Matt Vecchio 
Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop for the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race! This week the series heads to Texas for a non-points race but a big-money race. Whoever wins the All-Star Race on Sunday night has a cool $1 million waiting for them. Only 20 drivers are currently qualified for this race but three more will advance from the NASCAR All-Star Open race and then the last driver is voted in by the fans. With only 24 drivers in the field worrying about ownership won’t be much of an issue. Our advantage will be waiting to build until after the open race is completed.
The format for this race is very different than a normal Cup Series. There are four stages as opposed to three and the stages are only 25 laps long until we get to the final stage where there are 50 laps. The winners of each stage will start in the first three positions of stage four and the fourth position will be determined by a pit road competition. There is a catch, if the drivers who win the first two stages do not finish in the top 15 in the following stages they lose their starting spot for stage four. I know, it’s a lot to follow
As far as roster construction goes, you can pretty much build however you want. Going with three drivers in the $9K range is a good place to start. Using one driver in the mid-tier is probably ideal, but you could fit 2 depending on how you build up top. I want to wait and see how the open shakes out to fill in my last two drivers.
NASCAR DFS: All-Star Driver Breakdown
Kyle Busch ($9,500)
Starting Position: 1st
Texas is one of Kyle’s best tracks and he should be at or near the front all night on Sunday. Since 2018, Busch has won here twice and has six top 10’s in seven races.
Denny Hamlin ($9,200)
Starting Position: 16th
Hamlin was the best car in the abbreviated practice session Saturday evening but did not post a good qualifying lap. We know this car is fast, and Hamlin should find his way up to the front early. Hamlin is the best place differential play of the 20 cars already qualified.
Ryan Blaney ($7,900)
Starting Position: 2nd
Blaney starts on the front row next to Kyle Busch and could push him for the lead early on. In Saturday’s practice session, Blaney posted the 4th best single lap speed and was the only driver to make a 20-lap run. Since 2019, Blaney has finished between 4th and 8th in every race and has led 170 laps.
Bubba Wallace ($6,500)
Starting Position: 17th
Wallace was top 10 in practice speed on Saturday and similar to Hamlin didn’t have a good qualifying lap. A lot of the drivers who qualified later in the session had better times as the track had cooled down which led to faster cars. Wallace has had a top 10 car for a few weeks and he has been improving on this track type in 2022 so I expect him to finish in the top 10 on Sunday.
Ross Chastain ($8,600)
Starting Position: 6th
Chastain has been the class of the series in 2022 and he should be considered a favorite to win this race. In practice, Chastain had the 6th best single lap as well as posting the 6th best qualifying time. This team has found ways to improve their car each and every week and Sunday should be no different.
In reality, every driver is in play, but these are just a few of the drivers I have higher interest in than others. Make sure you are around after the open to who transfers in.
Make sure to check out my NASCAR DFS Tutorial to make sure you are ready and understand how I break down the races and build lineups (https://windailysports.com/nascar-dfs-pit-stop-2021-introduction-to-nascar-dfs/).
There were a lot of changes in the cars and what driver is in what car/truck in 2022. Check out my What’s new in 2022 article (https://windailysports.com/nascar-dfs-whats-new-in-2022/)
