Daily Fantasy NASCAR: Drivers to target at Phoenix

— -- For Brad Keselowski, not picking up the win last Sunday at Texas was huge. A win would've given him a shot to race for a championship in two weeks. Being passed with four laps to go by eventual winner Jimmie Johnson meant he stays sixth in points, needing a win or some good breaks this week for that opportunity.

For fantasy players who selected Keselowski, the difference was fairly minor. Thanks to his 312 laps led and 94 fastest laps (both easily the best in the field), Keselowski put up 166 DraftKings fantasy points, the third-highest total in a race this season (and the most by a non-winner).

With the win, Keselowski would've put up an only slightly better 168 points.

Last week, in my opening column, I said I was going to start my team with Keselowski's teammate, Joey Logano. In the weekend preview, I said Keselowski and Logano were my top high-value picks.

I was one for two, as Logano blew a tire just 10 laps into the race, and subsequent repairs put him many laps down. Falling from his fourth-place starting position to a 40th-place finish gave him negative-20 points. He wasn't the only highly regarded driver to put up a negative number at Texas. Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney also did so.

Now there's only two races left on the season, and this week we're heading to Phoenix. It's a flat track, just a mile long. Despite the shorter track, we'll actually run fewer laps than last week's race at the 1.5-mile Texas Motor Speedway.

This is the final race of the three-race Eliminator Round of the Chase, NASCAR's version of the playoffs. Seven drivers are still alive for the three remaining spots to race for a title in the finale. I expect to see some Hail Mary efforts from drivers like Keselowski, Logano and Kurt Busch.

That being said, there's a dominant driver you need to keep an eye on.

Here's an appetizer for who I'm watching for in Sunday's race. Check back again over the weekend after the lineup's been set to get my final picks and avoidances for the race.

I'm starting my team with:

Kevin Harvick has won the last four Phoenix races. And it's not just that he's winning them, it's how dominant he's been in those wins. In the last three races there, spanning 2014-15, he's led 712 of a possible 936 laps. He's averaged 109.3 fastest laps a race, 82 more than any other driver.

That all adds up to 164.7 DraftKings points a race, the best by any driver at any track over the last two seasons. But it's not like his run there is limited to those three races. Overall, he's a seven-time Phoenix winner. Going back to 2006, he averages nearly 77 points a race in Phoenix.

Is he going to be expensive? Oh yeah. But unless his performances in practice and qualify scream elsewise, find a way to make the finances work.

Keep an eye on these four:

Brad Keselowski: Keselowski was oh-so-close to a dominant victory at Texas, but he could run up front all day at Phoenix too. Over the last four years at Phoenix (seven races), only Harvick has averaged more fantasy points per race. And Keselowski has been consistent, with no fewer than 46 points in any one of those races. In the spring race at Phoenix, he finished sixth, but his totals of 52 laps led and 47 fastest laps were both second-best in the field.

Carl Edwards: Edwards won't cost you what Harvick or Keselowski will, and while his recent results at Phoenix aren't as eye-popping, he won there in 2010 and 2013, and has shown the ability to move through the field. In his 2013 win, he started 15th. Last year, in the spring race, he finished eighth after starting 23rd. Over the last three years, he's third in average fantasy points at Phoenix.

Jamie McMurray: Wait, I'm recommending a driver who only has two career top-five finishes at Phoenix? Darn straight I am. McMurray finished second at Phoenix earlier this year, and 14th and 10th in the two races there last year. In the 2013 Chase race, he started 36th and finished 18th for 44.75 points. Just two weeks ago on another flat track, Martinsville, McMurray finished second.

Erik Jones: Jones will likely make his first appearance among the DraftKings-eligible drivers this week. It's just his third career Cup Series start and first at Phoenix. It begs the question why I want him on my roster. Well, listen up: In NASCAR's next two levels down from Sprint Cup, Jones has run a combined four races at Phoenix. He's won both of his Truck Series starts and finished fifth and sixth in two Xfinity Series races. He's going to be in top-notch equipment, and I imagine he'll be near the minimum cost.

That's all I have for you this week. Take advantage of your trip to the southwest this week with a little burrito action.