NASCAR DFS Pit Stop: Truck Series Darlington 5/6

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Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop breakdown for the Truck Series from Darlington! This should be a great weekend of racing with NASCAR celebrating the past for Throwback Weekend from the Lady in Black. You can read more about the track in my weekend preview article.

Roster Construction

With there being a fair amount of laps in this race, we will want to get 2 dominators into your builds. We saw that this strategy worked in previous Darlington races and should hold true here. I want to pay UP and get 2-3 MINIMUM top salary guys and take the cheap guys with PD upside in this race.

NASCAR DFS: Top Tier ($9K +)

John Hunter Nemechek ($11,200)

Starting Position: 1st

With three straight poor starts where JHN finished in the mid-20s to start the season he has rebounded nicely since. In his last three races, Nemechek has finished 2nd, 4th, and 3rd consecutively. It appears that whatever issues were ailing the 4 team have been fixed and he is back in championship form. In two races at Darlington in 2021, Nemechek finished top 10 in both races including a 2nd place finish in the fall. Nemechek also led 104 laps combined in those two races. I expect Nemechek to be up front in this race if he can avoid the eventual carnage, and be in contention for the win.

Grant Enfinger ($9,100)

Starting Position: 3rd

Enfinger is once again underpriced, as he is most weeks. Similar to Nemechek, Enfinger did not start strong but has since finished between 8th and 12th in four consecutive races. Darlington is a track that has been so difficult for so many, but not Grant Enfinger. In his three career races here, Enfinger has never finished lower than 6th and has two top 5’s in his other two finishes. The only downside I can see with Enfinger is he has never led a lap here, but if he can manage another top 5 on Friday he can be your third top tier play and do just fine as that.

Ben Rhodes ($10,600)

Starting Position: 15th

If you are looking for another driver with dominator potential, then let me introduce you to Ben Rhodes. No driver in this series has been as consistent as Rhodes has in 2022. The 2021 series champion has started his road to repeating with five top 5’s and 166 laps led in six races this season. The last time we saw Rhodes all he did was lead 95 laps, have 39 fastest laps, and win the Bristol Dirt Race two weeks ago. Rhodes already has a victory at Darlington (2020) and is another driver I can see pushing for the win on Friday night.

Zane Smith ($10,300)

Starting Position: 4th

If Ben Rhodes isn’t the hottest driver in the series, then Zane Smith is. Smith is the only driver in the series to have a top 10 in all six races this season and has two victories already solidifying him as the favorite for the championship early on. Smith has finished 2nd two years in a row for the title and is determined to win this season and it’s showing early on. Experience matters at Darlington, and while Smith hasn’t been outstanding here, he does have three races under his belt and finished 9th in the fall race here in 2021. I don’t think Smith comes out on top in this race, but I see no reason he can’t lead laps, he’s led at least 3 laps in 4 of 6 races in 2022, and get his seventh straight top 10 to start the season.

Other Options: Ross Chastain ($10,900 – P10), Chandler Smith ($9,800 – P28) – Smith is going to be the chalkiest play on the slate. I love this play but he projects near 60%. , Stewart Friesen ($9,300 – P23) – Friesen projects are near 35% LESS ownership than Smith is $500 cheaper, seems like the obvious tournament pivot. Friesen also has two top 10’s in three Darlington races.

NASCAR DFS: Mid Tier ($7K-$8.9K)

Carson Hocevar ($8,100)

Starting Position: 6th

Hocevar has raced at Darlington twice in his career (both in 2021) and held his own here. At this race last season, Hocevar started 14th and came home with a 3rd place finish. In the fall, Hocevar wasn’t as good, but he did manage to finish 11th. In 2022, it has been a roller-coaster type season, but Hocevar does have three top 10s including his 2nd last race on the dirt at Bristol.

Chase Purdy ($7,100)

Starting Position: 22nd

Purdy is having a pretty solid season thus far and had a good race here at Darlington last fall. Since we want to potentially stack two $10K drivers, we need some savings somewhere and Purdy fits that role perfectly. Last season at this race, Purdy crashed about halfway through the race and finished 36th. When the series came back in the fall though, Purdy finished 15th and looked strong throughout. So far in 2022, Purdy has finished between 13 and 16th in four of his five races. Purdy looks to be a mid-teen driver on Friday with low teens to top 10 upside.

Tyler Ankrum ($7,700)

Starting Position: 12th

Ankrum, Purdy’s teammate, is probably the most consistent driver at Darlington in this tier. In three career races here, Ankrum has finished between 11th and 18th but similar to Enfinger he has never led a lap here. Also similar to Enfinger, he is not someone we need to lead laps to make value. Depending on you build your lineups, you could come up from Purdy to Ankrum as I believe he has a greater upside.

Other Options: Tanner Gray ($7,500 – P17), Christian Eckes ($8,300 – P11), Parker Kligerman ($8,500 – P9)

Value Tier (Under $7K)

1. Austin Wayne Self ($6,600) – P31
2. Spencer Boyd ($4,900) – P32
3. Timmy Hill ($6,400) -P24
4. Tate Fogleman ($6,700) – P34
5. Josh Reaume ($4,600) – P36
6. Dean Thompson ($5,400) – P33
7. Akinori Ogata ($4,700) – P35
8. Danny Bohn ($5,600) – P29
9. Lawless Alan ($5,800) – P26

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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/)