Archive for November, 2011

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Ford 400 Practice Breakdown

Saturday, November 19th, 2011

Well those practice sessions didn’t really go as expected. Let’s just say I have almost a whole new lineup as far as starters go. You can pass at this track, so track position isn’t everything. Homestead is a cookie cutter track, so fuel mileage is always a possibility.

A- 99, 14, 17, 16, 29, 24, 48, 18, 22, 11

Carl Edwards is stupid fast on a short run, but who knows on a long run. I’m thinking he’ll be more than fine, as he absolutely loves this track. Carl is my pick to win on Sunday and starts from the Pole.

Tony Stewart isn’t blistering fast, but I bet when the green flag drops he heads to the front of the pack.  I think Smoke will see plenty of Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth racing him hard on Sunday. They’re both are top 10 cars easily and look to make Tony’s life difficult .

Kevin Harvick looks OK and I would avoid this team with all the turmoil going on. Gil Martin looks to be out as crew chief of the No. 29 car after this race. Not a scenario I want for my A driver if I’m trying to make up points.

Greg Biffle might actually be the second-fastest A driver this week. He’s only ranked this low due to his inconsitentcy. Biffle has a fast enough car to win on Sunday and is a great Hail Mary pick.

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Homstead Yahoo Fantasy NASCAR Picks

Friday, November 18th, 2011

I was waiting for practice before locking down for qualifying, but with rain washing out all Cup practices Friday, I’ll be taking this roster into the weekend:

A List – Edwards
A List – Stewart

B List – Kahne
B List – Keselowski
B List – Allmendinger
B List – Truex

C List – Smith
C List – Bayne

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We are the 1%: FNP Occupying Top 1% of Yahoo Fantasy NASCAR

Tuesday, November 15th, 2011

What makes an expert? Most industries require some sort of extended education and/or a government certification process before you can tout yourself as an expert. Want to be an expert with US law? Graduate from law school and pass the Bar. Want to be an expert of the human heart? Graduate from medical school and pass the Boards. Want to be an expert chemist? Hang out with Jeremy Mayfield and learn the intricacies of cooking meth.

Want to be a fantasy sports expert? Start a website and write an article.

With fantasy sports, anybody can call themselves an expert, even my mom. Granted, that would mean she finally grasped the difference between the internet and Google, but that’s a discussion for another day.

The bottom line is that the only way we can communicate our “expert status” is by producing results. I know I sound like a 2008 Obama campaign speech, but transparency is key in gaining the trust of the people.

Since FNP’s inception in 2005, I’ve always tried to be as open and transparent as possible. We’re proud of the fact that we don’t hide behind anything. Some experts rank drivers, give you optimal Yahoo lineups (regardless of starts), don’t show their weekly point totals or give you sleepers and busts, which is fine, but it’s not FNP.

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Kobalt Tools 500 Lockdown/Practice Breakdown

Friday, November 11th, 2011

I can’t stress enough how important qualifying is going to be this week. The groove widened a bit in practice, but it’s still going to be really hard to pass this weekend. I think there’s going to be even less passing than we saw at Kentucky Speedway.

A List- 14, 99, 17, 29, 48, 24, 18, 16, 22, 11

Tony Stewart is as happy as anyone in practice again this week and looks to continue his assault on Carl Edwards. He was one of the few cars I saw pass cars in the second groove in practice. Smoke will be up front all weekend again this week and is my starter as of now.

Carl Edwards is my qualifier to pair with Smoke. I see Edwards as the best chance for qualifying points in the A list and he’s not bad in race trim either. Only bad thing is he didn’t run many consecutive laps, so I don’t quite know how good the No. 99 is in race trim. Carl said they have a really fast car though and that’s good enough for me.

Matt Kenseth might have a faster car than Edwards. However I’ll take the two guys who are in the Championship hunt and call it a day.  I don’t think anyone else in A list is a legitimate threat for the win this week.

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Posted in Fantasy NASCAR Advice, Fantasy NASCAR Driver Rankings, NASCAR Practice Breakdowns | 2 Comments »

Kobalt Tools 500 Preview

Tuesday, November 8th, 2011

I’m sure you know by now, but Phoenix International Raceway has be repaved and reconfigured. They’ve added progressive banking and changed the dog leg a little bit. So this week I”m not going to bore you with irrelevant stats that mean nothing. Instead I’m going to list the guys I”ll be following for Friday’s practice sessions and why. Also qualifying will be huge this weekend, as drivers said during the test that it’s a one-groove track right now.

A List

Tony Stewart really doesn’t need any explanation on why I’ll be watching him. Not only is he only three points out of the Championship lead, he’s also the hottest driver on the circuit.

Carl Edwards is leading the points and should be very fast at Phoenix, no matter the configuration. Edwards also gives us a great opportunity to gain some qualifying points.

Jimmie Johnson and Chad Knaus are the very best at figuring out a new track or new tire combination. There learning curve is much shorter than the rest of the garage and I expect them to contend for the win on Sunday.

Kevin Harvick has always felt right at home at PIR and I don’t think the new track surface will change that. Kevin isn’t ready to throw in the towel just yet on his Championship chances.

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