NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Who will be kissing the bricks at Indy?

 

If you thought Joey Logano was yesterday's news, boy did he prove you wrong Sunday night. 

Joey gave a master class at North Wilkesboro, earning his first win of the season, and the 38th of his Cup Series career. The victory was his second at North Wilkesboro, but the first that paid points. Although he won the 2024 All-Star race at the refurbished track, the last points-paying race at the historic track came in 1996, scored by Jeff Gordon. 

Joey led a career-high 323 laps. His performance was so dominant that Denny Hamlin even congratulated Joey after the race. And that's saying something!

 

As we roll into the Brickyard, will Denny race with a little more motivation to regain the headlines? Will he be able to widen the driver points standings lead over his 23XI driver Tyler Reddick? Or will Tyler's 23XI teammate Bubba Wallace show both Denny and Tyler that if they want the win, they will have to go through him and the No. 23 team? This should be interesting!

This Week's Pick Strategy: Judging from the 50-minute practice today, I'm not sure tire management will come into play this weekend. For the second week in a row, I think drivers with dirt track experience will make some noise and have a good chance of kissing those famous bricks. This week my roster will start with three or so dirt-track masters and then add veteran drivers who have mastered the Brickyard. I'll complete my roster with some young guns who have a proven natural skill at racing the Indy oval.

SOURCE: driveraverages.com

 

Active Cup Series Drivers with the Most Top 10s in the Last 5 Races on the Oval *

Bubba Wallace - 4   
All with 3 - Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, and Brad Keselowski 

 *Based on 2025, 2024, 2020, 2019, and 2018  

SOURCE: frcs.pro

 

Active Cup Series Drivers with the Most Top 5s in the Last 5 Races on the Oval * 

Both with 3 - Bubba Wallace and Brad Keselowski

 

Active Cup Cup Series Drivers with the Most Top 3s in the Last 5 Races on the Oval * 

All with 3 - Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and Bubba Wallace

 

Last Year's Pole Winner: Chase Briscoe

 

Last Year's Race Winner: Bubba Wallace 

The Likely Suspects: I expect these drivers to run well this weekend: Bubba Wallace, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, and Carson Hocevar.

My 2 Cents: My no-brainer pick this week is Bubba Wallace. My next picks are Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, and Erik Jones. I will complete my roster with Todd Gilliland and Carson Hocevar.

 

My Final Four: Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, and Todd Gilliland.

 

Second-Look Driver: This week's second look driver is Todd Gilliland. This weekend Todd will make his third NASCAR Cup Series start at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In both of his previous starts on the oval configuration, Gilliland has earned a pair of sixth-place finishes, in 2024 and 2025.He leads the NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with an 6.0 and is ranked fourth in performance among active Cup Series drivers at Indy since 2023. Todd faces his fellow Ford teammate, Ryan Blaney, for the $1 million dollar prize in final round of NASCAR's In-Season Challenge. Wouldn't a win and a million dollars make a statement? Stay tuned.

 

Points to Ponder: 

• The first starting position is the most successful in the field, producing more winners (five) than any other at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series – a 17.24% winning percentage.
• Hendrick Motorsports leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with 11 among four drivers.
• Joey Logano leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in runner-up finishes at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with two.
• Denny Hamlin leads all all-time & active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in Top 5s at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with six. Denny also leads all-time & active drivers in Top 10s here with nine and all active Cup Series drivers in laps led with 153 in 17 starts.
• Todd Gilliland leads the NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with an 6.0 in two starts. 

If you're playing Driver Group Game, remember to make your initial picks by Saturday, July 25th at 1:30 p.m. ET and your final picks by 2 p.m. ET on race day Sunday, July 26th.

Enjoy the race!

________________________________________________________ 

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.