NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Dover

 

Last week's Kyle Busch win at Talladega was fun. I guess sometimes it's good not to listen to your crew chief, especially if you win. Kyle's last win at Talladega was 15 years ago in his first year at Joe Gibbs Racing. Maybe lightning does strike twice. It's going to be a wet weekend at Dover, but alas they are running the intermediate package, so no rain tires. NASCAR moved the Cup Series race up an hour to hopefully get the whole race in.

 

This Week's Pick Strategy:
Hendrick Motorsports has the Monster Mile figured out -- in a big way. The organization has the most wins at Dover Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series with 22 victories. Gibbs Racing and RFK Racing are tied with nine wins each. I'll be loading up my roster with HMS drivers, as well as Tyler Reddick and maybe a young gun or two.

 

Drivers with Most Top 10s 

Last 8 Races (2018 to 2022*):

Kevin Harvick - 8

All with 5 - Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, and Kyle Busch

* Includes two August races in 2020

 

Last Year's Pole Winner: Chris Buescher

 

Last Year's Race Winner: Chase Elliott

The Likely Suspects: My Dover elites include Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Erik Jones, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, William Byron, and  Denny Hamlin.

My 2 Cents: This week's no-brainer pick is Kyle Larson. My next picks are Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Justin Haley, and Chris Buescher. I will complete my roster with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Josh Berry.

My Final Four: Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Second-look driver: This week's sleeper pick is Chris Buescher, who is coming off a third-place finish at Talladega. Chris is making his 13th Cup Series start at Dover. He had a great weekend last year at the Monster Miles with a pole and eighth place finish. His best four finishes at Dover have come in the last four races.

Points to Ponder:

• Denny Hamlin leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in poles at Dover Motor Speedway with four (2012, 2013, 2015, 2019).  
• Kevin Harvick (2015, 2018, 2020), Martin Truex Jr. (2007, 2016, 2019), and Kyle Busch (2008, 2010, 2017) lead all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in victories at Dover Motor Speedway with three each.
• The second-place starting position is the most prolific starting position in the field, producing more winners (20) than any other starting position at Dover International Speedway – the most recent was Denny Hamlin’s win on August 22, 2020.
• Hendrick Motorsports has the most wins at Dover in the NASCAR Cup Series with 21 victories among seven drivers.
• Kyle Busch leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in runner-up finishes at Dover with four and in Top 5 finishes at Dover with 13.
• Kevin Harvick leads all active series drivers in Top 10 finishes at Dover with 23 and in laps led at Dover with 1,666 in 42 races.
• Kyle Larson (14 starts) leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Dover with a 6.9.
  

Remember, if you're playing Driver Group Game, make your initial picks by 10:50 a.m. ET Saturday, April 29th and your final picks by 1 p.m. ET on race day Sunday, April 30th.

Enjoy the race!

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Carol D'Agostino has been playing Fantasy NASCAR for 16 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.