RADIO
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Dover this weekend for the Duramax Drydene 400.
Last week at Talladega, Ross Chastain won his second race of the season, taking the lead on the final lap as the leaders crashed. Chastain is currently ninth in points. Chase Elliott leads the Cup Series standings, with Ryan Blaney in second. Neither driver has a win yet this season.
Below are some drivers to consider for DFS purposes this week. This slate locks on May 1 at 3:09 p.m. ET. If you have any questions or want to talk NASCAR, you can find me on Twitter at @juscarts.
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Kyle Larson
Starts 3rd - DraftKings $11,800 | FanDuel $14,000
There are 400 laps in this race, so you definitely want to make sure you target someone who can win plus lead a ton. For me, that's Kyle Larson.
The front row features Chris Buescher, who hasn't shown consistent speed this year, and Denny Hamlin, who is struggling this season. The way I see it, either Kyle Larson or Chase Elliott should go to the lead early.
Larson's my pick of those two to do it. His last three races here have featured three top three finishes. In 2019, he led 154 laps and won. Last year, he led 263 but finished second to teammate Alex Bowman. Hendrick cars swept the top four spots in that race, but Elliott was the only one of the four not to lead a lap. Larson's the better pick.
William Byron
Starts 33rd - DraftKings $11,000| FanDuel $13,000
Chalk.
Byron has won twice this season. He had to go to a backup car this weekend, which is why he starts 33rd, but he's going to have a ton of speed in this race. It might take some time for him to work his way to the front, but Byron should get a top 10 here, offering a huge amount of place differential points.
Byron's results here earlier in his career were uneven, but he's finished in the top five here in each of the last two seasons. Last year, he led 21 laps at this track. He seems to have figured out the Monster Mile.
Tyler Reddick
Starts 26th - DraftKings $8,800 | FanDuel $8,800
There's some really enticing place differential plays this week, which is mainly what I'm focusing on in today's piece. If you want some non-PD plays in this price range, look at Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch.
When it comes to Reddick, we're betting that he'll find some speed on Sunday, which is a good bet since he's had speed for most of this season. In terms of the shorter tracks, he was third at Phoenix and 12th at Richmond.
At Dover, Reddick's average finish is 13th. He was eighth here last year. Reddick should gain at least 10 spots on Sunday.
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Erik Jones
Starts 25th - DraftKings $6,800 | FanDuel $5,000
Jones led 25 laps at Talladega, but wasn't able to close the deal as things got wild on the last lap. He's been fairly inconsistent this season, but the Petty GMS cars are running well enough that I'll take Jones in my lineup most of the time if he qualifies outside the top 20. (Ty Dillon is a good play for the same reason this week.)
Jones has just two top 10s at Dover in nine starts with an average finish of 14th, but his last two races have dragged that down, as he has consecutive finishes of 22nd. He had four consecutive top 15s here at one point, and top 15 is about what I expect on Sunday.
Cole Custer
Starts 30th - DraftKings $6,100 | FanDuel $4,500
Last year, all of Stewart Haas struggled minus Kevin Harvick, so Custer's struggles didn't stand out. This year, Aric Almirola, Kevin Harvick and Chase Briscoe sit 10th, 11th and 12th in points while Custer is 26th, so those struggles...yeah, we're noticing them now.
But Custer seems to be running a little better lately. He won the pole at Bristol. He led a lap at Talladega. And now he heads to what might be his best track, as he's run here three times in the Cup Series and has finishes of 11th, 10th and 10th. In Xfinity, he has a win here and four top fives.
If there's a week for Custer to prove why he's in the Cup Series, this is the week.
Harrison Burton
Starts 35th - DraftKings $5,000 | FanDuel $4,000
Come on, what is this price? I get that Burton's rookie campaign isn't going well, but he's still in a Wood Brothers car and is being priced like a Spire driver.
Burton has yet to record a top 10 this year, but he's had four top 20s, including Richmond.
Burton also has a pair of top 10s here in the Xfinity Series. I don't expect him to get a top 10 or anything, but Burton should be able to run inside the top 20 at a track like this. At this salary, that's a win.
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