DraftKings Preview

AustYn

The NASCAR Cup Series is leaving the chaotic Talladega Superspeedway and going to Dover Motor Speedway for the DuraMAX Drydene 400. Dover is known for its high-banking and high-speeds. It is nicknamed the “Monster Mile” for a reason, as any mistakes can destroy your day. Trackhouse Racing have had a meteoric rise this season, with 2 victories by Ross Chastain, including last week and Daniel Suarez isn’t far from his first win with the team too. Chase Elliott is still the leader in points heading into this weekend and has a comfortable 21-point lead over Ryan Blaney.

Our DraftKings strategy will be totally different from last week. Talladega doesn’t have nearly as many variables, as track position is such a key factor there, Dover is all about tire conservation. I am not going to lie and say that track position isn’t important here, because it is, but I do think that the value of where the driver is priced can override their starting position. For qualifying, William Byron had to go to a back-up, so he is being rewarded the 33rd spot and is priced at $11,000…right around Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson. Many players will automatically go with Byron because of the starting position, but I am here to tell you don’t do it! You can find value towards the bottom and select drivers who will dominate on Sunday. Kyle Larson is the favorite to win at 4/1 according to CBS Sports and is the highest priced driver at $11,800.

Top Pick: Chase Elliott Starting 4th ($11,300)

Here is my choice to win it today. Hendrick Motorsports is known for having dominant and fast cars at Dover and Chase Elliott has a great history at the track. In his 11 Cup Series starts, Chase has 8 top-5’s and 1 win in 11 starts. He was the fastest car on the longer 25 lap runs in practice and showed minimal tire fall-off on his speeds. With 400 laps being completed today, look for Elliott to lead most of them.

Supporting Cast: Cole Custer Starting 30th ($6,100) & Harrison Burton Starting 35th ($5,000)

Cole Custer is sneaky good here at Dover. Even though he only has 3 starts at the track, he has an average finish of 10.3. I am not sure that he has a top-10 car for today, but I do think he understands the track better than most of the drivers in the field. All I look for is a top-20 at his price. Harrison Burton is not even close to being risky this week. I think that his ownership will be slightly higher than I would like, but I think you need him if you are going to select some of the top-tier drivers this weekend. Burton wrecked in practice, but all you need is a top-25 with this $5,000 price tag.

FanDuel Preview

Yacs

We’re heading to the Monster Mile today and this is one of my favorite tracks to watch. The track is fast, and it runs like a short track, but it’s a mile long. Last week, we had the action-packed Super Speedway racing from Talladega and the finish didn’t disappoint. Ross Chastain picked up his 2nd career win and 2nd win of the season. He’s pretty fast again this week, so be on the lookout for him today.

The strategy is going to be totally different today. You want guys that can stay up front and potentially lead a bulk of laps. If you can get the lap leader in your lineup, you will be good to go. In the past, this has been a track that is relatively easy to pass, but we’ll see how they react with the new cars this time around. In the short tracks so far this season, passing has been an issue. We’ll see if that is a problem again today. Hopefully it won’t be because you need some climbers to solidify that lineup. Something that is encouraging is the fact that the lower-tier teams were fast in practice and in qualifying. Don’t be scared if you have some salary leftover. Well, here we go. Here’s my FanDuel lineup for Delaware’s premiere track.

Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright: William Byron ($13,000) Starting 33rd

Yes, William Byron will be picked quite a lot, but don’t let that dissuade you. He will be worth every penny. He’s a guy that you need to solidify that lineup. You’re gonna count on him to be a climber, but he’s definitely a guy that could be racing for the lead when it’s all said and done. He’s in a backup car, but I don’t think that will be a huge issue. The potential climb that he’ll have is worth picking him alone. Everything else is a bonus. Also, it worth mentioning that Hendrick cars practically own this track.

A Little Bit of a Gamble: Aric Almirola ($5,000) Starting 27th; Austin Cindric ($6,800) Starting 12th

One driver is more of a gamble than the other, but we’ll see. Aric Almirola hasn’t lit it up, but he’s ran pretty well overall this year. He’s capable of finishing in the Top 10 and that would be wonderful if you could get that from him today. Don’t expect a Top 10, but a finish inside the Top 15 is feasible. He’s been a great DFS driver this year. He’s 6th in Points per Race.

And next we have Austin Cindric. Cindric hasn’t been awesome since his Daytona 500 win, but man is he fast here. He had the top car in practice and if he can maintain that speed, he’ll hang around the Top 10 all day long. He has a great Xfinity track record here and I think there’s a possibility that he’ll maintain that today. A driver starting in 12th at $6,800 is normally risky, but I don’t think it will be an issue with him.

Tier 1 for the Price of Tier 2: Joey Logano ($11,000) Starting 22nd; Denny Hamlin ($10,500) Starting 2nd

Both Logano and Hamlin have good track records here, well basically anywhere, but that’s not the point. Both drivers are capable of winning this race. One’s a climber and the other one is hoping to stick around in the lead pack. Hamlin has won here once, and Logano is seeking that first win here, but both are top tier when it comes to this track. The key word here is value. Don’t’ be scared to see a couple thousand dollars left in that remaining salary. If you can grab value instead of going top tier and not thinking twice, it can help you today. These guys can and likely will finish well if they can stay out of trouble.

NASCAR DuraMAX Drydene 400 DFS Preview