RADIO
NASCAR is rolling into one of the most prestigious tracks in history this week, and the playoffs are one race from being set. The Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway was graced with its first NASCAR win by Jeff Gordon in 1994, and since then every driver throughout the sport dreams of kissing those bricks. Expect some intense racing between drivers fighting to grab the tail end of the cutoff.
Drivers have to be hyped that they won't have to race until 2:00 AM again for a while after last week's delay in Darlington. Erik Jones surprisingly took down the house with his first win of the season, while Kyle Busch dropped a lot of folks points in DFS while trying to catch Jones (Why Kyle!?). Matt DiBenedetto was the best sleeper play last week with a total of 48.50 FPTS.
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What We Learned At Darlington
- Young drivers had Instagram on point all weekend.
- Matt DiBenedetto did way better than expected.
- Kyle Busch pulled off another wow performance with 122 FPTS.
- William Byron has a big learning curve at Darlington.
DFS Lineup Sleepers - Big Machine Vodka 400
Paul Menard
Menard pulled off another Top 10 finish last week in Darlington and could do it again this week at the Brickyard. Since 2015, Menard has averaged 37 FPTS on DraftKings, which is decent for a driver at his price. He's out there racing for fun at this point in the season, and a relaxed Menard could wreck shop in DFS.
Clint Bowyer
Bowyer is one of the drivers fighting for the last playoff spot this Sunday. Bowyer finished inside the Top 5 in 2018 at this track, and with a good qualifying position, we could see another great performance this year. With Bowyer holding on to get a playoff spot, he should push himself a little harder than usual.
Ryan Newman
Hot Dog Man Ryan Newman will be dancing toe to toe with Bowyer and Daniel Suarez this Sunday, and out of these three, I've got my eye dialed into Newman. Over the past two years, Newman has been no stranger to a Top 10 finish, and knows he needs something big to get Rousch Fenway into the playoffs. Look for Newman to be sneaky around the Top 5 this week.
DFS Lineup Avoids - Big Machine Vodka 400
Martin Truex Jr.
Truex Jr. is a sure lock for the playoffs and has no worries going into this weekend other than trying to get his first win at this track. As bad as Truex Jr. may want to kiss the bricks, it's not likely to happen, and more likely to wreck your lineups this Sunday. When you only average 13 FPTS at this track since 2015, there's no way I'm paying up for you.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Even Dog The Bounty Hunter couldn't help Stenhouse Jr. capture a decent finish at Darlington, and don't expect much more this weekend in Indianapolis. Stenhouse Jr. has only finished one race inside the Top 20 at this track in his career, and averages 6 FPTS since 2015. It's just not a good week for juniors.
Chase Elliott
Eliott is one of NASCAR's most popular drivers, and with that, he can be a tempting play for the casual DFS player. I hope you find this well if you're that player because this isn't the week for Elliott. Elliott has never had a Top 10 at this track, and has finished with negative placement in all but one race at the Brickyard.
For any and all fantasy NASCAR questions, find me on Twitter @GarageGuyChase.
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