Fantasy NASCAR at Dover 2014: Picks, Top Drivers for AAA 400

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series travels to the Monster Mile in Dover, Delaware, this week for the AAA 400.

Dover is one of the best race tracks for testing a driver’s skills. Having a car that handles well will be important this week. Teams that set their cars up to turn in all four corners will dominate the race. The cream usually rises to the top at Dover, so focus on selecting the Chase drivers for your team this week.

The Sprint Cup Series last raced at Dover in June. Jimmie Johnson dominated the race and should be on every fantasy team this week. Johnson qualified fourth and led 272 of the 400 Laps. Brad Keselowski won the pole for the race but only led one lap. Kyle Busch started second and led 81 laps before being involved in an accident.

Dover is similar to the race track last week at New Hampshire. Both are one-mile ovals, but the difference is Dover has more banking. The teams that dominated last week’s race at New Hampshire should run well Sunday.

Here are my picks for the AAA 400 at Dover...

Yahoo Group A Picks

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There is a good chance that the winner of the race Sunday will come from Group A in Yahoo Fantasy Auto Racing. Any of the drivers from Joe Gibbs Racing and Hendrick Motorsports have a good chance to visit Victory Lane. Add in Kevin Harvick from Stewart-Haas Racing, and there are seven good picks for your fantasy team this week.

Kyle Busch has run well at Dover in his career. He was dominating the last race at the race track before wrecking his car. Busch is a risky pick who could pay off this week.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the pole for this race last year and finished second. He has cooled off after his hot summer, but Earnhardt should be considered for your team.

Kevin Harvick has never won at Dover in the Sprint Cup Series, but that does not mean he is not a good pick this week. Harvick is having a career year and has been fast at every race track.

The sleeper pick this week is Clint Bowyer. He has seven consecutive top-10 finishes at Dover. Do not be surprised to see Bowyer win his first race of the season Sunday.

Here are the two drivers I selected for Group A, with the number of allocations I have left with each driver in parentheses.

Jimmie Johnson (3)

Johnson is by far the best pick in the field this week. He has a series-best driver rating and a series-high average finishing position at Dover in the last five races. Johnson has won nine races at the race track, including the last two. It would be surprising if Johnson did not find his way into Victory Lane Sunday.

Kevin Harvick (2)

This pick came down to Jeff Gordon and Harvick. Since I plan on using Jimmie Johnson for the race, I need a driver for qualifying points. Harvick has won six poles this season and is better at qualifying at Dover than Gordon. If something happens to Johnson, Harvick would be a good driver for the race.

Other good choices: Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth.

Yahoo Group B Picks

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Group B is where the tough decisions must be made in Yahoo Fantasy Auto Racing. Most teams have either used up their allocations with Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin or are close to it. Teams need to keep using these drivers if they have any allocations left. You will not be able to use these drivers the rest of the season, but the top teams in your fantasy league will have the same situation on their teams.

If you need a sleeper pick this week, Tony Stewart is your driver. He has struggled since returning to the series, but he ran well at Dover in June. Stewart started No. 20 and finished seventh. He won this race last season.

Here are the four drivers I selected for Group B:

Brad Keselowski (1)

Keselowski ran well in the June race at Dover. He won the pole and ran in the top five all day. Keselowski had the third-best driver rating in the race and finished second. He is already locked into the Contender Round of the Chase so Keselowski may take a chance on fuel or tires to win the race. If you have any allocations left with Keselowski, he needs to be on your team.

Joey Logano (1)

Dover is one of Logano’s best race tracks. He has five consecutive top-10 finishes at the Monster Mile. In June, Logano started third and finished eighth. Logano has been the hottest driver in the series over the last month. He could win back-to-back races this week and make a statement entering the Challenger Round of the Chase.

Jamie McMurray (7)

McMurray has been running well the last month. He has finished four of the last five races inside the top 10. McMurray has not had a lot of success at Dover, but he usually finishes in the top 15. In June, he started No. 19 and finished No. 13. Most fantasy teams would take the same kind of results from McMurray Sunday.

Aric Almirola (8)

Almirola is my sleeper pick this week. Dover is one of Almirola’s best race tracks. In the last race at the Monster Mile, Almirola started No. 25 and finished No. 12. He's finished in the top 10 in three of his last races.

At Chicago, he was running in the top 10 when his engine let go. Without the engine failure, Almirola would have had four consecutive top-10 finishes. Do not be surprised to see Almirola finish up front and qualify for the Challenger Round of the Chase.

Other good choices: Denny Hamlin, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, Carl Edwards.

Yahoo Group C Picks

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Selecting a driver for Group C is not as tough as people make it out to be. If you have any allocations left with Kyle Larson or Austin Dillon, you need to use them. If you are out of allocations with these drivers, you should use Danica Patrick or Justin Allgaier. These four drivers should be the selections for most of the races the rest of the season.

Here are the two drivers I selected for Group C:

Kyle Larson (1)

Larson ran better than the results suggest in his first race at the Monster Mile. He qualified fifth but had to start in the back because his team decided to change engines before the race. He finished the race No. 11. Larson should be considered a threat to win his first race at Dover. The race track sets up well for his driving style.

Austin Dillon (2)

Although Dillon is a rookie, this will be his third race at Dover in the Sprint Cup Series. Last year, he started No. 25 and finished No. 27. In June, he started No. 23 and finished No. 20. This week, he should finish inside the top 20. Dillon is not as good as Kyle Larson, but he will be good enough to give your team a high score this week.

Other Good Choices: Danica Patrick and Justin Allgaier.

Fantasy Live Picks

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Fantasy Live Picks: Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Cole Whitt, Reed Sorenson

The advice for Fantasy Live is to select drivers who start up front with a chance to lead many laps in the race. Since there are 400 laps in the race, there will be 200 bonus points available in Fantasy Live for leading laps. Selecting the drivers who lead multiple laps will give your team a huge advantage over the teams who do not have these drivers on their team.

Fox Fantasy Racing

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Fox Fantasy Racing is all about taking chances. It does your team no good to select drivers who start up front. The game only rewards one point for leading a lap and negative points if your driver finishes worse than where the driver starts the race. This game rewards drivers who improve their race position during the race. Select the good drivers who start in the back this week. 

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

Captain: Kyle Busch

Driver 2: Matt Kenseth

Driver 3: Jamie McMurray

Driver 4: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Driver 5: Ryan Newman

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.

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