DraftKings Preview

AustYn

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to one of my favorite races of the year…the Charlotte ROVAL. To add to the excitement of the weekend, this is also an elimination race to reduce the NASCAR Playoff field to 8. We all know that Alex Bowman will be eliminated because of him being inactive due to concussion issues, but the other 3 will be determined this evening. Chase Elliot won at Talladega last week and has locked himself in. The drivers below the cut line are Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric and Christopher Bell…the latter Bell has to win basically, and Briscoe and Cindric need great finishes because they are 12 points back. Suarez is above the cutline and Byron and Larson aren’t much further ahead. Daniel Suarez making the final 8 would be monumental for Trackhouse Racing and his career. In terms of news in the NASCAR world, AJ Allmendinger announced that he will be returning to full-time Cup Series racing in the #16 Kaulig Racing car which will be fun to see. With the increase in road-course involvement, Allmendinger will be a playoff favorite for sure.

Going back to the race, the ROVAL uses 2.32 miles of track and with the teams having 8 sets of tires, they should be all set in that regard today. The tire pressure limits are pretty even, and I don’t know if many teams will push the envelope there. I do think track position is very key here…but when you look at past winners…only 1 of the four races were won by a driver starting in the top 5. There will be 109 laps completed, barring the inevitable green-white-checkered shootout(s) at the end. Cautions are expected and I look for a lot of junked up cars at the end of this one. Last week, my strategy of picking mid-field starting drivers worked because I thought the drivers would tread lightly at Talladega due to the rising safety concerns of the new car. I really hope for the same here, but this is a track where limits must be pushed. The one thing I love about this track is that it offers a lot of passing zones, which many road courses do not have that. My strategy today will be mainly looking at price points compared to starting position. In the history department here, there are pretty large discrepancies from drivers who finish 7th or better on average to 13th…so many drivers are consistent on where the finish here…but this is only the 5th race ever here.

Photo Credit: Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

Top Pick: William Byron ($9,900) Starting 2nd

Are you ready for total domination today? Well, here is my winning pick, William Byron. The #24 has led over 20 laps in the last 3 events here and only started on the pole once. Byron was 3rd fastest in lap times here and only has to pass Joey Logano for the lead. Fastest laps are important here and I think Byron will get many of those on top of the 40 laps I expect him to lead. William Byron advances to the round of 8.

Supporting Cast: Kyle Busch ($8,100) Starting 20th & Chris Buescher ($7,800) Starting 21st

I am undecided on whether this will be a steal for me or a trick. Why on EARTH is Kyle Busch priced at $8.1k?!?!?!?! I understand that his average finish here is very unattractive at roughly 26th…but the fact that he is starting 20th is just too hard to pass up. The car is capable of winning of course and the driver is arguably the best out there. Also, he finished 4th in the last one and has led in the last 2 races at the ROVAL. Give me Kyle Busch at this criminal price. Chris Buescher is my next member of the supporting cast…also capable of winning, Buescher is starting in the 21st spot and hasn’t finished worse than 20th at the ROVAL. He even finished 3rd here last year. We have the 3rd and 4th place finishers last season in the supporting cast at around $8k…let’s win today!

FanDuel Preview

Yacs

We are at the final race in the Round of 12 and 4 drivers will be eliminated from playoff contention after today. They sure don’t make it easy for drivers trying to stay alive. The roval is a unique track within a track at the famous Charlotte Motor Speedway and it will be interesting to see how it all unfolds today. Last week, Chase Elliott picked up the win and advanced to the next round, not that he really needed it. The Round of 12 is especially tough with a superspeedway and a road course, so you have to run well at all times.

Today’s strategy will be track position. There will be some passing, but not a significant amount like last week. You want drivers that will run well and stay within the Top 10 or Top 15 because at road courses, if you’re not constantly fast, you will gap up and lose any chance of gaining track position. They also rarely call cautions, so even more incentive to pick guys that aren't starting towards the back. So basically, you want drivers that are not only in the playoffs, but are trying to run as well as possible to stay alive. With that being said, let’s dive into our FanDuel portion.

Locked In: Chase Elliott ($14,000) Starting 9th

Chase is locked in to the next round, but he can build onto that lead for the next round in this race and he likely will. Also, he is the most expensive driver, but it is one of those deals that you can't avoid. Chase is just so good at road courses that he is a must-pick. I don’t need to pull out stats to tell you he is great. Unless he has serious issues with his car, he will finish in the Top 5 and I’d even go as far as to say Top 3 is practically a guarantee.

The Rookies: Austin Cindric ($9,500) Starting 5th; Ty Gibbs ($6,200) Starting 16th

Both of these guys are road course savants. As long as they have the car to do so, they will be in the Top 10 regardless of the situation. Austin Cindric has 3 Top 5’s in 4 Xfinity races here and Ty Gibbs finished 2nd in yesterday’s race. Cindric is a safer bet to finish better, but I think I’ll just keep riding with Gibbs because he has that potential to finish well despite not having the great finishes on paper in the Cup Series. Also, Cindric is still alive in the playoffs. A good finish could push him above the cut line and win obviously would move him forward.

Need a Good Finish to Advance: Denny Hamlin ($9,500) Starting 24th; Joey Logano ($10,500) Starting 1st

These two drivers are above the cut line and I expect them to not only run well, but advance. These two guys are likely to advance beyond the Round of 8 as well. Hamlin’s season hasn’t been exactly the way he has planned, but he has still been one of the better drivers out there and Logano is always a driver that quietly puts together Top 5 seasons each year. Both drivers are good at road course and both drivers have had success at this track. Neither driver has a win here, but they always run within or just around the Top 10. They don’t need a win and I don’t think they will win, but they have a decent shot to get a Top 5/10 and that’s all you really need.

NASCAR Bank of America ROVAL 400 DFS Preview