Fantasy Live allows each team to try and predict the driver who will win the pole each week. You do not have to make a pick, but if you do and you are correct; your fantasy team will earn 5 bonus points. These points can add up and be the difference in a few positions in your league standings so we need to get them right this year.
NASCAR decided to make changes to qualifying after the debacle at Auto Club. Drivers must stay in the designated staging area until they are ready to make a qualifying lap. Once they leave the staging area they must go on the track. No more pulling up to the end of pit road and stopping. Also if a driver does not make a qualifying lap, he will start in the rear of the field Sunday. They can no longer rely on their lap time from the previous round. I am not sure how much this will help, but it will be interesting to watch.
Here is my pick for the Pole at Texas: Kurt Busch
It is hard to learn anything from the first practice. Speed in a lap depends on where you are in the draft. I am going with Kurt Busch because they have a plan. Busch won the pole for this race last year. He said on the radio in practice, “We need to just lay down a fast lap in the first round. Our car has enough speed for that. Follow the Front Row guys (David Ragan and Michael McDowell) in round 2. They really cut a hole in the air and allow us to gain speed. In the final round we just need to make some friends. I think the HMS or RCR cars should work with us. That is my plan.” The team told him, “The car that was 3rd in line posted the fastest lap in the last two runs. We just need to make sure we are 3rd out in the final round.”
This sounds good to me, so I will roll with Kurt Busch for the pole.
Good Luck this week!!
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