Fantasy Update: Last-minute lineup changes for COTA

For the first time on a race weekend, we saw what the Next Gen car looked like on a road course. It’s blisteringly fast through the corners and can turn on a dime, as the car was developed to handle well when turning left and right. As for fantasy players, there were a few drivers who entered the weekend as a race favorite that struggled in either practice or qualifying. Among them were AJ Allmendinger (will start 20^th) and William Byron (24th). FANTASY LIVE: Set your lineups now! Dustin Albino’s race-day lineup: Starter 1: Chase Elliott Starter 2: Austin Cindric Starter 3: AJ Allmendinger Starter 4: Tyler Reddick Starter 5: Daniel Suárez Garage pick: Chase Briscoe NEXT IN LINE: Ryan Blaney, Cole Custer, Christopher Bell and Kurt Busch RISING: Earlier this week, Daniel Suárez stated he thought one of his best shots of winning a race this season would come at COTA. He wasn’t kidding. The No. 99 Chevrolet was second in practice (quickest of Group B) and turned the second-quickest lap in qualifying, just .026 seconds off the pole. MORE: Full recap for practice, qualifying [pickup_prop id="22161"] Last year, Tyler Reddick proved he could run well on road courses, earning three top-10 finishes, including a runner-up result in the series’ most recent outing at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. When testing the Next Gen at the ROVAL, Reddick was always near the top of the speed chart. Entering the weekend, my theory was to hang low on Reddick and save him for later in the regular season, given he’s been fast each race this year. Not now. The No. 8 car will start fourth, and spoiler: he’s my pick to win the race. FALLING: Towards the end of the Gen 6’s tenure, Hendrick Motorsports had a grip on road courses. On Saturday, the organization looked spotty, however, as only Alex Bowman cracked the top 10 in qualifying. That said, Chase Elliott will start 12th and Kyle Larson is right behind him in 13th. William Byron was a disappointing 24^th. Until Elliott misses it on a road course, however, he will be in my lineup. I could understand saving him, though, for races that come later in the season. [pickup_prop id="22153"] Allmendinger looked good in practice, ranking eighth. Qualifying was a different story as the No. 16 team will have to come from midpack. That isn’t too concerning, though, as Allmendinger raced in the middle of the pack for much of the event at Indianapolis last August and still won. FEATURED MATCHUPS AJ Allmendinger vs. Chase Elliott: I still like Elliott here, though Allmendinger’s familiarity with sports cars could help. The No. 16 car had a poor qualifying lap and will start the race having to gain track position. William Byron vs. Kyle Larson: Based on recent success at road courses, the edge has got to go to Larson’s No. 5 car. However, as noted above, I expected more from both cars in practice and qualifying. Austin Cindric vs. Martin Truex Jr.: This is the easiest of the four matchups, Cindric. While Truex has four road course wins in the Cup Series, the No. 19 Toyota looked a touch off from Cindric’s No. 2 Ford on Saturday. But Cindric did spin in qualifying, so anything is possible. Kyle Busch vs. Denny Hamlin: After his qualifying lap, Kyle Busch was none-too-pleased, cussing on his team’s radio. These Joe Gibbs Racing drivers are fairly even on road courses throughout their careers, but I give a small advantage to Busch because he got additional laps in the Truck Series race on Saturday at a relatively new track to the Cup circuit. [pickup_prop id="22176"]