Fantasy NASCAR Preview: Phoenix

Truex was 8th in the spring, nailing down his second career top 5 on the Arizona flat track. He was a solid 8th in Texas last weekend and is riding a streak of 4 straight top 15 finishes. He is a solid class B choice this weekend.

Stewart was 14th in the spring, but despite his great history in Phoenix he should not be on your roster this weekend. He has not netted a top 10 since he won in Talladega, and while he may turn it on and win the next two races, it's tough to predict that at this point.

McMurray was 17th in the spring, but this team has really found it's stride in the latter fourth of the schedule. His results don't warrant a ranking any higher than this (no top 10's at Phoenix in 10 starts), but this is one of those weekends where you just get a feeling about a driver and a team. McMurray finished 5th at Charlotte, 7th at Atlanta, and 3rd at Texas. Don't forget he ran well enough at Martinsville to lead 37 laps and run with the Hendrick crew before having mechanical trouble.

Busch was just 23rd in the spring, but his team has enjoyed a resurgence of late with finishes of 3rd and 6th at Atlanta and Charlotte. He has a solid history at Phoenix with a win included and is a strong candidate to run well this weekend.

Newman hasn't been consistent at Phoenix, but when he has been good he has been great. All 3 of his top 10's have been top 5 runs. He led 37 laps after earning his 4th career Phoenix pole in the spring, but blew an engine. He is an intriguing class B choice, but hasn't shown he can run well there on a consistent basis.

Reutimann is another guy that has turned it on of late, and also scored a solid 18th place finish in the spring. He is an awesome class C choice this weekend. He has proven in past weeks that he can run solidly in the top 10 on the intermediate speedways, and don't forget he led 104 laps in the fall race at Richmond.

Montoya was 16th in the spring, and this team is noticeably more competitive than they were earlier in the season (even if they aren't getting the results to back it up). He was also 17th last fall, and looked great at Martinsville (another flat track where brakes are ultra important).

Mears was 11th in the spring and 13th last fall, by far (emphasis on far) his best finishes at Phoenix in his 9 career starts. He is a driver to think about, but is not likely to challenge for the win.

Labonte is a sleeper this week, but only in the sense that you normally don't expect to see him in the top 15 anymore. He has a shot at that this weekend, as he finished 12th in the spring and Phoenix is one of those tracks where experience can outweigh having the best car.

Kahne had back to back top 10's at Phoenix in 2006, but since then he has had one problem after the other. He doesn't have much positive momentum on the season, and there really isn't any reason you would choose Kahne this weekend.

Gilliland was 15th in the spring, but is still a shaky class B option at best with just one top 20 in the past eight races.