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Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop for Sunday’s Go Bowling at The Glen from Watkins Glen!
Watkins Glen is widely considered the best of all the road courses NASCAR comes to. The Glen is also the fastest of the road courses and that typically makes for a more enjoyable watching experience. If you want to know more about this track or the previous road course races this season check out my weekend preview.
Roster Construction:
Cash game builds are kind of all over the place this week. With so many ways to go, it might be a week to ignore cash and just play GPP’s. If you play cash my suggestion is to pay up for one of the two front-row drivers and then load up on PD plays.
In GPP’s there are numerous ways to go, but I will be suggesting drivers that I view as potential high finishers that you can mix one or two PD plays with. There should be a good amount of unique builds on Sunday with there being so much “chalk”.
NASCAR DFS: Cash Game/Place Differential
Ross Chastain ($10,000 – P18):
Chastain has been solid on road courses in 2022 and should be good again on Sunday. In Saturday’s Xfinity race, Chastain was running well until he got a pit road speeding penalty and then ended up in the gravel on a restart which ended his day. Overall in 2022 on road courses, Chastain has the 2nd best total speed ranking and 6th best speed late in a run. I view Chastain as a top 10 car with win potential, but most likely a top 5 is his ceiling
Ryan Blaney ($9,200 – P26):
Blaney will be points racing on Sunday so I don’t expect him to try and push to be up front at the end. It doesn’t help Blaney to try and get the win and end up getting caught up in a wreck and having him lose a ton of points. I do still see Blaney as a top 10 contender and if he wasn’t starting this far back he would be a complete fade. Blaney is 5th in late run speed and 6th in total speed on this track type in 2022 with an average finish of 7.7. I do not plan on using Blaney in GPP’s but in cash, he is a lock.
Martin Truex Jr. ($9,100 – P25):
Truex can’t really afford to point race, he needs to look for the win. Because of this, there is a chance Truex ends up as the best point per dollar play on the slate. While I am suggesting Truex for cash, he is also viable in tournaments. Even though Toyota’s have been dismal on road courses this season, The Glen is a different beast. Truex tested here in May so he has a feel for how this car handles on this track and he should be set up for a good day on Sunday.
Christopher Bell ($8,700 – P38):
Technically Bell is a mid-tier option but he has been so good on road courses this season I feel he is underpriced. In Saturday’s practice, Bell showed great speed, then his engine blew up. Because of the engine issue, Bell couldn’t make a qualifying lap so he starts dead last. I may have misspoken when I said Truex is the best PP$ play on the slate, that will most likely be Bell.
NASCAR DFS: GPP Plays
Both Kyle Larson ($10,500 – P2) and Chase Elliott ($10,700 – P1) looked incredibly fast on Saturday and should be competing for the win at the end of the day. Both drivers were 1-2 in single lap speed and Larson was first in 5 and 10-lap average. As for Elliott, he was second on single-lap speed and 3rd fastest in 5-lap average. Larson also won Saturday’s Xfinity race, which was his first win in a stock car since February. I do expect both drivers to carry some ownership on Sunday, but not enough where I think they deserve a fade in GPP’s.
Austin Cindric ($9,800 – P8) was priced up by DK this week and that makes me very happy. As you know if you read the preview article, Cindric has been the most consistent driver on road courses this season being the only driver to finish top 10 in every race on this track type in 2022. Cindric should be a top 5 car on Sunday with win potential. Another driver who is priced up this week is Tyler Reddick ($10,300 – P5). Reddick is the only driver with multiple wins on road courses in 2022. Reddick is also second to Elliott and Suarez (15.5) in average laps led per race (14). In Saturday’s practice session, Reddick was 5th fastest in 5-lap and 2nd best in 10-lap average.
Other Options: Daniel Suarez ($9,400 – P9): Suarez has a top 10 car top 5 upside on Sunday and will most likely be in the teens in ownership. AJ Allmendinger ($9,600 – P6): Allmendinger is a strong road course racer and will compete for the win on Sunday.
NASCAR DFS: Mid Tier
Christopher Buescher ($7,800 – P7) is my pick to win this race and is one of the elite plays in this tier. Buescher has been strong on road courses in 2022 with an average finish of 9.8 (tied with Chastain for 4th best) and an average DK score of 39.1. Buescher was 6th best in single lap speed and 4th best in 5-lap average on Saturday in practice. This season on road courses, Buescher has the 7th best total speed ranking and 8th best late in a run speed.
I mentioned that both Reddick and Cindric were priced up but on the opposite end of the spectrum is William Byron ($7,700 – P4) who is underpriced. Byron has not been outstanding on road courses, but he did run the Xfinity race on Saturday and ran well. This season on this track type, Byron has the 8th best total speed ranking and 13th best late in a run speed. Byron is the perfect GPP play in this field because he will not get ownership in my opinion. Byron has the potential to steal the win or at worst a top 10.
Michael McDowell ($7,100 – P3) is another driver in this tier that has some big-time potential. McDowell will also come with minimal ownership. McDowell is similar to Buescher in that he has been solid on road courses this season pretty much under the radar. In four races on this track type, McDowell has an average finish of 8th which would be a great DFS day for him on Sunday at this salary.
Other Options: Chase Briscoe ($8,800 – P14): Briscoe is a fringe cash game option. I don’t think he will carry the ownership to be cash viable. Briscoe is a good road course driver and has top 10 upside. Alex Bowman (8,000 – P11), Kevin Harvick ($8,400 – P24)
Value Tier ($6.9K and under)
- Joey Hand ($5,500) – P17: Joey Hand is not a cash option, but he has some potential in GPP’s. Hand has finished 20th and 21st on road courses this season. In practice on Saturday, Hand had some speed and could pull another top 20 on Sunday.
- Cole Custer ($6,300) – P29: Custer ran in Saturday’s Xfinity race and should be in line for a top 20. I actually think there’s a top 10 car in there somewhere and Custer could surprise on Sunday. Custer is cash game viable but I may have some exposure in GPP.
- Aric Almirola ($6,200) – P35: Almirola is not a road course expert by any means, but he is better than 35th place. I don’t expect a massive fantasy day from the 10 car, but a top 25 would be a solid day in DFS. Almirola is definitely a cash game play but I won’t talk you off him in tournaments.
- Erik Jones ($6,700) – P31: Jones, like the drivers previous on this list is a cash play. I think Jones is probably the best GPP play of the three though. With both Custer and Almirola being $400-$500 cheaper they will have higher ownership. Jones actually has been the best PD play in the Cup Series this season on road courses.
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ($6,100) – P21: Stenhouse is another GPP-only play. There is a lot of risk in Stenhouse but his car did have some speed in practice.
- Todd Gilliland ($5,700) – P19: Gilliland is another risky GPP play. You can’t look at his 4th place finish from Indy as where he can finish on Sunday. Is it possible, sure, but look at Gilliland as more of a high teens driver.
Driving I’m playing that you shouldn’t:
Kyle Busch ($8,900 – P10) is a really risky play this week. Busch will be scored from P10, but will start at the back. After practice, Busch had to change his engine. I am worried about the Toyota’s, which is what makes this play risky. I won’t tell you to play Kyle on Sunday, but he could have a huge day at minimal ownership.
Cash Core:
Blaney, Truex, Almirola, Custer leave you $9,600 per driver. This is a cheap core this week so you can so many different ways.
Check out my NASCAR DFS Tutorial! Ensure 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/)
