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Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop breakdown for the Truck Series Bristol Dirt race! I’m just going to come out and say it, these races suck. I know I am in the minority with that statement but it’s how I feel. I have never watched REAL dirt racing so it is not something I am accustomed to and it is not something I want in NASCAR. These vehicles are meant to drive on paved roads, not dirt especially manufactured dirt tracks. These races are not overly enjoyable for me to watch, but also they are next to impossible to predict for DFS and betting purposes as well.
Last season in two Truck Series races on dirt we had a combined 22 trucks fail to finish races because of crashing or electrical issues. Between the two races, they averaged only 24 trucks finishing on the lead lap and had a combined 26 cautions for 136 laps run under caution. At Knoxville in particular it was a nightmare of a race. What was supposed to be a 150-lap race turned into 179 laps and 80 of those laps were run under caution. Looking back at this race last season, Martin Truex Jr. dominated leading 105 of 150 laps on his way to victory lane. Truex is not in this race, but there are plenty of other Cup drivers trying their hand at this race in 2022.
Roster Construction
Saturday’s race has 150 laps so that means we have 105 dominator points available and I will be leaning into a 2 dominator type build. There are two trucks that looked to be the class of the field in the heat races and I will get into them soon. Like I said a two dominator build is probably the best way to build and then look at some good value place differential plays. There were a couple of trucks that were good in practice on Friday and are starting towards the back.
NASCAR DFS: Top Tier ($9K +)
Joey Logano ($10,900)
Starting Position: 1st
Logano has the potential to lead over 100 laps and win this race making him my favorite play on Saturday. In his qualifying heats, Logano looked impressive and he will be hard to pass. Logano won the Cup Series race here last season and is the favorite to win in my book. I know there is a chance Logano garners high ownership, but if he leads the bulk of this race and wins, you probably won’t have a shot at a takedown without him.
Ben Rhodes ($9,500)
Starting Position: 2nd
If there is a driver who could take down Logano, it’s Ben Rhodes. After watching how well Rhodes ran in the qualifying heats, I have to consider him one of the favorites to dominate this race as well. Rhodes led only three laps in 2021 here on the dirt at Bristol, but he came home 2nd so he is no stranger to running well here. If Logano is the chalkier play in this group, Rhodes could be considered the cheaper, lower-owned pivot, but I actually like the idea of playing them together.
Stewart Friesen ($10,400)
Starting Position: 3rd
I promise I am not just listing the drivers in starting position order. Friesen is probably the most experienced dirt driver in this field, at least of the NASCAR regulars. Last season in this race Friesen finished 12th but does own three top-five finishes in 6 total races including a victory at Eldora. Friesen was fastest in first practice on Friday and ran exceptionally well in his heat. If you want to fade Logano, I think Friesen is the real pivot in this $10K+ price range.
Other Options: Buddy Kofoid ($9,300 – P32): Dirt track expert in the KBM 51. He was fast in practice and should be a good PD play. Chase Elliott ($10,700 – P7): I expect Elliott will carry some high ownership on Saturday night, but he could be worth it with his upside here. Grant Enfinger ($9,800 – P16) ): Enfinger finished 6th here in 2021 and has 5 top 10’s in 5 career dirt races with an average finish of 3.6. Enfinger could be a sneaky PD top 5 pick on Saturday. Chandler Smith ($9,700 – P5): Smith was another truck that was fast throughout the practice sessions and was 3rd overall in 10-lap average.
NASCAR DFS: Mid Tier ($7K-$8.9K)
Matt Crafton ($8,900)
Starting Position: 14th
Crafton is another driver who excels on dirt. In his career in the Truck Series, Crafton has eight top 10’s in nine career races including a win and an average finish of 7.9. With how well Crafton and the 88 ran in practice coupled with his experience on dirt he could be an extremely low-owned play that gets you to the top. In builds where I go with two top-tier drivers, I will use Crafton as a pseudo-top-tier play.
Kaz Grala ($7,900)
Starting Position: 25th
Grala’s truck wasn’t great in single-lap speed, but he did improve as the practice sessions went on Friday. I like the potential upside with Grala because of how his truck improved throughout the sessions. In his qualifying heat, this same principle held true as he was coming for the leaders as his heat went along, but Grala just ran out of laps to get a top 3.
Derek Kraus ($7,600)
Starting Position: 15th
Kraus did not run well at Bristol on the dirt in 2021, but he did have a great run and a top 5 finish at Knoxville later in the year. In practice on Friday, Kraus was a top 15 car in almost all categories and if he can avoid the potential carnage, he could finish top 10.
Other Options: Christian Eckes ($8,400 – P19), Mike Marler ($7,100 – P21), Tyler Ankrum ($7,300 – P20), Ty Majeski ($7,700 – P8)
Value Tier (Under $7K)
- Tanner Gray ($6,800) – P35
- Chase Purdy ($6,500) – P33
- Tate Fogleman ($5,200) – P24
- Spencer Boyd ($4,800) – P34
- Lawless Alan ($5,100) – P31
- Kris Wright ($5,800) – P30
- Colby Howard ($6,300) – P12
- Timmy Hill ($5,900) – P29
- Keith McGee ($5,000) – P36
Make sure you head to the Win Daily Sports Discord for up-to-date info and help directly from our pros! Head over to Twitter and give the @WinDailySports account and me (@MVecchio81) a follow for all things Fantasy Sports! You can find more FREE NASCAR content over at WinDailySports.com!
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/)
