RADIO
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series takes to the dirt at Bristol on Saturday night for the season's lone dirt track race. This is the third time that the Truck Series has visited this version of Bristol. Last season, Ben Rhodes led 43 of 80 laps on his way to the win.
Through the first five races of the season, Zane Smith's found victory lane twice, but he currently sits second in the standings behind the winless Ty Majeski, who has earned three more points than Smith so far this season. Ben Rhodes, Christian Eckes and Matt Crafton round out the top five in the point standings.
Here at RotoBaller, we want to help you make informed decisions about your DFS lineups, which is why I'll be breaking down the slates for the Craftsman Truck Series. Let's look at some NASCAR Truck Series DFS lineup picks for the Weather Guard Truck Race on Dirt on DraftKings. Be sure to also check out our NASCAR Premium Tools for Truck Series including our DFS Lineup Optimizer and powerful Research Station. This slate locks on 4/8/2023 at 8:00 p.m. ET.
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Truck Series DFS Preview - DraftKings
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Post-Qualifying Updates
Normally, I'd guarantee some post-qualifying updates are added here, but I've got a lot on my plate today, so I'll just say that I should be able to tweet out some updates over at @juscarts, and I'll try to get those added here too.
What Past Bristol Dirt Races Can Teach Us
While we've only been to the Bristol dirt track twice before, we still have some good ideas of what this track races like. Let's just take a quick dive into some notable stats from the first two races here.
2021
Martin Truex Jr. jumped down into the Truck Series for that race and while he started 15th, he was able to grab the lead on lap 40, and from there he led most of the way. Just five laps after lap 40 featured a different leader. Once the best truck got out front, it basically stayed out front.
One notable thing about that race: nine drivers got DNFs, including polesitter John Hunter Nemechek. Of the top 10 finishers in the race, just four started in the top 10, so things definitely got shaken up. This wasn't a race where you can just assume the drivers who start up front will stay up front.
2022
Things felt calmer last year. Five drivers who started in the top 10 finished there, including winner Ben Rhodes, who started second and led 95 laps. Carson Hocevar led 55 and finished second. No one else led, and there were just two lead changes—Hocevar took the lead on lap 92 from Rhodes, and then Rhodes took it back on lap 147. So, both times, this was a race where the best trucks got out front and stayed there.
From a strategy perspective, this makes me want to grab place differential drivers. Unfortunately, this article is going out before qualifying takes place, so I won't necessarily have names that I can guarantee are good plays, but we can still talk about how certain drivers have run here.
Another note, though: last year, no one in the top 10 started lower than 19th. In 2021, two drivers did. So, we might not necessarily be looking for huge PD swings. More so, I'd look for good drivers who start 15th-20th.
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Potential Top Plays
Joey Logano ($10,400) drops down to the Truck Series for this one. Logano ran this race last year and started on pole, but he fell back to sixth and didn't lead any laps. Still, he's a winner here in the Cup Series and should be a strong contender for the win. I just might not go as heavy on him as his pedigree suggests because of how he looked here last season.
Ben Rhodes ($10,300) is an obvious play as well. As mentioned above, he was dominant in this race last year.
He should be a candidate to be dominant again. I don't really have much else to say about him, other than that.
Chase Briscoe ($9,900) will be interesting because he's running the 22 truck, which isn't the greatest equipment. This truck finished last here in 2022 with Austin Wayne Self driving. But what I'm hoping for is that Briscoe struggles some in qualifying because of the speed concerns—if that happens, I think he becomes really intriguing because he's an experienced driver who can get through this field.
Potential Value Plays
Lot of drivers entered in this one, so some of these names might not even make the race. Don't build lineups until we know the starting grid.
Stewart Friesen ($9,200) isn't really a "value" at $9,200, but I bring him up because he's probably got the most dirt experience of anyone in this field. He hasn't fared as well at Bristol as he has at the other dirt tracks that the Truck Series has visited, but if he starts 15th or worse then I'll probably go pretty heavy on him.
Jonathan Davenport ($8,000) is a really good dirt track racer and the Spire truck he's in has speed. But he also has no Truck experience, save for a DNQ back in 2013. If he starts near the back, I might play him and hope his experience pays off.
Nick Sanchez ($8,300) doesn't have a ton of dirt experience, but he's been competitive in almost every race this season and is going to win one at some point. As long as he isn't being priced like a top driver, I'll be pretty interested in him. He was fifth in both of the ARCA dirt races last season.
Hailee Deegan ($6,600) has three top-20 finishes in a row. She was 18th here last year. Sneaky good play—if there's a sportsbook with top 10 bets for the Truck Series, I'd throw some money down on a Deegan top 10.
Dean Thompson ($6,100) has a top 20 here last year and is in a better truck this time around. He had a pretty bad crash last week but was running well at the time. Could be a solid top-15 driver on Saturday night.
Jessica Friesen ($4,900) is an option if you want to go really deep. Her finishes in her two Truck starts aren't great—26th at Knoxville in 2021 and 34th after a brake failure at Knoxville last year—but she's an experienced dirt racer in a good truck who is priced really, really low.
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