NASCAR AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 DFS Preview

Photo Credit: nascar.com

DraftKings Preview

AustYn

The round of 12 has been decided and the playoff standings reset this week at Texas Motor Speedway. Joey Logano was eliminated after being involved in an accident with Corey LaJoie and with that, he has been eliminated from playoff contention. Kevin Harvick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr and Michael McDowell joined him as well. Bubba Wallace will be starting on the pole for today’s race which is a great position for him. Track position has always been crucial at Texas, as there have only been 2 drivers win starting outside the top-20 in the last 12 years. My strategy today will be to look at this season’s performance on 1.5-mile ovals and practice speeds. There weren’t many long-run statistics to look at, so that will be difficult, and Goodyear is bringing a new right-side tire to this event as well, so there isn’t any history on that either. There will be 334 laps completed which leads to plenty of potential points in fastest laps and laps led.

Top Pick: Kyle Busch Starting 7th ($9,600)

Photo Credit: Speedway Digest

Sometimes in DFS, you have to go with your gut, and this just feels like a Kyle Busch weekend victory. Tyler Reddick had success in the 8 car while at RCR and Busch looked fast in practice placing 5th in 10 lap averages. Starting in 7th will give him an advantage on other playoff drivers who qualified poorly but look for Kyle Busch to stay up front and win today.

Supporting Cast: Justin Haley Starting 28th ($5,900) & Corey LaJoie Starting 27th ($5,700)

Justin Haley finished 3rd here last season and he had speed in practice. AJ Allmendinger looked fast too, which leads me to believe Kaulig Racing and ECR engines brought a solid gameplan to Texas. Placing 7th in 10 lap averages is pretty impressive for this team. Corey LaJoie is a driver I do not select often, but his last 4 races at Texas have all been in the top-25. That’s all we need from the Spire Motorsports driver this week.

FanDuel Preview

Yacs

The next round of the playoffs begins this afternoon at Texas and the field is rearranged to reflect the points standing. It doesn’t particularly matter right now, but as of this moment; Ross Chastain, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace are on the outside looking in. Denny Hamlin picked up a win last week at Bristol and we didn’t have him, but I wanted to choose him. I don’t think it would’ve helped us any though. Texas is a new race and a different racing style.

My strategy today will just be to pick consistent cars. Practice speed is important and prior results are as well, but during the playoffs, a lot of times, you want to pick a hot hand. Which driver will emerge today and who will be the best drivers on FanDuel today? Who knows? We’ll try to give you some suggestions today though.

Top Picks: Kyle Larson ($13,500) Starting 11th; William Byron ($12,500) Starting 18th

For the top picks, I have Larson and Byron. For Larson, he is the best driver on the track week in and week out. Unless he has car trouble, he will be in the Top 5. No doubt about it. I would say he is still the favorite to become champ at the end of the year and rightfully so. He does have a win at Texas, but I wouldn't say that this is a good track for him. Don’t worry about that though. You just need him to contend and he will definitely do that today.

Byron may be a bit on the pricey side, but I think it is worth the cost. Byron has led a chunk of the last two races at Texas and I think he can climb up to the front by the end of today’s race. He has started 18th twice here in his career and both finishes weren’t great, but again, don’t worry about that. He should do well today.

Next in Line: Chase Elliott ($9,000) Starting 29th; Chris Buescher $10,000 Starting 2nd

Elliott isn't in the playoff hunt, but that doesn’t mean that he has given up. As of late, his Texas results have been hit or miss, but I think that luck will turn around for the good today. Also, it may be worth noting that in the races where he doesn’t have a great starting spot, he usually finishes well. At $9,000, he is a steal.

Chris Buescher’s home track. I guess you would call it that. He is from Texas and this is his best season by far in his Cup Series career. I want to ride that moment and I think he has the potential to ride that momentum into the Round of 8 with a solid finish and/or win today. He doesn’t have a great record here at Texas, but this is a different car. RFK has had rockets all season long and the fact that he is starting on the front row proves that he is fast again. Whether or not he maintains speed is another story, but I don’t think I would worry.

Final Pick: Chase Briscoe ($4,800) Starting 31st

My last pick is definitely my most volatile. Briscoe could have a solid finish, or he could bust. Let us hope his luck is on the excellent finish side of things this week. The season was doomed pretty much for him considering the hefty punishment that his team had earlier in the year, but Briscoe does have a good history here. In fact, he has a better average at Texas than any other driver in my lineup. He finished 10th and 5th in the last two races, which were his only two Cup Series starts here. In both races, he climbed from the back half of the field to decent finishing spots and I am hoping for the same today. He has proven he can do it, let’s just hope that luck is sustainable.