Nationwide Power: Week 18

July 1, 2008 4:00pm CDT

The brief reprieve afforded by three consecutive standalone races was rescinded last Saturday when the top-10 finishing positions were once again dominated by Cup regulars. Tony Stewart gave the No. 20 its eighth victory of the season while Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Carl Edwards, David Ragan and David Reutimann rounded out the top seven. Clint Bowyer finished ninth, which left only two positions to be taken by Nationwide Regulars, and it will come as no surprise that they are part of this week's Power Ranking top 10.

On the strength of their last 18 races, another pair of Nationwide Regulars has also secured a spot among the top 10, which suggests that fantasy owners can safely spread their roster selections among both the first and second series drivers.

1. Scott Wimmer
Fantasy Power Average: 8.48
Last week's rank: 2

With Joey Logano out of the No. 20 ride for the next couple of weeks, Wimmer ascends to the top spot in the Fantasy Power Rankings and he improves his average by nearly a point despite a 12th-place finish in last week's Camping World RV Sales 200. The reason for that is because a generally modest race at Daytona to start the season has now aged itself out of the formula. However, that might not bode well for his chances this week. In 11 starts this season, Wimmer has finished worse than 12th only once—at that came in the season-opener on this same track in February.

2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Fantasy Power Average: 8.53
Last week's rank: not ranked

Earnhardt has made only six starts this season, but he's made the most of them by finishing in the top eight on five occasions and 15th in his other attempt. That gives him an average finish of seventh and easily places him on most fantasy owners' rosters this week. Regardless of how well he ran on the other tracks, starting Junior on a plate track in the Nationwide series is an easy decision. He won in three consecutive starts from 2003 through 2004 at Daytona and Talladega, added another victory in this race in 2006 and has swept the top 10 on plate tracks so far in 2008.

3. Brad Keselowski
Fantasy Power Average: 9.05
Last week's rank: 3

It turns out that teammate Earnhardt was the DEI mystique. While Michael Waltrip could keep up with him in the Cup series, none of the other DEI drivers have been able to match Junior's numbers and now he's bringing that skill to Hendrick Motorsports' Nationwide program. While Keselowski has not yet earned a top-10 on this type of track, it's only a matter of time in light of the fact that he hasn't finished outside that mark in his last six attempts. That streak of top finishes has given him a solid spot on the Fantasy Power Rankings grid, and it should earn him a roster selection this week.

4. Clint Bowyer
Fantasy Power Average: 9.51
Last week's rank: 4

The points will not be reset with 10 to go in the Nationwide series—there is no Chase to that trophy—and consistency still counts for a lot. In 18 races this season, Bowyer has finished outside the top 10 only three times, which has given him a comfortable lead in the standings, but if you are going to give him a week off, this might be a good time. Two of his worst finishes were a pair of 25ths at Daytona to start the season and at Talladega this spring.

5. Tony Stewart
Fantasy Power Average: 10.00
Last week's rank: 6

This is one instance where the Fantasy Power Rankings formula may be misleading. Since it looks at the last 18 weeks, there are two mediocre runs for Stewart in the mix when he finished 27th at Las Vegas Motor Speedway this spring and 10th at Texas Motor Speedway after running outside the top 15 for nearly half the race. Lately, however, he's been perfect by winning his last three efforts and posting the best average running position in each of those races. Unfortunately, he's taking the weekend off to turn the wheel over to Denny Hamlin.

6. Mike Bliss
Fantasy Power Average: 10.13
Last week's rank: 5

Bliss has consistently been one of the top Nationwide Regulars week in and week out. His last 11 races have resulted in a worst finish of 18th and an average of 10.2, which makes him one of the best values in the game. His name recognition is not the same at the Claim Jumping Cup Regulars, and he is often overlooked by casual players, so he is a great way to differentiate your roster from the competition.

7. Denny Hamlin
Fantasy Power Average: 11.04
Last week's rank: 10

Hamlin jumps three spots up the roster on the heels of his second-place finish in the Camping World RV Sales 200. Prior to that race, he had not competed in the Nationwide series since winning at Dover International Speedway, but that victory came on the heels of a second at Lowe's Motor Speedway and another victory at Richmond International Raceway. About the only thing marring his record in recent weeks was a failure to qualify at Darlington Raceway when he crashed on his first lap of time trials. This February, he posted a solid eighth-place finish in the season-opener at Daytona and he should be able to improve on that in the Winn-Dixie 250.

8. Kyle Busch
Fantasy Power Average: 11.24
Last week's rank: 11

When "Rowdy" Busch keeps his car pointed in the right direction, he's a force with which to reckon. Six of his last 11 Nationwide races have ended in finishes of third or better, which includes four victories, but he comes with a downside. Just as often, his checkers or wreckers style of racing can end up with him on a hook since he has nothing to lose by running on the ragged edge. This week, he's in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) Toyota, which is not running for points, and Busch may be a tad reckless as a result.

9. David Reutimann
Fantasy Power Average: 11.36
Last week's rank: 12

Reutimann is another driver who enters the weekend with a stellar recent record. The battle among the top 10 on the Fantasy Power Rankings grid is fierce. His only two bad results in the last seven weeks have been an 11th at Lowe's and a 13th at Kentucky Speedway, but four of the remaining five races have been in the top-five. Last week, he missed that mark—but not by much, with a seventh at New Hampshire. A superspeedway race can be a bit of a crap shoot, but Reutimann is worth a roll of the dice.

10. David Stremme
Fantasy Power Average: 11.41
Last week's rank: 8

Stremme clings to the top 10 on the Fantasy Power Rankings grid by a slim margin over the part time Greg Biffle—who finished 19th last week—and Carl Edwards with four results outside the top 10 in his last seven starts. He needs a strong run this week to maintain his position, however, and that is far from a sure thing. Mechanical difficulties at the start of the year relegated him to a 42nd-place finish at Daytona, but he nearly won at Talladega.

Positions 11 and higher