Race Weekend Central

Fantasy Insider: The Short and Long of It All at Bristol

2014 Michigan Ii Cup Matt Kenseth Travos Kvapil Racing Cia

(Credit: CIA Stock Photography)

I had the pleasure of being in the Charlotte area this week and spent one of those days doing something that I had wanted to do for quite some time. That was take a tour (of sorts) of several NASCAR team buildings and shops. These weren’t scheduled, it was just sort of a random thing …

Read more

Fantasy Insider: Making Michigan Work For You

2014 Watkins Glen Cup Dale Earnhardt Jr Cia

(Photo Credit: CIA)

To be perfectly honest this week, who to pick or not pick on my NASCAR fantasy team hasn’t been at the forefront of my mind. In fact, it’s been pretty far back there, following the aftermath of the accident between Tony Stewart and Kevin Ward, Jr. Saturday. It’s expected that the investigation will take another …

Read more

Fantasy Insider: Road Course Ringer Equals Marcos or ‘Dinger

2014 Sonoma Cup Marcos Ambrose Car Cia

When it came to making fantasy auto racing picks for road courses, for years it seemed like a safe bet to look at the so-called road ringers and try to pick up a top 10 finish with a cheap or rarely used driver. But taking a look back at the last three road course races, …

Read more

Fantasy Insider: NASCAR Flat Track Fortunes

2014 Pocono I Cup Dale Earnhardt Jr Trophy Cia

Can Dale Earnhardt, Jr. complete the Pocono sweep this weekend at Pocono?

This is generally considered the hottest time of the year in most parts of the nation and when you’re looking for good fantasy picks for your team, you’re looking for who the hottest drivers will be. One driver in the past capable of running off a rare winning streak in NASCAR was Jeff Gordon. He …

Read more

Chasing the Chase Will Influence How Teams Hit the Bricks

Indy 2009

What is the most memorable Brickyard 400 moment of all time? Photo Credit: Rusty Jarrett/Getty Images for NASCAR

The Sprint Cup Series returns to action at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sunday after its final week off of the season. The question now with the Chase spots being on the line,  will they be racing the same way by being worried about nothing but wins, or concerned about points? Clearly, there are going to …

Read more

Fantasy Insider: Laying it On The Line in Loudon

2014 Sonoma Cup Brian Vickers Car Cia

For some NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers, these are now desperate times. With a win needed to be guaranteed a spot in the Chase for the Championship, and 11 winners so far after 18 races, that means points don’t mean much at all to some drivers. Part of the issue is that of the 11 winners, …

Read more

Fantasy insider:Daytona Puts Plenty of Unpredictability On the Plate

2014 Michigan I Cup Ryan Newman Kevin Harvick Cia

The Sprint Cuppers head to Daytona for the third of four restrictor plate races Saturday night. And the one thing about these races, as you may well know, is that you don’t know with any certainty what is going to happen. Sure there are some guys who have a knack for this kind of racing, …

Read more

Fantasy Insider: Will The K-Factor Continue In Kentucky?

2014 Sonoma Cup Kyle Busch Dave Rogers Cia

(Credit: CIA Stock Photography)

The NASCAR Sprint Cup series will make its way to Kentucky for the fourth time Saturday night. When it comes to making picks, there is not a whole lot of history to go on here for the Cup drivers. But with three races, there are at least some trends we can look at. The one …

Read more

Fantasy Insider: Road to Rebound Runs Through Sonoma

2014 Dover I Cup Martin Truex Jr Car Cia

Can Martin Truex, Jr. win a second straight race at Sonoma - this time with Furniture Row Racing? (Credit: CIA)

It’s a totally different ballgame this week when the NASCAR Sprint Cup series visits Sonoma for the first of two road-course races on the roster. Yes, we’ve got right turns, and left turns, and more right turns and just knowing who to pick this week could very well turn your season around if you have …

Read more

Best Bet in Brooklyn is Junior’s Michigan Magic

As the Sprint Cup Series heads off to Michigan International Speedway, it’s certainly possible Dale Earnhardt, Jr. could post back-to-back victories for the first time in his career. Having capitalized on a mistake by Brad Keselowski, the driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet knocked Pocono off of the list of tracks he’d never won at, …

Read more

Fantasy Insider: Making Right Pocono Picks Proves a Bit Tricky

2014 Pocono I Cup Kyle Larson Cia

Credit: CIA Editorial Photography

The NASCAR Sprint Cup series makes its first of two trips to the Tricky Triangle (otherwise known as Pocono Raceway) Sunday afternoon and just trying to figure out who can do well on this 2.5-mile track with three distinct turns can be a bit tricky at times. There are a number of factors that go into making …

Read more

Fantasy Insider: Working On The Night Moves For Toto’s Fantasy Team

With Kansas being run as a night race for the first time Saturday evening, it will be interesting to see which teams make the best adjustments and how the track will react to the transitional weather and light changes. Traditionally the bigger (read richer) teams such as Hendrick, Roush Fenway and Joe Gibbs Racing are …

Read more