NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Cup Series Indy Road Course debut

It seems that this season has been all about making and breaking records. This week, for the first time in over 50 years, fans will get to enjoy road-course races in the NASCAR Cup Series on successive weekends. It's only the fourth time the series has scheduled back-to-back road course events in the sport's history. Last week's race at Watkins Glen did not disappoint, so I can't wait to see what's in store for us this week as Indianapolis Motor Speedway hosts the first Cup race on its 2.439-mile, 14-turn road course.

 

This week's pick strategy: Umm. It's always tough when you don't have any history, but you'd be hard- pressed not to have Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson in your lineup. Last week marked the the fourth time Kyle and Chase have finished 1-2 and the third time at a road-course event. Since we don't have any experience on this track for Cup cars, I am going to go with my tried-and-true road racers. But don't be surprised if a young gun like Tyler Reddick or Ross Chastain takes to this track, or perhaps even Chase Briscoe, who won the Xfinity Series race on this track last year. Oh, and I wouldn't hold my breath about practice revealing much since it's only 50 minutes long. 

Drivers with Most Top 10s on Road Courses

Chase Elliott - 8 

Both with 7 - Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr.

All with 6 - Alex Bowman, Joey Logano, and Kyle Busch
All with 5 - Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Kyle Larson, and Ryan Blaney

 

The Likely Suspects:  Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Kyle and Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, and Joey Logano.

My 2 Cents: My no-brainer pick is Kyle Larson. My next choices are Chase Elliott, the Busch brothers, and Tyler Reddick. I will complete my team with Ross Chastain and Chase Briscoe.

                                                         
My Final Four: Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Tyler Reddick, and Chase Brscoe.
 

Remember, if you're playing Driver Group Game, make your initial picks by 8 a.m. ET on race day Sunday August 15th and your final picks by 1 p.m. ET

Enjoy the race!

Carol D'Agostino has been playing Fantasy NASCAR for 15 years. She launched NASCAR Fantasy Fusion for Skirts & Scuffs in October 2011. Each week, Carol pores through statistics and combs through her personal notebooks to arm fans with analysis and picking strategies that will leave their friends wondering how they got so smart. Carol also does race coverage for Skirts & Scuffs at Richmond Raceway and occasionally at her home track, Dover International Speedway. She is also part of the distinguished NASCAR Expert Picks panel at frcs.pro. formerly called Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet.

When she isn’t wielding her fantasy-racing superpowers, you’ll find Carol hammering out a news release or creating a marketing strategy at a small niche public relations firm she founded called Purple Cat, or executing downtown revitalization projects for a small town on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.