Matt Vecchio 
Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Truck Series for Friday’s Truck Series from Kansas Speedway! This will be the third and final race in the first round of the Truck Series playoffs. Chandler Smith and Grant Enfinger have already clinched their spots in the next round via winning at IRP and Richmond. This means eight drivers will be fighting for the final six spots on Friday night.
This race is a 134-lap race meaning we have 93.8 dominator points available. While that may not seem like a lot, in the Truck Series dominator points are important. In four of the last five races, the lap leader was in the optimal lineup. In the one race that they weren’t, the driver who led the second most was (4 laps less). This is why finding the driver who has the potential to dominate this race will be key.
When we look back at the practice speeds from the Kansas race earlier this season we see that Zane Smith and Ty Majeski were 1-2 in speed and the same two drivers finished first and second in the race. Unfortunately, we don’t have practice or qualifying prior to this article coming out so make sure to hop into discord on Friday afternoon where I will update my plays post-P&Q.
NASCAR DFS: Top Tier
Zane Smith ($11,200)
It’s hard to think Smith won’t be fast here again on Friday night, but until we see the speed in practice it is just a guess. In the spring though, Zane dominated the Kansas race to the tune of 108 laps led and getting to victory lane for one of his three wins. Smith has been Mr. Consistent in the Truck Series this season with 10 top 5’s and 15 top 10’s in 18 races this season, the most of any driver. If there is a downside here, it would be the price. I don’t love paying $11.2K for Smith but we have seen drivers at this salary be optimal recently so I do feel ok paying up for the best driver in the series.
Ryan Preece ($10,700)
Preece has only run seven Truck Series races this season, but he has been outstanding in each of those races. In seven races this season, Preece has finished 7th or better six times and his worst finish is 11th. Preece has also led at least three laps in six of seven races as well. Preece did race here at Kansas in May when the trucks were here last but the 17 truck looked good. Riley Herbst drove the 17 truck in that race, was top 5 in practice, and ended up finishing a respectable 12th place. I expect a solid day from Preece again on Friday.
Christian Eckes ($9,500)
Eckes is in 10th place in points and will need to outrace both Matt Crafton and Carson Hocevar to move on, or he can win this race. I believe that Ecke’s team will play a strategy to try and win this race and avoid all the points math they’d need to get through. Eckes finished 5th at this race in the spring after putting up the 13th fastest lap in practice. Coming into this weekend, Eckes has four top 10’s in his last five races.
Like I say before every Truck Series race, you can really play anyone in this tier and feel good about it. Looking back at the highest scoring lineups over the last few races the highest scoring ones are typically stars and scrubs builds. You need to get this tier right if you want a chance at a takedown though. Focus on picking your top-tier drivers first and look at potential place differential plays from the value tier next.
Other Options: Chandler Smith ($10,400) – Smith is on fire with 2 wins in the last three races. Cory Heim ($9,900), Ty Majeski ($10,100)
NASCAR DFS: Mid Tier
There isn’t a lot to love in this tier before P&Q, but both Parker Kligerman ($8,800) and Matt Crafton ($8,400) do appear to be solid GPP plays. If you go with a two dominator/top tier driver approach then both these drivers can be used as a pseudo top tier play.
On the cheaper end of this tier, Kaz Grala ($7,300) has run well in his nine starts this season. Grala is going to be dependent on where he qualifies to determine if he is viable though. Colby Howard ($7,200) might be the better play of the two $7K guys. Howard started and finished 11th here in May and before his last two poor races, he was on a good run. In the five races prior to IRP, Howard had finished no worse than 19th and had positive place differential in four of those five races.
NASCAR Value Rankings
- Jesse Little ($6,100)
- Timmy Hill ($6,400)
- Bayley Currey ($6,700)
- Lawless Alan ($5,200)
- Mason Maggio ($4,700)
- Kaden Honeycutt ($5,500)
- Trey Hutchens ($4,500)
Make sure you head to the Win Daily Sports Discord for up-to-date info and help 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 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/)
