NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Elite spoilers vs. the Championship 4 drivers

 

Penalties have played a huge role in this racing season, and Martinsville's cut-off race to determine the Championship 4 drivers was no exception. We got the Hail Melon Sequel from Christopher Bell and some "manufacturers' orders" as opposed to "team orders" that got the No. 1, the No. 23, and the No. 3 cars in hot water, in addition to their crew chiefs, spotters, and team executives.

For an agonizing 27  minutes, Christopher Bell and William Byron stood on pit road to find out who would get the fourth spot to race for the NASCAR Cup Championship. Meanwhile, the race winner, Ryan Blaney, celebrated the equivalent walk-off home run. When the dust cleared, William Byron, who finished sixth, joined Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and Tyler Reddick.

Finding themselves on the outside looking in are Kyle Larson, who won six races this season, the most this season, Denny Hamlin, and Chase Elliott. All of them have the potential to win on Sunday and play spoiler along with drivers like Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, or Martin Truex Jr.

This Week's Pick Strategy: I think this is going to be a Team Penske dominant race. I'm going heavy on the Penske drivers and drivers like Denny Hamlin or Kyle Larson, who have the potential to earn me qualifying points. I'll then sprinkle in a couple more potential spoilers like Ross Chastain or Brad Keselowski. After qualifying, I will focus on the Top 5 drivers.

 

Drivers with Most Top 10s (Last 5 Years):
By Race
Both with 5 - Ryan Blaney and Denny Hamlin

Both with 4 - Kyle Larson and Martin Truex Jr.

All with 3- Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, William Byron, and Brad Keselowski

 

By Track
Ryan Blaney - 9
Kyle Larson - 8
All with 7 - Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Busch

Both with 6 - William Byron and Martin Truex Jr. 

Last Year's Pole Winner: William Byron

 

Last Year's Race Winner: Ross Chastain

The Likely Suspects: My Phoenix go-tos are Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Ross Chastain, Chris Buescher, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell and Chase Elliott.

My 2 Cents: My no-brainer pick is Ryan Blaney. My next picks are Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Austin Cindric, and Chris Buescher.  I will round out my team with Chase Briscoe and Carson Hocevar.

My Final Four: Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, and Chase Briscoe.

Points to Ponder:

• Among active NASCAR Cup Series drivers with multiple poles at Phoenix Raceway, Kyle Busch (2019, 2016, 2012, 2006) leads the way with four, followed by Denny Hamlin (2024, 2014, 2005) Ryan Blaney (2022, 2019, 2017), Jimmie Johnson (2015, 2013, 2008), with three poles each. Kyle Larson (2023, 2021), Joey Logano (2022, 2017), and Martin Truex Jr. (2018, 2009) are all tied with two poles each.
• Hendrick Motorsports has earned the most poles in the NASCAR Cup Series at Phoenix Raceway with 15, followed by Team Penske with 11.
• The first and third starting positions are the most prolific starting positions in the field, producing more winners (eight each) than any other starting position, resulting in a total of 28.58% of all wins.
• In total, 14 different organizations have won at Phoenix Raceway in the NASCAR Cup Series, led by Hendrick Motorsports with 13 victories. Rounding out the top five organizations with multiple wins are Joe Gibbs Racing with eight, Stewart-Haas Racing and RFK Racing with seven, and Richard Childress Racing with six.
  
• Among the Championship 4 drivers this season – Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Tyler Reddick and William Byron – Logano is the only driver to win a Playoff race at Phoenix and has done so twice – in 2016 and 2022.
• Kyle Busch leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in runner-up finishes at Phoenix with four second-place finishes as well as Top 10s with 26. 
• Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson lead all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in Top 5s finishes at Phoenix Raceway with 16 each. 
• Of this season’s Championship Four drivers, Ryan Blaney has the best average finish at Phoenix Raceway with a 10.9; followed by William Byron with a 11.7, Joey Logano with a 13.4 and Tyler Reddick with a 17.8.
• Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in laps led at Phoenix Raceway with 1,190 laps led in 38 starts. In Playoff races, Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in laps led at Phoenix Raceway with 655 laps led in 19 starts. 
• Of the Championship 4 drivers this season, Joey Logano has led the most laps in Playoff races at Phoenix Raceway with 513 laps led in 15 starts.
  

Remember if you're playing Driver Group Game, make your initial picks by 5:05 p.m. ET on November 9th, and your final picks by 3 p.m. ET on race day, Sunday, November 10th.

Enjoy the race, and thank you for joining me on this year's Fantasy racing journey!

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Carol D'Agostino has been playing Fantasy NASCAR for 17 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.