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Fantasy NASCAR Primer Series - Draft Leagues

by Eric McClung, Special To NASCAR news, NASCAR statistics, NASCAR commentary On Pit Row

Follow @ericmcclung on Twitter for NASCAR, IndyCar, golf and various other fantasy sports picks.

January 19, 2010 12:34 pm CST 1 Comment

Welcome to part two of my weeklong Fantasy NASCAR Primer Series. This five-day series will take you through all of the ins, outs, straightaways, doglegs and tri-ovals of fantasy NASCAR. Here’s a breakdown to what’s in store:

Monday 1/18 - Allocation leagues

Tuesday 1/19 - Draft leagues

Wednesday 1/20 - Salary cap leagues

Thursday 1/21 - Changes to Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing driver lists

Friday 1/22 - Inside an expert fantasy draft

Be sure to join On Pit Row’s Yahoo! Fantasy group for a prize pack that includes:

•    5 DVD set - Dale Earnhardt - 10 Greatest Wins
•    The Blount Report: NASCAR’s Most Overrated and Underrated Drivers, Cars, Teams, and Tracks by ESPN’s Terry Blount
•    No Fear Racing (Boris Said) T-Shirt
•    Kevin Harvick Bobblehead
•    Armor All Complete Car Care Kit (Armor All brand Protectant, Glass Wipes, Wash & Wax, Tire Foam)

Go here to sign up. There’s only 50 spots available so hurry!
•    ID# 2262
•    password “fantasy”

A draft league is going to be setup one of two ways: picks made in a snake/serpentine order or by auction.

In a snake draft, the owner awarded the first overall pick will make their selection. The first round continues until each driver has made their initial pick. The owner with the last selection of the first round will go again to begin the second round. The selection order reverses at the end of each round until conclusion.

The great thing about auction drafts is that each owner has a shot to own any driver. Everyone starts with the same amount of “dollars” to make bids. Owners nominate a driver each round to bid on until the teams are full.

The scoring for a draft league can be done in head-to-head matchups or against everyone in a points-based system. A head-to-head league uses scheduled one-on-one matchups.

The pool of elite drivers is shallow this format is very challenging. Finding the proper roster size and number of owners is key to keeping a draft league fun. Leagues with little movement in the rosters can grow stale; smaller leagues allow more free agent sleepers to be available on waivers.

Draft Room Analysis

Here are the results of an actual draft I did at Fanball with totally random people. The names of their teams have been altered to protect their identities.

1-1 (Team PR): Jeff Gordon… Gordon over Johnson is crazy; assuming this is a Gordon fan who just wanted his favorite driver.

1-2 (Team CTD): Jimmie Johnson

1-3 (Team BR) Denny Hamlin… Set career highs in wins and top-fives last year but still inconsistent on intermediate tracks.

1-4 (draft n pass, me) Tony Stewart… I had Stewart No. 3 on my board but I did consider Martin.

1-5 (Team IR) Mark Martin

1-6 (Team DS) Kurt Busch

1-7 (Team BF) Kyle Busch

1-8 (Team HB) Greg Biffle

2-1 (HB) Carl Edwards… Edwards is only a year removed from a nine-victory season– could be an amazing value. Roush Fenway struggled last season so selecting teammates is risky for Team HB.

2-2 (BF) Juan Pablo Montoya… “Never pay for a career year” is fantasy sports mantra but JPM was taken at the right spot here.

2-3 (DS) Ryan Newman… Very risky pick; Newman was a roller coaster ride last season.

2-4 (IR) Kasey Kahne… Love Kahne’s abilities, hate his situation. He can’t wait to leave RPM. Switching to Ford is one of many changes Kahne has dealt over in recent years.

2-5 (me) Clint Bowyer… With RCR’s late-season improvements, Bowyer should be really good this year. He’s good everywhere, a perfect No. 2 driver.

2-6 (BR) Matt Kenseth

2-7 (CTD) Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

2-8 (PR): Jeff Burton

3-1 (PR): Kevin Harvick… RCR should bounce back, just don’t want two of them on my team.

3-2 (CTD) Brad Keselowski… I don’t understand this pick at all. There are plenty of better drivers still on the board. Maybe owning Johnson made him overzealous.

3-3 (BR) Marcos Ambrose… Great value here, I don’t see Ambrose’s successful rookie campaign as a flux.

3-4 (me) Brian Vickers… I’ve been a believer in Vickers and Red Bull Racing. This league scores starting position. Vickers had six poles this year, gotta love that.

3-5 (IR) A.J. Allmendinger… Like the talent but not the ride. Reutimann is much, much better pick.

3-6 (DS) David Reutimann… With Keselowski and Allmendinger taken earlier in the round, this is a huge steal.

3-7 (BF) Martin Truex Jr… I would have taken Logano but Truex could do alright in MWR equipment.

3-8 (HB) Joey Logano

4-1 (HB) Sam Hornish… This is a No. 4 driver I wanted; Hornish showed some flashes last year. Just stay away from the wall.

4-2 (BF) David Ragan… Another No. 4 driver I was targeting.

4-3 (DS) Casey Mears

4-4 (IR) Jamie McMurray

4-5 (me) Elliott Sadler… After Ragan things got mighty, mighty thin. Sadler has been good in plate races. Hopefully someone shows up on waivers I can pick up later on.

4-6 (BR) Paul Menard

4-7 (CTD) Scott Speed

4-8 (PR): Travis Kvapil… As a full-time driver in 2008, Kvapil won a pole and had four top-10s. I’m just worried he could be a start-and-park driver.

5-1 (PR): Bobby Labonte… Doesn’t have full-sponsorship but a good pick at this spot.

5-2 (CTD) Robby Gordon

5-3 (BR) Aric Almirola

5-4 (me) Bill Elliott… Still running part time but started in top-10 five times last year.

5-5 (IR) Reed Sorenson

5-6 (DS) David Stremme

5-7 (BF) Michael Waltrip

5-8 (HB) Max Papis… Could get some calls a road course ringer.

6-1 (HB) Erik Darnell

6-2 (BF) John Andretti

6-3 (DS) David Gilliland

6-4 (IR) Regan Smith… Nice late-round pick. He’s got full sponsorship and no worried about start and park.

6-5 (me) Boris Said… Not much to pick from this late in the draft. Hopefully lands in a good car for Sonoma and Watkins Glen.

6-6 (BR) Mike Bliss

6-7 (CTD) Tony Raines

6-8 (PR) Kevin Conway

Draft League Settings

Fanball Draft & Play: 8 teams x 4 starters + 2 bench (48 rostered drivers)

NASCAR.com: 8×4 (32)

Ryan Rantz: 5×6 (30)

Eric McClung: 6×4 (24)

ESPN Fantasy Stock Car: (defunct) 6 x 3 starters + 1 bench (18)

Expert advice

• You will need to rely on your No. 1 and No. 2 drivers all season long. Target all-around drivers that perform well on intermediate tracks first. Don’t reach for any sleepers until your third pick, then start taking some chances.

Examples of draft leagues: ESPN Fantasy Stock Car (defunct), Fanball Draft & Play, NASCAR Draft & Play

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