RADIO
What a race we had in Chicagoland last Sunday night! After spending most of the day playing video games and napping while waiting for the rain to pass, the drivers finally got to get out on the track and show their stuff. It was totally fine by me and I'll be the first to say I prefer to watch races in Chicagoland at night from now on (I'm looking at you NASCAR).
The big story is Alex Bowman taking his first Monster Energy Cup victory. Bowman had a very impressive race and showed just how tough of a driver he was fighting back Kyle Larson for the lead. He straight up reminded me of Cal Naughton Jr. from Talladega Nights when he took the win too (*insert no-more-second-place face here*).
Heading into the second trip to Daytona this year, it's important to note that all three of the sleepers I listed last week finished inside the Top 10 (hopefully you used them). The most important of them being the race winner which I can't label a sleeper any longer. You'll be seeing some new names this week with Daytona being the destination for some lower-ranked teams in Fantasy NASCAR.
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What We Learned At Chicagoland
- Jimmie Johnson isn't dead on the track
- William Byron is starting to really elevate
- Martin Truex Jr. can disappoint from time to time without wrecking
- Night racing at Chicagoland is way cooler than day racing
DFS Lineup Sleepers - Coke Zero Sugar 400
Ryan Preece
Preece has shown big things in his first year racing at superspeedways. In February, he bagged an eighth-place finish at this track and a third-place finish at Talladega. Most guys that start towards the back have a great chance of finishing strong due to the big wrecks that tend to happen. If Preece is towards the back throw him in your lineup.
Ty Dillon
It only takes one week to go from a sit to a start. Dillon is a diamond in the rough this weekend at Daytona for two reasons. The first is that over the past two races at Daytona, he has finished sixth twice. The second being that in terms of performance, this has been (what some might say) his most productive season. In his last race at Daytona in July, Dillon scored a total of 54.25 FPTS.
Matt DiBenedetto
You can't forget that DiBenedetto led a strong 49 laps in February at the Dayton 500. Unfortunately, he ended that race with an accident but showed he has what it takes to get up to the lead and hold it. If he can find a way to use what he learned from running this track in February, (most importantly avoid "The Big One") he has a shot to really produce some solid fantasy numbers for your lineups.
DFS Lineup Avoids - Coke Zero Sugar 400
Kevin Harvick
Since 2016, Harvick has had rough luck at Daytona. Being one of the most predominant drivers in the sport today, it's no argument that he hasn't shown the same spark that he has in years past. This is just hands down not a good use of salary in DFS with him being such an expensive play week to week. Don't do it at Daytona!
Chase Elliott
Elliott has taken a chill pill since his win at Talladega in April, and last week took the back seat with his teammates having some strong finishes in Chicagoland. By no means am I saying he is out of the money as a driver for the rest of the season, but he's not worth a play at Daytona just yet. His best finish at this track came in 2017 with a P14 finish after starting P1.
Kurt Busch
The Busch brother who is not named Kyle has been one of the better second-tier drivers this season. Busch won the Daytona 500 in 2017 with Stewart-Haas Racing but since then hasn't cracked the Top 20. Busch has also had some bad luck getting caught up in accidents since 2017 at this track. Unless Busch qualifies towards the rear this weekend, he's not worth the risk in DFS.
For any and all fantasy NASCAR questions, find me on Twitter @GarageGuyChase.
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