Pierre Strong Jr. Exits With Possible Concussion

Cleveland Browns running back Pierre Strong Jr. (concussion) left Saturday's 19-17 preseason win over the Los Angeles Rams to be evaluated for a concussion. Strong carried five times for 25 yards before exiting and has shown well throughout the preseason while competing for a roster spot. The 26-year-old back is battling with rookie Dylan Sampson […]

Jake Bobo Exits After Collision

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jake Bobo (undisclosed) left Saturday's preseason game after colliding with teammate Tyler Hall on a punt return. Bobo jogged to the locker room under his own power but did not return. The 6'4", 207-pound receiver sits behind Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Tory Horton, and Cooper Kupp on the depth chart but has carved […]

Ben DiNucci Released by Atlanta

Quarterback Ben DiNucci announced on X on Saturday that he was released by the Atlanta Falcons. The 28-year-old was best known for his time with the Dallas Cowboys, where he threw for 219 yards in three games. Since then, he has had several unsuccesful stints with other clubs around the National Football League. The Falcons […]

Jermaine Burton Doesn't Return to Preseason Finale Due to Knee Injury

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Jermaine Burton (knee) exited Saturday's loss to the Colts. He did not return. The wideout injured his knee during the Bengals' preseason opener against the Philadelphia Eagles and didn't play in the Monday Night Football clash with the Washington Commanders. Burton managed to suit up for the preseason finale, although he […]

Despite Being Winless at Daytona, Chase Elliott is Probably the Best DFS Option

Although Chase Elliott has not yet won at Daytona, it seems inevitable he likely will at some point, and even though he's starting 30th, it could happen on Saturday. Elliott earned his only win this season in the previous drafting-track race at Atlanta, and his 174 laps led here suggest he might be overdue for […]

Ryan Blaney Will Likely Lead a Lot at Daytona

Ryan Blaney is probably most frequently cited as the best drafter in the NASCAR Cup Series, and his third-place finish allowed him to take the pole for Saturday's Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway after a lightning strike canceled the scheduled qualifying session. Given the two-by-two gridlock that typically occurs in Next Gen-era […]

Kyle Larson a Poor DFS Option at Daytona

Kyle Larson has never had much prowess on drafting tracks. Although he's gotten a little better on them lately, he's still never won at one and he's only led 36 laps in his career at Daytona (although he might have won the 2017 Daytona 500 if his fuel strategy had played out better). Although he […]

Courtland Sutton Excels In Preseason Finale

Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton delivered a strong performance in Saturday's 28-19 preseason win over the New Orleans Saints, hauling in four receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown. Sutton has consistently been drafted in the fifth to sixth round range of fantasy leagues and remains the clear WR1 in Denver's offense. With second-year […]

Christopher Bell Consistent Enough to Consider for DFS

Christopher Bell hasn't done much since his three-in-a-row streak early this season, other than get some consistent finishes. One can expect he'll likely be complacent at Daytona, too, since he will be probably more focused on avoiding wrecks than winning. Although he does make unforced errors a lot, he does seem to have a skill […]

Chris Buescher Now Must Win His Way Into Playoffs

After sitting just above the playoff cutl ine for most of this year, Chris Buescher arguably had the most embarrassing race of his entire Cup Series career at Richmond, where he finished 30th while Austin Dillon won his way into the playoffs and Alex Bowman's second-place finish eliminated Buescher -- unless Buescher wins on Saturday […]

Being One of the Slowest-Starting Fords Makes Ryan Preece a Strong DFS Option

Austin Dillon's win last week at Richmond and Alex Bowman's second-place finish eliminated Ryan Preece from playoff consideration unless he wins on Saturday at Daytona. For a driver who has never and may never win in the Cup Series, that's a tall order, but Preece is certainly intensely motivated and he's overachieved this season. Since […]

Ross Chastain Leads a Lot on Drafting Tracks

This year's little underdog who could, Ross Chastain, locked himself into the playoffs a long time ago with his epic Coca-Cola 600 win, even though he only ranks 18th in speed this season and only ranked eighth at Charlotte. However, drafting tracks are typically a great equalizer, which allows him to contend for wins when […]

Daniel Suarez Now in Desperation Mode With his Career on the Line

Lame-duck Trackhouse Racing driver Daniel Suárez starts 12th at Daytona, but because he has tended to run mid-pack throughout his career, that his put him in awful positions as he has crashed out of a mind-boggling 10 of sixteen races here. He has been fast enough to remain in the pack but seldom fast enough […]

Chase Briscoe's Tendency to Finish Better Than He Runs May Reap Dividends at Daytona

Chase Briscoe has had a weird season where he has qualified great, run substantially worse than his qualifying positions, but still backed into solid finishes at the end. The Daytona 500 was a great example as he won the pole with a car initially ruled illegal before that penalty was overturned, but he hardly contended […]

Sam Ehlinger Battling for Broncos Roster Spot

Denver Broncos quarterback Sam Ehlinger handled the final three quarters of Saturday's 28-19 preseason win over the New Orleans Saints, completing 22 of 31 passes for 181 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Ehlinger capped his outing by connecting with Kyrese Rowan on a five-yard score, but also absorbed three sacks along the way. […]

Lamar Jackson Should Practice on Monday

According to Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, quarterback Lamar Jackson (foot) will practice on Monday. However, Harbaugh added (with a smile on his face) that it could change if the signal-caller "doesn't want to." He was injured during Wednesday's practice after his foot was stepped on. Fortunately, X-rays came back negative, so he should […]

Carson Hocevar Hard to Forecast Since He's Rarely Given 100 Percent at Daytona

Despite how fast Carson Hocevar is elsewhere, he's never really shown a lot of speed at Daytona because after crashing out of the 2024 Daytona 500, he seemed to be more preoccupied with staying out of trouble than fighting for the lead. That worked out for him last year when he started 37th and finished […]

Michael McDowell has a Solid Drafting Record

Although Michael McDowell is primarily viewed as a road racer, drafting tracks are now one of his best track types in general, although that was probably more true when he drove for Front Row Motorsports at a time the Fords had dominant speed than for Spire Motorsports, which tends to have much slower cars on […]

A.J. Allmendinger Arguably Starting Too Well for Place-Differential Points

Although A.J. Allmendinger survived the crashes to earn back-to-back sixth-place finishes in the 2023 and 2024 Daytona 500s, he isn't one of the best options for DFS play on Saturday. Kaulig Racing tends to have speed at these tracks, but weirdly, Ty Dillon has looked faster all season on them, particularly when he contended for […]

Bo Nix Sharp in Final Preseason Tune-Up

Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix looked strong in Saturday's 28-19 preseason win over the New Orleans Saints. The second-year passer led three drives, finishing 10-of-14 for 110 yards and a touchdown strike to Courtland Sutton. After guiding Denver to a playoff berth as a rookie, Nix enters 2025 with heightened expectations. The front office added […]

Austin Dillon Will Likely Be Too Conservative for DFS Consideration

After winning his way into the playoffs last week at Richmond, Austin Dillon will no longer feel any desperation to advance himself into the playoffs at any cost, so he is unlikely to score his third career win at Dayton after wrecking his opposition in both previous wins at the track. Most likely he will […]

Noah Gragson Has Place-Differential Potential as One of the Lowest-Starting Fords

Noah Gragson actually gave Beard Motorsports its only top five finish here at Daytona in the 2022 regular season finale, but that was mainly because his car was so slow that he was able to dodge the numerous wrecks. This time he starts 32nd as a result of his mediocre Richmond run for a Front […]

Victor Robles Reinstated, in Lineup on Saturday

The Seattle Mariners have reinstated outfielder Victor Robles (shoulder) from the 60-day injured list and designated utility player Dylan Moore for assignment, according to Daniel Kramer of MLB.com. Robles is back after going on the IL on April 7 with a dislocated left shoulder. The 28-year-old is now facing a 10-game suspension in the majors […]

Poor Starting Position and Ford's Drafting Speed Make Todd Gilliland a Viable Option

Todd Gilliland has shown some speed on drafting tracks in the past, particularly in last year's first Atlanta race when he led a race-high 58 laps, but he mostly hasn't been a contender for the lead and Daytona is his worst drafting track. Although he started on the outside pole last year, he's never finished […]

Zane Smith Probably Starting Too Well for DFS Play

Even though Zane Smith might be the most improved driver of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season, you probably don't want to start him at Daytona despite the fact that he did fight for the win in the last drafting track race at Atlanta. The problem is that the cancellation of qualifying resulted in a […]

Justin Haley has Strong Pass-Differential Potential

Although Justin Haley has had a pretty terrible season, he did win his one NASCAR Cup Series race at Daytona in 2019, but that was entirely based on pit strategy and crash avoidance and that had almost nothing to do with him. He did also show strength on drafting tracks in the Xfinity Series for […]

Cole Custer's Daytona 500 Speed Makes Him a Solid Play

Although Cole Custer has had an invisible season with only a single top-10 finish, Daytona is one of the few tracks where you should strongly consider starting him. In this year's Daytona 500, Custer was attempting an outside pass on Denny Hamlin for the lead when he and the rest of the leaders crashed despite […]

Austin Hill Qualifies Poorly Enough for DFS Consideration

For all of Austin Hill's dominance in the NASCAR Xfinity Series drafting-track races, he has never shown anything similar at the Cup Series level. However, that doesn't really matter when assessing his potential for DFS lineups this weekend, since the finishing order is so unpredictable that it's better to focus on drivers who have better […]

Bennett Sousa to be Shut Down for At Least Two Weeks

Houston Astros reliever Bennett Sousa (elbow) landed on the 15-day injured list on Friday (retroactive to Aug. 20) with left-elbow inflammation. The 30-year-old will miss more time than that, though, as the Astros announced he's dealing with a low-grade flexor/pronator strain and will go at least two weeks without throwing. The Astros plan to re-evaluate […]

Shawn Dubin Designated for Assignment

The Houston Astros have designated right-handed reliever Shawn Dubin for assignment and recalled righty AJ Blubaugh from Triple-A Sugar Land, per a team announcement. The Astros are cutting Dubin from their 40-man roster amid a horrific August in which he has surrendered 13 earned runs on 14 hits, including four homers, with three strikeouts and […]