With fantasy sports as popular as ever, Red Bull Global Rallycross is giving fans multiple ways to play in 2017.
In addition to a Fantasy Championship, in which fans’ picks earn them points throughout the season, GRC also is running a separate Fantasy Challenge for each of the season’s 12 rounds. These two unique formats each require players to consider different things before locking in their selections, and that can make setting your lineup tricky.
For the Fantasy Challenge, Supercar drivers are divided into three tiers based on their performance heading into a given round, with a fourth tier comprised of the whole Lites field. Players have to pick the driver from each tier they think will help earn them the most points for that event, with their Lites picks being used as tiebreakers.
To help you know what to look for when making your selections, here are the four racers we’ve put in our lineups for the Red Bull GRC Louisville Fantasy Challenge:
Tier 1: Scott Speed, Volkswagen Andretti Rallycross
After closing out 2016 with a 1-2 finish in the Los Angeles double-header, Speed picked up right where he left off in 2017. On the way to a first-place finish in the season opener in Memphis, the VARX driver finished P1 in qualifying and won two of his three heats. Combine his recent form, with his past results and choosing Speed seems like a no-brainer. Especially considering the new track in Louisville is more than 80 percent pavement, and most of his background was in road racing.
Tier 2: Mitchell deJong, Honda Red Bull OMSE
You’d never know deJong spent almost an entire year waiting in the wings to get a full-time Supercar drive with Olsbergs MSE based on his performance in Round 1. The 2014 Lites champion had strong pace all weekend, even splitting the VARX duo of Speed and Tanner Foust with a P3 finish in Heat 3B. deJong was the quickest Honda driver on track in the 10-lap final event, so expect a solid result from him in Round 2.
Tier 3: Sebastian Eriksson, Honda Red Bull OMSE
Eriksson picked up the fewest points of any OMSE driver in Memphis, but showed signs of what he has to offer this year at various points throughout the weekend. In Heat 1B, he bested his teammates to finish P3 behind Speed and Foust, and was the first to see the checkered flag in Heat 3A to take victory over a field of other Tier 3 drivers. His car has the pace to fight near the front, and he’s shown he does too, so he could have a good round in Louisville.
Tier 4: Connor Martell, DirtFish Motorsports
Martell made the jump last year from two to four wheels and was immediately quick, securing P4 in the Lites championship, the highest finish of any driver currently in the division. With a year of experience under his belt, Martell looks like he could be the title favorite after Memphis. The 20-year-old dominated Round 1, with victory in one of his two heat races, Semifinal B and the final event. It will take some doing for him to miss out on good points in Lousiville.
All photos via Red Bull Content Pool
