.
• 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 eight.
• Hendrick Motorsports leads the series in poles at Texas with seven.
• Jimmie Johnson leads the series in wins at Texas with seven victories (2007, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 sweep and 2017) in 32 starts – a winning percentage of 21.8%.
• Jimmie Johnson leads the series in runner-up finishes at Texas Motor Speedway with five , Top 5s with 16, Top 10s with 22 as well as  laps led with 1,112.
• Kurt Busch leads the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series in Busch Pole Awards at Texas Motor Speedway with three (Spring 2015, Playoffs 2017, Spring 2018).
• Two active drivers have won consecutive Busch poles at Texas Motor Speedway: Ryan Newman (2005 sweep) and Kurt Busch (2017 and 2018).
• Ryan Blaney leads all active Monster Energy Series drivers in average starting position at Texas Motor Speedway with an 8.5; followed by Jimmie Johnson with a 9.8.

Remember, if you're playing Driver Group Game, make your picks by 8 a.m. ET on Saturday, November 2nd and your final picks by 3 p.m. ET on race day Sunday, November 3rd.

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 in 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.