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Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop breakdown for the Truck Series from Kansas! Matt Crafton ($8,400) has the distinction of being the only driver to have previously won at Kansas in the field for Saturday night’s race. Crafton is also the only driver to compete in all 23 previous Truck Series races at this track. Clearly, Crafton holds an experience advantage over the other drivers in the field, but that does not make him the automatic favorite. DraftKings did well to price up the top three drivers in the series this week making it nearly impossible to roster all three for this race. For more on this race, check out my weekend preview.
Stewart Friesen ($8,800) was stuck in Laguardia airport overnight as his flight was canceled to get into Kansas. Because of this, he missed practice and qualifying but hopes to be there for the race. As of this writing, Friesen had landed in Chicago and was waiting to get a flight to Kansas. Bubba Wallace did practice and qualify Friesen’s truck for him. I am only mentioning this because this truck was fast in practice and if for some reason Friesen cannot get to Kansas and Wallace does race this truck, he could be a great play (If DK adds him).
Roster Construction
This is a pretty simple formula this week:
2 of the top 3 (JHN, Zane, Rhodes)
Then one of a group of 4-5 drivers right below them
1 mid-tier driver
2 value
NASCAR DFS: Top Tier ($9K +)
As you read above, there is a group of three drivers that are dominating the series in 2022. This season, the combo of Ben Rhodes ($10.4), Zane Smith ($10.6), and John Hunter Nemechek ($11.3) have combined to win four of seven races this season. They have also finished with 12 top 5’s, and 15 top 10’s, and have led a combined 415 laps in 2022. I want to start any build today with two of these three drivers. Even though they are priced up they are worth the money. With Rhodes starting from P15 and being the cheapest of this group he will be the chalk. Rhodes was a top 5 truck in practice so there is no need to worry about him getting upfront. After Rhodes, Nemechek will probably be the next highest owned followed by Zane. Smith had the best truck in practice and will be hard to pass once he gets into clean air upfront. In cash, I would go Rhodes/JHN but in tournaments, I would switch Nemechek to Smith.
The middle of the top tier:
There is a group of four, or five, drivers that are just a little behind the top group mentioned above but are great compliments to those drivers.
Chandler Smith ($10,200 – P6) – Smith is just below that top echelon group and with a second win today could push himself into that group. In his two previous races at Kansas, Smith finished 5th and 11th. In practice on Saturday, the #18 Toyota Tundra showed speed and was 9th best in 10-lap average.
Carson Hocevar ($9,700 – P16) – Mr. 2nd Place, Carson Hocevar is coming off back-to-back 2nd place finishes at Bristol (dirt) and Darlington. Hocevar also has finished runner up for the championship in 2020 and 2021. In Saturday’s practice session, Hocevar was top 10 in single lap and 4th in 10-lap speed. I think Hocevar finally exercises his 2nd place demons and earns his first career victory.
Christian Eckes ($9,400 – P17) – Kansas is one of Eckes’s best tracks throughout the past two seasons. In four races here, Eckes has never finished lower than 13th, has three straight finishes of 6th or better, and has led at least 3 laps in every race here.
Other Options: Corey Heim (9,200 – P2): Has a really fast truck but is also super risky. Heim has won a race this season, but in his other two finishes, he has a 23rd and 32nd. Grant Enfinger ($9,900 – P21): Enfinger is always a solid play, but he will be high-owned. I would be higher on him, but because of the ownership, I’d rather look elsewhere for tournament plays. Enfinger is still a great cash play. Riley Herbst ($9,000 – P7)
NASCAR DFS: Mid Tier ($7K-$8.9K)
Matt Crafton ($8,400)
Starting Position: 10th
As I mentioned in the open, Crafton is the most experienced driver at this track in the field. Crafton’s truck was one of the top trucks in practice placing 4th in single-lap speed and second in the 10-lap average. Crafton may not win this race, but he has a top 5 truck and should be near the front when the checkers wave.
Tyler Ankrum ($8,200)
Starting Position: 20th
Ankrum is another driver in this tier who has a fast truck, not as fast as Crafton, but the upside is definitely here with the 16. Coming into this race, Ankrum has three straight top-ten finishes on pavement (finished 31st on the dirt at Bristol) and he has finished lower than 17th since Daytona (on pavement) this season.
Other Options: Ty Majeski ($8,600 – P3), Tanner Gray ($7,400 – P9)
Value Tier (Under $7K)
- Tate Fogleman ($6,300) – P35: Fogleman is the optimal play for cash, and is still viable in tournaments
- Timmy Hill ($6,100) – P26
- Tyler Hill ($5,000) – P33: Don’t confuse your Hill brothers!
- Matt Mills ($5,100) – P28
- Austin Wayne Self ($6,800) – P23
- Spencer Boyd ($5,000) – P30
- Dean Thompson ($6,500) – P19
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/)
