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All eyes turn to the new DraftKings eNASCAR contests this weekend at virtual Bristol Motor Speedway. I have been in quarantine going on three weeks now, and losing my sanity wondering when we were going to see some iRacing DFS action. Thankfully, the good folks at DraftKings have given us a reason to shower again in the mornings, by blessing fantasy NASCAR lovers with something to look forward to on Sundays (on a real note I've been showering too much to kill time, but I'm sure some of you are being filthy bums).
Last week, the eNASCAR Pro Invitational race at virtual Texas reached 1.3 Millon viewers on Fox Sports, and you can bet your ass that turned some heads in the fantasy sports industry. So now that we have these new contests, it's important to get out in front, and say that this is completely new ground for DFS players (including myself), and will include a one hour wait on contest scoring after the event. I have spent hours researching iRacing.com profiles, and gathering as much data as I could to give you the best chance to bag a tourney this weekend.
If you're just now getting into eNASCAR, it's important that you know that this isn't your normal NASCAR race. Some of the usual high priced drivers in real races can produce like trash, and some of the cheapest guys on a normal Sunday slate are the dominators. With that being said it's time to take my hand, and let daddy Chase show you how to tango in the virtual racing world.
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Kyle Larson #42 (DraftKings - $7,600 | iRating - 3719)
Larson is the guy that drives with one hand while plugging McDonald's by holding a burger in the other. You can't be mad about it because in these strange times the sponsorship dollars have to come from somewhere, but this in no way changes the fact that in real life, Larson has averaged 77.8 FPTS at Bristol over the last five races. Larson has a solid iRating, and finished ninth at virtual Texas last week after starting in P27.
Kyle Busch #18 (DraftKings - $6,500 | iRating - NA )
I've been cracking mad jokes about Kyle Busch's inability to drive on iRacing, but the fact of the matter is that in this new world, he's nothing more than a rookie. After two horrible finishes at the last two Pro Invitationals, I'm hoping to see a difference in his racing at one of his best tracks in the real world. We may never again see a price tag this low on Busch, so I'm taking advantage of it in hopes that he decides not to use a mobile hotspot this Sunday.
Clint Bowyer #14 (DraftKings - $7,800 | iRating - NA)
Bowyer has been iRacing in the Fox Sports studio on Sundays, and been one of the highlights of each race so far. The good thing to note is that we saw a big improvement with him finishing P12 at virtual Texas after a not so great finish at virtual Homestead. In the real world, Bowyer has averaged 55.6 FPTS at Bristol over the last five races, and has bagged four Top 10 finishes.
William Byron #24 (DraftKings - $10,500 | iRating - 6198)
Byron is the poster child of iRacing, and literally started his career racing on the service. Byron has been constantly running races at virtual Bristol since the last day of March, and hasn't finished outside the Top 5 in each of them. Byron has also been a heavy lap leader in the last two Pro Invitational races, and has excellent odds of reaching, or getting close to starting on the pole (which should rack up a ton of fantasy points).
Matt DiBenedetto #21 (DraftKings - $8,500 | iRating - 4535)
DiBenedetto has been a joy on social media since we entered into this non-sports world almost a month ago, and last Sunday the dude LITERALLY raced at virtual Texas in his underwear (see for yourself on his social media pages). DiBenedetto had one of the best races of his real-life career last season at the Bristol night race, and did it with a lower budget team. DiBenedetto has a best lap time of 15.889 on iRacing at this track, and has placed 204 Top 5's out of his 310 career races on the service.
John H. Nemechek #38 (DraftKings - $8,700 | iRating - 2748)
Nemechek is my hidden gem play this weekend. After studying his profile, the cup series rookie seems to be very fond of this track. Although there isn't any data on him at the real Bristol in the cup series, Nemechek has a fastest lap time of 14.822 at the virtual Bristol, eight Top 5 finishes, and four wins out of the 15 oval races he's raced in this year on iRacing.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. #8 (DraftKings - $9,800 | iRating - 3815)
IT'S BRISTOL BABY! It's super exciting to get to see Dale Jr. race again (even if it's a simulation), and even though most of the older drivers are just now greasing their gears on iRacing, he has been on the service for quite a while. Junior has led double-digit laps in the two Pro Invitational races, and finished each of them with a Top 10.
Timmy Hill #66 (DraftKings - $10,700 | iRating - 6138)
Hill is most definitely the guy that jumps when he presses buttons playing Super Mario (the dude was leaning up in his seat so bad last race), but make no mistake, the guy can wheel on iRacing. After grabbing his first win in the Pro Invitational Series last Sunday, he has been crowned the most expensive driver on the grid, and for good reason. Hill has 12 Top 5 finishes at this track, a fastest lap speed of 14.763, and has seven wins out of his 15 oval track races on iRacing in 2020.
For any and all fantasy NASCAR questions, find me on Twitter @GarageGuyChase and subscribe to the Garage Guys Fantasy Sports Podcast for Fantasy NASCAR and Fantasy Football talk. Good luck RotoBallers!
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