Fantasy Fastlane: Tyler Reddick looking for three straight road-course wins

MUST START:
Tyler Reddick | View stats
Richard Childress Racing, No. 8 Chevrolet
Odds: 6-1
In the Cup Series’ most recent road course race at Indianapolis, Reddick laid to rest any notions of him not trying as hard now that he knows he will be at 23XI Racing in 2024. Dating back to Road America, the No. 8 car has commanded the last two road course events, picking up his lone two wins in Cup. In fact, last weekend at Richmond, Chase Elliott called Reddick the favorite for Watkins Glen.

MUST START:
Chase Elliott | View stats
Hendrick Motorsports, No. 9 Chevrolet
Odds: 5-1
Oh yeah, about Elliott: He’s really good at Watkins Glen. Since picking up his first Cup victory at the famed course in 2018, he’s finished first and second in his last two starts at The Glen. And had last year’s race been a few laps longer, it’s quite possible he’d be on a three-race win streak at WGI.

MUST START:
Austin Cindric | View stats
Team Penske, No. 2 Ford
Odds: 10-1
Don’t look any further if you want to know the one driver who’s placed inside the top 10 in the four road courses this season. Entering the year, Cindric was expected to shine on such tracks, given his sports car background. He’s done just that with an average finish of 5.5 and finished second at Indy.

MUST START:
Ross Chastain | View stats
Trackhouse Racing, No. 1 Chevrolet
Odds: 9-1
Had it not been for going wide entering Turn 1 and using the access road at Indianapolis on an overtime finish, Chastain would likely have four top 10s on road courses, too. Instead, he was penalized 30 seconds, dropping him to 27th in the final rundown. With four straight finishes of 18th or worse, it’s time for the No. 1 team to get back on track.

SLEEPER PICK:
Chris Buescher | View stats
RFK Racing, No. 17 Ford
Odds: 20-1
Given Buescher’s stats on road courses this season, he probably isn’t much of a sleeper for The Glen. Dating back to Sonoma – when he finished second – the No. 17 team has three straight top-10 efforts when turning left and right, and he even came back from two laps down while on fire at Indy to score a top 10. He’s also riding high from a third-place effort at Richmond last week.

SLEEPER PICK:
Todd Gilliland | View stats
Front Row Motorsports, No. 38 Ford
Odds: 125-1
The easy choice from the Front Row camp is Michael McDowell, who has three consecutive top 10s on road courses. But it was Gilliland who had a career weekend – albeit a short career at the Cup level thus far – at Indy, qualifying a season-high ninth and earning his first top-five finish. He also dominated the inaugural Truck Series race at COTA last year, which helped springboard him into the No. 38 Cup car.

SLEEPER PICK:
Kimi Räikkönen | Stats N/A
Trackhouse Racing, No. 91 Chevrolet
Odds: 40-1
This could turn out to be a magnificent selection or one that comes back to bite you, but the former Formula 1 champion will make his Cup debut for Trackhouse in its PROJECT91 entry. Talk is that he showed solid speed in his first jab in a Next Gen car in a test session at Virginia International Raceway. Both of his teammates, Chastain and Daniel Suárez, have won prior road course races this season. Nonetheless, it will be fascinating to see his transition to the Cup level this weekend, having made one prior start in both the Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series.

STAY AWAY FROM:
Martin Truex Jr. | View stats
Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 19 Toyota
Odds: 20-1
Though Truex is fighting for his postseason life, Toyota has still shown very little speed on road courses in 2022. The No. 19 car was a non-factor at Sonoma, Road America and Indianapolis, causing little reason to justify using him this weekend. If you want some stage points, he will likely be points racing.

STAY AWAY FROM:
Denny Hamlin | View stats
Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 11 Toyota
Odds: 25-1
In a few media appearances following the Indianapolis race, Hamlin said it ranked right up there with the most embarrassing moments of his career, having spun multiple times during the weekend (though he did rebound for a season-best finish on a road course, 14th). But with an average finish of 20th in the four road course races, I’d be wary of using him.

STAY AWAY FROM:
Joey Logano | View stats
Team Penske, No. 22 Ford
Odds: 28-1
Over the last four races at Watkins Glen, Logano has a best finish of 22nd (last year) and an average result of 26.5. If you’re running low on uses for Logano, it would make sense to save him for the regular season finale at Daytona, where the No. 22 car is bound to be aggressive.

MY LINEUP: Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, Austin Cindric, Ross Chastain, Kyle Larson

GARAGE: AJ Allmendinger