Fantasy Preview: Watkins Glen

Get ready! We're heading to our second, and last, road course race of the 2012 season at the famed Watkins Glen International! This 11-turn (though it could be 15 if NASCAR raced the full track) is known for much faster racing than the other Sprint Cup road race at Sonoma and offers a few more passing opportunities as well. For many drivers here, it's feast or famine in terms of success, so pick wisely this week!

Fantasy Preview: Watkins Glen

The Favorites:

Tony Stewart: Stewart is the all-time leader in wins at Watkins Glen already with 5 victories since 1999 and he's not done yet, I can guarantee that. In 13 races at the Glen, Stewart has ten top-10's to pair with his 5 wins and an average finish of 7.1. Oh yeah, not to mention his new crew chief this season, Steve Addington, led Kyle Busch to a sweep of the road courses in 2008.

Marcos Ambrose: Yeah, he's pretty good at Sonoma, but at the Glen he's just flat our ridiculous. In four career starts at the Glen, Ambrose has finished 3rd, 2nd, 3rd, and 1st. That gives him an astounding average finish of 2.2 for his career so far. Need I say more?

Juan Pablo Montoya: Excluding his rookie season where he wrecked and finished 39th, Watkins Glen has been great for Montoya. Since that 2007 season, Montoya has finished in the top-10 each race and also scored a win in 2010 there. I know he's struggled mightily this season, but Watkins Glen is one race where he should break that slump.

The Darkhorses:

Jeff Gordon: He's always tabbed by the media as a threat to win each year at Watkins Glen. While that title is pretty deserved, you have to keep in mind that though he's won there 4 times, he hasn't scored a victory since 2001. Since that time, he's only managed two top-10's, although he gave away a win in 2007 when he spun out while leading with two laps left and finished 9th. He is coming off a win though last week, so a good run is definitely possible.

Kyle Busch: Similar to Montoya, Busch finished awful in his rookie year at the Glen. Also like Montoya, he hasn't finished outside of the top-10 in any races there since. He scored a win here in 2008 and has always been very competitive at this road course. As aggressive as he drives, he always drives smart in these races.

Kevin Harvick: Harvick has always had pretty consistent success at the Glen. He has an average finish of 12.9 with six top-10's and a win back in 2006. He occasionally finds struggles at this track, but for the most part, you will find him near the front on race day.

Stay Away From:

Paul Menard: Menard has begun to find decent success at many tracks over the last few years, but the Glen isn't one of them. Menard's best career finish here is a mediocre 16th and has an average finish of 25th. Not quite what you want to see on your fantasy team.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Pretty much every time I put him in this category this year, he proves me wrong. I'll be impressed if he does it again to me at the Glen where success hasn't come easy to Junior. He has a few top-10 finishes here, but the last one hasn't come since 2005. Even he says this race is a "toss-up" for him.

Greg Biffle: He does have one 10th place finish and one 5th place finish here. But after those two, forget about it. Aside from those two finishes, Biffle hasn't finished better than 20th and often finishes back in the 30's here. He's become a good road racer at Sonoma, but it hasn't translated to the Glen.

Good luck picking!