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 […]

Kirby Yates Activated, Blake Snell Placed on Paternity List

The Los Angeles Dodgers announced that they have activated reliever Kirby Yates (back) from the 15-day injured list and placed left-hander Blake Snell (personal) on the paternity list. Yates is returning after missing nearly a month with pain in his lower back. He went 4-3 with a 4.31 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, 44:12 K:BB, 13 […]

Matt Chapman Activated and Starting on Saturday

The San Francisco Giants have activated third baseman Matt Chapman (hand) from the 10-day injured list and optioned second baseman Tyler Fitzgerald to Triple-A Sacramento, according to Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle. After missing the minimum of 10 days with right-hand inflammation, Chapman is back at the hot corner on Saturday and hitting […]

Marcus Semien Out Saturday, Will Visit Doctor on Sunday

Texas Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien (foot) will not play Saturday against the Cleveland Guardians, Shawn McFarland of the Dallas Morning News reports. Semien, who also missed Friday's game, has a left-foot contusion and is in a walking boot. The 34-year-old has been in pain since he fouled a ball off his foot in a […]

Jeff McNeil Back in Lineup on Saturday

New York Mets second baseman/outfielder Jeff McNeil (shoulder) is returning to the lineup on Saturday in a meeting with the Atlanta Braves. He'll hit fifth against right-hander Cal Quantrill after missing two straight games with soreness in his right shoulder. McNeil has hit a respectable .294/.342/.426 with one home run, eight RBI, and a 9:5 […]

Frankie Montas Placed on 15-Day Injured List

The New York Mets announced that they have placed right-hander Frankie Montas (elbow) on the 15-day injured list with a UCL injury in his pitching elbow, retroactive to Friday. The team recalled righty Huascar Brazoban from Triple-A Syracuse in a corresponding move. UCL injuries often lead to long absences for pitchers, so it's possible that […]

Cooper Rush Sees Limited Action in Preseason Win

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Cooper Rush had a perfect passing day in the 30-3 preseason win over the Washington Commanders, completing all five passes for 59 yards and zero touchdowns. This outing marked a bright spot in what has otherwise been an unimpressive preseason for the 31-year-old, who previously spent eight seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. […]