NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Go Bowling at The Glen

 

Last week while all eyes were on Chase Elliott, Michael McDowell brought his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports car to Victory Lane for his second career win, his first on a road course. Michael's first win came 94 races ago at the 2021 Daytona 500. Ironically, in both races Chase Elliott finished runner up. With momentum on his side can Michael click off another win this weekend? Or will Chase's need to win to make the Playoffs provide enough incentive to help him find his way back to his winning ways on a race course? Stay tuned.

 

This Week's Pick Strategy: Hendrick Motorsports has a great record at The Glen, so do yourself a favor and go heavy on the Hendrick camp. William Byron was particularly fast in practice and will start the race in the outside pole situation. Track position is particularly important here so when finalizing your roster, focus in on drivers in the top five starting positions.

 

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

By Race & Track

Both with 4 - Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson

All with 3 - Martin Truex Jr., Kevin Harvick and Erik Jones
* No race in 2020

SOURCE: NASCAR Media

 

Top Five in Top 5s at Watkins Glen (Active Drivers)

 
SOURCE: NASCAR Media

 

Last Year's Pole Winner: Chase Elliott

 

Last Year's Race Winner: Kyle Larson

The Likely Suspects: My Watkins Glen elite drivers include include Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, A.J. Allmendinger, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, and Joey Logano.

My 2 Cents: This week's no-brainer pick is A.J. Allmendinger. My next picks are Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Michael McDowell, Kyle Busch, Daniel Suarez, and Tyler Reddick. I'll round out my team with Ty Gibbs.

My Final Four: Kyle Larson, Michael McDowell, Tyler Reddick and A.J. Allmendinger.

Second-Look Driver: This week's second-look driver is Ty Gibbs. Ty has a fast car again this weekend and will be starting fourth on the grid. He let a win get away from him yesterday with a heartbreaker to Sam Mayer at Saturday's Xfinity Series race. Ty earned a win at The Glen in 2021when he raced full-time in the Xfinity Series. He currently sits 18th in the Cup Series Driver standings, 21 points behind Daniel Suarez. He has plenty of incentive and sheer talent to punch his ticket to the Playoffs with a win. Stay tuned.

Points to Ponder:

• The Busch Pole position is the most prolific starting position in the field, producing more winners (10) than any other starting position in 39 races at Watkins Glen International in the NASCAR Cup Series (25.64%). The most recent driver to accomplish the feat was Chase Elliott in 2019. 
• Kyle Busch (2011, 2017) and Chase Elliott (2019, 2022) lead all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in poles at Watkins Glen International with two each. 
•  Kyle Larson (2021, 2022), Chase Elliott (2018, ‘19) and Kyle Busch (2008, ‘13) lead all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in wins at Watkins Glen International with two victories each.
  
• Hendrick Motorsports leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Watkins Glen with 10 victories.
• Brad Keselowski leads all active Cup drivers in runner-up finishes at Watkins Glen with three. 
• Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. lead all active drivers in Top 5s at Watkins Glen with seven each.
• Kyle Busch (second all-time) leads all active drivers in Top 10 finishes with 13 Top 10s. 
• Chase Elliott leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in average finishing position at Watkins Glen with a 5.667 in six starts.

Remember, if you're playing Driver Group Game, make your final picks by 3 p.m. ET today.

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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.