Charlotte in the Coca-Cola 600 and he is capable of repeating that feat especially when one considers that the Richard Petty Motorsports teams tested at Chicagoland in late August. Ambrose’s teammate Aric Almirola was strong on this track type at the beginning of the season with top-10s at Texas and Kansas, so he should also be watched closely in practice and qualification.

Brian Vickers took a wild spin through the infield in the Atlanta AdvoCare 500 and that could have easily ended his day. The team made repairs, Vickers kept his emotions under control, and slipped into the top 10 in the final laps of that race to solidify his choice as a dark horse contender on similarly-configured, 1.5-mile tracks. This week, he should post comparable numbers because Chicagolandwith top-10s at Vegas, Texas, and Kansas, but his latest three efforts at Charlotte, Kentucky, and Atlanta have all been star-crossed. He suffered crash damage in the Coke 600 and Quaker State 400; he blew an engine in the AdvoCare 500, and those misfortunes have to factor into his odds for this week. One other matter to consider is that Keselowski has finished worse than he started in more than 75 percent of his most recent 17 attempts and that has cost fantasy owners points in the place differential column.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. stopped his downward slide with strong runs at Bristol Motor Speedway and Atlanta in recent weeks, but there still seems to be a lot of work left to do before this team contends for top-fives on