Welcome back to the third edition of #INDYCAR Fantasy Challenge driven by Firestone action as the series hits the West Coast for the first of two trips to the Golden State.
Last week, 17 players spent $99 wisely and chose the highest-scoring quartet of Josef Newgarden, Robert Wickens, Alexander Rossi and Ryan Hunter-Reay for the race at ISM Raceway. Well done!
My lineup of Marco Andretti, Tony Kanaan, Will Power and Graham Rahal scored significantly fewer points and left me a little battered and bruised. However, the game must go on, so here are my picks for Sunday’s Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.
With three drivers finishing in the top 10, and those three drivers scoring the quickest (Rossi), second-quickest (Hunter-Reay) and fifth-quickest (Andretti) laps of the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, Andretti Autosport is the place to start this week. Having pace at the season-opening event often equates to pace in the rest of the schedule’s street courses, so the first place we’ll look when filling out our Long Beach roster is the Andretti Autosport trio.
Rossi ($29), the only driver with two podium finishes in the first two races of the 2018 season and five podiums in his last eight Verizon IndyCar Series starts, is the first driver added to my roster. The California native, who had a sure podium taken away in Long Beach last year when he suffered a mechanical issue late in the race, will be back in the No. 27 NAPA AUTO PARTS Honda this weekend. The familiar blue and yellow livery is the same one that carried him to his first two career wins.
Like Rossi last year, Hunter-Reay ($25) had a certain podium finish evaporate when his No. 28 DHL Honda stopped on course with only six laps remaining while running second. With two fifth-place finishes to start the 2018 campaign, the 37-year-old who is looking for his second Astor Cup is off to a quick start. It also doesn’t hurt that RHR has one win and has led 122 laps over in five different Long Beach races.
Budget issues force me to choose between the pair of Schmidt Peterson Motorsports pilots.
I want to choose Wickens ($24), and I just know I'm going to regret not hitting the red pick button. The rookie is a total of six laps away from being a two-time winner to start the season. For the first time in his short INDYCAR career, Wickens even has experience on the 1.968-mile street course. The second-place finisher at ISM Raceway finished on the podium in a field of 30 drivers in a 2007 Formula Atlantics event.
There must be something in the salty sea air of the Pacific Ocean that brings out the best in James Hinchcliffe ($27). Across Atlantics, Indy Lights and the Verizon IndyCar Series, the Canadian has nine top-10s, five podiums and two wins, including last year’s Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. When you combine that history with Hinchcliffe’s own fast start to 2018, he becomes my choice.
The cost of adding Rossi, Hinchcliffe, and Hunter-Reay to my team is $81, leaving me with $19 and 10 possible drivers available to spend it on.
How often do you have the chance to add a Chip Ganassi Racing driver to your team for only $17? So, Ed Jones is undoubtedly intriguing. Charlie Kimball ($15) and Kyle Kaiser ($12) both call California home, so they are sentimental picks. But, with Carlin and Juncos Racing making their first visit to Long Beach as an INDYCAR team, they are risky choices.
That leaves us with Ed Carpenter Racing youngsters Spencer Pigot ($16) and Jordan King ($13). The American and Englishman were the fastest of the 11 Chevrolet-powered drivers in St. Petersburg, making them solid sleeper picks. King qualified and raced well in the season opener, making him a solid choice. However, my “Spidey Sense” is telling me that this is the weekend that Pigot, who was born in nearby Pasadena, California, scores a top-five finish.
Make your picks this week at fantasy.indycar.com.