Fantasy NASCAR at Homestead 2014: Top Picks, Ford EcoBoost 400

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to the Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Florida, this week for the Ford EcoBoost 400. This is the final race of the season and the first time the series has raced at Homestead this year.

The new Chase format should make the race Sunday the most exciting race of the season. With so much on the line, the four drivers in the Championship Round of the Chase will do whatever it takes to get to the front. Ryan Newman, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin are the best drivers for your fantasy team because of their ability to win the championship.

Here are my picks for the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead.

Yahoo Group A Picks

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Since this is the last race of the season, there is no need to worry about saving drivers in Group A of Yahoo Fantasy Auto Racing this week. You should use the best drivers available.

Instead of listing the two drivers I selected for Group A with the number of allocations I have left, I decided to rank each driver in this group. My advice is to select the highest driver on the list who is available for your team.

Here are my rankings for Group A:

1. Kevin Harvick: Harvick is pick to win the race and the championship.

2. Jeff Gordon: Gordon should finish in the top five.

3. Jimmie Johnson: Johnson ran well at Texas and should be good at Homestead.

4. Matt Kenseth: Kenseth is probably the safest pick in the field.

5. Kyle Busch: Busch is my sleeper pick from Group A.

6. Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Junior will try to win the race for his crew chief.

7. Kurt Busch: Busch finished eighth at Texas and could be good this week as well.

8. Kasey Kahne: Kahne has good stats at Homestead but is too risky for your team.

9. Clint Bowyer: Bowyer finished only two races in the top 10 on this type of race track.

Yahoo Group B Picks

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Group B is not very hard to figure out this week. You need to use Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Newman or Denny Hamlin if you have any allocations left. These drivers have been the best drivers in this group all season, and there's no need to try and out-think your competition this week.

Here are my rankings for Group B:

1. Joey Logano: Logano needs a good finish to win the championship and will get it Sunday.

2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin won this race last year, and he'll be a good pick this week.

3. Ryan Newman: Newman has the third-best average finishing position on intermediate race tracks.

4. Carl Edwards: Edwards’ average finishing position is 6.6 at Homestead.

5. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski is much better on shorter race tracks, but he is still one of the best picks in Group B.

6. Jamie McMurray: McMurray has back-to-back top-five finishes on intermediate race tracks.

7. Greg Biffle: Biffle has won three races at Homestead and is worth a gamble this week.

8. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex has finished the last eight races at Homestead in the top 11.

9. Tony Stewart: Stewart needs to win this race to keep his consecutive seasons with a win streak alive.

10. Paul Menard: Menard ran well on the intermediate race tracks earlier this season, but he has struggled in the recent races.

11. Aric Almirola: Almirola has finished half of his starts at Homestead in the top 10.

12. AJ Allmendinger: Use Allmendinger if you feel like swinging for the fences this week, as it could pay off.

13. Brian Vickers: Vickers has never finished in the top 10 at Homestead.

14. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Stenhouse has never finished in the top 20 at Homestead.

15. Casey Mears: Mears has finished four consecutive raced at Homestead outside the top 25.

16. Marcos Ambrose: This is Ambrose’s last race in the Sprint Cup Series, and it would be nice to see him go out with a win. 

17. David Ragan: There is no reason to use Ragan on your team this week.

18. David Gilliland: Select Gilliland if your league provides a prize for the worst score of the week.

Yahoo Group C Picks

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Most fantasy teams will be out of allocations with Kyle Larson and Austin Dillon. It will be difficult to find two good drivers for your team this week, but don't worry, because the majority of your league is probably dealing with the same situation.

Here are the two drivers I selected for Group C.

1. Kyle Larson: Larson is still looking for his first win, but it could come this week.

2. Austin Dillon: Dillon had a great season, but he was overshadowed by Larson.

3. Justin Allgaier: Allgaier will be a popular pick this week and should finish in the top 20.

4. Danica Patrick: Patrick was running well until she lost her crew chief to the No. 41 team.

5. Landon Cassill: It will be risky to use Cassill, but he has paid off a few times this year.

6. The Field: The rest of the drivers in this group are not worth selecting for your team.

Fantasy Live Picks

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My strategy for Fantasy Live this season has been to select drivers who started in the back of the field with a chance to move to the front. This strategy provided my team a chance to score bonus points for finishing differential.

At the midway point of the season, I changed my strategy. I decided to use Gordon, Harvick and a combination of the Penske Racing drivers, regardless of where they started the race. This strategy paid off, but recently, these drivers have not been finishing up front as consistently as they were before.

The strategy this week is to select drivers who are still alive in the Chase.

Here are the five drivers I selected for Fantasy Live for the race at Phoenix:

Fantasy Live Picks: Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, David Ragan and Reed Sorenson

Fox Fantasy Racing

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I've been using the drivers who start in the back of the field in order to score bonus points. My strategy for Fox Fantasy Racing will not be the same this week.

Since I have many starts with the drivers racing for the championship, I plan on using these drivers for my team this week. Their NASCAR teams should do whatever it takes to get these drivers to the front.

Here are my selections for Fox Fantasy Racing for the race at Phoenix: 

Captain: Joey Logano

Driver 2: Denny Hamlin

Driver 3: Ryan Newman

Driver 4: Brad Keselowski

Driver 5: Carl Edwards

*Stats from DriverAverages.com and career stats from Racing-Reference.Info.

If you need any further advice with your team, look for me on Twitter @MrFantasyNASCAR. If you like Fantasy NASCAR, LIKE my Fantasy NASCAR Tips Page on Facebook