This guide is for people new to Fantasy Auto Racing (also called Fantasy NASCAR) and those who require to learn more about the game. Here, you can find a game description, tips on choosing your drivers, and links to other online resources.
What’s Fantasy Auto Racing?
In Fantasy Auto Racing, you make your perfect team of NASCAR drivers and race against other teams in your league. Accidents, mechanical issues, or a slow pit stop can quickly change the outcome of a race.
Since luck plays a huge role in how a race ends, this is one of the simpler fantasy football for new players to get into, compete in, and have fun with. Instead of NASCAR, other types of fantasy car racing are based on Formula One, Indy Car, and other racing series. This guide is mostly about NASCAR, but the basics are the same for other motorsports.
The Essentials
Players in every fantasy auto racing league must choose a group of drivers to start each week’s race. Each team’s score for the week is the sum of the scores of its drivers. How well each of your beginning drivers does in the real NASCAR race is the main factor in your score. Some sites give the driver the same points as he or she got in the real race for the Cup series.
Other sites will give the driver in first place x points, and each driver will get 2 fewer points than the driver before them. A league could also give drivers extra points if they led at least one race lap, led the most laps, or qualified well. Some leagues even give the driver extra points if they finish better than they started. The most significant thing is to know how to score in your league.
Game Variations
Depending on which site you host your league, there are three main types of Fantasy Auto Racing. Here’s how each one works:
- Draft-based: This version is the most similar to other fantasy sports. Before the season starts, you pick a team of drivers. Each driver can race for one team. During this period, you can trade drivers with other teams or get a new one from the list of free agents.
- Salary Cap Based: In this version, each driver’s salary is based on where they finish in the Cup series. Each team has a salary limit, usually $1,000,000, that it can use to buy drivers for the week. The same driver can be owned by more than one team. Drivers’ salaries may change during the season based on how well they do their jobs.
- Based on class: Each driver is put into one of three classes (usually A, B, or C) based on how well they did the previous season. To make their team for the week, each team has to choose and start a certain number of drivers from each class. The same driver can be used by more than one team.
How to Choose Drivers
Your driver can help you move up or down in the rankings. Each driver is different, so ensure you know what makes them unique before deciding.
- Check The Driver’s Status – ensure the driver is racing this week. Some drivers don’t enter every race or might not have qualified. If the driver’s status says NE or DNQ, they are not racing.
- How Many Times Have You Initiated This Driver? – In many games, you can only start each driver several times per season. If you’ve already reached the limit and that driver is still in your lineup, you’ll get a big 0 no matter well how he or she does.
- Know the Track – NASCAR races take place on different tracks, such as flat tracks, street circuits, superspeedways, and short tracks. Check their stats to perceive how well they do on different tracks. If the race is on a street circuit like Bristol or Richmond, where accidents happen often, you might want to start with fewer big names and more drivers who will be spread out. So, if there is an accident up front, it won’t kill all of your drivers.
- Check the average starting position – If your league gives points for qualifying, you’ll want to include drivers in your lineup who continuously qualify in the top 4 to increase your chances of getting extra points.
- Who won yesterday’s Busch/Nationwide Series race? – The day before a NASCAR Cup Series race, there is usually a Busch series race. There are a lot of Cup drivers in the Busch race, and drivers who do well there generally do well in the big race the next day, sometimes winning both.
Conclusion The best way to appreciate and learn about NASCAR is to watch it without any commercial breaks up close and personal. I’ve been to both the Daytona 500 and the Richmond races. My preferred part is walking down to the fence and experiencing the breeze as the cars go by at 180mph.