Top Straight Talk Wireless 400 Fantasy Live Picks

Picks for your Fantasy Live and Head-to-Head for the Homestead Playoff race.

Joey Logano comes out of nowhere to save enough fuel and beat Christopher Bell to secure his spot in the round of four. For the second race of the round of eight, we head to Homestead Miami Speedway. Last year, we saw more contenders get into accidents than the previous year. Homestead can be tricky to drive, given the rough track surface and drivers running the top lane for more speed. These two factors can lead to drivers losing control of their cars and having more slip-ups.

Strategy

Uses

With three races left, you only need to save one use after homestead for Martinsville or Phoenix. This means starting any driver with two or more uses left at Homestead. If you plan to save, the only four must-save drivers are Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, and Christopher Bell. Hamlin, Blaney, and Logano can be saved with two uses, and Bell has one use left.

Picks

Practice data is skewed again, as Homestead has a rough track surface, and the earlier practice group will have faster times. Other high-tire wear and intermediate track data will also help determine who is good on these track types. These tracks include Charlotte, Las Vegas, Kansas, Darlington, and Texas. Pit crew data will be necessary for the narrow pit road in Miami.

Drivers

Alex Bowman

Coming off a fifth-place finish at Las Vegas, Alex Bowman continues to show speed after his round of 12 elimination. Bowman had the top four-speed in his group and missed out on round 2 of qualifying by 0.039. Bowman's history at Homestead is not the best, but his recent form of having top-five speed at Charlotte, Kansas, and Vegas makes him an intriguing play. Bowman can also be a uses saver if you need to save this late in the game.

Bubba Wallace

Bubba has been on a decent finishing streak of ninth, ninth, and twelfth at different tracks. He has been inconsistent at mile-and-half tracks this year when compared to last year. This weekend, he would have top-ten speed In his practice group and then back it up with an eight-place qualifying spot. Last year, at Homestead, Bubba survived the mayhem to finish sixth while only having the sixteen fastest cars. Bubba is another driver who can also be a use-saver late in the game.

Sleepers

The RFK guys, Ty Gibbs and Ross Chastain, have all shown speed at mile-and-a-half tracks, and all four rank in the top twelve in the mile-and-a-half speed rankings. This week, however, all four will need to work a bit more to make it through the field, as all are starting fourteenth on back.

The other drivers in this tier are from Stewart Hass Racing and Spire Motorsports. All of these drivers start outside of the top ten, minus Haley, but the four I am looking at either have shown speed in the past or do this weekend. With Carson Hocevar and Zane Smith, Spire is showing top twenty speed on a mile and a half and can threaten the top ten if they play some strategy or survive the chaos. On the other hand, Stewart Hass, Noah Gragson, and Chase Briscoe are showing some surprising top three paces in their respective practice groups.

Lineup

Riskier lineup

Tier List

Head-to-Head Matchups

Kyle Larson vs William Byron

The good ole 5 versus 24 rivalry is again a matchup this weekend. Byron seems to have the faster car this weekend but had a bad qualifying lap and will start 25th. Larson, however, showed a competitive pace and qualified on the front row again. I like Larson for this matchup, as he is a master of the high line and should run-up in the fences once again. He also has one of the top pit crews. If you think Byron can run cleaner, make it up through the field, and beat Larson, then pick him. Larson should be a must in your lineup, while Byron is a garage play.

Tyler Reddick vs Christopher Bell

Reddick has the faster car; however, in the last two-mile half-tracks where he had a fast car, he either finished poorly or was wrecked(flipped). Bell has had fewer mistakes and has a quicker pit crew. Both should be in your lineup, but I like Bell’s ability to run the fence while keeping it clean, and he is the pick here. If you like Reddick's speed and think he can break through with a win, then go with him.

Ryan Blaney vs Martin Truex Jr.

Truex has beaten Blaney at the last two mile-and-a-half tracks, but Blaney beat Truex Jr. in last year's homestead race. However, Truex ran competitively with Blaney until an engine issue took him out of the race. Truex starts further up, but Blaney had a faster car in practice. In this matchup, I will risk it and pick Blaney to finish higher than Truex because of his speed on mile-and-a-half tracks and in practice. If you think Blaney has trouble coming through the field, pick MTJ. Both can be in your lineup, but I would save Blaney if you have two or fewer uses.

Denny Hamlin vs Chase Elliott

Denny is the pick here. While both cars made the second round of qualifying, Hamlin was quicker in practice and has a better track history. Both can be in your lineup, but I would be cautious about adding Chase into every lineup.