Fantasy NASCAR Picks for Phoenix International Raceway

Jimmie Johnson (Photo by ASP, Inc.)

The 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup season rolls on to Phoenix International Raceway for the Subway Fresh Fit 500. To help guide you through the 2013 Fantasy NASCAR season, Athlon Sports will be offering up our best predictions for each race. And because Yahoo's Fantasy Auto Racing  game is arguably the most popular, we'll break down our picks according to its NASCAR driver classes—A-List, B-List, C-List.

So, without further ado, NASCAR scribe Dustin Long's fantasy predictions for Phoenix, ranked according to each driver's likelihood of taking the checkered flag (or at least finishing toward the front):

A-List Drivers

1. Jimmie Johnson — Has the highest driver rating (115.8) in the last eight years at Phoenix. Also has the best average finish among current drivers at 6.7, scoring 12 top-five finishes in 19 starts

2. Kevin Harvick — Has three top-four finishes in his last four Phoenix starts, including a win last fall.

3. Denny Hamlin — Took second in the fall Phoenix race (46 laps led) and won the spring race last year (61 laps led).

4. Jeff Gordon — In the last three spring races at Phoenix, he’s finished eighth, first and second

5. Brad Keselowski — Finished no worse than seventh in his last five races at tracks 1.1 miles and under last season, including a sixth-place finish at Phoenix.

6. Kasey Kahne — Joined Hamlin and Kyle Busch as only drivers to run every lap of last fall’s race in the top 15, finishing fourth.

7. Tony Stewart — Has never gone more than three consecutive races without a top-10 at Phoenix. Last two finishes there are 19th and 22nd.

8. Matt Kenseth — Last four finishes at Phoenix have been 14th, 13th, 34th and 12th. He’s led 52 laps during that time, leading 49 of those laps in November 2011 race before being eliminated in a crash.

9. Clint Bowyer — Has more finishes of 20th or worse (eight) in his career at Phoenix than he has top-10 finishes (five) there.
 

Kyle Busch (Photo by ASP, Inc.)

B-List Drivers

1. Kyle Busch — Led 289 of the 631 laps run (45.8 percent) at Phoenix last season.

2. Ryan Newman — Has finished in the top 5 in five of his last six Phoenix races, including a win in 2010.

3. Mark Martin — Has qualified in the top four in two of his last three starts at Phoenix. Also has six top-10 finishes in his last eight runs there.

4. Kurt Busch — Finished eighth at PIR last fall while driving for Furniture Row. It was part of a season-ending, three-race streak of top-10 finishes after joining that team.

5. Carl Edwards — Best news is that Daytona is behind him after he was involved in numerous incidents during Speedweeks. As for Phoenix? It’s been a mixed bag lately with a first and a second along with three finishes outside the top 15 in his last five starts there.

6. Greg Biffle — While he has four top-10 finishes in his last eight Phoenix starts, he has not led a lap in any of those races.

7. Dale Earnhardt Jr. — Has one top-10 finish in his last eight races at Phoenix. Has not led a lap in his last seven races there.

8. Jeff Burton — Has more green-flag passes for position (854) than any other active driver in the last eight years at Phoenix. Also had the most green-flag passes for position (76) in last fall’s race there, finishing 13th.

9. Joey Logano — Has had two DNFs in last six Phoenix races but has finished 11th or better in the other four races during that stretch.

10. Martin Truex Jr. — Has one top-10 finish in his last six Phoenix starts.

11. Paul Menard — Two ninth-place finishes in the last three Phoenix races are the only times he’s scored a top-10 finish in 12 career starts there. Also has never led a lap at Phoenix.

12. Bobby Labonte — Ranks second among active drivers in green-flag passes for position (783) in the last eight years at Phoenix.

13. Juan Pablo Montoya — Has finished between 11th and 19th in each of his last five Phoenix races.

14. Marcos Ambrose — Best Phoenix finish in nine races there is an eighth, which he scored in November 2011.

15. Jamie McMurray — Has one top-10 finish in his last eight Phoenix starts.

16. Aric Almirola — Has best finish of 12th in four Phoenix starts and has yet to lead a lap there.



C-List Drivers

1. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. — Running his first Cup race at Phoenix. Never finished outside the top 10 in six Nationwide races there.

2. Austin Dillon — Also running his first Cup race at Phoenix. Finished sixth and fourth in two Nationwide races there last season.

3. Danica Patrick — Started 37th but finished 17th in November in lone Cup start at Phoenix.

4. AJ Allmendinger — Making season debut. Started in top two in three of his last five races there. Started 15th and finished 18th in spring Phoenix race last year (did not run November race).

5. Casey Mears — Last five finishes at Phoenix: 22nd, 39th, 26th, 18th, 24th.

6. David Ragan — Last five finishes at Phoenix: 33rd, 25th, 33rd, 36th, 25th.

7. Dave Blaney — Has placed between 23rd and 27th in last three Phoenix starts.

8. David Stremme — Making his season debut after Michael Waltrip drove for the team at Daytona. Finished 34th and 29th in Phoenix races last year.

9. David Gilliland — Has not finished better than 22nd in last nine Phoenix starts.

10. Travis Kvapil — Placed 20th at Phoenix last November and led four laps.

11. David Reutimann — Finished 36th and 40th at Phoenix last season.

12. JJ Yeley — Coming off top 10 at Daytona. Has not finished better than 26th in last five Phoenix starts.

13. Ken Schrader — Last start at Phoenix was November 2008 when he finished 27th. Last top-10 finish at Phoenix was in 1997.

14. Scott Speed — Last made Phoenix race in November 2011, finishing 39th.

15. Mike Bliss — Career-best Phoenix finish came in 2005 when he finished 20th.

16. Josh Wise — Finished 37th and 38th at Phoenix last year

17. Joe Nemechek — Has recorded seven consecutive DNFs at Phoenix.

18. Michael McDowell — Announced on Wednesday via Twitter that his Phil Parsons Racing team would not make the trip to Phoenix.

by Dustin Long
Follow Dustin on Twitter: @DustinLong