NASCAR Cup

NASCAR DFS: Value Rankings

Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop for Sunday’s Kwik Trip 250 from Road America! Road America is a road course (because you didn’t know that from the name) in Elkhart Lake, Wi that is a 4.048-mile, 14-turn road course and one of NASCAR’s fastest courses. This will be only the second time the Cup Series has raced here. In that race, Chase Elliott dominated leading 24 of 62 laps with no other driver leading more than 15. This race last season was a pretty clean race with only four cars not finishing the race and only 2 cautions for incident.

Roster Construction:

There are two drivers at the top (Larson and Elliott) that I think will dominate this race and I want to have one of them in all my lineups. I like the idea of pairing them with two drivers in the mid $10K or $9K range. I will discuss which ones I prefer below. If you want to get really different, I love building a full mid-tier lineup. There are some great plays in the high $7K to $8.9K range that you could also use and have Elliott or Larson as your only top-tier play. There are only about 3-4 real good plays in the value tier this week, this is why I want to live in the mid-tier.

NASCAR DFS: Top Tier (Dominators)

Kyle Larson ($11,400 – P3) & Chase Elliott ($11,100 – P1)

Between these two drivers, Elliott is my preferred play and probably my favorite play on the slate. Similar to the Xfinity race on Saturday we aren’t hunting dominator points in this race so I won’t play these two together. Elliott has won seven road course races since 2018 (17 races) and has twelve top 5’s, and 14 top 10’s. In two road course races this season, Elliott has a 4th place finish at COTA and an 8th place finish at Sonoma. That eighth place is deceiving though because Elliott was fast and should have been a contender at the end, but he had a pit road penalty that derailed him.

As for Larson, he dominated the field for the majority of Saturday’s Xfinity race but was overtaken by Ty Gibbs on the last lap and finished 2nd. Last season at this race, Larson finished top 5 in both stages and had an average running position but spun after contact with Alex Bowman on lap 56 while running 4th and finished 16th. Larson is, in my opinion, a top 3 road course racer in the Cup Series and will be a contender on Sunday.

Ryan Blaney ($9,200)

Starting Position: 19th

Blaney is a top-tier road course driver that is typically overlooked in these types of races. In two road course races in 2022, Blaney has finished 6th both times and has the 2nd best average running position (8.7) and total speed ranking. Blaney didn’t show great speed in Saturday’s practice session, but he should contend for a top 10 easily. Last season at this race, Blaney had multiple on-track incidents that led him to a 20th place finish, but I am not putting much stock into that race and looking more at his 2022 road course statistics.

Ross Chastain ($10,300)

Starting Position: 12th

Chastain has become an elite road course driver over the years, and in 2022 you could make a case that he is the best right now. At COTA, Chastain came home with the win, and then at Sonoma, he finished seventh even after spinning late in the race. In the two races this season on this track type, Chastain has the best average finish (4th) and average running position (6.5) and he ranks 3rd best late in a run. Chastain was third in practice on Saturday and I expect a top 5 from Chastain on Sunday.

William Byron ($9,000)

Starting Position: 29th

Byron had a great car last year at this track and after starting on the pool he led 15 laps but had a misleading result. Byron was mired back in traffic after a bad pit stop and then went off track and that ruined his day. In that race, Byron was 9th fastest in overall speed and had the 4th best speed late in a run. In two road course races this season, Byron has finished 12th at COTA and 9th at Sonoma.

AJ Allmendinger ($9,100)

Starting Position: 21st

Allmendinger is a well-known road course expert, and should definitely be in contention on Sunday. Allmendinger is one of the top plays for cash games this week but I don’t think I will have an interest in GPP’s. While Allmendinger excels in the Xfinity Series on this track type, he seems to have issues in Cup cars. Last year at this race, Allmendinger was running well inside the top 10 but had an extended pit stop after stage 2 and finished 29th. I expect Dinger to be highly owned, and if he runs into trouble on Sunday those of us who fade him could hit big.

Other Options: Martin Truex Jr. ($9,600 – P15): Truex always runs well at road courses and is underpriced on Sunday. I don’t have him ranked higher because I expect him to carry some ownership at this starting position and salary. Kyle Busch ($10,800 – P13) – Busch will be scored from P13, but will start at the rear because of an engine change. I expect low ownership on Kyle, so he is plenty viable in GPP’s, but stay away in cash.

NASCAR DFS: Mid Tier

Austin Cindric ($8,500)

Starting Position: 5th

Cindric is a proven road course racing expert and could earn his second career win and second win of 2022 on Sunday. Only Larson and Cindric reached the top speed on the track in practice (107MPH) and Cindric was 4th fastest in single-lap speed. This season on road courses, Cindric is the fastest driver late in a run and 5th fastest in total speed rankings. Cindric has an average finish of 6.5 in the two races on this track type in 2022 with an 8th at COTA and then 5th at Sonoma.

Chase Briscoe ($8,300)

Starting Position: 2nd

Briscoe is another young gun who excels on road courses. In practice, Briscoe put down the fastest single lap time and said after practice that his car is fast and he is happy with it. Briscoe was great here at Road America in 2021 where he started 35th but finished 6th. We can expect Briscoe to have a negative place differential, but he should still be around the top 5 all day and easily make value at his low salary.

Daniel Suarez ($7,700)

Starting Position: 17th

Suarez is coming off a win at the last road course when the series was in Sonoma a few weeks ago. In that race, Suarez led 47 laps and was tied for the best total speed ranking in that race. Suarez had a car that could’ve finished top 5 at COTA but after leading 15 laps he had issues and finished 24th. Suarez should be a top 10 car on Sunday and offers some of the best PD upside for his price in this tier.

Other Options: Kevin Harvick ($8,100 – P28), Christopher Bell ($8,900 – P16), Tyler Reddick ($8,600 – P4), Erik Jones ($7,300 – P27)

Value Tier ($6.9K and under)

1. Justin Haley ($5,900) – P34: Haley has two finished in the teens at road courses in 2022, and if we can get that on Sunday he will be optimal. I expect Haley to be the highest-owned driver in this tier but he is good chalk for me.
2. Chris Buescher ($6,300) – P7: Nobody will play Buescher, and I am not sure why. If you look at his stats, Buescher is a good road course driver. In practice, Buescher was 6th fastest and earlier this season at Sonoma Buescher finished 2nd and was tied for the top total speed ranking.
3. Michael McDowell ($6,800) – P6: Another driver that will be low-owned is McDowell. Earlier this season, McDowell finished 3rd at Sonoma and had the third-best total speed ranking. I see McDowell as a top 10 car on Sunday with top 5 upside again.
4. Ty Dillon ($5,500) – P30: Dillon showed some great speed in practice and is a great piece to use with Haley in cash games or SE. This season on road courses has finishes of 20th and 23rd.
5. Austin Dillon ($6,200) – P20: Dillon has finished 10th and 11th at the two road course races in 2022. I think Dillon gets overlooked in favor of his brother and Haley for salary savings on Sunday and could be a good pivot off the chalk.
6. Cole Custer ($6,100) – P10: Custer has shown top 10 speed at road courses in 2022 (10th best total speed ranking). This play is risky but has the potential to pay off. Custer ran well in the Xfinity race on Saturday until his brakes failed with 2 laps left.
7. Josh Bilicki ($4,700) – P26: Bilicki is a good road course driver and it showed last season when he finished 23rd here. At Sonoma, Biliki had a rough day and finished 29th, but at COTA he was 22nd.
8. Joey Hand ($5,200) – P9: This is a VERY risky play, but I could see Hand being under 5% ownership. Hand’s car was fast in practice (7th fastest lap) and he kept it going in qualifying as well. If you’re making one lineup, go safe with Haley or Dillon, but if you are making multiple lineups then maybe throw Hand in one or two.

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/)

Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop for Sunday’s Cup Series race, the Ally 400, from Nashville Superspeedway! Don’t let the name fool you this is not a superspeedway in the way Daytona or Talladega is. Nashville is a 1.33-mile concrete “short” track. This track is similar to Dover with a little sprinkle of Richmond and Martinsville. Nashville Superspeedway runs like a short flat track while having a concrete surface similar to that of Dover.

This will be only the second time the Cup Series has raced at Nashville Superspeedway and last season this race was completely and totally dominated by Kyle Larson. Can he do it again? We will have to wait and see, but Larson and the 5 car did look fast in practice and he should be a contender on Sunday. NASCAR did allow for an extended practice session on Friday night so the teams had more time on track than usual this week. Because of this, I am going to be putting a lot of stock in the practice times and speeds for this race.

Roster Construction:

There is one driver who is going to be the clear-cut chalk of the field, but he needs to be in your lineups. Outside of that, there are a variety of ways you can go in this race. With there being 210 dominator points available in this race, it will be key to get your dominators right. We saw Allgaier dominate the Xfinity race on Saturday and if you didn’t have him it was hard to cash. This race could be a little different because the chalk play is $11K, so we really can only afford one other dominator option. I am looking at this race as a potential stars and scrubs build type, but you can go the two top-tier route you can be balanced and that could work just as well.

NASCAR DFS: Top Tier (Dominators)

In case you didn’t already know, Kyle Busch ($11,000 – P36) is the chalk “must play” driver I was talking about in the open. Kyle spun and got into the wall in qualifying on Saturday and as a result, will start last. I hate when Kyle Busch is chalk, but unfortunately, there is no way around playing him, especially in single-entry and cash games. In his last ten races, Busch has five top 5’s and eight top 10’s. I don’t know if we can expect much in the way of dominator points from Busch but his place differential upside can easily help him clear value. Busch was top 3 in all practice metrics on Friday.

Kyle Larson ($11,000)

Starting Position: 3rd

Larson was fast and in the top four in every speed metric in practice on Friday and looks to have an exceptionally fast Chevy. Last season, Larson led a race-high 264 laps and was practically untouchable on the track. I don’t think we see that from the 5 team on Sunday, but I do see a top 5 finish and a high dominator potential from Larson. Playing the Kyle’s together might not be a popular build type because of their salaries but at the end of the day, they could be the two highest-scoring drivers. We have some good value in the low $7K to high $6K range that makes this build type work for us so don’t feel scared to go there.

Ross Chastain ($10,500)

Starting Position: 7th

If you don’t trust Kyle Larson, and I can totally see why you wouldn’t, then Ross Chastain might be the best pivot off of him. Chastain’s car seemed to improve throughout the practice session on Friday and of the seven drivers who made 20 consecutive laps, nobody was faster than Chastain. In that session, Chastain was also top five in 5-lap and 10-lap average. Starting from the 7th spot gives Chastain some better PD upside compared to Larson, but I do rank his dominator potential a little lower. That being said, Chastain did finish 2nd to Larson here in 2021 and I would not be surprised if Chastain improves that position on Sunday.

William Byron ($9,900)

Starting Position: 13th

Byron is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma in the 2022 season. We just can’t figure him out, some weeks he looks dominant, and then others he is just another car out for a Sunday drive. But maybe there’s a key? Byron was one of the best cars in this race last season. In that race, Byron started at the back (unapproved adjustments) and drove himself right through the field to finish 3rd. In Friday’s practice session, Byron was fast as well posting top 10 speed rankings in 5,10, and 15-lap average. For me, Byron is a top-five car. Could we see a repeat of the top finishers from last season in this race, well the fourth-place driver from 2021 was pretty fast too on Friday, but more on him later.

Martin Truex Jr. ($9,700)

Starting Position: 10th

Truex announced that he will be back in the 19 car for the 2023 season. I am sure that decision was weighing heavy on him and he must be relieved to have that ordeal over with. After practice on Friday, Truex also said that he really liked his car and it might be the best car he has had in a practice session all season. In that session, Truex was 12th in 5-lap average but made a big jump in the longer run metrics to 7th best in 10-lap and 5th in 15-lap averages. This season Truex was great at Dover and had top two speed at the end of the race until he was wrecked on the last lap running in third. Also in that race, Truex was the fastest driver late in a run which is great for Nashville because I expect some long green flag runs here.

Other options: Denny Hamlin ($10200 – P1) – Denny has dominator potential early in this race but I think Larson and Chastain may be just a little better. Chase Elliott ($10,700 – P4) –Elliott is another driver with dominator potential and could end up in victory lane. Last year Elliott was fast at this track but came home a disappointing 13th and then was dq’d for loose lug nuts and scored as 39th. Christopher Bell ($9,100 – P9) – Bell was top ten in both 5 and 10-lap average in practice and was 9th here in 2021.

NASCAR DFS: Mid Tier

Aric Almirola ($7,500)

Starting Position: 11th

Remember earlier I mentioned that I’d have more on the fourth-place driver from 2021 in this race, well here he is, Aric Almirola. In this race last season, Almirola started on the pole and finished 4th and it was a great overall race for the 10 car. Almirola finished 4th, had the 3rd best speed ranking, was 4th best late in a run, and had an average running position of 6.4. This is a track type that Almirola typically excels at and Sunday should be no different. Almirola won’t dominate this race and probably isn’t even a top 5 upside driver, but for his salary, a low teens finish will suffice. I also think Almirola could sneak in a top 10 finish (+120 on DK is a nice number if you wanted to take that bet).

Alex Bowman ($8,700)

Starting Position: 12th

Bowman is a top 10 to top 15 car on a weekly basis. He doesn’t really do much to show up on the “highlight” reel but he is Mr. Consistent in 2022. Since Las Vegas, where he won, Bowman has only finished lower than 16th one time, at Darlington where he wrecked along with everyone else. When it comes to a DFS aspect he is consistently making value and going completely overlooked. Bowman was 15th in 10-lap average on Friday and 10th in 15-lap, I view Bowman as a top 10 car with top 5 upside in attrition goes in his favor.

Ricky Stenhouse ($7,100)

Starting Position: 25th

Stenhouse is a driver who is hard to play in DFS because of volatility and I hate writing him up for that reason. More often than not he makes me look bad, but I will give it another go on Sunday. Stenhouse was not one of the fastest cars in practice and he qualified right about where he ranked. My belief in Stenhouse comes from his recent history on this track type. Last season at this race, Stenhouse finished top 10 in both stages, had a 6.3 average running position, and was 6th at the end of the day. This season at Dover, another concrete track, Stenhouse finished 2nd. There is obviously plenty of risk with this play, but if we want to pay all the way up to the top tier, we need to find some value.

Other Options: Kurt Busch ($8,300 – P19) – Busch showed some decent speed on Friday, but he will need to be faster to make value. I think Kurt can be a top 10 car if he works with his teammate and sees what made them so fast. Chase Briscoe ($8,100 – P28) – Briscoe was a top 15 car in practice but had a poor qualifying run. Last season here he was a top 10 car, but lost his brakes late and got into the wall. There is some big upside in this car, but he will be popular. Austin Dillon ($7,000 – P20) – Dillon has been pretty consistent since the series was at COTA. In his last eleven races, Austin Dillon has five top 10’s and has finished 15th or better in eight. I view Dillon as a top 15 car on Sunday.

I won’t talk you off most of the mid-tier this week but I decided that the six listed above are the best options.

NASCAR DFS: Value Rankings

1. Bubba Wallace ($6,500) – P30: Wallace is another driver that can be volatile but this week I am confident in the 23 team. Nobody was better in practice than Wallace. In Friday’s session, Wallace was 2nd in 5-lap, 1st in 10 and 15-lap, and 3rd in 20-lap average. I think Wallace will be higher owned than he usually is, but not to the extent a different driver in this position would be.
2. Todd Gilliland ($5,100) – P33: We need value and I view Gilliland as the best in this price range. On this track type in 2022, Gilliland has an average finish on 22nd and finished 28th at Dover. There isn’t much correlation from his Truck Series run in 2021 (2nd) to his potential Cup run on Sunday but I do think the knowledge of running well here in another series can’t hurt Gilliland.
3. Brad Keselowski ($6,600) – P27: Keselowski was slow on Friday and did not qualify well either. I don’t love playing Keselowski and will probably have minimal exposure to him. This season he did show some flashes at this track type so there is that. Keselowski is a good pivot off of Wallace for those who don’t trust him.
4. Ty Dillon ($5,500) – P29: Dillon has been a mid-20’s driver most of the season and I expect the same from him on Sunday. At this track type in 2022, Dillon has finished between 22nd and 27th in every race. The bottom of the value tier is weak once again so we have to make do with what we have.
5. Michael McDowell ($5,700) – P18: McDowell is usually good at finishing close to where his practice numbers are and he was a top 20 driver on Friday. I expect McDowell’s ownership to be extremely low so he could make for a great high-risk-high-reward type GPP play in large-field tournaments.
6. Cole Custer ($6,300) – P17: Custer is similar to McDowell wherein he is not a big upside play but could get you there if he just stays the course. Last season here, Custer was a mid-teens car but had a tire cut down and that ended his race.
7. BJ McLeod ($4,600) – P35: McLeod will be the slowest car on the track, he will get lapped, and he will not show any upside early in this race. Then there will be a wreck or two and a couple of cars will be out of the race and all of a sudden McLeod will be in 31st place and make value when the checkers fly.

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/)

Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop for the Cup Series race from Sonoma! This week the series makes its second venture out on a road course in 2022. This track isn’t your typical road course though. Some drivers who excel at road courses don’t here but there are a good amount who have been good here and on other road courses. Sonoma is a high tire wear track and drivers who are good at managing their tires should have a good day here. Now, we have seen tires be an issue all season in the Cup Series and I am sure that will be the case on Sunday. Because of the tire issues in 2022, cautions are up over 72% from last season which is part of what is making DFS so difficult this season. As the old saying goes, cautions breed cautions, and at Sonoma that will be no different.

Roster Construction:

I am going to make a suggestion this week to all readers that you play multiple lineups in the Cup Series this week. If you typically play one lineup in the $12 SE, maybe make three lineups for the $3 three-max contest instead. I would pick four to six drivers as your “core” and get three of them in each lineup and mix and match your last three spots in each lineup with pivots and different plays. I know some of you do this already, but I do see some of you going 90-100% on one or two drivers in those builds, and that can be what kills your lineups.

NASCAR DFS: Top Tier (Dominators)

Martin Truex Jr. ($10,000) [Proj. Ownership: 37%]

Starting Position: 28th

Truex is one of those drivers who excel at all road courses, including Sonoma. In the last three races here, Truex has won two of them and finished third in the other. Last season, Truex finished third and didn’t lead any laps, but in his two victories, he led a combined 123 laps. Truex did come through the field with ease in 2021 at Sonoma as well. In that race, he started 19th, finished third, and was the third-highest scoring driver. In a race where he could be chalky, I will have plenty of exposure to the 19 car on Sunday anyway and find ways to be different elsewhere.

Kyle Busch ($10,100) [Proj. Ownership: 24%]

Starting Position: 12th

If you have the $100 and want a lower-owned version of Truex on Sunday then Kyle Busch could be that driver. Busch has become one of the best drivers in the Cup Series on road courses and has been nothing short of fantastic at Sonoma since 2015. In six races since 2015, Busch has an average finish of 4.2, one victory (2 career), five top 5’s, and his worst finish is 7th (2016). I don’t know if Busch can dominate this race, but he does have a fast car. In practice, Kyle put up the 3rd best 5-lap average and of the nine cars who ran 10 consecutive laps, he was the best. I view Kyle as a potential winner but a definite top 5 car (if he can avoid tire issues and the inevitable carnage). Oh and I almost forgot, Kyle won the truck race here on Saturday night.

Ross Chastain ($9,800) [Proj. Ownership: 26%]

Starting Position: 7th

Chastain is a strong road course driver and is the winner at the only other road course in 2022. In that race, Chastain led the most laps, had the most fastest laps, and had the best speed ranking. Chastain ran well in Saturday’s truck race, finishing fourth and leading the second-most laps. It may seem like Chastain was a fluke winner at COTA this season, but he has an average finish of 6.2 at road courses since last season (minus the Charlotte Roval). Last season at Sonoma, Chastain started in P29 and ended the day finishing 7th, and was the 6th best driver late in a run.

Other Options: Both Kyle Larson ($10,600 – P1) and Chase Elliott ($10,400 – P2) are excellent plays today, BUT they both start up front and are the two highest priced drivers in the field. I am worried that they won’t make value and their point totals will be eclipsed by drivers starting further back at lower prices. William Byron ($9,200 – P20): I like Byron, but he has been bad lately. He has a fast car and a great pit crew but is just in a bad run of form. That has to end at some point and why not today.

Driver I’m Fading: Denny Hamlin ($9,600 – P10)

Hamlin is a decent road course driver, but he has been so hot and cold this season and not worth the risk for me on Sunday. In practice, Hamlin didn’t even crack the top 20 in speed and at COTA earlier this season Hamlin finished 18th. The Next-Gen car has stifled this team all season and I expect Hamlin to finish in the low teens and miss value.

NASCAR DFS: Mid Tier

Kevin Harvick ($8,100) [Proj. Ownership: 20%]

Starting Position: 23rd

Harvick and Sonoma go together like wine and cheese. Sonoma has been one of Harvick’s favorite tracks as he has finished top 6 in five of the last six races including his win in 2017. Last season Harvick finished a disappointing 22nd but the one part of the track that gave him trouble has been removed. Sonoma has decided to remove the carousel and the chute back in which gives Harvick a big boost. In practice, Harvick’s car looked fast as he was posting top 10 laps all session. Harvick is a top 10 car for me with an outside chance for the win on Sunday.

Erik Jones ($7,500) [Proj. Ownership: 31%]

Starting Position: 33rd

Since the start of 2021 both Kyle Larson and Jones have been in four of eight optimal lineups for road courses, the most of all drivers. I believe that Jones will make five in nine races on Sunday. Starting 33rd will make Jones one of the highest owned drivers on Sunday, but similar to Truex, he is good chalk with high upside. In those eight races since 2021, Jones has two top 10’s and an average finish of 15th. Jones’ average starting position was 25.3 in those races which is what put him in so mand optimal lineups. In practice on Saturday, the 43 car was a top 15 car throughout and I believe that’s where they will end the day.

Christopher Bell ($8,900) [Proj. Ownership: 35%]

Starting Position: 31st

Bell had a rough go in qualifying after putting up good laps in practice. Coming into Sunday, Bell has an average finish of 5.6 (minus Martinsville and Talladega where he had issues) and a top ten in every race since COTA. Bell is also currently on a five race top 10 streak. At COTA earlier this season, Bell had the 8th best speed ranking and finished 3rd in the Next-Gen first road course race. I see Bell as a top 10 finisher on Sunday and he also a cash game lock for me.

Alex Bowman ($7,900) [ Proj. Ownership: 21%]

Starting Position: 19th

Bowman is another driver who ran in the truck race on Saturday night and was in place for a top 10 until he became collateral damage in the Friesen/Bilicki wreck near the end of the race. In the last eight road course races since 2021, Bowman has five top 10 and one top 5 which was this season at COTA. Since joining Hendrick in 2018, Bowman ahs finished 9th, 14th, and 9th at Sonoma. Bowman is and underrated road course driver and will most likely be overlooked on Sunday.

Other Options: Austin Cindric ($8,400 – P25), Kurt Busch ($8,200 – P11), Daniel Suarez ($7,700 – P8)

Driver I’m Fading: AJ Allendinger ($8,800 – P16)

Allmendinger is a well known dominant road course ringer, so why a fade? He doesn’t project at huge ownership (22%), so it’s not really that, but instead it’s Allmendinger’s inability to be successful at Sonoma. In 10 career races here, Allmendinger has only 2 top tens (2009 and 2012) and has an average starting position of 11th with an average finish of 24th. Since 2014, Allmendinger has raced here five times (in JTG-Daugherty cars) and has four finishes of 35th or worse, his best finish is 14th. After practice on Saturday, Dinger was complaining how his car wasn’t good and they had work to do. I will not talk you off playing AJ today, but I think it’s worth the risk of fading him at this salary on Sunday.

NASCAR DFS: Value Rankings

1. Brad Keselowski ($6,600) – P22: In the last three Sonoma races, Keselowski has an average finish of 15.3 and an average running position of 13.7. I view Kes as a mid teens driver on Sunday which could be just enough to make value.
2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ($6,800) – P32: Stenhouse is an OK road course racer. He mainly finishes in the high teens to low 20’s and while those don’t seem to impressive if he can manage another finish in that range on Sunday we will be very happy.
3. Bubba Wallace ($6,400) – P27: Wallace is not known as a good road course guy and by his own admission he “sucks” a them, but this year could be different. In practice on Saturday, Wallace showed some good speed with the 11th best single lap and 12th best 5-lap average. After practice Wallace was confident and felt good about his car.
4. Ty Dillon ($5,800) – P34: Dillon is by no means a road course specialist, but there is some reasons to be optimistic. If you take into account Dillon’s salary and starting position he could have a high DKFP total if attrition works in his favor. I see Ty as a mid to high 20’s play and a safe option for cash.
5. Todd Gilliland ($5,100) – P24: Gilliland is super risky, but he is a good road course racer. If he can manage to get a hang of this track early on he could be competitive in pushing for a teens finish. On a personal note, Gilliland got me my first ever Truck Series takedown as a lowned play at COTA last season when he went to victory lane.
6. Justin Haley ($6,300) – P18: Haley has been a low-owned driver overperforms on a weekly basis. Earlier this season at COTA, Haley came home 15th and had a 17th place average running position.

Josh Bilicki, Cody Ware, Joey Hand ,and Scott Heckert are all in play if you wanted to MME some big GPP’s today. They are all cheap and if we see the same type of attrition today that we’ve seen in 2022 so far one or more of them could have great days.

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/)

Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop for the Cup Series race from World Wide Technology Raceway! This is the first time the Cup Series has been to this track, but not the first time a lot of the drivers have raced here as the Truck Series has been coming here for years. This week in my weekend preview I went over drivers in this race who have previously won at this track in other series’. Zane Smith will be driving the #17 in place of Chris Buescher who is out with a positive COVID test. I will have more on Smith later, but he does have more experience at this track than most drivers in the field.

Roster Construction:

There were a lot of drivers who qualified in poor positions for this race making this a place differential race. With that being said, a lot of drivers have stated that it is difficult to pass here so I won’t be loading up on only place differential plays. Some of the top plays on the slate are in the $8.5K-$10K range so there will be builds that don’t even need any value plays. I will try and build the majority of lineups using very little of the value tier.

NASCAR DFS: Top Tier (Dominators)

Ryan Blaney ($9,600) [Proj. Ownership: 25%]

Starting Position: 5th

Blaney is an elite driver when it comes to short flat tracks like WWTR. This season at this track type nobody has been better. Blaney has the second-best speed ranking and average finish (5.5) as well as having the best average running position (4.3) and leading the most laps per race (135.5). In practice on Saturday, Blaney was top 2 in all speed categories. Blaney will be a contender for the win one Sunday and should be a top 5 car most of the day.

Ross Chastain ($10,000) [Proj. Ownership: 37%]

Starting Position: 10th

Chastain has been solid a pretty much every track type in 2022, but short flat tracks are ones he has been exceptionally good at. At Phoenix earlier this season, Chastain finished second, was the best driver late in a run, and had the 6th best green flag speed. Richmond is another track that Chastain ran well at, but had an incident that led to him finishing 19th. Chastain’s car improved over time in practice as he had the 7th best 5-lap average, 5th best 10-lap, and 4th fastest 15-lap. I don’t think Chastain gets the win today, but a top 5 is a good bet.

Denny Hamlin ($10,600) [Proj. Ownership: 15%]

Starting Position: 6th

If it’s a short, flat track then Hamlin should be a safe pick to win. Coming off his second win of the season in Charlotte last week, Hamlin heads to one of his most dominant track types in Gateway. Hamlin’s first win in 2022 came at Richmond, a similar track type and he ran well at Phoenix (13th) considering how poor his season started. In the last 16 races at this track type, Hamlin has 2 wins and a series-best average finish of 5.5. If we think Chastain may be a chalkier option and the safer play for cash, then Hamlin is the lower-owned GPP pivot on Sunday.

William Byron ($9,800) [Proj. Ownership: 39%]

Starting Position: 24th

Byron has been struggling of late, but at short flat tracks in 2022 he has been good. At Phoenix, Byron won stage 1 and had a 5.7 average running position but finished 18th thanks to a loose car and poor pit strategy late. At Richmond though, Byron finished 3rd and led 122 laps. Byron has some good PD upside on Sunday, but I will need to see more out of this team before suggesting a win or top five for them but I do think a top 10 is definitely a possibility on Sunday.

Other Options: Kyle Busch ($10,900 – P12), Chase Elliott ($10,200 – P16), Tyler Reddick ($9,400 -P4), Kyle Larson ($11,300 – P15)

NASCAR DFS: Mid Tier

Joey Logano ($8,900) [Proj. Ownership: 22%]

Starting Position: 7th

Logano was the only driver who had better average speed in practice than Blaney and should be a factor for the win as well. Logano is another driver who thrives at this track type with one win, six top 5’s, and seven top 10’s in nine races at this track type since 2020. In those nine races, Logano has also led a series-best 427 laps and has an average finish of 5.5

Alex Bowman ($8,700) [Proj. Ownership: 25%]

Starting Position: 25th

Bowman is strictly one of those PD plays I mentioned earlier. I don’t expect a huge day and I don’t see Bowman putting up too many dominator points if any, but his base score for PD and finishing position could be good enough. Bowman has an average finish of 11th at the two short flat tracks in 2022 and an average running position of 13th. Those positions are right about the range Bowman was running in practice on Saturday.

Chase Briscoe ($7,800)[Proj. Ownership: 22%]

Starting Position: 1st

Briscoe as a pole sitter seems scary, I get it, but he has shown dominance this season at this track type. Earlier this season in Phoenix Briscoe led 101 laps, as 5the best late in a run, and had a 4.6 average running position all on his way to victory lane. At Richmond, Briscoe finished 11th and wasn’t nearly as good but most drivers have said Phoenix is the more comparable track to WWTR. Briscoe has run one race at this track in a truck back in 2017. In that race, Briscoe started on the pole and led 88 laps on his way to a second-place finish. I would take that performance all day on Sunday.

Other Options: Kevin Harvick ($8,500 – P20), Austin Dillon ($7,500 – P29), Kurt Busch (8,200 – P11), Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ($7,700 – P27)

NASCAR DFS: Value Rankings

1. AJ Allmendinger ($6,200) – P35: Dinger fought his way to victory in Portland on Saturday and now fins himself as one of the top value plays at WWTR. AJ will start 35th after there were issues with the car on Saturday but we saw what he did with a car that had “issues” on Saturday.
2. Brad Keselowski ($7,100) – P30: Now technically, Brad’s price doesn’t fit my value pricing, but at this price and starting position, Keselowski is value.
3. Bubba Wallace ($6,700) – P18: Wallace is a former winner here in the Truck Series, but this is a different animal. I don’t see Wallace in that category on Sunday, but a top 15 at this price makes him good value.
4. Ty Dillon ($5,600) – P26: Dillon was a top 20 car in practice on Saturday and was the only car not involved in an incident last Sunday. If Ty can keep this car clean on Sunday he will smash value.
5. Justin Haley ($6,000) – P28: Haley is another driver with a Truck Series win here so he has experience on this track. After a string of results inside the top 17, Haley has had two bad races back-to-back. I think this team rights the ship Sunday and picks up another top 20.
6. Zane Smith ($5,400) – P32: Smith had a good run in the truck race Saturday and showed some good speed in practice in the 17 car. This car was putting up lap times in the low 20’s so Smith has the potential to be one of the top place differential plays on this slate.

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/)

Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop for the weekend of 6/4-6/5. This week we have all three of the top series in action, but in a rare occurrence, they are being run at two different tracks. Both the Truck and Cup Series will be racing at World Wide Technology Raceway which is right outside of St. Louis. This will be the first time the Cup Series will be racing here so we have no information to go on. The Truck Series has been here before and it is said that the teams used WWTR to prepare for Phoenix so that is where I plan on starting with my research and I suggest you do the same.

As for the Xfinity Series, they are at Portland International Raceway for the first time ever. There are a lot of non-Xfinity regulars in this race and I will go over them below.

NASCAR DFS: Truck Series

Laps: 160 (112 Dominator Points)

Previous Winner: Sheldon Creed

Over the previous two seasons, Zane Smith has led 64 laps at this track so he will once again be one of our top targets. Johnny Sauter will be back in the #13 for ThorSport this weekend at a track where he has been nothing short of elite. In nine career starts, Sauter has eight top-five finishes. Sauter is picking his spots this season as he is on a part-time schedule and this clearly is a track he enjoys coming to and will be one of the top plays on Saturday.

NASCAR DFS: Xfinity Series

Laps: 75 (52.5 Dominator Points)

Previous Winner: N/A

Since this is a road course, we won’t be hunting for dominator points and will instead be searching for place differential plays and finishing positions. I mentioned in the open that there are a lot of road-course ringers in this race, below I will break them down briefly.

• Andy Lally (#44 Alpha Prime): Lally is in one of the best cars of any ringer this week. The 44 car has raced in all thirteen races in 2022 and if you take out the 6 times it wrecked or had issues this car has an average finish of 20.14. You add in a driver who has nine top 10s in 18 Xfinity starts and you have a great play in the mid-tier.
• Scott Heckert (#5 BJ McLeod): Heckert is another veteran road course racer in both the Cup and Xfinity Series, he isn’t as accomplished as Lally, but he is talented. Heckert’s best career Xfinity finish is 13th and he has two total top 20 finishes.
• Connor Mosack (#18 Joe Gibbs Racing): Mosack is an accomplished road course racer, but he has never done it in an Xfinity car. Mosack is only 23 years old, but in his first full season in Trans Am TA2 Series he had ten top 5’s, 6 podiums, and one win in 14 races.
• Parker Chase (#26 Sam Hunt Racing): Chase drove this car earlier this season to a 19th place finish at COTA.
• Darren Dilley (#38 RSS Racing): Dilley is the most interesting story of all the drivers. While he has one win in 10 career Sports Car Club of America starts, Dilley is currently working as an elementary school P.E. teacher.

NASCAR DFS: Cup Series

Laps: 240 (168 Dominator Points)

Previous Winner: N/A

This week the Cup Series makes its debut at WWTR and while the series has never raced here, a lot of drivers have.

Drivers who have previously won here (Truck Series):

• Ross Chastain
• Kevin Harvick
• Christopher Bell
• Bubba Wallace
• Justin Haley
• Cole Custer

It’s not a long list, but just having experience here, combined with how they have run at Phoenix and other similar short, flat tracks will come into play when breaking down the field this weekend.

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/)

Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop for Sunday’s Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte! First off, Happy Memorial Day weekend to everyone.

This race is the longest race of the year, with 600 miles (400 laps) of racing coming to you on Sunday night. One good thing NASCAR did was have these cars practice and qualify under the same conditions they will be racing in on Sunday night. If you’ve looked over the starting grid this is going to be a race of place differential. We had three drivers either not make a qualifying lap or spin out on their lap. There were also a few cars that showed good speed in practice but qualified in the 20s.

Roster Construction:

With 280 dominator points available in this race, we will need to get our dominators right. Since 2018 (5 races) one driver lead at least 116 laps in four of those races. Two times one driver led over 325 laps, including last year when Kyle Larson led 327 laps. With Larson starting at the rear he won’t lead laps like he did last season, but there are a few cars near the front that I could see being dominant. Going with 2-3 dominators is how I plan to build my lineups on Sunday.

NASCAR DFS: Top Tier (Dominators)

Kyle Larson ($11,300)

Starting Position: 36th

Kyle Larson hit the wall in practice and was unable to make a qualifying attempt he will start at the rear. Larson is usually a popular play, but with him starting P36 he will be extremely chalky, probably hovering near 60%. Since there are also two other chalk drivers in the $6K range, and under $5K it will be easy to fit Larson. Similar to Ty Gibbs in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race, Larson will make his way through the field and be a top 5 car at the end of the day. Before he hit the wall, Larson had posted the fastest single lap speed, a speed which held up throughout both practice sessions. If you are playing cash, you have to play Larson. In single entry contests you should play Larson…oh forget it, just play Larson in any contest type.

Kyle Busch ($11,100)

Starting Position: 4th

Busch has been dominant at Charlotte over the previous five races here. Over this span of races at Charlotte, Busch has the second-best average finish (8.2) and laps led per race (91.4). Busch also averages more fastest laps per race (48) than any other driver in the field. Looking at him from a DFS perspective, Busch averages more DKFPTS/R than any driver and the second most FDFPTS/R. Needless to say, Busch loves coming to Charlotte and he is one of the drivers I see as a potential dominator on Sunday night.

Martin Truex Jr. ($10,200)

Starting Position: 14th

Truex has been one of the best drivers at 1.5-mile tracks in 2022. This season at this track type, Truex has the 3rd best total speed ranking and the 5th best average finish and average running position. Since 2017, minus his 29th place finish because of a tire going down last season, Truex has an average finish of 3.8 and averages 87.8 laps led per race.

Chase Elliott ($10,700)

Starting Position: 13th

Earlier I mentioned how Kyle Busch has the second-best average finish and FDFPTS/R, well the one driver who bettered him was Elliott. This season at this track type, Elliott finished 9th at Vegas and was running in the top 5 at Kansas before a flat tire late in the race sent him back to 29th. That finish was only the second time Elliott finished outside the top 15 in 2022 and on Sunday I see Elliott as a contender for the win and a top 5 candidate.

Other Options: Denny Hamlin ($10,500 – P1), William Byron ($10,000 – P5), Ross Chastain ($9,800 – P22)

NASCAR DFS: Mid Tier

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ($7,400)

Starting Position: 29th

Stenhouse comes into the 600 with three straight top 10 finishes and has run well at this track type in 2022. This season at 1.5-mile intermediate tracks, Stenhouse has finished 8th (Kansas) and 10th (Auto Club). Stenhouse was running in the top 10 at Las Vegas before a pit road penalty took him back to 21st. Last season at Charlotte, Stenhouse finished 12th and had the 14th best speed ranking. In fact, Stenhouse has finished in the top 15 in six of the last seven Charlotte races.

Erik Jones ($7,600)

Starting Position: 25th

Jones has been good at this track type in 2022 and has shown top 10 upside in every race at 1.5-mile ovals. At Fontana, Jones came home 3rd and he wrecked at Vegas but was in the top 10 at the time of the incident. We all saw the tire issue this team had two weeks ago at Kansas, before this happened Jones was running near the top 5. Jones has some of the best PD upside in this tier.

Austin Dillon (8,200)

Starting Position: 16th

Dillon has been consistently good at 1.5-mile tracks since 2021. Outside of Atlanta this season, Dillon has a 10.8 average finish and has finished 14th or better in every race. On FandDuel his price is too low again for his upside, so I love this play over there, but he is still a solid play on DK too. In the last three Charlotte races, Dillon has an average finish of 9.7 and an average running position of 8.2.

Other Options: Joey Logano ($8,900 – P23), Kurt Busch ($8,600 – P2), Kevin Harvick ($8,000 – P18), Christopher Bell ($8,400 – P3)

NASCAR DFS: Value Rankings

1. Corey Lajoie ($4,900 – P37)
2. Brad Keselowski ($6,600 – P35)
3. Aric Almirola ($6,500 – P24)
4. Ty Dillon ($5,400 – P28)
5. Bubba Wallace ($6,900 – P7)
6. Ryan Preece ($5,200 – P26)
7. Chris Buescher ($6,700 – P19)
8. Kaz Grala ($5,600 – P34)
9. Justin Haley ($6,300 – P20)

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/)

Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop for the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race! This week the series heads to Texas for a non-points race but a big-money race. Whoever wins the All-Star Race on Sunday night has a cool $1 million waiting for them. Only 20 drivers are currently qualified for this race but three more will advance from the NASCAR All-Star Open race and then the last driver is voted in by the fans. With only 24 drivers in the field worrying about ownership won’t be much of an issue. Our advantage will be waiting to build until after the open race is completed.

The format for this race is very different than a normal Cup Series. There are four stages as opposed to three and the stages are only 25 laps long until we get to the final stage where there are 50 laps. The winners of each stage will start in the first three positions of stage four and the fourth position will be determined by a pit road competition. There is a catch, if the drivers who win the first two stages do not finish in the top 15 in the following stages they lose their starting spot for stage four. I know, it’s a lot to follow

As far as roster construction goes, you can pretty much build however you want. Going with three drivers in the $9K range is a good place to start. Using one driver in the mid-tier is probably ideal, but you could fit 2 depending on how you build up top. I want to wait and see how the open shakes out to fill in my last two drivers.

NASCAR DFS: All-Star Driver Breakdown

Kyle Busch ($9,500)

Starting Position: 1st

Texas is one of Kyle’s best tracks and he should be at or near the front all night on Sunday. Since 2018, Busch has won here twice and has six top 10’s in seven races.

Denny Hamlin ($9,200)

Starting Position: 16th

Hamlin was the best car in the abbreviated practice session Saturday evening but did not post a good qualifying lap. We know this car is fast, and Hamlin should find his way up to the front early. Hamlin is the best place differential play of the 20 cars already qualified.

Ryan Blaney ($7,900)

Starting Position: 2nd

Blaney starts on the front row next to Kyle Busch and could push him for the lead early on. In Saturday’s practice session, Blaney posted the 4th best single lap speed and was the only driver to make a 20-lap run. Since 2019, Blaney has finished between 4th and 8th in every race and has led 170 laps.

Bubba Wallace ($6,500)

Starting Position: 17th

Wallace was top 10 in practice speed on Saturday and similar to Hamlin didn’t have a good qualifying lap. A lot of the drivers who qualified later in the session had better times as the track had cooled down which led to faster cars. Wallace has had a top 10 car for a few weeks and he has been improving on this track type in 2022 so I expect him to finish in the top 10 on Sunday.

Ross Chastain ($8,600)

Starting Position: 6th

Chastain has been the class of the series in 2022 and he should be considered a favorite to win this race. In practice, Chastain had the 6th best single lap as well as posting the 6th best qualifying time. This team has found ways to improve their car each and every week and Sunday should be no different.

In reality, every driver is in play, but these are just a few of the drivers I have higher interest in than others. Make sure you are around after the open to who transfers in.

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/)

Welcome back to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop for Sunday’s race from Kansas Speedway! In what seems to be a regular occurrence in the Cup Series now, we have three drivers who were unable to make a qualifying effort. All three of Joey Logano, Chris Buescher, and Ricky Stenhouse had tire issues in practice that caused them to damage their cars. Since practice immediately precedes qualifying, they didn’t have time to get their cars ready and therefore weren’t able to make a lap in qualifying. If you are playing cash games on Sunday, all three of those drivers should be your core to start building with. They will have good cars, well at least better than 36-38th place cars, and should find their way through the field early on.

If you want to read more about this track and race, you can read my weekend preview

Roster construction

With how qualifying worked out and with how this season has worked out I think going heavy on PD might be the path to success. Trying to pick the right dominator weekly has proven difficult. Getting good drivers starting near the back who move through the field has been much easier. I will still try and get a dominator into all my lineups, but loading up on the PD plays has seemed to be the way to go in 2022.

NASCAR DFS: Top Tier (Dominators) ($9K +)

Joey Logano ($9,600) [Proj. ownership: 38%]

Starting Position: 34th

I may not like Joey Logano or agree with how he raced William Byron last week, but I do like winning money so I will look past all that and roster the hell out of Logano today. There is a chance that this car gets you some fastest lap points and maybe even lead some laps, but with his PD upside, he doesn’t have to. Logano will drive through the field and pick up his 3rd top ten in his last four races at Kansas.

Kyle Busch ($9,800) [ Proj. Ownership: 20%]

Starting Position: 6th

Kyle Busch had one of the fastest cars all day on Saturday in practice and there is still some more speed to find in that car. Busch starts 6th, but he could easily find his way to the lead by lap 5. Both Reddick and Bell had incredibly fast cars as well, so it won’t be easy to get passed them. Busch is the defending winner of this race and in his last 14 races at this track, he has two wins and ten top 5’s. Busch is my pick to win this race and lead the most laps.

Ross Chastain ($9,700) [Proj. Ownership: 33%]

Chastain is having the best season of his career at any level in NASCAR and he is mispriced by DK once again. FD has him priced up at least. Chastain was set for another top 5 finish last week before he was caught up in a wreck late in the race. In 12 races this season, Chastain has two wins, seven top 5’s and has only finished a race outside the top five two times (the remaining three races he wrecked). Chastain is finally getting attention from bettors and DFS players and this cheap price it’s hard to fade him.

William Byron ($9,900) [Proj. Ownership: 21%]

Starting Position: 13th

After Chastain, William Byron is probably have the next best season in this series. Byron is tied with Chastain for the most wins in the series at 2 and trails only Chastain in top 5’s and top 10’s over the last ten races. In that same span, Byron blows away the field in average laps led per races at 52.7, nearly 20 more than the net best driver (Chase Elliott). Byron also only trails Elliott and Chastain in average FD fpts/r and average fastest laps. Lastly, Byron is only behind Elliott in average DK fpts/r. William Byron is my GP pivot off a semi-chalky Chastain today at $200 more in salary and starting two spots further back.

Other Options: Kyle Larson ($11,100 – P3) : Larson is always a good play, but with how poor this team has been and at this salary it’s to go there when there are better plays $1.5K less. Chase Elliott ($10,900 – P14): You saw how much I mentioned him in my Byron paragraph…enough said. Denny Hamlin ($10,200 – P18): Hamlin is another great driver at Kanasas but similar to Larson has just had some bad runs of late. Also hurting Hamlin is he will be dropping to the rear for unapproved adjustments. He should still factor in and have a good day, but I would rather use the $9K options over him. Ryan Blaney ($9,100 – P10): Cheap, has top 5 upside, and was fast in practice. Blaney is a solid play if you need the savings and want to fit a third top tier driver in.

NASCAR DFS: Mid Tier ($7K – $8.9K)

Kevin Harvick ($8,700) [Proj. Ownership: 34%]

Starting Position: 23rd

Harvick is the fourth driver I would use in cash. He is another driver who traditionally runs well here and should find himself finishing in the top 10 at days end. Harvick has won here three times and in the last four races here he has finished between 2nd and 4th in all four races and has a series best 2.8 average finish. In the last ten races in 2022, Harvick has one of the best place differential averages, a +5.9 per race, which is second to Chastain’s 6.1 for series regulars. I know Harvick will be high owned, but he is one of the best plays in this race today.

Christopher Bell ($8,400) and Tyler Reddick ($8,900)

Starting Position: 1st and 2nd

Both of these drivers showed incredible speed and were 1-2 on the speed charts throughout the practice sessions. As long as their pit crews give them good stops, they should stay near the front throughout the day today.

Aric Almirola ($7,200) [Proj. Ownership: 4%]

Starting Position: 7th

I am really high on Almirola this week when nobody else will be.This play is not with risk and is more likely to bite me in @$$ then it is pan out but I am willing to run that risk today. Almirola had good speed in practice placing 11th and 6th in 5 and 10 lap averages respectively on Saturday. Since moving to SHR in 2018, Almirola has five finishes of 13th or better in eight races here at Kansas. In the most recent 1.5-mile race at Las Vegas (similar track type), Almirola finished 6th.

Other Options: Austin Dillon (8,000 – P21) : WAYYYYY too cheap on FD today, lock cash play there. Erik Jones ($7,700 – P22), Daniel Suarez ($7,500 – P19)

Value Tier (Under $7K)

1. Chris Buescher ($6,700) – P35
2. Ricky Stenhouse ($6,800) – P36
3. Harrison Burton ($5,400) – P26
4. Michael McDowell ($5,300) – P25
5. Bubba Wallace ($6,400) – P24
6. Justin Haley ($5,900) – P15
7. JJ Yeley ($4,500) – P27
8. Todd Gillilad ($4,900) – P31

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/)

Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop weekend preview for Kansas! This week the Cup and Trucks Series head to Kansas Speedway for the first time in 2022. This is the first true 1.5-mile tri-oval since the March 4-6th races at Las Vegas. Kansas is one of the NASCAR-owned tracks built-in 2001 during the track building boom in the late ’90s.

The Truck Series will be racing Saturday night this weekend while the cup Series will take to the track on Sunday afternoon. Qualifying and practice for the Truck Series will be early in the afternoon on Saturday, followed but the Cup Series P&Q at 5 pm eastern. My article for the truck race will be out after qualifying on Saturday and the Cup article will be out Sunday morning.

NASCAR DFS: Truck Series

Laps: 134 (93.8 dominator points)

Previous Winner: Kyle Busch

DraftKings did well with the Trucks Series pricing this week, at least with the top tier. Nemechek, Zane Smith, and Rhodes are the highest-priced drivers and are the best in the series. Riley Herbst ($9,000) will be in the #17 for DGR and in my opinion, is underpriced. Herbst drove this truck to a 12th place finish at Daytona and Ryan Preece has three top 10’s in the truck in 2022.

We also have six drivers at or under $5K so that will be key to getting exposure to 2 of the top three drivers into your lineups. With only 93.8 dominator points it will not be necessary to get 3 top tier drivers, but that doesn’t mean we can’t. I believe that we will be looking at a more balanced build this week as opposed to the stars and scrubs approach we used last weekend.

NASCAR DFS: Cup Series

Laps: 267 (186.9 Dominator Points)

Previous Winner: Kyle Larson

Last fall at Kansas, Kyle Larson dominated this race on his way to victory. This week, Larson is the highest priced driver on DraftKings, but there is a good chance he is a complete fade. This team has not been good this season, at all. I feel that paying down in the top tier may be the best course of action on Sunday. Another thing to look at this weekend is the potential payback coming from Byron to Logano. This is probably unlikely to happen and we will need to look at what is said during the weekend leading up to the race.

Looking over the salaries again, there are a few drivers in the low $8K to mid $7K range that appear underpriced, again. One of those being Aric Almirola. Before last season where he finished mid 20’s, Almirola has six finishes of 13th or better in the previous 7 races. Almirola is having a great season in his final full-time Cup season and should be a good low end mid tier play on Sunday.

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/)

Welcome back to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop for Sunday’s race from The Track too Tough to Tame, Darlington! This race is going to be a fun one and it will be interesting to see if the veteran top-tier drivers starting at the back can get through the field clean and contend for the win. For a further track preview, you can check out my weekend preview.

Roster construction

Like it has been all weekend, the best approach for building this week is a stars and scrubs style approach. While building remember what type of contest you’re playing. In GPPs you need to look for two of the chalky plays with four lower owned plays. In cash or SE you can use the opposite approach with 3-4 chalk plays and the remaining plays being lower owned.

NASCAR DFS: Top Tier (Dominators) ($9K +)

Chase Elliott ($10,600) – [ Proj. Ownership: 47%]

Starting Position: 34th

Elliott will be in a backup car on Sunday so it may take some time to get the car right but he should be a top 10 car at the end of the day. Last Sunday at Dover, Elliott earned his first win of 2022 and while Darlington is not one of his better tracks, Elliott has huge upside because of his place differential upside.

Kyle Larson ($11,000) – [ Proj. Ownership: 31%]

Starting Position: 2nd

Larson has never won at Darlington, but he does have three straight 2nd place finishes here and led an average of 66.7 laps per race and 45.7 fastest laps. In practice on Saturday, Larson had the 6th best 5-lap average and 5th best 10-lap average. Based on his history at Darlington and how his car looked Saturday, Larson is my pick to win and be the top dominator in this race.

Denny Hamlin ($10,300) – [Proj. Ownership: 30%]

Starting Position: 22nd

Hamlin has been one of the best drivers at The Lady in Black over the past two seasons. Hamlin is the only driver with multiple wins (2) in that span. We all know that Hamlin has been having a terrible season so there is a lot of risk in this play. Hamlin MAY need to start at the rear because of an issue that the team found after practice, this won’t change my opinion on him but could lower his ownership.

Ross Chastain ($9,700) – [Proj. Ownership: 22%]

Starting Position: 8th

Chastain is having a career year and will be rocking one of the best throwback paint schemes this weekend. In the last nine races of the 2022 season, Chastain has two wins, six finishes of 3rd or better, and only two finishes outside the top 5. Chastain finished third here in the fall last season after starting 23rd and was the fastest car on the track in the last stage. Last week at Dover, Chastain led 86 laps and came home third.

Martin Truex Jr. ($10,500) – [ Proj. Ownership: 19%]

Starting Position: 4th

Truex won this race in 2021 and has three top 10 finishes in the last four Darlington races. Since 2020 (4 races), no driver has led more laps here than Truex. In those four races, Truex is averaging 115.3 laps led per race and 47.5 fastest laps. Using Truex with Larson as the two top dominators in this race with a chalky Hamlin or Elliott could be a great way to build on Sunday.

Other Options: William Byron ($10,100 – P9), Joey Logano ($9,200 – P1), Kyle Busch ($9,900 – P5), Tyler Reddick ($9,000 – P10)

NASCAR DFS: Mid Tier ($7K – $8.9K)

Kevin Harvick ($8,800) – [Proj. Ownership: 56%]

Starting Position: 35th

Harvick had an issue in practice with a flat tire and a damaged diffuser. Because of this, Harvick did not get to attempt a qualifying lap while his team was fixing the car. Harvick is another driver who runs exceptionally well so I am not concerned with the issues and feel that Harvick will get back up near the front early on. In the last five races here, Harvick has won twice, has finished in the top 6 every race, and has the best average finish among drivers who raced in all five (3.2).

Christopher Bell ($8,300) – [ Proj. Ownership: 17%]

Starting Position: 3rd

Bell was good here in both races last season, but he had issues in both that led to misleading results. In the fall race, in particular, Bell was running right outside the top 5, but he had a tire issue on la 252 that put him down a lap and he only managed to get back up to 20th. Bell has five top 10s in the last seven (non-superspeedway) races this season.

Kurt Busch ($7,300) [Proj. Ownership: 12%]

Starting Position: 6th

Kurt is not safe by any means, and I honestly expect him to have a negative place differential on Sunday. Busch’s car did look fast in practice with the 12th best 5-lap average and 10th best 10-lap average. Busch has finished 8th or better in six of the last eight Darlington races.

Other Options: Austin Dillon ($8,500 – P14), Chase Briscoe ($8,100 – P13), Daniel Suarez ($7,800 – P20)

Value Tier (Under $7K)

1. Chris Buescher ($6,900) – P18
2. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ($6,700) – P26
3. Cole Custer ($6,300) – P28
4. Justin Haley ($5,900) – P29
5. Bubba Wallace ($6,500 ) – P17
6. Corey Lajoie ($4,900) – P30
7. Ty Dillon ($5,100) – P21

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/)