Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray DraftKings NASCAR Lineup Picks and Projections

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The NASCAR Cup Series is firing up its engines this weekend for the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. This is an exhibition race and will only feature 23 cars in the field as we get prepared for the season-opening Daytona 500 in a couple of weeks.

Bowman Gray is a flat quarter-mile track that hasn't been raced by the Cup Series since 1971. Racing is going to be tight on Sunday night and drivers will have to use their bumper if they want to get through the field. There aren't any great comparable tracks to look at, but if you want to, you can use the L.A. Coliseum--where the Clash was last season--as well as Martinsville, which is a half-mile flat track. This weekend at Bowman Gray, Goodyear is using the same tires from Martinsville last fall.

DraftKings is giving us a $200K total prize pool GPP for the Clash, with the top prize set at $50K. That's pretty decent, considering the final race at Phoenix last year was $125k and $25k, respectively. You can also join the private RotoBaller DraftKings contest for this race by clicking here! Limited spots are available.

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Practice Breakdown

The field was split into three groups for practice on Saturday evening, and Ty Gibbs looked stupid fast, as did Kyle Larson. Flash forward to Sunday, and both of those drivers will be fighting for their spot in the Last Chance Qualifier race. 

Many people believe that the rubber from the modified race, which happened before practice started, helped those drivers in the first group look faster than they actually were.

You can see the 15-, 20-, 25-, and 30-lap averages from practice by clicking here, thanks to our friends over at ifantasyrace. It should be noted that if a driver in the third group had good speed compared to the first two groups, they probably have a great car. The two that fit that criteria are Chase Elliott and Joey Logano.

Recaps of the Heat Races and Event Format

The four Heat races at Bowman Gray Stadium on Saturday evening set the first 20 starting positions for Sunday night's Clash event. Chase Elliott won the first Heat race and will start on the pole for the Clash, while Chris Buescher, Denny Hamlin, and Tyler Reddick won their respective Heat races and will now start from second, third, and fourth (respectively) in the Clash.

As I mentioned on X during the Heat races (click here to follow me if you don't), we know what this quarter-mile track is capable of. We could see plenty of beatin' and bangin' on Sunday night. We could also see a bunch of follow the leader.

Lineup Building Strategy for the Clash

This is a 200-lap race, and only green flag laps will count. Track position is going to be super important, and it's worth noting that all four of the Heat race winners started from the pole and led every single lap. There are some aggressive drivers in this field--Ryan Preece, Noah Gragson, and Ross Chastain come to mind--so that increases the chances of chaos.

For lineup building on DraftKings, you need to nail the dominator(s) and then sprinkle in a good mix of finishing position drivers and Place Differential drivers. With this being such a small field, ownership percentages are going to be sky-high, and if you're a contrarian player like me, that opens up a lot of possibilities--including leaving significant cap space on the table.

The first 20 drivers in the field were set on Saturday night, and the final three drivers will be determined right before the Clash starts with the Last Chance Qualifier. Those three drivers are going to start 21st, 22nd, and 23rd and will have the most Place Differential upside. Unfortunately, we won't know who those three are until right before the race starts.

Core Driver Picks for the Clash

Ryan Blaney ($9.9K) - Whether he races his way in or not, Ryan Blaney will be in the Clash on Sunday evening due to the points provisional spot. Team Penske brought some hot rods to Bowman Gray this weekend, and Blaney is going to have huge Place Differential upside because of his starting position. Don't forget: he raced his way from 23rd to third in last year's Clash race at the L.A. Coliseum. 

Chase Elliott ($9.2K) - NASCAR's Most Popular Driver is going to be tough to beat on Sunday night. The No. 9 Chevrolet looked great in practice and followed that up with a dominant effort in the Heat race. He could lead this Clash from start to finish on Sunday night. At Martinsville, Elliott had one of the best cars in both races last season.

Tournament Driver Picks for the Clash

Austin Cindric ($7.1K) - This price range is interesting, especially with Noah Gragson ($7.0K) sitting there as well. Gragson was one of the most aggressive drivers during the Heat races on Saturday evening, and that's what it's going to take to make things interesting during the Clash as well.

But I'm also interested in Austin Cindric for tournaments. Like I said before, Penske brought good speed this weekend, and Cindric had a top-5 finish at Martinsville last fall despite starting back in 24th. During practice on Saturday, the No. 2 Ford looked to be one of the best on the long run, and short, flat tracks is where Cindric actually looked competitive last season.

Todd Gilliland ($5.8K) - Todd Gilliland is the new face of Front Row Motorsports, and he raced his way into the Clash on Saturday evening with an impressive effort. The No. 34 Ford also looked good in practice on Saturday, ranking seventh-best in 30-lap average during the session.

Gilliland is a high-risk option, but that makes him a good sleeper for DFS tournaments. He has Place Differential upside starting 20th, and let's not forget how good he has been at Martinsville, with three finishes of 13th or better in the last four races there.

Optimal Lineup According to Jordan's Projections

The optimal DraftKings lineup for the Cook Out Clash on Sunday night, according to my projections, is:

• Denny Hamlin
• Ryan Blaney
• Chase Elliott
• Josh Berry
• Ryan Preece
• Todd Gilliland

DraftKings Driver Projections for the Clash

You can click here to download the .csv file of these projections. Remember: the projections automatically loaded into the optimizer are NOT my projections. 

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