Fantasy Fastlane presented by Jackpot Races: Kurt Busch presents an opportunity at Road America

Editor's note: Fantasy Fastlane presented by Jackpot Races will look at each race from a fantasy perspective, examining the top plays and sleepers as well as plays to avoid for NASCAR Fantasy Live. Garage driver will lock at end of Stage 2. Odds come from BetMGM.

PLAY NOW: Set your Fantasy Live lineup today


Download the free to play Jackpot Races App and compete to win the $25,000 prize every week if you get all eight picks correct.

Chase Elliott | View stats

Hendrick Motorsports, No. 9 Chevrolet

Odds: 23-10

Fastlane forecast: Elliott's road course success has been well documented – six of his 12 Cup wins have come at venues where left and right turns occur. He's simply in a class by himself when it comes to this type of racing. With qualifying on tap this weekend, his bad finish at Pocono-2 isn't a factor. In two Xfinity starts at Road America, he finished fourth both times. He's a must start for me, but make sure you have a use available for Watkins Glen.

Kyle Larson | View stats

Hendrick Motorsports, No. 5 Chevrolet

Odds: 14-5

Fastlane forecast: If you have one Larson use left, save it for Atlanta. If you have two uses left, I'd still be inclined to save. At three uses or more, he becomes a major consideration. His last two road course starts have seen him finish second (COTA) and first (Sonoma). Did you know he has seven top-two finishes in his last eight points-paying races? Thought so. In one Xfinity start at Road America, he finished seventh.

Martin Truex Jr. | View stats

Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 19 Toyota

Odds: 13-2

Fastlane forecast: Truex is the second-best road racer on the circuit with four wins on road courses. He doesn't have a start at Road America but Saturday's practice session should help get him up to speed. The late spring funk was a little concerning but it was encouraging to see the 19 camp chase stage points in Sunday’s Pocono race. I'd be making sure I have uses left for New Hampshire and Watkins Glen, but that's the only concern here.

Joey Logano | View stats

Team Penske, No. 22 Ford

Odds: 11-1

Fastlane forecast: Logano is one of two drivers with top 10s in all three road course races this year -- we'll cover the other driver a little further below. He's also the only driver to finish in the top five in all of them. He also has scored the most points -- an average of 46 in those races -- in a strategy that has seen the 2018 champion and crew chief Paul Wolfe be aggressive in gobbling up stage points.

Kyle Busch | View stats

Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 18 Toyota

Odds: 15-2

Fastlane forecast: Sunday's Pocono winner is the hottest non-Hendrick driver right now with two wins and six top fives in his last nine races. In the last three race weekends that have featured practice and qualifying, he is averaging 44 points. While he struggled on Roval-style layouts, the two-time champ has run well at natural road courses but has no starts at Road America.

William Byron | View stats

Hendrick Motorsports, No. 24 Chevrolet

Odds: 20-1

Fastlane forecast: Byron's been on a little cold spell when it comes to road courses with two finishes outside the top 30 in his three road course races of 2021. That said, he finished sixth in his lone Road America start in the Xfinity Series. Prior to this season, he had three straight road course top 10s. I am eying him for plays at Atlanta and New Hampshire with a third use coming at a road course to be determined.

Alex Bowman | View stats

Hendrick Motorsports, No. 48 Chevrolet

Odds: 25-1

Fastlane forecast: Remember on the Joey Logano write up that I mentioned two drivers had top 10s in all three road course races so far in 2021? Well, this is the other driver. The Saturday Pocono winner has averaged 33 points – sixth-most in those races. Over his last 10 road races, Bowman has six top 10s, no finish worse than 14th and an average of 31.2 points.

Ryan Blaney | View stats

Team Penske, No. 12 Ford

Odds: 33-1

Fastlane forecast: Back-to-back top-six finishes at Pocono helped Blaney get some mojo back after a string of finishes outside the top 10 this season. YRB has one road course win (the Charlotte Roval in 2018) and is a solid road racer with the seventh-most points in the last 10 at that style of track. The summer stretch has several intriguing tracks to consider with him – Atlanta (he is the most recent winner) as well as all the road courses.

AJ Allmendinger | View stats

Kaulig Racing, No. 16 Chevrolet

Odds: 25-1

Fastlane forecast: Allmendinger has a win at Road America in the Xfinity Series (from 2013) and finished second here last year. He has only made two Cup starts this season – both on road courses – and has top 10s in both, an average finish of 6.0 and an average of 33.5 points. The concern would be that he may pass on stage points since he isn't running for Cup points (he has only five stage points), but his road success is hard to pass on. And in Fantasy Live, he will be scored for points.

SLEEPER PICK: Kurt Busch | View stats

Chip Ganassi Racing, No. 1 Chevrolet

Odds: 33-1

Fastlane forecast: The 2004 champion has the fourth-most points earned on road courses this season and that includes a 27th-place finish at COTA. The veteran has found another gear of late with three top-eight finishes and 40-plus point days in his last four 2021 races. He has one Road America Xfinity start to his name – an eighth-place finish driving for his brother's team.

SLEEPER PICK: Michael McDowell | View stats

Front Row Motorsports, No. 34 Ford

Odds: 66-1

Fastlane forecast: McDowell scored a win at Road America in a 2016 Xfinity Series race while driving for Richard Childress Racing. He has put together some solid runs on road courses in his career. In fact, if it wasn't for some last-lap contact at Sonoma with Daniel Suarez, he too would likely be 3-for-3 on top 10s in this year's road courses.

SLEEPER PICK: Ross Chastain | View stats

Chip Ganassi Racing, No. 42 Chevrolet

Odds: 40-1

Fastlane forecast: Chastain's last two road course starts have seen him finish fourth (COTA) and seventh (Sonoma) while averaging 33 points in those races. In his last two Xfinity Series starts at Road America, he has two seventh-place finishes. I think his teammate is the better play this weekend, but the Melon Man is a worth a thought too.

SLEEPER PICK: Austin Cindric | View stats

Team Penske, No. 33 Ford

Odds: 40-1

Fastlane forecast: Cindric won the Road America Xfinity Series race in 2020 and finished second the year before. Four of his 12 Xfinity wins to date have come on road courses. The young driver's performance at COTA in the Cup car turned some heads as he tallied 13 stage points before fading to a 25th-place finish. If you are looking to save uses, he's a worthwhile and ideal play.

SLEEPER PICK: Chase Briscoe | View stats

Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 14 Ford

Odds: 125-1

Fastlane forecast: Briscoe's freshman Cup season has been a tough one thus far. However, he did earn a top 10 at COTA in May – a highly technical road course. He had a good track record on road courses from his Xfinity Series days as evidenced by a top five and two top 10s in two Road America starts.

STAY AWAY FROM: Denny Hamlin | View stats

Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 11 Toyota

Odds: 13-1

Fastlane forecast: Hamlin is no slouch on the road courses with the fifth-most points earned in this year's road races. Yet, there are a few different reasons to sit Hamlin. The first is a lack of uses and wanting to save those for some combination or all of Atlanta, New Hampshire and Michigan. The second is his lack of big days in race weekends where qualifying takes place of late. In the last three of those, (COTA, Charlotte and Nashville) he's averaging 27 points and a 14.0 average finish.

STAY AWAY FROM: Kevin Harvick | View stats

Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 4 Ford

Odds: 33-1

Fastlane forecast: Harvick has had a rough go of late on road courses with just one top 10 in his last five starts and only one race with over 30 points. The recent results at Nashville and Pocono are encouraging when it comes to projecting him out for potential starts at Atlanta, New Hampshire and Michigan.

STAY AWAY FROM: Austin Dillon | View stats

Richard Childress Racing, No. 3 Chevrolet

Odds: 250-1

Fastlane forecast: The results on road courses have been a bit more encouraging this season but the fact remains Dillon is 0-for-18 in top 10s on road courses for his Cup career. I'm all for taking calculated gambles but there’s way too much evidence to suggest that a play is a thought that should even enter your mind.

My lineup heading into the weekend: Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Alex Bowman, Kurt Busch; Garage: AJ Allmendinger



Just missed the cut: Kyle Larson (saving uses), William Byron (saving uses), Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric, Michael McDowell


One thing I am going to weigh: With the playoff picture a little better defined this time of year, do I want to risk having two drivers who aren't running for Cup points but will be scored in the game (Cindric and Allmendinger) in my lineup? To be clear, I am absolutely using one of them to help save uses. But there may be someone out there who needs to gobble up as many points as possible (Kurt Busch) to improve their playoff/standings position that makes for a more advantageous play.



I'll post any lineup tweaks after qualifying on Sunday morning. Tweet at me @kraftdaddy85
with your lineups and questions ahead of Sunday’s race at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC.



Download the free to play Jackpot Races App and compete to win the $25,000 prize every week if you get all eight picks correct