Auto Club 400 Recap

It was the Kyle Larson show on Sunday as he led 110 laps en route to his first win of the season and second of his career. Martin Truex Jr. showed he could run with Larson all day and led 73 laps of his own and finishing second in DraftKings points(75.8). If not for an early incident with Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski might have dominated the race. He and the #2 team showed resilience getting back into contention and ended up with a very impressive runner-up finish at Auto Club Speedway. Missed the race? Check out the FoxSports recap video on YouTube.
Before jumping into this week's analysis and picks, let's take a look back at last week's results.

Last Weeks NASCAR DFS Picks

Jimmie Johnson - Another disappointing race for the #48 team. They started from the back in a backup car and while they did see the Top 10 a few times, ended up finishing 21st after an average running position of 22nd. His place differential points(16) helped him salvage his fantasy day as he finished with the ninth-most on Sunday(41.5).

Joey Logano - Also started from the rear as they did not make it through tech inspection in time to qualify. Unlike Johnson, Logano made it through the field efficiently and had an average running position of 10th and ended up with a Top 5 finish. With 30 place differential points, Logano finished with the third most DraftKings points(74.8) on Sunday.

Denny Hamlin - After qualifying second, Hamlin and the #11 team couldn't find Top 10 speed in final practices but ran Top 10 all day in the race but ended up with a disappointing 14th place finish. The negative place differential points(-12) left Hamlin with the 21st most(20.5) on Sunday.

Trevor Bayne - After starting from the 36th position, Bayne continued his streak of positive place differential races. Things looked even better earlier in the day as he had an average running position of 14th. He ended up 23rd at the end of the day but now has 30 or more DraftKings points in every race this season(ranked 14th in average DK points).

Daily Fantasy NASCAR: DraftKings DFS Lineup Picks - STP 500

This week the Monster Energy Cup series head back East to Martinsville for the first short track race of the season. Martinsville Speedway is a .526 mile track that is very flat with just 12° of banking in the corners. It is similar to Richmond in its flat banking and similar to Bristol in its half mile length but is far from comparable to either. Martinsville is shaped like a paperclip, hence the nickname, and is the only track in NASCAR that has hosted a race every year since the Series inception back in 1949.

From a fantasy perspective, we will turn our attention to track position as it is one of the most crucial factors this week. Being a short track, we will see cars going a lap down very early in the race and behind the eight ball. Coming through the field at Martinsville is a very tough task. Because of this, I will weighing qualifying higher than usual and will also attempt to avoid place differential values that start outside of 25th.

Kyle Busch ($10,300) & Denny Hamlin ($9,300)

Qualifying was rained out on Friday and the field will be set by owner points. This puts JGR teammates Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin in the 10th and 12th starting position which isn't too bad considering their other teammates are starting outside 19th or worse. They were ranked one and two in opening practice which is a positive sign and both currently sit around 10th in second practice. Kyle won this race last spring after dominating with 352 laps led and seems to have figured out the paperclip. Hamlin, on the other hand, has had this place figured out for some time as he has five career wins here. Stack them together in GPP's for huge upside and both have some place differential value that makes them both cash plays as well.

Brad Keselowski ($9,500)

Believe it or not, FORD has not been to victory lane in Martinsville since Kurt Busch won here in October 2002. Brad Keselowski could end that streak this week and also pick up his first career win here at the Paperclip. He will start fourth on Sunday and has come out flying on Saturday ranked number one in second practice. Brad and the #2 Team Penske car will have a great shot to get up front and lead some laps and win the race.

Ryan Newman ($7,400)

There is a lot to like about the #31 RCR car of Ryan Newman this week. He comes in with confidence after a win at Phoenix two weeks ago and after a 15th place finish last week has seen a $600 price drop. This is great news as he returns to Martinsville with one career win(2012) and has two Top 10 finishes in the last four races here. He will also start 11th which gives him some place differential value as well. He is safe in all formats.

NASCAR DFS Cheat Sheet

Don't have the time to search multiple sites looking for NASCAR stats and data? Check out my DFS NASCAR cheatsheet which includes Track History(2-Year Trend & Career), Track Type History(2-Year Trend), Current Form, Practice/Qualifying Data, and a weighted system to get an overall rank for each driver each race. Check out it now while it's still in BETA mode and FREE to everyone. Click image below to open the complete cheatsheet. 

DFS & Fantasy NASCAR Chat Room

If you have any questions leading up to the race hit me up in the chat below!

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