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The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Kansas on Sunday for the second race of the playoffs. Last week, non-playoff driver Erik Jones won the opening race of this round, which means that all 12 spots in the next round are still up for grabs.
Kurt Busch, who isn't racing today as he recovers from a concussion, won the first visit here this season. Toyota has won four of the last six Kansas Cup races.
Below are my NASCAR DFS lineup picks for DraftKings and FanDuel this week. This slate locks on 9/11/22 at 3:16 p.m. ET. If you have any questions or want to talk about NASCAR, you can find me on Twitter at @juscarts.
DFS Lineup Picks - DraftKings, FanDuel
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Kyle Busch
Starts 20th - DraftKings $10,900 | FanDuel $13,500
Busch is a really intriguing place differential play here, as he starts 20th. I think he winds up getting underutilized in fantasy this week, because Denny Hamlin and Chase Elliott both have slightly more PD upside, making Busch a nice little pivot.
Busch has won here twice, most recently in 2021, when he led 20 laps. He was third in the first visit here this season, leading 18 laps.
He has also recorded 10 top fives and 14 top 10s at Kansas.
With Busch's 2022 contract situation finally reportedly settled—reports indicate he's signing with Richard Childress Racing—he can just go out there in the race. He has a top-five upside.
Kyle Larson
Starts 7th - DraftKings $10,700| FanDuel $12,000
There are some nice PD plays in this race, but we also need to target someone who can lead a bunch of laps and win, right?
We have kind of a weird starting grid for that, as I don't feel super confident in anyone up front dominating this race. I think we get a race where different drivers take turns up front. Larson should be one of those.
In his three races here with Hendrick Motorsports, Larson has led over 100 laps in two of them, including when he led 130 laps to win this race last season. In the Spring, he led 29 laps here and finished second.
Bubba Wallace
Starts 6th - DraftKings $8,000 | FanDuel $8,500
Bubba Wallace is really, really interesting. He's not in the playoffs, but this 45 car is in the owner's playoffs, so there's still some big incentive for Wallace.
His teammate won here—in this car—when we were first here this season. Wallace was 10th in that race.
Minus a DNF at Watkins Glen, Wallace has now finished 14th or better in eight of the last nine races this season, which includes a second at Michigan and a third at Loudon.
Wallace should be able to stick in the top-10 all day. He's a great sleeper pick for the win, and there's enough value here for me to play him despite the potential for negative PD points.
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Ty Gibbs
Starts 16th - DraftKings $7,200 | FanDuel $7,500
As I mentioned above, 23XI won here earlier this season, so we know this team should have speed at Kansas.
Gibbs has made two starts here in the Xfinity Series and was strong both times. Last season, he won here, leading 14 laps. Yesterday, he didn't win, but he led 66 laps and finished third.
Gibbs has one top-10 so far in his brief Cup Series career. I think Sunday is when that second top 10 comes. A little bit of a risky play because he's not in the owner or driver playoffs and thus should drive with a little deference to those drivers, but...well, Erik Jones was in the same position last week and he just went out there and won.
Aric Almirola
Starts 36th - DraftKings $6,500 | FanDuel $5,500
Now, we get to some of the big place differential swings.
Almirola is likely to be a pretty chalky play after he qualified 36th, but I'm fine taking the chalk in this situation.
Almirola is coming off of an 11th at Darlington last week when he ran a pair of fastest laps. He's been pretty fast lately, including posting 27 fastest laps at Richmond last month.
Almirola has seven top-10s at Kansas, tying it for his third-best track in terms of top-10s. He's only led here once though, and his last three finishes here are 29th, 26th, and 26th.
Still, those recent struggles don't negate that Almirola has run some solid races here and that he could easily gain 20 spots on Sunday.
Cole Custer
Starts 29th - DraftKings $6,000 | FanDuel $5,000
It's been a disappointing season for Custer, but things have been looking up lately.
Custer has now finished in the top-20 in three consecutive races, including last week's 14th at Darlington, where he had a pair of fastest laps.
Custer hasn't been particularly good here at Kansas, but he has three top-20s in his five starts, and he's finished on the lead lap in three of the five races as well.
I know that Custer's performance this year is worrisome. But with him starting 29th this week, the PD upside matters more than the performance concerns.
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