Fantasy Auto Racing: I Love New York 355 at The Glen

What: I Love New York 355 at The Glen
When: August 6^th
Where: Watkins Glen International
2016 Winner: Denny Hamlin

Track: Watkins Glen. Opened in 1956, this 3.4 mile asphalt 11 turn amoeba raceway is a start contrast to most other NASCAR races. "The Glen" brings a different dynamic with 1 real open way for drivers to open up and much of the rest of the race encompassing navigating the turns and mapping out a strategy against the other racers for position.

A Driver.
Denny Hamlin. The reigning champion at Watkins Glen has had a solid last two months. Here are his results from Michigan to present: 4^th, 4^th, 24^th, 4^th, 1^st, 17^th, 4^th. If he finished 4^th at Watkins Glen, I'd be exultant. As a fun aside, last race, Joe Gibbs racers finished: 1^st, 4^th, 7^th and 9^th (Kyle Busch,  Denny Hamlin, Daniel Suarez and Matt Kenseth). In fact the 4 of them COMBINED have 3 finishes outside the top 10 over the last 3 races.

B Drivers.
Clint Bower. In an effort to continue to save Chase Elliot and Kyle Larson starts -€” Clint finished 18^th here last year and 6^th at Watkins Glen two years ago. In his last 6 races he has finished in the top 15 in 5 of them. Stewart-Haas is definitely battling Team Penske and Joe Gibbs Racing between Clint and Kyle Harvick's racing as of late.

Kurt Busch. I'm doubling down on Kurt who also has a good track record at Watkins Glen with top 12 finishes in his last 3 years here. I was hoping for a slightly better finish at Poconos but 13^th isn't terrible.

C Driver.
David Ragan. Save Daniel Suarez, Ty Dillon and Erik Jones for the playoffs, David has fielded some respectable finishes over the last 2 months and while he struggled last year at Glen Watkis, he had a 22^nd place and 19^th place finish in years prior.

Dark Horse.
Danica Patrick. For anyone who is paying attention, she has 4 consecutive top 15 finishes and has looked every bit the part. She's finished between 17^th -21^st here the last 3 years but I think she could post another top 15 victory the way her racing has coupled with her Stewart-Haas vehicle. This is a great time to make a strong push down the stretch. This track has hosted formula 1 races which should help a bit too.

Year to date stats:
A Drivers: Avg Finish 14th (40^th percentile)
B Drivers: Avg Finish 13th (37th percentile)
C Drivers: Avg Finish 15th (42^nd percentile)
Dark Horse Drivers: Avg Finish 21st (60th percentile)