NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: San Diego Naval Base Coronado Debut

 

  

For the past three weeks all eyes have been on Denny Hamlin, who earned his third consecutive win last week at Pocono Raceway, a first for the veteran driver. The victory was his 64th Cup series win, his eighth win at Pocono, and win number 19 for JGR at Pocono, which ties the organization with Hendrick Motorsports. 

This week a purpose-built, 16-turn, 3.4-mile street course on the Naval Base Coronado in San Diego will steal the headlines as NASCAR continues its strategy to bring racing to the fans. Stay tuned to Skirts and Scuffs this weekend, as I am on the ground covering race weekend. 

 

This Week's Pick Strategy: While no one knows for sure what the racing will be like here at Coronado, we do know the track leans a bit more toward the technical side. The drivers will be racing on old and new concrete and asphalt, and even over a railroad crossing for good measure. 

For me, this scenario favors two types of drivers -- drivers who love the challenge of the unknown and younger drivers who don't know any better.

I will use statistics from Sonoma, Watkins Glen, and COTA as a baseline, and then mix in drivers who aren't fazed about tackling something completely different.

 

Active NASCAR Cup Drivers with Most Top 10s at Sonoma, Watkins Glen and COTA:
(2022-2026 - 14 races)

Tyler Reddick - 11
Both with 10 - Chris Buescher and Christopher Bell
All with 8 - Michael McDowell, Ross Chastain and Chase Elliott
Both with 7 - William Byron and AJ Allmendinger
All with 6 - Shane van Gisbergen, Ty Gibbs and Ryan Blaney

Active NASCAR Cup Drivers with Most Top 5s:
Christopher Bell - 7
Both with 6 - Tyler Reddick and Chase Elliott
All with 5 - Shane van Gisbergen, Chris Buescher, Michael McDowell and William Byron 
SOURCE: frcs.pro

 

The Likely Suspects: My Coronado go-tos are Tyler Reddick, Chris Buescher, Christopher Bell, Michael McDowell, Chase Elliott, William Byron and Shane van Gisbergen.

My 2 Cents: This week's no-brainer pick is Shane van Gisbergen. My next picks are William Byron, Michael McDowell, Ty Gibbs, Chris Buescher and Tyler Reddick. I will round out my team with Connor Zilisch and Daniel Suarez.

My Final Four: Shane van Gisbergen, Michael McDowell, Tyler Reddick and Connor Zilisch.

 

If you are playing Driver Group Game, remember to make your initial picks by 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, June 20th, and your final picks by 4 p.m. ET on race day, Sunday, June 21st.

Enjoy the race!

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Carol D'Agostino has been playing Fantasy NASCAR for 19 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.