Fantasy NASCAR Preview: Dover

by Eric McGuire , Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Last season, the Cup Series ran both races at Dover in the COT, giving fantasy players a little insight they can pair with this seasons results thus far. Pay attention to the results from Bristol earlier this year, but there really isn't another track all that similar to Dover, meaning last season's races will be the best data set to use for this weekend.

A note about the rankings: the class B group is stocked full of drivers who can win this weekend. You may want to choose based on which drivers you have not chosen for your roster on a regular basis.

1. Carl Edwards, #99 Office Depot Ford, Roush-Fenway Racing

Edwards is the top class A choice this weekend. His last 3 races at Dover have resulted in a 2nd, 3rd, and 1st place finishes (he won the last event here in the fall). He has had a strong start to 2008, with 3 wins already, and should be on your class A roster this weekend.

2. Greg Biffle, #16 3M Ford, Roush-Fenway Racing

Biffle was 2nd in the fall at Dover, and 6th in the spring. He also had finishes of 5th and 8th at the Monster Mile in 2007, and hasn't finished worse than 13th in his last 7 Dover starts (including a win in 2005). Overall, he has run extremely well in 2008 (4 top 5's in 12 starts), and should be on your class B roster this weekend.

3. Kyle Busch, #18 M & M's Toyota, Gibbs Racing

As usual, Kyle Busch is a great class B selection. He was 5th at Dover in the fall, and has 4 top 5's in 6 starts on the Monster Mile, and was 2nd in his first two starts there. With the way he is running, he could easily win. The downside is that he is good everywhere, so you have to choose where you want to race him. This weekend, the class B group is so loaded you may want to go with someone else.

4. Matt Kenseth, #17 DeWalt Tools Ford, Roush-Fenway Racing

Kenseth led 192 laps in the fall before losing an engine. He also dominated both races at Dover in 2006 (winning one of them) and finished 5th in the spring last year. He is a great class A selection, finally getting some positive results the past couple weekends with top 10's at Darlington and Charlotte.

5. Denny Hamlin, #11 FedEx Toyota, Gibbs Racing

This is a place where Hamlin should be heavily considered for your class A roster. He was 9th and 11th at Dover in 2006, and followed that up with a 4th place run in 2007. He led 61 laps but encountered problems in the fall of last year. He has been strong every time he has run there, and has led more laps than any other driver in 2008.

6. Mark Martin, #8 Army Chevrolet, Dale Earnhardt Inc

Martin has 4 career wins at Dover, and has run well in the 8 car recently, narrowly missing a win at Phoenix and running in the top 5 all race at Richmond. Last season, he had finishes of 4th and 7th at Dover, a track where he has 20 top 5 finishes in 43 starts. He should definitely be on your class B roster this weekend.

7. Ryan Newman, #12 ALLTEL Dodge, Penske Racing South

Newman was 2nd in the spring race last year after leading 135 laps, but crashed in the fall. He has 3 wins and 6 top 5's in 12 starts at Dover, and is another great class B choice.

8. Dale Earnhardt Jr, #88 AMP/National Guard Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports

Jr. was 3rd in the fall at Dover, and has led in all but two starts this year en route to notching 9 top 10's. He has won at Dover before and should again be a top class B choice this weekend.

9. Martin Truex, Jr., #1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet, Dale Earnhardt Inc

Truex is a tough call. He hasn't been nearly as consistent in 2008 as he was in 2007, but if you look closely he wasn't running well in 2007 until the Series came to Dover the first time. He has 1 top 5 this season, but didn't have any at this point last year (but did have 3 top 10's). Still, he won here last June and followed that up with a 13th place finish. He is a top class B choice this weekend even when taking his slow start into consideration.

10. Jeff Burton, #31 AT&T Mobility Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing

Burton has a win, a 4th, a 12th, and a 7th in his last 4 starts at Dover. He won at Bristol earlier this year, and is another good class A option for this weekend, a step below Edwards, Kenseth, and Hamlin.

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