NASCAR

Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop for the NASCAR Cup Series. Below you will find my rankings for the drivers in this race.

A Group: Drivers I will have the most exposure to and are high priority

B Group: This group is drivers I feel have a high upside and are great filler pieces to pair with the A Group

C Group: The drivers in this tier are a bit risky, but could still be optimal. This group should be used in GPP’s

F Group: These drivers are on my do not play list

(Starting position in parenthesis)

Drivers highlighted in yellow are potential dominators

(All pricing is for DK)

*** NOTES ***

• This is a 300-lap race which means there are 210 dominator points available on DK. The Cup Series has only raced here twice and the two races couldn’t be more different. In 2021, the first time the series ran here, Kyle Larson led 264 of 300 laps on his way to victory lane. Last year was a completely different animal. Four drivers (Hamlin, Truex, Kyle Busch, and Elliott [winner]) led 292 laps.
• Truex led 82 laps here last season but finished a disappointing 22nd after some late race trouble. In practice on Friday, Truex had the second-best single-lap time and was third-best in 10-lap average.
• Byron was another car that showed some real speed in practice on Friday. In that practice session, Byron had the 5th fastest single-lap and was 4th best in 10-lap average.
• I briefly mentioned McDowell and Lajoie in Discord yesterday as super chalk and even though I don’t like it, I think we have to strongly consider them. Both drivers were in the mid 20’s in 10-lap average and McDowell had the 12th fastest single-lap in practice. At their salaries, if they finish mid-20s or high teens we could be out of the running for a big payday without them. There are a lot of ways to get different with our higher-priced dominators and eating the cheap chalk should work out ok.
• We all know I am not a member of the Ross Chastain fan club, but this weekend his car looks to be dominant. Chastain was 3rd fastest in single-lap speed and was second to only Tyler Reddick in 10-lap average. I think Chastain could lead the bulk of this race and finish top 5.
• I know people are always scared to play Stenhouse but he has been having a solid season AND has run well at Nashville. It has been nine races (Richmond) since Stenhouse has finished outside the top 20 (minus when he was wrecked at Gateway) and he has finishes of 6th and 16th at Nashville.
• I don’t love the Austin Dillon play, but at his salary, a top 20 will suffice. He is also a good pivot off the chalky McDowell and Lajoie if they falter.
• “Game-log” watchers will scoff at the idea of playing Erik Jones this week and I am not a big fan of this play, but there is some upside here. Jones had the 3rd quickest lap in practice which shows me the team has some speed. For Jones and the 43 team, it’s a matter of keeping the car on the track.

Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop for the NASCAR Cup Series. Below you will find my rankings for the drivers in this race.

A Group: Drivers I will have the most exposure to and are high priority

B Group: This group is drivers I feel have a high upside and are great filler pieces to pair with the A Group

C Group: The drivers in this tier are a bit risky, but could still be optimal. This group should be used in GPP’s

F Group: These drivers are on my do not play list

(Starting position in parenthesis)

Drivers highlighted in yellow are potential dominators

(All pricing is for DK)

Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop for the NASCAR Cup Series. Below you will find my rankings for the drivers in this race.

A Group: Drivers I will have the most exposure to and are high priority

B Group: This group is drivers I feel have a high upside and are great filler pieces to pair with the A Group

C Group: The drivers in this tier are a bit risky, but could still be optimal. This group should be used in GPP’s

F Group: These drivers are on my do not play list

(Starting position in parenthesis)

Drivers highlighted in yellow are potential dominators

(All pricing is for DK)

*** Notes ***

• This week is much different than last week when it comes to laps and dominator points. After 400 laps and 600 miles last week, we have a “normal” 240-lap race with 168 dominator points available. This week I will be building lineups with 2 dominators.
• Not only did Kyle Busch has a fast car in Saturday’s P&Q, but he was also dominant here last year. Busch led a race-high 66 laps, was a plus10 PD finishing second, and scored 89.2 DKFP which was nearly 24 points higher than any other driver.
• One of the few drivers faster than Kyle Busch in practice on Saturday was Joey Logano. Not only was Logano faster in practice this week, he was the only driver who finished ahead of Kyle last season at this track.
• McDowell led 34 laps here last season but finished a disappointing 18th. This weekend, McDowell seems to have a fast car once again. In practice, the 34 car was top 5, but when in qualifying trim the car didn’t show much speed. Luckily, his speed in practice is a more realistic impression of what his car should do on Sunday.
• If you don’t know, Corey Lajoie is in the #9 car for Hendrick filling in for the suspended Chase Elliott. Lajoie is priced too cheap for the equipment he is in this week. There is still work to do with this car and for him to become comfortable with his new team for the week, but I think by race end we could have a top 10 car here.
• Chase Briscoe was on the pole here in 2022, but had issues all race and even after reading 27 laps he finished 24th. Briscoe showed a lot of speed in Saturday’s practice and similar to McDowell, could be a top 10 car at days end.

Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop for the NASCAR Cup Series. Below you will find my rankings for the drivers in this race.

A Group: Drivers I will have the most exposure to and are high priority

B Group: This group is drivers I feel have a high upside and are great filler pieces to pair with the A Group

C Group: The drivers in this tier are a bit risky, but could still be optimal. This group should be used in GPP’s

F Group: These drivers are on my do not play list

(Starting position in parenthesis)

Drivers highlighted in yellow are potential dominators

(All pricing is for DK)

*** Notes ***

• This 600-mile race (400 laps) is the longest race of the season and a test of endurance for these drivers. Because of the length, we need to treat it like a short track when it comes to dominator points. There are 280 DK dominator points available in this race. In 2021, Kyle Larson led 327 laps for an incredible 81.75 LAPS LED points. If you didn’t roster him you were not making money that night.
• Speaking of Kyle Larson, in his last four 600’s, he has 3 top 10s, one win, and averages 94.5 laps led per race. It’s hard to think he won’t be near the front competing for the win on lap 400 on Sunday.
• William Byron is on fire again right now. In his last ten starts this season, Byron has the most top 5s (5), top 10s (6), and top 15s (7).
• Martin Truex Jr. has one win in the last five 600’s as well as two top 5s and three top 10s.
• Tyler Reddick has been figuring out of late with six top 10s in his last 10 races and the best avg finish (10th) among drivers competing in all 10. Reddick also has performed well in this race in his career. In three Coca-Cola 600’s, Reddick has never finished outside the top 10 and averages 45.6 DKFP per race.
• I know he is not in the car he used to be, but it’s hard to doubt Jimmie Johnson at this race. In the early 2000s, Jimmie was unbeatable here, winning 4 of 5 and finishing top 3 in seven straight Charlotte races.
• Once again I need to preface this by saying he is not in the same equipment, but it’s hard to discount Kyle Busch in this race. In the last five Coke 600s, Kyle Busch has one win and five top 5s. Busch also has an average finish of 2.8, 98.6 avg laps led per race, and is averaging 96.4 DKFP per race in that stretch.
• It’s hard to discount anyone in this race, outside of Yeley and McLeod because I don’t think their cars can run 600 miles. The 21 drivers listed above are the ones I prefer, but you could also run Christopher Bell and Chase Elliotte in any race. I also have some interest, very slight interest, in Harrison Burton as well.

Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop for the NASCAR Cup Series. Below you will find my rankings for the drivers in this race.

A Group: Drivers I will have the most exposure to and are high priority

B Group: This group is drivers I feel have a high upside and are great filler pieces to pair with the A Group

C Group: The drivers in this tier are a bit risky, but could still be optimal. This group should be used in GPP’s

F Group: These drivers are on my do not play list

(Starting position in parenthesis)

Drivers highlighted in yellow are potential dominators

(All pricing is for DK)

*** Notes ***

• Darlington is a 293-lap race which means we have 205.1 DK dominator points. In recent history (since 2020 – 7 races) only one driver has led 100+ in 5 of 7 races and only one time (Martin Truex Jr.) led over 200.
• Historically, Truex is a solid play at Darlington even though he had two poor races last season. Truex didn’t look fast in practice but the team made an adjustment and it showed in qualifying as he won the pole. Since 2020 (7 races), Truex averages 76.7 laps led and has four top 10s including a win.
• Chase Elliott is hit or miss at Darlington but he had the fastest lap in Saturday’s practice and should be one of the top PD plays on the slate.
• Lajoie has not finished lower than 30th this season so he should be a good place differential play. At Darlington since joining Spire, Lajoie has only finished lower than 24th once in four races.
• Darlington is one of Erik Jones’ best tracks. The last time the series was here, Jones went to victory lane. Jones had a bad stretch before that win, but his car looked fast on Saturday in practice and could be a top 10 car at the end of the day.
• Bubba Wallace, along with most of the other Toyota’s, was fast in Saturday’s practice. Wallace then went out and put down a great qualifying lap. To top it off, Wallace will be one of the lowest-owned drivers in the race. This is a risky play, but I am one of the few people who believe in Bubba and will be playing him on Sunday when no one else will.