EDITOR’S NOTE: We’ve brought aboard Mark Michalek, a strong player in the fantasy sports world, to provide weekly fantasy picks to help you make the right decisions when setting your daily NASCAR team. Each week, Mark will give you the plays that could turn into big bucks, so be sure to follow his column.
By Mark Michalek, NASCAR Fantasy Expert
@MarkAMichalek
Welcome back everyone. Quick recap of last weeks Pennzoil 400, and I have to admit that I missed the Kevin Harvick boat. He led 216 of the 267 laps and scored a majority of the dominator points that we were using Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larsen for. Regardless of the results we stick to the process and this week we are back with the Ticket Guardian 500 at ISM Raceway. With 312 laps again we will focus on finding the right dominators to score those fastest laps and laps led points.
Kevin Harvick-$11,400- You could easily plug Truex in here as the top play but after watching final practice and listen to his response to the penalties issued by Nascar Harvick looks to be the driver to beat. He is starting 10th so it may take him most of stage 1 to get the front but once he does I don’t think anyone is going to catch him. He has won 6 of the last 11 races here at ISM and has and average finish in the last 4 races here of 4.0. In final practice he had the fastest single lap run, fastest 10 lap run, fastest 15 lap run and the fastest 20 lap run. Needless to say he unloaded a fast race car again this and looks to make it 3 straight wins.
Brad Keseloski- $9,900- Keselowski is a free square this week since he struggle in qualifying and will start 25th. He becomes the easy plug and play for both cash and Gpps as he offers a solid floor and a decent amount of upside. In final practice he was 12th fastest in single lap runs and 12th in 10 lap runs. If he just finishes 12th and doesn’t lead a lap or have a single fastest lap he will score 45 DK points. If your looking at his last few races his stats don’t tell the whole story. Last race here he had a top 5 car and had engine issues that caused him to play it safe for playoff positions. In 2016 he again had a fast car and had a tire go down midway through the race that caused him to finish 29th. Including those issues he still has top 10 finishes in 8 of the last 12 races here.
Aric Almirola- $8,100- and Ricky Stenthouse Jr.- $7100- I’m writing these 2 drivers up together because depending on your lineup construction both of these drivers are in a similar spot. Please keep in mind that Stenhouse will be scored from 29th but will start at the rear of the field due to having to go to a backup car. Almirola is starting 22nd and after watching final practice he is my favorite driver in the 8k range. He was 3rd fastest in single lap runs and 3rd fastest in 10 lap runs. In the 2 races here last year he started 28th and 22nd and finished 17th and 9th in lesser equipment. Stewart-Haas seems to be the class of the field right now when it comes to the bigger teams and Almirola is under priced for how he has preformed in that 10 car so far. Stenhouse on the other hand is again being scored from 29th but will start from the rear. He started from the rear last year and drove that car all the way to an 8th place finish. In this same race last year he started 21st and finished 4th so we have solid history of him starting in the back of the pack and being able to drive his car to the front. His practice speeds weren’t very impressive, 22nd in single lap runs and 20th in 10 lap runs but he only needs a 16th place finish to put up 40+ DK points.
Michael McDowell- $5,200- The value plays in the last 2 races have not really paid off as long green flag runs and limited accidents have not really given these lesser guys a change for better finishes. McDowell looks to be in the best position of the value guys as he’s starting 31st and had practice speeds 21st in single lap runs and 21st in 10 lap runs. In both races last year he started 25th and 28th and finished 24th and 22nd. With his starting position being a few spots further back if he’s able to finish 22nd he will put up 31 DK points which is a solid number for a value play.
Fantasy live- Remember that you can only choose a driver 10 times in the regular season so we need to start planning on spreading out our studs so that later in the year we aren’t missing out on points because we are out of races to use the studs. With that my top 3 drivers this week to win the race or finish near the top are Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Elliot. Looking to use some of the lesser guys that are good at this track I like Jamie McMurray, Aric Almirola, and Ryan Newman.