NASCAR Verizon 200 at the Brickyard DFS Preview

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DraftKings Preview

AustYn

The NASCAR Cup Series rolls into the historic Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Verizon 200 this weekend on the grand prix circuit. Only 3 races remain to determine the NASCAR Playoff field and many great road course drivers are on the outside looking in. We have the grand prix circuit today and Watkins Glen next week…with the deciding race being at Daytona…talk about chaos. Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, AJ Allmendinger, Michael McDowell and Ty Gibbs are all vying for the last couple spots. I do believe that at least 2 of the drivers mentioned will win before the playoffs, and it starts today. As far as the DFS strategy goes, there will be 82 laps completed today and remember…no stage breaks, so we will race through those. William Byron will be starting at the back of the field in 39th and will be required to serve a pass-through penalty at the beginning of the event. I look for Byron to be close to 100% owned though because he is fast. In my opinion, you don’t have to select the winner to have the winning lineup today. With such a small amount of laps being completed, laps led and fastest laps will play a nominal role in your points. FanDuel will be a different story, but I really like a lot of “unpopular” drivers today starting further back in the field. Road course strategy is similar to superspeedway racing in a way, there is a chance that many wrecks happen, but that’s why its all risky.

Top Pick: Alex Bowman Starting 9th ($6,800)

You read that correctly…Alex Bowman, driver of the #48 Ally Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports is priced at $6,800. Let’s be clear…he has been in a slump lately but posting a top-10 lap in practice and qualifying 9th is positive momentum for Indy today. He needs to win and he is in a car more than capable of doing so. I’m scratching my head on this price point and I am hoping he is so low, that people skip right over him.

Supporting Cast: Todd Gilliland Starting 23rd ($5,900) & Ricky Stenhouse Jr Starting 34th ($5,500)

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Todd Gilliland laid down the 3rd fastest lap in practice and his teammate Michael McDowell was the fastest. Front Row also locked up the 2 drivers for next season. Todd has shown promise as a road course driver and the disrespect by DK pricing him at $6k is fine by me. I really think Gilliland gets a top-10 today or close to it, he placed 4th here last season. Ricky Stenhouse Jr is my dark horse selection. No…I do not think he wins today…but I do like his chances of a top-20. He has finished 13th and 11th in his last 2 races at Indy and another stat I like is the fact he has finished inside the top-20 in 13 of his last 20 road course starts. He also has Tony the Tiger on the car, so I am expecting a Grrrreat finish!

FanDuel Preview

Yacs

The Cup Series is at iconic Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but not on the oval. They will be racing on the Grand Prix circuit. Of all the road courses/roval courses on the circuit, this is definitely my least favorite. I will probably keep my portion pretty short because there really isn't much to say about it. It is difficult to move up spots and you really can't pick drivers that will be too aggressive, because they will mess themselves up for the rest of the race. You want to pick drivers that obviously are good at road races. There is a limited sample size for Indy Grand Prix, but the two races that have been held can be helpful. We’ll see how it all unfolds, but here is my preview for today’s race on FanDuel.

AP

Tier 1: Chase Elliott ($13,500) Starting 3rd; Tyler Reddick ($13,000) Starting 2nd

I am a little surprised to see that neither one of these guys is the top salary guy on FanDuel this week. With that being said, I think you need two Tier 1 price drivers today. You also probably need to spend that salary this week as well. Track position is the most important thing. If you lose your position, it could cost you the whole race. These two are probably the best road racers out there, but Chase has slipped a little bit. I think he will look to get revenge today and yes, I am picking him until he wins, or I see that there is no shot of him winning a race from now until the start of the playoffs.

Tyler Reddick was the last winner at Indy in the 8 car, but he has been on a bad stretch in the last two races on road. He didn’t have good finishes at Sonoma or Chicago, but I think he bad luck will change today. Give me that prime real estate in the 2nd starting spot all day and as long as he doesn’t get out of the groove somehow, look for him to be strong.

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Front Row on the Front Row?: Michael McDowell ($8,500) Starting 4th; Todd Gilliland ($3,500) Starting 23rd

 It was announced that these two drivers will be returning to Front Row next season and I think it was a little bit of a surprise to see Gilliland coming back. He has a lot of talent, but it seemed as if he was getting phased out by Zane Smith. McDowell has had solid runs at road course all year long and as crazy as it sounds, I don’t anticipate him falling out of the Top 5 today. He not only had the fastest practice speed, but he also blistered everyone in 10-lap average. Look for him to be strong and maybe lock himself into the playoffs.

As for Gilliland, I picked him because of his fast practice session. I don’t know if he has long run speed, but he had the third fastest lap. He also finished really well last year at Indy. He had a 4th place finish and I think he could do something similar today if he can have good pit stops and pass a few cars. Don’t expect a Top 5, but I think if all goes well, a Top 10 isn't out of the question.

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Final Pick: Chris Buescher ($10,000) Starting 17th

Chris Buescher is like that lucky pair of dice that you never want to quit rolling. He has won back-to-back races and RFK is officially back. Buescher didn’t do particularly well in practice, but he does have a decent history at road courses, in fact, his best career finishes are practically all at road tracks. He has finished 10thand 12that the Indy Grand Prix races. He isn't going to be a super aggressive driver today, but clearly, they have some magic working at RFK, so I’m going to roll with it. I don’t anticipate him winning today, but you gotta strike while the iron is hot. Don’t be surprised if we’re talking about him again at the end of the race.