RADIO
There's nothing quite like Indianapolis Motor Speedway in all of motorsports. From firsthand experience, I got goosebumps all up and down my arms the first time I walked through the gate and saw the pagoda in 2018. But IMS is famous because of the 2.5-mile oval layout; not the road course. And for the first time in NASCAR history, the Cup Series will compete on the Indianapolis road course on Sunday afternoon.
Changing over to running the road course is exciting yet different. Maybe I'm in the minority, but I believe the past few Brickyard 400s have been good. This is racing, not passing (look at the Tony Stewart diatribe for more on that topic). Drivers in the field, however, believe running at IMS has lost some prestige by running on the road course, and it's no longer a crown jewel event.
That's hard to argue. But flashback to the Xfinity Series race on the IMS road course last July, it was quite entertaining. So, even though it might not be the popular move, there's a chance the Cup cars take to this road course this weekend, making it a permanent move when it comes to IMS.
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Be sure to also check out all of our other weekly NASCAR DFS articles, rankings and and analysis to help you set your optimal DFS lineups. Just a reminder, qualifying isn't until Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. ET, just four hours before the scheduled green flag.
Chase Elliott
(DraftKings $11,000 | FanDuel $14,000 | DK SportsBook +200)
Duh, Chase Elliott is the obvious choice to win on Sunday.
Elliott has won seven of the past 12 road course races, with two other runner-up finishes this season. Had there been a handful more laps last weekend at Watkins Glen International, there's a good chance the No. 9 Chevrolet catches and passes his Hendrick Motorsports teammate Kyle Larson for the win after making up more than 12 seconds on the No. 5 car.
Whenever there's a road course for the foreseeable future, Elliott should be in your fantasy lineup, no matter whether it's a new venue or not to the Cup circuit. At $11,000 on DraftKings, the No. 9 car is more than worth centering your lineup around. At $14,000 on FanDuel, it's a tougher choice, because you likely won't be able to get another big-name driver -- and if you do, you'll pay for it on the backend of your lineup.
Kyle Larson
(DraftKings $10,800 | FanDuel $13,500 | DK SportsBook +350)
If you're not going to center your fantasy lineup around Elliott this weekend, Kyle Larson isn't a bad choice. Boy, isn't that the understatement of the year.
Larson has picked up his first two road course victories this season (Sonoma and Watkins Glen). The No. 5 Chevrolet was also in prime position to win at Circuit of The Americas before NASCAR called the race because of rain. Larson finished second. At the Daytona International Speedway road course, Larson was charging fast, but wrecked late, despite being on fresher tires and was ahead of eventual race winner Christopher Bell.
Since joining HMS, Larson has upped his road racing game. It's truthfully a tossup between Elliott and Larson on who should be the center of your lineup. But expect both drivers to be contenders for the win.
Martin Truex Jr.
(DraftKings $10,400 | FanDuel $13,000 | DK SportsBook +600)
Boy, we're going out on a limb this weekend, aren't we? If Elliott and Larson are the best two on road courses this season, Martin Truex Jr. is a solid number three, despite not winning on a road course this season.
Last weekend at Watkins Glen, Truex was next best in class. At Sonoma, the No. 19 was next best in class. At Daytona, he was strong, but spun late. Plus, Truex has four road course victories to his resume.
Truex costs the third highest on DraftKings and FanDuel, and is the third favorite to win the race. Truex might be able to keep the Hendrick Motorsports duo on their toes come Sunday.
Austin Cindric
(DraftKings $9,400 | FanDuel $9,000 | DK SportsBook +2000)
Austin Cindric is known to be a standout road course races, having won four Xfinity Series races while turning left and right. In addition, the 22-year-old grew up road racing.
Add in, Cindric is one of just seven drivers that competed in last year's Xfinity race -- leading 21 laps and finished fifth -- he's a solid choice this weekend. Unfortunately for you, oddsmakers know that and have set his priced a tad high. Regardless, in two other starts on road courses this year (COTA and Road America), the defending Xfinity Series champion has proved he can compete.
Here's where I'll go out on a limb: I think Cindric will be the highest finishing Ford on Sunday. He's got experience at the venue, plus Roger Penske owns the track, the No. 33 Ford will be fast this weekend. He's Team Penske's best shot at pulling the upset win from either Elliott or Larson. This is also Cindric's final Cup start of the season.
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Christopher Bell
(DraftKings $9,200 | FanDuel $11,500| DK SportsBook +1800)
Once again, Christopher Bell proved he's a solid road course racer last weekend at Watkins Glen. Realistically, the No. 20 Toyota was the third best car in the field last week, though was spun by Larson late and finished seventh.
On Monday, Bell voiced his displeasure about the incident on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Larson followed that up calling out the Toyota driver for not answering his call. Man, couldn't this the rivalry everyone wants!
When it comes to IMS, expect Bell to have another consistent run. He's on a streak of four straight top-10 finishes, the best run of his Cup career (includes a runner-up result at Road America).
AJ Allmendinger
(DraftKings $8,800 | FanDuel $10,500 | DK SportsBook +2200)
Like Cindric, AJ Allmendinger is known to be rather solid on road courses. He also finished fourth last year in the Xfinity Series race and led two laps on the IMS road course.
When it comes to setting prices, oddsmakers did their research on Allmendinger, too. Running a partial Cup schedule for Kaulig Racing this season, the No. 16 Chevrolet has been sporty on road courses, despite mixed results.
If you want to put down a few bucks for the overall winner, Allmendinger is a good upset choice at 22-1. See how qualifying goes Sunday morning as to whether or not it's worth putting the No. 16 car in your lineup.
Chase Briscoe
(DraftKings $7,900 | FanDuel $8,500 | DK SportsBook +3500)
We've talked a bit about the Xfinity Series race on the Indy road course last season; no one was better than Chase Briscoe. Then driving the No. 98 Ford for Stewart-Haas Racing, the native Hoosier led a race-high 30 laps.
Of course, it will be quite the challenge for Briscoe to duplicate those numbers when it comes to the Cup race on Sunday, but the No. 14 car has been its best when turning left and right this season. Briscoe has drove to three top-10 finishes in the opening 23 races of the season, all have come on road courses. Last weekend, he placed ninth at Watkins Glen.
Briscoe might not win on Sunday, but it's probably the most confident he will go into any race thus far this season. That could bode well for your fantasy lineup.
Ross Chastain
(DraftKings $7,700 | FanDuel $7,500 | DK SportsBook +4000)
Another driver who has experience at the Indy road course: Ross Chastain. Another driver who has proven to be consistent on road courses this season: Ross Chastain.
Since COTA, Chastain has been a top-10 threat in the four road course races (earning three of them). It's been one of the bright spots for the No. 42 team this season, though Chastain has found speed over the last couple of months.
Chastain is about average in terms of pricing on DraftKings or FanDuel. However, if you go heavy at the top of your lineup, it's worth looking at drivers such as Michael McDowell, Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez and Justin Haley to close it out.
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