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Welcome back to another Daily Fantasy NASCAR season here at RotoBaller. We are extremely excited for the start of a new profitable season and it all kicks off with the 58th running of the "Great American Race" at Daytona International Speedway. The track is a 2.5 mile Tri-Oval Superspeedway with 31° degree banking in the corners.
There was a single car qualifying held last Sunday which set the front row of the field for the Daytona 500. Rookie Chase Elliott earned the pole as the fastest car edging out Matt Kenseth by .065 seconds. The two will start side by side on the front and we now wait until Thursday to see the results of the Duals which will set the rest of the field for Sunday's race.
When looking at daily fantasy strategy there is one thing to keep in mind. Any restrictor plate race, especially the Daytona 500, can see multiple wrecks and cautions causing carnage for fantasy. It is best in these races to limit exposure to cash games as there are really no drivers who are safe. If you do want to get some cash lineups in, it is recommended to roster solid drivers starting farther back in the field. This is the best way to get the bonus points for place differential and create safety in your lineup. The best strategy for restrictor plate races is to play multiple lineups in GPP tournaments. Mix and match your favorite drivers to make sure that you are covered if one guy wrecks. If you normally play one $3 or $5 lineup try playing three or five $1 lineups.
If you have any questions regarding strategy or drivers please join me in the chat room below Saturday during Final Practice at 12:15-1:55 pm et.
The picks below are initial picks only. Lineup construction in daily fantasy NASCAR is very dependant on Qualifying and Practice results so be sure to check back on Saturday shortly after Final Practice for the final update prior to the race on Sunday.
Daily Fantasy NASCAR: DraftKings DFS Lineup Picks
Dale Earnhardt Jr. - $10,300
You can't have a discussion about plate racing without talking about Dale Earnhardt Jr. He has raced at Daytona 32 times in his career and has four wins(Most in the field), 13 Top 5's(tied for most among active drivers), 19 Top 10's(Most of any track in his career) and an average finish 12.7 which is also best among active drivers. He is the highest priced driver for a reason and makes a great pick if you are playing cash games or a single GPP tournament. If you are playing multiple lineups it could be a wise choice to fade him as he will be the highest owned driver on Sunday.
Kevin Harvick - $9,800
He has won the Daytona 500 twice (2007 & 2010) and has 13 career Top 10 finishes at Daytona International Speedway. In his previous five races at Daytona he has picked up three Top 5's and with a 12.2 average finish. In those five races he has not qualified very well(24.4 avg. start position) which is positive for fantasy purposes as we get bonus points for place differential. If he qualifies poorly again this time around he will be a lock in all formats.
Denny Hamlin - $8,600
He won the Sprint Unlimited last weekend leading 39 of the 79 laps and is a terrific plate racer. In his last eight plate races(Daytona & Talladega) he has the second best average finish(10.0) to Dale Earnhardt Jr(9.88). Looking at Daytona form only, he has posted four Top 10's and three Top 5 finishes. Of course, it all depends on qualifying and practice but at this point he looks like a terrific choice at a salary below $9,000.
Austin Dillon - $7,600
He finished the year off strong with five straight Top 20's so you know he will be coming into this year with tons of confidence. He has performed very well in his five career trips to Daytona with three Top 10 finishes including a 7th here in the summer race and 14th at the Daytona 500 last February. There is some great options in the $7K range this week so his ownership could be fairly low owned.
Casey Mears - $6,500
He is my #1 value for the week to kick off the season. In the past five Daytona races Mears owns the second highest average finish(8.0) with four Top 10's and a Top 5 finish. He has also averaged a starting position of 25.0 so there is a ton of upside for place differential. He makes a great pick in any format.
Post Practice & Qualifying Update
- #24 Chase Elliott
- #20 Matt Kenseth
- #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
- #18 Kyle Busch
- #22 Joey Logano
- #1 Jamie McMurray
- #21 Ryan Blaney
- #41 Kurt Busch
- #4 Kevin Harvick
- #19 Carl Edwards
If we learned anything from the Duels on Thursday it was that there could be a few cars who lead the majority of the laps. With the bonus points available for laps led and fastest laps we will want to try and fir one or two of these drivers in our lineups. The tricky part is picking which drivers will run up front. With so many practices in the last week and a half it is tough to gauge true speed unless you watched every practice. Some teams worked on pack racing while others(mainly Jimmie Johnson) ran alone. One thing to look for is those who were consistently fast.
The best bet, as always, here at Daytona will be Dale Earnhardt Jr. He won his Duel race dominating laps lead and is one of the best plate racers ever! As mentioned in his write up he will be the highest owned driver. Other teams to target are Team Penske. Both Keselowski and Logano were fast across all practices. Another good bet will be Joe Gibbs Racing Team lead by defending series champion Kyle Busch.
Plate races are a great opportunity to multi enter some tournaments to cover your bases and take some shots playing stars and scrubs. Good luck this week everyone.
If you have any questions leading up to the race hit me up in the chat below!
DFS & Fantasy NASCAR Chat Room
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The Keys to Weekly NASCAR Success
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