Fantasy Update: RFK, RCR stand out in qualifying at Texas
The theme of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series postseason thus far has been the success of non-playoff drivers. Those teams have a perfect batting average with wins by Erik Jones, Bubba Wallace and Chris Buescher. On Saturday, it was Brad Keselowski — who led a season-high 109 laps last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway — who was standing tall, winning his first pole since Richmond Raceway in 2019. With RFK Racing scoring two poles in 2022 (Buescher at Dover Motor Speedway), it‘s the most the company has earned in a single season since 2013 (three).
RELATED: Starting lineup for Sunday | Set your Fantasy Live lineup
Dustin Albino‘s race-day lineup:
Starter 1: Joey Logano
Starter 2: Denny Hamlin
Starter 3: Tyler Reddick
Starter 4: Ryan Blaney
Starter 5: William Byron
Garage pick: Ross Chastain
NEXT IN LINE: Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, Brad Keselowski
RISING: RFK continues to impress in recent weeks, as Keselowski and Buescher combined to lead 278 of 500 laps at Bristol. While Texas Motor Speedway is a different beast, the team has stepped up its game in the second half of the season, combining for nine top-10 finishes in the last 14 races. In the first 15 events of the season, the Nos. 6 and 17 cars had four such results. On Sunday, both cars will take the green flag from the top 15.
A week after getting knocked out of the playoffs, Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick showed up in practice and qualifying at Texas. The two Richard Childress Racing drivers took the top spots in practice and will start from fourth and seventh, respectively. The seventh-place starting position for Dillon is his best effort of the season, and he did win a 500-mile race in 2020 at Texas.
FALLING: Christopher Bell was the first driver to advance into the Round of 12. But the No. 20 car — and many of the Toyotas — was a tick off in qualifying, starting 22nd. For fantasy players, don‘t discount Bell as he has two third-place finishes in three Texas starts. But he barely misses my lineup.
Earlier in the week, I said be smart and utilize Harvick at Texas, as he has three wins in his last eight starts here. However, the No. 4 car struggled on Saturday, ranking 27th in practice and didn‘t qualify much better in 23rd. It will shock nobody should Harvick be in the mix late, but Saturday had to be disappointing.
FEATURED MATCHUPS:
Chris Buescher vs. Ryan Blaney: While RFK is on the up and up, Blaney was stout at Texas in May‘s All-Star Race. The No. 12 car didn‘t quite show that speed on Saturday, but still ranked seventh on the scoring pylon in practice. The easy play here is Blaney.
Chase Elliott vs. Joey Logano: With how Elliott‘s first round of the playoffs went, it‘s a nice time for a reset. Unfortunately for Elliott fans, Logano believes he had a race-winning caliber car in practice and qualified second. Based on overall success at the track, Logano should be the choice, as he has 11 top-five finishes in 26 Texas starts.
Kyle Larson vs. Ross Chastain: On paper, these two look very similar entering race day. Larson was 10th in practice; Chastain ranked 13th. Larson also out-qualified the No. 1 car by three spots, as they both moved one position up the leaderboard to ninth and 12th. Before getting caught up in a wreck during the second stint in the All-Star Race in May, Chastain looked to have one of the fastest cars. But Larson is typically strong at intermediates, including a stomping last year at Texas, leading 256 of 334 laps. Go with the No. 5 car — he‘s out of my lineup solely on usage.
Denny Hamlin vs. Christopher Bell: Entering the weekend, I was fully on the No. 20 team bandwagon, believing that Bell could make a late-season charge towards Phoenix Raceway. That‘s still possible, but Hamlin has shown more raw speed throughout the season. That continued Saturday, as he was the lone Toyota to make the final round of qualifying. There‘s a reason why I inserted Hamlin into my lineup and took Bell out. Use Hamlin.
