NASCAR.com's Live Leaderboard and FOXSports.com's RaceTrax both have a live timing and scoring feature. The average speed column often provides a more accurate description of how well a car will run over a long run, so if you see a fast average lap time (meaning the time that it takes for that car to complete a lap is less than the competitors) and a lot of laps run, then that driver is probably one to pick. The biggest problem with average lap times is that they can become inaccurate if a driver does not run a full lap completely up to speed, for instance slowing down because of an accident on the track or taking it easy and coasting back to the garage.
From personal experience, I've found that the best way to make fantasy picks is by staring at timing and scoring during an entire practice session and monitoring every lap run by the drivers. It is almost impossible to follow every lap run by every driver, but you can eliminate your selection to the drivers who you are choosing from in your fantasy league or the drivers who you think are the favorites. Instead of following just the fastest lap, note the lap times after 5 laps, 10 laps, 15 laps versus the lap times of the other drivers after the same intervals. The drivers with the fastest lap times at the end of the longest intervals likely have the best long run cars and will have the cars to beat in the race. If lap times appear to drop off dramatically, the driver goes to the garage, and then the lap times are significantly faster, then that car likely has a new set of tires, so reset your lap count and keep comparing.
Another tip is listening to what the drivers have to say about their cars during practice. Keep in mind that drivers have different ways of describing their cars, and drivers can be perfectionists and describe their cars as being terrible when they are actually pretty fast. Research which drivers historically run well at particular tracks and types of tracks, and consider which drivers have momentum entering the race. These are not always accurate, but they are helpful if you cannot follow practice sessions religiously. Watch out for restrictor plate races, where practice speeds usually have no correlation with how well a car will run in the race, and impound races, where some of the cars are in qualifying trim because they have to make the race while other cars are in race trim.
By
Jason Douglas -
Jason Douglas is a developing writer who is interested in racing, specifically NASCAR, among other things.
