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Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop for the Truck series for the 2021 season! If you’ve been with us before then you know the drill, but if you are new the WinDaily Sports or to my NASCAR content, welcome! I break down the field each week and give you my favorite plays for each race in three different price categories.
Make sure to check out my NASCAR DFS Tutorial as well to make sure you are ready and have an understanding of how I break down the races and build lineups (https://windailysports.com/nascar-dfs-pit-stop-2021-introduction-to-nascar-dfs/). You will notice that all pricing is for DraftKings in these articles since they are the only site that has contests for all three series (Trucks, Xfinity, Cup) and is the site I mainly play on. All plays in the Cup Series article will translate to FanDuel if that is where you play.
This week NASCAR celebrates the past at one of its longest-standing tracks, Darlington! Welcome to NASCAR Throwback Weekend 2021! If you are a long-time fan of the sport you will see a bunch of familiar paint schemes that you haven’t seen in years. In all three series, we will see throwback paint schemes which will make for a fun trip down memory lane.
We start this weekend off with the Truck Series on Friday night for 200 miles of racing (147 laps). Last season was the first time the Truck Series came to Darlington since 2011. With such a large gap between races, we really only have one race to go on for track history. In 2020 we saw Sheldon Creed ($10,100) dominate this race but had issues late and ended up 18th. Ben Rhodes($9,200) won this race last season after only leading 4 laps, but he led the most important one.
As with every week, each tier of drivers is listed in order of preference
NASCAR DFS: Dominators
John Hunter Nemechek ($11,000)
Starting Position: 1st
Nemechek has been the most consistent driver in the Truck Series all season and that should continue on Friday. I honestly believe that Nemechek could lead over 100 laps in this race and win. Nemechek doesn’t have a great track history in the Cup and Xfinity Series, but that was in inferior equipment in those series. Now that he is in a KBM Toyota, arguably the best equipment in this series, Nemechek should be the favorite for this race.
Sheldon Creed ($10,100)
Starting Position: 15th
If anyone can push Nemechek as the top dominator in this race it would be the driver who dominated last year’s race in Creed. In 2020, Creed led 82 of 152 laps, but had some bad luck at the end and finished 18th. I think JHN wins, but Creed is a definite top 5 candidate. Because I think Nemechek leads the most laps, he is my favorite dominator, but Creed is a driver who can lead some laps and has the place differential upside to make this a great 1-2 dominator stack.
Derek Kraus ($9,000)
Starting Position: 20th
Kraus had a decent run at Darlington last season and ended up finishing 2nd after starting 13th. That 2nd may have been a little bit deceiving since Kraus only spent 38.2% of the race inside the top 15. Kraus has upside starting P20, and it doesn’t matter how many laps he runs inside the top 15, it’s just about where he finishes. If things fall his way, a top 10 is definitely in the cards for Kraus.
Other Options: Ben Rhodes ($9,200 – P4), Grant Enfinger ($10,700 – P17), Parker Kligerman ($10,400 – P36), Zane Smith ($9,600 – P3)
NASCAR DFS: Mid Tier
Timmy Hill ($7,200)
Starting Position: 26th
You have to be careful in which series you roster Timmy Hill, and the Truck Series is the one series I will roster him. Last season at Darlington, Hill had a good race and a quality finish. Hill came home with a top ten (9th) at Darlington in 2020. I wish we could get Hill for a few hundred dollars cheaper, but I think we will see much lower ownership on Hill this week and he could give you leverage on the field this week.
Bayley Currey ($8,600)
Starting Position: 38th
Currey is one of the best place differential plays on the slate. Like with Hill, I think Currey is a little overpriced, but he has incredible upside again this week. This is Currey’s second race in the number 44 truck that Brett Moffitt drove earlier this season. Niece Motorsports equipment isn’t the best in the series, but it is one of the better teams. Moffitt only had one finish lower than 25th on the season and that was because of handling issues. I think Currey is a lock for a top 20 and could pull a top 10 with attrition.
Todd Gilliland ($7,700)
Starting Position: 6th
Once again I believe Todd Gilliland will go practically unowned this week because of his starting spot. Gilliland has 3 straight top six finishes and has four total on the season. I know I always preach track history, but sometimes a hot driver that people are afraid to play is a great GPP play. In 2020 at Darlington, Gilliland came home with a seventh place finish after he started 15th.
Other Options: Tyler Ankrum ($8,200 – P16), Chandler Smith ($8,000 P8), Spencer Davis ($7,400 – P28)
NASCAR DFS: Value Tier Rankings
- BJ McLeod ($6,500) P39: McLeod a good driver and can’t really hurt you starting 39th
- Hailie Deegan ($4,800) P10: This is a risky play but could pay off. Deegan is super cheap and will help you afford three $10K+ drivers if you desire
- Corey Heim ($6,900) P13: Heim is making his Truck Series debut but is having an incredible run in the ARCA Menards series this season. Heim is in Kyle Busch’s #51 so we know his truck will be fast.
- Ryan Reed ($6,200) P19: Reed is now in the GMS #24 that Raphael Lessard vacated. Starts a littl higher then I would like, but he has top 15 upside in this truck
- Erik Darnell ($5,000) P22: It’s been 13 years since Darnell was in a NASCAR Truck Series race, but he has decent equipment this week. I anticipate he could be semi-chalky so he may be better suited for cash or SE
- Tate Fogleman ($6,100) P33: Fogleman is coming off two poor finishes, but Fogleman is too good to have too many more bad finishes. I think this week we get a top 25 from Fogleman
- Spencer Boyd ($5,300) P34: Decent upside, basically a PD play at this price
- Kris Wright ($5,100) P30: See above… another PD play
- Carson Hocevar ($5,500) P14: Risky GPP play, has top 10 upside though
- Cody Rohrbaugh ($5,900) P25: Minimal upside but if things fall his way a top 15 is definitely a possibility
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