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Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop for the Truck series for the 2021 season! If you’ve been with us before then, you know the drill, but welcome if you are new to WinDaily Sports or my NASCAR content! I break down the field each week and give you my favorite plays for each race in three different price categories.
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/). You will notice that all pricing is for DraftKings in these articles since they are the only site with contests for all three series (Trucks, Xfinity, Cup) and the site I mainly play on. All plays in the Cup Series article will translate to FanDuel if that is where you play.
Viva Las Vegas!
It’s time for round two of the NASCAR Truck Series playoffs. Las Vegas kicks off the next round of the playoffs with 8 remaining drivers fighting for 1 of 4 spots in the finale in Phoenix in November.
There are two front runners for the title and they will both be featured in the article for Friday. This week we are not focused on hunting for dominator points with only 134 laps as opposed to the 250 we had last week. Place differential and finishing position are key this week. We only had five drivers lead laps earlier this season in Vegas with only one driver leading more than 16. There were seven total cautions (not including stage breaks) back in March with six of those happening after lap 70.
Lastly, I want to state that the value tier is gross this week. For me, balanced builds are the way to go. I think I have enough plays in the top two tiers that you shouldn’t need more than 1 or 2 value drivers to build lineups this week.
As with every week, each tier of drivers is listed in order of preference
NASCAR DFS: Dominators
Sheldon Creed ($10,600)
Starting Position: 9th
Creed dominated the first round of the playoffs winning two of three races (should have won all three) and led more laps than any other driver. This week Creed is expected to once again be chalky but he is as close to a must-play as there is for me. Earlier this season, Creed had some late-race issues and finished 18th, but prior to that race, Creed had four top 10’s in four races. Creed has never won at Vegas but I think that ends on Friday and the 2 truck grabs the checkers.
John Hunter Nemechek ($10,400)
Starting Position: 1st
Nemechek is once again on the pole, his 6th on the season, but that won’t deter us from rostering him. Earlier in 2021 here Nemechek left with the win and led 94 laps. Nemechek is the driver who I want to use to collect the dominator points from this tier. Creed should pick up some dominator points, but he is the place differential play from the top tier.
Austin Hill ($9,800)
Starting Position: 10th
If Creed and Nemechek are the popular plays, Austin Hill seems to be the guy who will fly under the radar. Hill had a rough first round and was eliminated. After a dismal showing, Hill will want to show that it was a fluke and his team is better than that. If there was a track where Hill could show that it has to be Vegas. Nobody has been better there since this race in 2019 than Hill. In those four races, Hill has won two of them and finished third in the other two. Hill led 68 laps in the two races he won here, but none in the two he didn’t. That’s ok though because at this price Hill can make good value with just a top 3 finish again. Hill is my low-owned sleeper play pick for this tier.
Ben Rhodes ($9,200)
Starting Position: 7th
Rhodes has been good at Vegas in his career, and I expect that to continue on Friday. Earlier this season, Rhodes finished 10th, his sixth in nine races here. Rhodes has three top 10’s in the last four races here and should contend for a top 5 as he will look to earn his spot in the final four.
Other Options: Tyler Ankrum ($9,400 – P16), Todd Gilliland ($9,600 – P8)
Grant Enfinger (10,000 – P23) is a driver I expect to be very popular, but I don’t have any interest. This is a situation where you need to look at what truck a driver is in. Enfinger isn’t in the 98 this week (more on that soon), but instead is in the #9. In this lesser equipment, Enfinger only has two top 10’s in 7 races as opposed to finishing no worse than 11th in 10 races in the 98. He is a safe play, but for his salary, his upside is limited in this truck.
NASCAR DFS: Mid Tier
Christian Eckes ($7,300)
Starting Position: 15th
The DraftKings algorithm should be imprisoned for what they did to Eckes this week. But, even though his price is criminally low, I think he kind of flies under the radar in ownership. Eckes is in the 98 for ThorSport this week and he has been outstanding in the truck in 2021. If you take out the two races he crashed in, Eckes has an average finish of 9.8 in six races and has three top 10’s. Eckes is far and away my favorite play in this tier and I may go crazy and have 100% Eckes this week.
Matt Crafton ($8,800)
Starting Position: 6th
When you go back and look at Matt Crafton’s history in Las Vegas it is incredible. Dating back to 2008 (17 races), Crafton has ten, yes TEN, top 5’s and has only finished outside the top 10 two times, both times he wrecked. Crafton has never won here, but you can’t deny his incredible history here and with how well he has run in 2021 I cannot see him finishing lower than his starting position on Friday.
Tanner Gray ($7,700)
Starting Position: 29th
Gray is yet another driver in this tier who is criminally underpriced. Gray has run three career Truck Series races here at Las Vegas and has never finished lower than 12th. Gray has the potential to be higher owned in this race because he fits nicely in three high-priced driver builds.
Other Options: Dylan Lupton ($8,300 – P36) – Lupton will be in the #34 for Josh Reaume Racing. This is not a great truck but does have top 25 upside and Lupton is the best driver who has been in this ride in 2021. Derek Kraus ($8,000 – P12), Chris Hacker ($7,000 – P27)
NASCAR DFS: Value Tier
- Brett Holmes ($5,700) – P35: When Sam Mayer drives this truck it has been great, but not so much when Holmes does. That not withstanding, Holmes is capabale of a top 25.
- Austin Wayne Self ($5,800) – P13: Self has been the model of consistency this season. In his last 14 races, Self has twelve top 20 finishes and six top 15’s.
- Tate Fogleman ($6,300) – P33: Fogleman has burned us recently, but he is a good driver in good equipment. I am confident that he can pull a top 25 on Friday night.
- Danny Bohn ($6,000) – P28: Bohn has raced at Vegas two times with an avg finish of 21st place. I would be more than happy with a 21st place finish on Fiday.
- Keith McGee ($5,100) – P37: McGee starts dead last so he can only go up. I don’t expect a huge points day from this team, but they project for low ownership. Any time we can get the driver starting last at low ownership we should take advantage of that.
- Tyler Hill ($6,200) – P24: Hill did wreck here early in 2021, but he was on his way to another top 20 before he had to pit. Hill is one of the safer plays on the slate.
- Howie Disavino III ($4,700) – P25: Disavino has never raced at Las Vegas but he is cheap and has fared fairly wel in his truck career. Disavino has finished top 25 in his Truck Series career.
- Chase Purdy ($6,700) – Purdy is not expenssive for the upside he has. In his last seven races, Purdy has four top 15’s
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