The 2020 Fantasy NASCAR season was not normal by any means. The season started out with a horrific wreck in the Daytona 500 and then a trip to the West Coast made the season look like just another normal year for Fantasy NASCAR players. That is when the pandemic shut everything down for over a month. NASCAR came back and had to make some changes. Practices were canceled. Qualifying was canceled. Back-to-back races at some tracks became the norm and many teams had a difficult time figuring out the proper setup for their cars. The first-half of the 2021 season may be much of the same as what we had in 2020.
Here are the Fantasy NASCAR points from the 2020 season. I will be referring to these points in my Driver Preview articles that will be posting in the days leading up to the Daytona 500.
2020 Fantasy NASCAR Points
* Jimmie Johnson and Clint Bowyer also scored in the top-20 but I left them out since they are not racing in 2021.
These points are based on the driver’s finishing position, bonus points for wins, laps led, and Stage points. The drivers received 40 points for 1st place, 39 for 2nd, 38 for 3rd and so on. Each driver received an extra point for a win. Drivers received .01 points per laps led and 1 point per Stage point earned.
Kevin Harvick led three of the four categories. He scored the most points for his finishing position, scored the most wins and led the most laps. Ryan Blaney scored the most points for Stage points. Chase Elliott was close to Harvick in Laps Led and Denny Hamlin was close in wins. Elliott enters the 2021 season with more momentum than Harvick, so it will be interesting to see how the teams perform this year.
Intermediate Track Points (1.5-mile & 2-mile Ovals)
The Intermediate Tracks consist of the 1.5-mile and 2-mile ovals. These tracks include: Atlanta, Charlotte, Homestead, Kansas, Las Vegas, Michigan and Texas. I did not include the tracks that NASCAR will not be competing at in 2021 (California and Kentucky). The drivers are sorted by their average points scored at these tracks and not the total points at the track. Ryan Blaney was the most consistent driver at the Intermediate Tracks last year. His ability to lead laps and score Stage points really helped the No. 12 team. Kevin Harvick led the most laps and had the best average finishing position, but two of his three wins came at Michigan (2-mile oval). The only 1.5-mile track he won at was Atlanta. The Intermediate Tracks were the best track type for Kyle Busch in 2020. That is a good sign for Rowdy heading into the 2021 season.
Superspeedways Track Points (Daytona & Talladega)
The Superspeedways include Daytona and Talladega. These two tracks are usually random. The phrase, “Any driver who starts the race, has a decent chance to win the race” is often used at Daytona and Talladega. That trend is starting to change. Denny Hamlin is dominating the races at the Superspeedways and Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano are not far behind him. There are a handful of drivers who continue to run up front, so the Superspeedway races are not as “random” as they have been in the past.
Flat Track Points
The Flat Tracks consist of Richmond, Phoenix, Martinsville and New Hampshire. Team Penske has been the most dominant team at these tracks for the last two seasons (mostly Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski). Chase Elliott has really improved and he will be a driver to watch as well.
Steep Track Points
The Steep Tracks include Bristol, Dover and Darlington. Most people consider Darlington an Intermediate Track since it is 1.3-miles in length, but I like to classify the Lady in Black as a Steep Track because of the 25 degrees of Banking in the corners. Most of the crew chiefs said the setup for Darlington is similar to Dover. Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin dominated the Steep Track races last year. They should be good again in 2021, but keep an eye out for Joey Logano and Brad Keselowski. They have a habit of running well at these tracks too.
Road Courses
There were only two races on the Road Courses last year (Daytona Roval and Charlotte Roval). I want to get a larger sample size to compare the drivers on the Road Courses so I included the Road Course races from the 2019 season to the rankings (Sonoma and Watkins Glen). There will be seven races on the Road Courses in 2021 (eight if you include the Busch Clash at Daytona). Chase Elliott has dominated these races and it has not even been close. Martin Truex Jr. is the only driver to give Elliott any competition. It should be a battle between the No. 9 and No. 19 cars again at the Road Course tracks in 2021.
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