RADIO
For the third time this season, the NASCAR Cup Series will host a doubleheader weekend, this time coming at Dover International Speedway.
Dover is a unique track, nicknamed the Monster Mile, and many drivers believe this will be a grueling weekend inside the car, possibly the most physical of the year. There's also a lot of uniqueness to this weekend: Drydene is the race sponsor for both Cup races and both NASCAR Xfinity Series races, as well as sponsoring four racecars between the two divisions. Impressive!
Back to building your optimal lineup, though, there's going to be a mixture of success at Dover and drivers trying to prove something this weekend.
My DFS Lineup - Drydene 311 (I)
Kevin Harvick ($11,400)
Career at Dover: 38 starts, 2 wins, 1,443 laps led
Average finish at Dover: 13.7
Remember how the first two Cup doubleheaders have started off this year? Harvick won both of them, most recently dominating at Michigan International Speedway en route to the weekend sweep.
No, Harvick isn't running the same car he did at Michigan, but his stats at Dover are pretty sweet, especially since joining Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014. In the 12 starts at the Monster Mile driving the No. 4 car, he's paced the field for 1,298 laps. Pretty damn dominant.
Harvick begins Saturday's race from 10th, meaning there's almost a 0% chance he loses points for decreasing his position at the finish, as he's scored 19 top-10 finishes in 23 races this season. He's also led at least 201 laps in four of his last 11 starts at the track. Granted, this weekend, the races are 311 laps, not the typical 400.
Martin Truex Jr. ($11,000)
Career at Dover: 28 starts, 3 wins, 892 laps led
Average finish at Dover: 12.2
There will always be at least two things special about Dover for Truex; its the site of his first victory and legitimately his home racetrack.
All that aside, Truex is pretty craft at the Monster Mile, especially as of recent, scoring six top-four finishes in his last seven races at the track. In that same span he's led 487 laps, more than half his total laps led at Dover.
Spoiler: Truex is my pick to win the first race of the weekend, and it wouldn't be surprising if he swept the weekend. After all, the No. 19 team has five consecutive third-place finishes, which is quite a rare feat. The only concern here is, he starts third, but on the flip side, that means he could find clean air quickly and check out.
Austin Dillon ($8,700)
Career at Dover: 13 starts, 0 wins, 0 laps led
Average finish at Dover: 20.0
OK, I'll be honest, these numbers aren't very impressive at Dover. But Dillon is making his return to the series after testing positive for COVID-19 prior to last weekend's road course race at Daytona International Speedway.
Never leading a lap is a cause for concern here. But what's not is, Dillon will start the race from 32nd position, and it's highly likely he increases his overall points at the end of the day for finishing above that. In 13 starts at Dover, he has two finishes worse than 32nd, with the last coming in 2016.
Will Dillon give you the most points on Saturday? Nope. But starting deep in the field makes him an attractive pick.
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Matt Kenseth ($7,000)
Career at Dover: 39 starts, 3 wins, 904 laps led
Average finish at Dover: 12.9
Straight up, Kenseth's return to the Cup Series hasn't gone according to plan this season, replacing Kyle Larson in the No. 42 car. Hell, I thought there was a chance he could make the postseason on points prior NASCAR's restart. Boy, was I wrong.
In 19 races this season, Kenseth as a runner-up finish in the Brickyard 400 and a 10th-place result in his season debut at Darlington Raceway. That's it when it comes to top-10 finishes. But there's just something about Kenseth and Dover that make a perfect match.
Most recently, Kenseth won at the track in 2016, in a thrilling battle with Larson and Chase Elliott. I don't expect the 48-year-old to go out and win this weekend, but after a disappointing run at Daytona, he starts 26th, and he should be on your team starting that low. Remember what car the last time NASCAR visited Dover last October? The No. 42 Chevrolet.
John Hunter Nemechek ($6,500)
Career at Dover: 0 starts
Average finish at Dover: N/A
When the NASCAR season restarted in mid-May, Nemechek was recording impressive finish after impressive finish, earning a top-10 result at Darlington. But over the past seven races, the No. 38 Ford has four DNF's, which is alarming.
However, Nemechek's proved this season that going to the track blind with no practice nor qualifying to prepare for in his first start hasn't always been a bad thing. He's got plenty of experience at Dover in NASCAR's lower divisions, most recently finishing eighth in last fall's Xfinity race.
Nemechek could be a bold pick for the Saturday, but Front Row Motorsports has upped its game in 2020. Plus, he starts 31st, and surely he'll run better than that.
Corey LaJoie ($5,000)
Career at Dover: 5 starts, 0 wins, 0 laps led
Average finish at Dover: 31.8
Don't let LaJoie's average finish at Dover fool you, he's always ran in underfunded equipment, and will do so again this weekend with Go Fas Racing. But the fact he will lineup 29th on Saturday and is worth $5,000, less than the likes of Joey Gase, Reed Sorenson, Garrett Smithley and BJ McLeod -- all in lesser funded equipment -- is criminal.
Dover is a track where LaJoie has had success in the lower divisions of NASCAR, earning a win in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race in 2012. He also secured a sixth-place finish in the Xfinity race in 2016, competing for underfunded JGL Racing.
Being just $5,000, LaJoie is most definitely an underfunded value pick for this weekend.
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