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Welcome back to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop for Sunday’s race from Kansas Speedway! In what seems to be a regular occurrence in the Cup Series now, we have three drivers who were unable to make a qualifying effort. All three of Joey Logano, Chris Buescher, and Ricky Stenhouse had tire issues in practice that caused them to damage their cars. Since practice immediately precedes qualifying, they didn’t have time to get their cars ready and therefore weren’t able to make a lap in qualifying. If you are playing cash games on Sunday, all three of those drivers should be your core to start building with. They will have good cars, well at least better than 36-38th place cars, and should find their way through the field early on.
If you want to read more about this track and race, you can read my weekend preview
Roster construction
With how qualifying worked out and with how this season has worked out I think going heavy on PD might be the path to success. Trying to pick the right dominator weekly has proven difficult. Getting good drivers starting near the back who move through the field has been much easier. I will still try and get a dominator into all my lineups, but loading up on the PD plays has seemed to be the way to go in 2022.
NASCAR DFS: Top Tier (Dominators) ($9K +)
Joey Logano ($9,600) [Proj. ownership: 38%]
Starting Position: 34th
I may not like Joey Logano or agree with how he raced William Byron last week, but I do like winning money so I will look past all that and roster the hell out of Logano today. There is a chance that this car gets you some fastest lap points and maybe even lead some laps, but with his PD upside, he doesn’t have to. Logano will drive through the field and pick up his 3rd top ten in his last four races at Kansas.
Kyle Busch ($9,800) [ Proj. Ownership: 20%]
Starting Position: 6th
Kyle Busch had one of the fastest cars all day on Saturday in practice and there is still some more speed to find in that car. Busch starts 6th, but he could easily find his way to the lead by lap 5. Both Reddick and Bell had incredibly fast cars as well, so it won’t be easy to get passed them. Busch is the defending winner of this race and in his last 14 races at this track, he has two wins and ten top 5’s. Busch is my pick to win this race and lead the most laps.
Ross Chastain ($9,700) [Proj. Ownership: 33%]
Chastain is having the best season of his career at any level in NASCAR and he is mispriced by DK once again. FD has him priced up at least. Chastain was set for another top 5 finish last week before he was caught up in a wreck late in the race. In 12 races this season, Chastain has two wins, seven top 5’s and has only finished a race outside the top five two times (the remaining three races he wrecked). Chastain is finally getting attention from bettors and DFS players and this cheap price it’s hard to fade him.
William Byron ($9,900) [Proj. Ownership: 21%]
Starting Position: 13th
After Chastain, William Byron is probably have the next best season in this series. Byron is tied with Chastain for the most wins in the series at 2 and trails only Chastain in top 5’s and top 10’s over the last ten races. In that same span, Byron blows away the field in average laps led per races at 52.7, nearly 20 more than the net best driver (Chase Elliott). Byron also only trails Elliott and Chastain in average FD fpts/r and average fastest laps. Lastly, Byron is only behind Elliott in average DK fpts/r. William Byron is my GP pivot off a semi-chalky Chastain today at $200 more in salary and starting two spots further back.
Other Options: Kyle Larson ($11,100 – P3) : Larson is always a good play, but with how poor this team has been and at this salary it’s to go there when there are better plays $1.5K less. Chase Elliott ($10,900 – P14): You saw how much I mentioned him in my Byron paragraph…enough said. Denny Hamlin ($10,200 – P18): Hamlin is another great driver at Kanasas but similar to Larson has just had some bad runs of late. Also hurting Hamlin is he will be dropping to the rear for unapproved adjustments. He should still factor in and have a good day, but I would rather use the $9K options over him. Ryan Blaney ($9,100 – P10): Cheap, has top 5 upside, and was fast in practice. Blaney is a solid play if you need the savings and want to fit a third top tier driver in.
NASCAR DFS: Mid Tier ($7K – $8.9K)
Kevin Harvick ($8,700) [Proj. Ownership: 34%]
Starting Position: 23rd
Harvick is the fourth driver I would use in cash. He is another driver who traditionally runs well here and should find himself finishing in the top 10 at days end. Harvick has won here three times and in the last four races here he has finished between 2nd and 4th in all four races and has a series best 2.8 average finish. In the last ten races in 2022, Harvick has one of the best place differential averages, a +5.9 per race, which is second to Chastain’s 6.1 for series regulars. I know Harvick will be high owned, but he is one of the best plays in this race today.
Christopher Bell ($8,400) and Tyler Reddick ($8,900)
Starting Position: 1st and 2nd
Both of these drivers showed incredible speed and were 1-2 on the speed charts throughout the practice sessions. As long as their pit crews give them good stops, they should stay near the front throughout the day today.
Aric Almirola ($7,200) [Proj. Ownership: 4%]
Starting Position: 7th
I am really high on Almirola this week when nobody else will be.This play is not with risk and is more likely to bite me in @$$ then it is pan out but I am willing to run that risk today. Almirola had good speed in practice placing 11th and 6th in 5 and 10 lap averages respectively on Saturday. Since moving to SHR in 2018, Almirola has five finishes of 13th or better in eight races here at Kansas. In the most recent 1.5-mile race at Las Vegas (similar track type), Almirola finished 6th.
Other Options: Austin Dillon (8,000 – P21) : WAYYYYY too cheap on FD today, lock cash play there. Erik Jones ($7,700 – P22), Daniel Suarez ($7,500 – P19)
Value Tier (Under $7K)
- Chris Buescher ($6,700) – P35
- Ricky Stenhouse ($6,800) – P36
- Harrison Burton ($5,400) – P26
- Michael McDowell ($5,300) – P25
- Bubba Wallace ($6,400) – P24
- Justin Haley ($5,900) – P15
- JJ Yeley ($4,500) – P27
- Todd Gillilad ($4,900) – P31
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/)
