Fantasy NASCAR Ready to Kickoff 2012 Season

NASCAR has been one of the fastest growing sports in the United States for the past decade. I believe one of the main reasons why NASCAR is growing so quickly is because of fantasy NASCAR.

Like fantasy football, people who play fantasy NASCAR do not have to spend a lot of time on the game in order to enjoy it. NFL teams and NASCAR only play once a week, so people playing the game only have to worry about setting their lineups once a week. Other sports such as baseball, basketball and hockey require players to set daily lineups and spend much more time on their fantasy teams.

A study by San Diego State University in 2009 found that over 30 million people in North America play fantasy sports. Most of the 30 million are fantasy football players, but fantasy NASCAR is growing each year.

Some people play fantasy NASCAR by creating private groups with friends, while others go to popular websites to play. Some of the websites used for fantasy NASCAR include:

• ESPN.com: Stock Car Challenge
• Speed.com: Fantasy Racing GP Edition
• NASCAR.com: Fantasy Face-Off

One of the most popular Fantasy NASCAR games on the Internet is Yahoo’s Fantasy Auto Racing.

Yahoo kicked off their Fantasy Auto Racing game on January 12. The Fantasy Auto Racing game is one of the easiest fantasy NASCAR games to play.

Each of the drivers in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series are placed into one of three groups: Group A (the best drivers), Group B (the average drivers) and Group C (the drivers who may break out during the season).

Players must choose two drivers from Group A, four drivers from Group B and two drivers from Group C for their team each week. Yahoo totals your team’s points after the race based upon where your drivers finished in the race.

Every year the message board on Yahoo fills up with people predicting when the game will be released and what category each driver will be placed into. This year was no different.

When the game was released on January 12, Yahoo’s message board was filled with people posting passwords to their newly created Fantasy Auto Racing leagues and people debating if Yahoo Fantasy Sports got it right with the placement of the drivers into each group.

Here is the list of drivers in each group on Yahoo’s Fantasy Auto Racing, and my analysis of each group...

Group A

Group A consists of Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards, Jimmy Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski and Matt Kenseth.

This is the easiest group to pick drivers from. Even a person with limited knowledge of NASCAR can pick two drivers from this group and be assured a top finish from their driver.

I think the battle will be between Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards and Jimmy Johnson for the NASCAR Championship in 2012. Those three drivers will be used a lot on my team this season.

Group B

Group B has J.P. Montoya, Jeff Burton, Marcus Ambrose, Mark Martin, Joey Logano, Jamie McMurray, Regan Smith, Martin Truex Jr., Paul Menard, Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle, A.J. Allmendinger and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Since each player must pick four drivers from Group B each week, it is important for the fantasy player to choose wisely.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is always one of the most popular picks because of his popularity in the sport.

The four drivers with the most potential from this group are Ryan Newman, Kasey Kahne, Greg Biffle and A.J. Allmendinger. I think each of these drivers will make the Chase in 2012.

Group C

Notable drivers from Group C are Aric Almirola, Danica Patrick, Josh Wise, Brian Vickers, Bobby Labonte, David Reutimann, Trevor Bayne, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and David Ragan.

There is a long list of drivers in Group C on Yahoo’s Fantasy Auto Racing, but I only included the drivers who will be worth taking on your team in 2012. Most of the other drivers are either retired or will only race once or twice this season.

Some drivers that stand out in Group C are Aric Almirola, Bobby Labonte and David Reutimann.

Aric Almirola will be taking over for A.J. Allmendinger in the No. 43 Penske Dodge.

Bobby Labonte was one of the most-used drivers in Group C last season and I suspect he will be again in 2012. Labonte will drive the No. 47 Daugherty Racing Toyota.

David Reutimann was released by Michael Waltrip Racing at the end of 2011, and will now drive the No. 36 Tommy Baldwin Chevy.

It will be another exciting year to watch our favorite drivers in NASCAR, and playing Fantasy NASCAR is one way to make the experience even better.

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