The 57th running of the Daytona 500 will kick off another exciting fantasy NASCAR season. The most popular fantasy game played by most NASCAR fans is the Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing game. This is a fun game for the new fantasy NASCAR players as well as the seasoned veterans.
While most fantasy games use a salary cap style game to select drivers, Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing places the drivers into three groups based on their skill level in the Sprint Cup Series.
Group A consists of 10 of the elite drivers in the sport. Each week fantasy teams must select two of these drivers for their team and after qualifying determine which driver to use during the race.
Group B consists of 18 drivers who are not considered elite based upon last season’s results, but are good enough to compete for a win at select race tracks. Fantasy teams must select four of these drivers for their team and after qualifying select two of the drivers to use during the race.
Group C consists of the remaining drivers not included in Group A or Group B. Each week fantasy teams must select two drivers from Group C for their team and after qualifying select one of the drivers to use for the race.
Fantasy teams are allowed to use each driver nine times throughout the season. Teams will only lose an allocation with a driver if the driver is used during the race.
The secret to winning your league in the Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing game is to use your allocations with each driver wisely. Once a driver is used nine times, you can no longer select the driver for the race.
Teams earn points for qualifying and how the selected drivers finish the race. If your driver wins the pole position he or she will earn your team 10 bonus points. Drivers are also awarded five bonus points for qualifying second, three bonus points for qualifying third and one point for qualifying fourth. Even if you do not start the driver in the race, you will still earn bonus points.
Teams also earn five bonus points for leading a lap in the race and 10 bonus points for leading the most laps in the race. You only earn the bonus points for the drivers you use during the race.
Drivers earn points based on how they finish the race. The winner of the race earns 90 points and the other drivers receive two fewer points for every spot they finish behind the leader…. For example: second-place earns 88 points, third-place earns 86 and fourth-place earns 84 and so on…
GROUP A
Drivers: Kevin Harvick, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Ryan Newman.
Group A is the easiest group to manage throughout the Sprint Cup season. It is important to save allocations with your drivers in the Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing game, but that does not apply to Group A. There is plenty of talent in this group to get you through the 36-race NASCAR season.
My fantasy advice for Group A is to use the drivers with Hendrick Motorsports engines early in the season (Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick). NASCAR made significant changes to the rules package for the engines and the down-force on the cars. They also restricted testing before the races. These changes should play right into the hands of Hendrick Motorsports since they have the money and resources to adapt to the rule changes without testing their cars on the race tracks.
Once the series returns from the West Coast, the rest of the teams should catch up with Hendrick Motorsports and provide more options for your fantasy team.
The driver who may be left off many fantasy teams this season is Ryan Newman. He finished second in the Point Standings last year, but that had more to do with his ability to consistently finish in the top 15 then it did on his ability to dominate any races. It will be hard to select Newman over the other drivers in this group.
For more advice about Group A throughout the season be sure to check my Fantasy NASCAR Facebook Page.
Group B
Drivers: Carl Edwards, Kyle Larson, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart, Jamie McMurray, Greg Biffle, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Dillon, Paul Menard, Martin Truex Jr., Brian Vickers, Aric Almirola, AJ Allmendinger, Sam Hornish Jr., Trevor Bayne and Casey Mears
Group B is where you will win or lose your league. The group consists of two elite drivers (Carl Edwards and Kyle Larson), six drivers who will be good at select race tracks (Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart, Jamie McMurray and Greg Biffle), six drivers who will be good sleeper picks (Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Dillon, Paul Menard, Martin Truex Jr., Aric Almirola and Brian Vickers), one road course ace (AJ Allmendinger) and three drivers who may not be used the entire season (Sam Hornish Jr., Trevor Bayne and Casey Mears).
The key to winner your Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing league is to use your Group B drivers at the right time during the season. Carl Edwards and Kyle will finish in the top five at least nine times this season. It will be important to use these drivers at the race tracks were they finish up front.
Some of the drivers in Group B have become the best in the business at some select race tracks. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is very good on the superspeedways (Daytona and Talladega). Kasey Kahne is very good at Charlotte and Kansas. AJ Allmendinger MUST be on your team for the two road course races (Sonoma and Watkins Glen).
My advice is to take a “wait and see” approach with Kurt Busch and Tony Stewart. Busch has many off track issues to deal with and Stewart is still trying to get back to elite status. Both drivers have the ability to become the best drivers in this group, but do not use many allocations on them until they prove they are back.
For more advice about Group B throughout the season be sure to check my Fantasy NASCAR Facebook Page.
Group C
Notable Drivers: Danica Patrick, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, Justin Allgaier, Michael Annett, Ty Dillon, Michael Waltrip, Brett Moffitt, David Ragan, David Gilliland, Ron Horniday and Reed Sorenson
On paper it looks like it will be hard to find any talent in Group C. When you look deeper into the group you will see that there is plenty of talent to get your team through the 36-race schedule. Fantasy teams need to know when to use each driver in the group. The goal for Group C is to have a driver finish in the top 20 and not worry about the driver winning the race (although that would be great).
Danica Patrick is not the best driver in each race, but she is capable of finishing nine races inside the top 20. It will be important to use your allocations with Patrick wisely and try to score nine top-20 finishes from the No. 10 car.
Ryan Blaney will be one of the best choices in Group C this year. He will be competing in 18 races for the Wood Brothers using Team Penske equipment. He should easily finish in the top 20 in nine races. My advice is to wait until he has a couple of races under his belt before you start to use him for your team.
Chase Elliott will not win you your league but he will save you some allocations for the other drivers in the group. Elliott is scheduled to compete in five races (Martinsville, Richmond, Charlotte, Indianapolis and Darlington). When he is in the No. 25 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy, he MUST be on your team. The problem is that he will be on your competitor’s team as well.
Ty Dillon will be driving the No. 33 Richard Childress Racing Chevy and Michael Waltrip will be driving the No. 55 Michael Waltrip Racing Toyota in the Daytona 500. Both of these drivers will be good selections for the first race of the season.
Brett Moffitt will pilot the No. 55 car at Atlanta. He will not be the best choice in Group C for the race, but he is worth a look if you want to save an allocation with the other driver.
It would have been nice to have David Gilliland in Group C last season. He is very good on the road courses and it would be wise to select him for your team at Sonoma and Watkins Glen.
Justin Allgaier proved last year that he can run well at some of his best race tracks. He had 10 finishes in the top 20 last year. Fantasy players should be able to get seven-to-nine starts out of the No. 51 car this season.
Michael Annett will join Allgaier at HScott Motorsports this season. Using cars provided by Hendrick Motorsports, Annett should be able to run just as well as Allgaier in the No. 46 car.
Other sleeper picks in Group C include Ron Horniday, David Ragan and Reed Sorenson.
When you break down Group C race-by-race it will not be difficult to make it through the season.
For more advice about Group C throughout the season be sure to check my Fantasy NASCAR Facebook Page.
Final Advice
Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing is one of the best games for fans who are new to fantasy NASCAR, but it also offers a challenge to the people who have been playing the game for years.
Fantasy teams must use their allocations with each driver wisely in order to win their league. I have been playing this game for 16 years and have finished in the top 99% for eight consecutive seasons. Be sure to check out my fantasy NASCAR articles each week to help guide your team throughout the year.
Good luck with your team and have a great fantasy NASCAR season!
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