Congratulations to the baker’s dozen competitors in the #INDYCAR Fantasy Challenge driven by Firestone who spent $94 wisely and chose Sebastien Bourdais, Graham Rahal, Alexander Rossi and James Hinchcliffe for the season opener last month at St. Petersburg.
My $90 team of Bourdais, Will Power, Tony Kanaan and Takuma Sato netted 104 points and left me well down the early season bragging rights running order. Here are the drivers I’m choosing for this weekend’s Desert Diamond West Valley Casino Phoenix Grand Prix.
Since the Verizon IndyCar Series returned to the 1.022-mile oval in the shadow of the Sierra Estrellas, Team Penske has been dominant. With one win, two poles, four of six possible podiums and 345 of 500 possible laps led (including every lap in 2017), your search for your first driver this week should begin with Roger Penske’s potent trio. Surprising, right?
When it comes to narrowing which of the threesome of Team Penske drivers to choose, the task becomes more challenging. Differentiating between Josef Newgarden ($30), Simon Pagenaud ($29) and Will Power ($28) could very well come down to a gut feeling.
Pagenaud, who has a win and second-place finish at ISM Raceway, makes few mistakes, which serves him well on the fast but tricky short oval. The Frenchman might not be the quickest of the Team Penske drivers, but he will not beat himself.
The last time Newgarden finished outside of the top 10 on a short oval was in 2013. During that four-season run, the Tennessee native has two wins, and six top-five finishes in races at ISM Raceway, Iowa Speedway, Gateway Motorsports Park and the Milwaukee Mile.
Despite the platitudes for his two teammates, Power, who has two podium finishes in “The Valley of the Sun,” led 59 laps during the 2017 event, is our pick from Team Penske for the second race weekend in a row. The Australian has three oval wins in the last two seasons, but what put me in Power’s camp this week was him posting the second-quickest lap during February’s open test at ISM Raceway.
Choosing a second Team Penske driver would be an entirely rational thing to do. But, with Honda-powered drivers showing so much speed (the six quickest race laps) at the season-opening Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, the wise choice could be a driver from Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, the fastest Honda-powered team at the ISM Raceway open test.
Takuma Sato ($22), who led the open test, appears to be a solid budget pick. However, the last time the Japanese driver finished in the top 10 on a short oval was in 2013, making the defending Indianapolis 500 champion a risky proposition.
My wariness of Sato leads me straight to his teammate, Graham Rahal. The second-generation Indy car racer led the evening session on the first day of the test and ended up with the fifth-quickest time. Similar to his father, Bob, who won twice and stood on the Phoenix oval’s podium six times, the $28 pick has a perfect blend of patience and aggression to be a race-winning short-oval driver.
Veteran AJ Foyt Racing pilot Tony Kanaan, at $20, is a value pick this week. The Brazilian has two wins, three podiums and has finished in the top six in each of his five visits to ISM Raceway. Combine those stellar results with the third-fastest lap during the recent open test in the Arizona desert, and Kanaan is a must-have as one of the four drivers.
When it comes to my final team member, a pair of Andretti Autosport drivers stand out, but I am torn between Ryan Hunter-Reay ($23) and Marco Andretti ($20). Hunter-Reay has seven wins on short ovals and would be my pick if I was using my head.
But, with the celebration of Mario Andretti’s final Indy car win taking place at ISM Raceway this weekend, I’m going with my heart and choosing the grandson.
Make sure to visit fantasy.indycar.com before the start of Saturday night’s race to make your picks. And even if you didn’t sign up in time for St. Pete, you can still join the fun and see how your team stacks up against everyone else.