Fantasy Fastlane: Texas is prime time for Ryan Blaney to get first win of 2022

MUST START:
Ryan Blaney | View stats
Team Penske, No. 12 Ford
Odds: 10-1
Twenty-nine points-paying races into the 2022 season and surprisingly, Blaney is still looking for his first win of the season. Granted, he led 84 of 140 laps in the All-Star Race at Texas en route to a $1 million check. It’s safe to assume he will be quick again this weekend, as the No. 12 team has four consecutive top-10 finishes at TMS.

MUST START:
Christopher Bell | View stats
Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 20 Toyota
Odds: 13-2
Bell continues to be the most consistent driver in the Toyota camp, now with a career-high 17 top-10 finishes in 2022. The No. 20 team scored the most points in the opening round of the playoffs and didn’t finish worse than fifth. He also has two straight third-place results at Texas.

MUST START:
Kevin Harvick | View stats
Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 4 Ford
Odds: 18-1
Just because Harvick failed to make it out of the opening round of the playoffs for the first time doesn’t mean to stop using him in fantasy. The No. 4 car has been among the fastest cars in the field in recent weeks, even with a string of bad luck, most recently with a bad pit stop on the final stop at Bristol. Harvick is elite at Texas, with 13 top-10 finishes in his last 14 starts, three of which were wins. Utilize Harvick.

MUST START:
Kyle Larson | View stats
Hendrick Motorsports, No. 5 Chevrolet
Odds: 7-1
You won’t see Larson in my lineup because I’ve used him the first three weeks of the playoffs. But this column is about giving you, the fans, advice. And while the No. 5 team hasn’t been near as dominant as 2021, they’re still reliable. Though a different car, Larson stomped the field at Texas in 2021, leading 256 of 334 laps.

SLEEPER PICK:
Austin Cindric | View stats
Team Penske, No. 2 Ford
Odds: 40-1
In the Round of 12, Cindric is going to be appealing to use at both Talladega and the Charlotte Roval. But don’t overlook him at Texas, where during the All-Star Race, he led seven laps and finished third. The No. 2 team has had an adventurous postseason thus far but has continued to power on.

SLEEPER PICK:
Daniel Suárez | View stats
Trackhouse Racing, No. 99 Chevrolet
Odds: 25-1
The handling woes Suárez experienced at Bristol last week should be a non-factor at Texas. In fact, the No. 99 team had a mistake-driven first round of the playoffs, but squeaked by and made it into the Round of 12. Suárez has been underrated at Texas with a pair of third-place efforts with Stewart-Haas Racing in 2019, and he placed 10th last year as one of his four top 10s in his inaugural year with Trackhouse.

SLEEPER PICK:
Chris Buescher | View stats
RFK Racing, No. 17 Ford
Odds: 100-1
Bristol was a monumental win for Buescher, snapping a 222-race skid in the winner’s column. He shattered his career-high in laps led for a single race (169) and built momentum going to his home track. The Texan doesn’t have ideal numbers in the Lone Star State, earning a best finish of 15th in 12 starts at TMS. However, the No. 17 car has shown speed on intermediates in 2022.

STAY AWAY FROM:
Martin Truex Jr. | View stats
Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 19 Toyota
Odds: 10-1
Since Truex was eliminated from championship contention at Daytona, the No. 19 team has had little to show for its speed. Truex had a water pump belt break at Darlington, multiple pit-road penalties at Kansas and lost all of his power steering at Bristol. At this point, what’s next to take the No. 19 team out of a race?

STAY AWAY FROM:
Chase Briscoe | View stats
Stewart-Haas Racing, No. 14 Ford
Odds: 66-1
Briscoe escaped the opening round of the playoffs, putting together a solid Bristol race by earning 38 points, the third-most points he’s earned in a race this season. But the No. 14 team still doesn’t have a top 10 since the Coca-Cola 600 in May and hasn’t shown much raw speed at intermediates this year, aside from said Coca-Cola 600.

STAY AWAY FROM:
Bubba Wallace | View stats
23XI Racing, No. 45 Toyota
Odds: 18-1
The last driver to win on an intermediate is Wallace. The last time the series visited Texas for the All-Star Race, Wallace had an ill-handling Toyota. I would save him for another race in the playoffs, specifically eyeing Talladega next week.

MY LINEUP: Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Ross Chastain
GARAGE: William Byron

FEATURED MATCHUP: Ryan Blaney vs. Chris Buescher

With all due respect to Buescher, Blaney is likely going to be in contention for the win. And though the No. 17 team has been more consistent with speed in 2022, it’s easy to take a Team Penske car over an RFK entry at Texas.

FEATURED MATCHUP: Chase Elliott vs. Joey Logano

These drivers both had interesting first rounds. Logano had a strong Darlington, where Elliott had a decent Bristol. The other two races for each driver were throwaways. As the No. 1 seed with a 31-point gap on the cutline, I think Elliott rekindles some of his mojo from earlier in the year.

FEATURED MATCHUP: Kyle Larson vs. Ross Chastain

You saw that Chastain is in my lineup and Larson is not. But that’s not indicative of how I feel they will perform. Chastain was running near the front in the All-Star Race when he got collected in a wreck with Kyle Busch that sent the No. 1 machine airborne. But Larson has been too good at TMS in the past to not think he will be competing for the win. Advantage, No. 5 team.

FEATURED MATCHUP: Denny Hamlin vs. Christopher Bell

This matchup between the Joe Gibbs Racing teammates is probably the hardest of the weekend. They’ve been near equal on speed in recent weeks. However, the No. 20 team has simply been better on pit road this year. Granted, the former No. 18 pit crew will be pitting for Hamlin this weekend, so maybe that gives the No. 11 an advantage. Maybe surprisingly, I'm taking Bell.