June
2,
2025
Erik
Jones
had
his
best
run
in
the
NASCAR
Cup
Series
in
a
very
long
time
even
if
it
wasn't
quite
his
best
finish.
After
starting
14th,
Jones
broke
into
the
top
ten
in
Stage
2
where
he
finished
5th
before
read more...
June 2, 2025
Christopher Bell made the best of a bad situation to finish 10th at Nashville on Sunday. After finishing fifth in Stage 1 when the Joe Gibbs Racing cars were very fast, he continued to run fifth directly behind eventual winner Ryan Blaney when he was wrecked on Lap 113 by Erik Jones, the driver he replaced. Although he backed into the wall and had some damage, miraculously it did not take him out of the race under the damaged vehicle policy and he managed to recover, driving up from 34th to 10th in Stage 2 before ultimately finishing in that same position. Although he lost 14 points to points leader William Byron, he still has a shot at the regular-season championship since he is only 87 points behind.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
June 2, 2025
Considering Nashville is one of Ross Chastain's tracks and he actually qualified well for once, many people expected him to be one of the favorites for Sunday's Nashville race. Although he was as usual the fastest Trackhouse Racing driver throughout the race, he was mildly disappointing, as he spent most of the race running between 10th and 15th place. Although he finished 10th in Stage 1, he narrowly missed earning stage points in Stage 2 and fell out of the top 10 only five laps before the end of the race. Nonetheless, it doesn't really matter since his win locked him into the playoffs, and he wasn't even in contention for the regular-season championship. While Chastain really does seem to have cleaned up his aggressive driving and is now much more polished, Trackhouse continues to have inconsistent speed just as their predecessor teams SABCO and Chip Ganassi Racing also did. Chastain's lack of speed at Nashville is still rather puzzling.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
June 2, 2025
Although Chase Briscoe started on the pole for the second consecutive week at Nashville, Briscoe's car seemed to only run well in clean air and he eventually faded to a 17th-place finish. Briscoe dominated Stage 1 leading 51 laps before both Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick overtook him very late in the stage, but as other drivers beat him out of the pits and got better restarts, he fell out of the top ten very late in Stage 2 and never recovered. Briscoe effectively stood pat in the playoff picture, as he only lost two points on the playoff cutline in yesterday's race, dropping from 47 points above the cutline to 45 over Ryan Preece. The speed Briscoe has shown should be enough to make the playoffs if there aren't a lot of fluke winners, but the fact that he seems to have more speed early in races than late means he may be one of the likeliest drivers to drop out.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
June 1, 2025
Carson Hocevar of Spire Motorsports scored a qualifying position of 26th for this week's Cup race at Nashville Superspeedway, the Cracker Barrel 400. In his only previous Cup start at Nashville, Hocevar finished 16th. In the Truck Series at Nashville, Hocevar has one win and two top-5 finishes in three starts. Through 13 races in the 2025 season, Hocevar has five top-20 finishes, an average finish of 23.1, and led in each of the last five Cup events. In practice, Hocevar ranked 22nd in overall lap averages and as high as 10th in 25 consecutive lap averages. Considering his equipment and high upside, Hocevar is worth rostering in all formats, especially with his $7,500 salary on DraftKings
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
June 1, 2025
Zane Smith of Front Row Motorsports will start 27th in this week's NASCAR Cup Series race at Nashville Superspeedway, the Cracker Barrel 400. In his only previous Cup race at Nashville, Smith started 36th and then placed second for his best career Cup finish to date. Smith also has three top-5 finishes in three Truck Series races completed at Nashville. After 13 races so far in 2025, Smith has eight top-20 finishes and an average finish of 20.4. In practice for this week's race, Smith ranked 18th in five consecutive lap averages and 13th in overall lap averages. Smith has plenty of upside, and with his cheap salary of $6,300 on DraftKings, he is a driver who is a solid value choice for all DFS formats.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
June 1, 2025
Spire Motorsports driver Justin Haley will start 18th for this week's Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. This will be the second time in Haley's Cup career that he will start inside the top 20 in a race at Nashville. In four prior races at the site, Haley has a best finish of 13th, which he obtained in last year's race. In 13 Cup races this season, Haley has six top-20 finishes and an average finish of 21.8. In practice, Haley ranked 28th in overall lap averages and displayed top-20 speeds in the 20, 25, and 30 consecutive lap average categories. Although Haley offers less upside than most based on his starting position, his speeds in practice have been solid enough to make him worth consideration in all formats, but he's especially favored in GPP contests as his rostership should be lower than most.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
June 1, 2025
Todd Gilliland of Front Row Motorsports qualified 35th for Sunday's Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. Gilliland was the lowest-qualifying driver from Front Row for this week's race. In three previous races at Nashville, Gilliland's best finish was 17th, which he earned in his last appearance at the site in 2024. Through 13 Cup starts, Gilliland has nine top-20 finishes, including each of the last four Cup races, while earning an overall average finish of 18.8. In practice, Gilliland ranked 26th in overall lap averages and 25th in 10 consecutive lap averages. Considering his high upside, equipment, and overall consistency for the season, Gilliland is a driver worth consideration for all DFS formats.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
June 1, 2025
Heading into the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday night, Denny Hamlin (personal) is the favorite, according to most sportsbooks. However, there is a slight chance that he may have to miss the race. His fiancée is due to give birth any day now, and Hamlin has confirmed that the birth of his child will take precedence over the race. If Hamlin starts the race on Sunday night, he will be credited with the finish, even if the backup driver (Ryan Truex) takes over mid-race. If Hamlin leaves early (before the race starts) he will not get credited with any points. This makes for an interesting predicament for DFS managers, as Hamlin is projected to be one of the highest-scoring drivers on the slate. If he's able to race the entire event on Sunday night, he should be in contention to win. It's recommended to keep an eye out for any late breaking news regarding Hamlin and potentially missing the race before locking in your DFS lineups this weekend.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: The Tennessean
June 1, 2025
Fresh off of his victory at Charlotte Motor Speedway last weekend, Ross Chastain will be looking to go back-to-back in the Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on Sunday night. Ross has been one of the best drivers at Nashville since the series returned to racing at this track in 2021, with a victory and three top-five finishes to his credit in the four races ran here. The exception? Last year's 33rd-place finish, although don't forget that Chastain led 45 laps in that race and was running in second on lap 295 before he wrecked. As far as speed goes this weekend, the No. 1 Chevrolet wound up fifth-fastest in qualifying, and Chastain had the best 25- and 30-lap average in practice. At a reasonable price of $10,000 on DraftKings this weekend, Chastain is a core driver to lean on in DFS contests on Sunday night.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
June
1,
2025
It's
not
very
often
that
we
see
Kyle
Larson
and
the
No.
5
team
struggling
to
find
speed
at
a
race
track,
but
that
has
been
the
case
at
Nashville
Superspeedway
this
weekend.
Larson
was
just
24th-fastest
during
practice
for
the
read more...
June
1,
2025
NASCAR's
Most
Popular
Driver,
Chase
Elliott,
is
currently
on
a
38-race
winless
streak,
and
although
this
isn't
getting
a
lot
of
major
media
attention,
it's
definitely
something
to
keep
an
eye
on
as
the
2025
Cup
Series
season
continues.
With
that
read more...
June 1, 2025
The NASCAR Cup Series hasn't raced at Nashville Superspeedway for very long, and so far, it's been a bit of a struggle for Alex Bowman. In the four races ran here, Bowman has yet to crack the top 10, with his best finish thus far being 14th-place efforts in both 2024 and 2021. Can that change this weekend, though? The No. 48 Chevrolet has been strong on almost all intermediate race tracks this season, which is an encouraging sign for Bowman. In practice this weekend, the No. 48 Chevrolet struggled to find a ton of speed, but Bowman did wind up 18th-fastest in 10-lap average during the session. He ended up qualifying 24th for Sunday night's Cracker Barrel 400. At $7,800 on DraftKings, you should definitely have some exposure to Alex Bowman for the Place Differential upside, but maybe temper your expectations for the volatile Hendrick Motorsports driver.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
June 1, 2025
The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season has been a rough one for Ty Gibbs, as the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has an average finish of 20.9 through the first 13 races of the year and currently sits in 25th place in the points standings. He was able to post back-to-back top-10 finishes in early April, but in the four races since then, Gibbs has only been able to crack the top 20 once, and that was a 17th-place effort at Talladega. Now the question is, will the No. 54 team be able to find some speed at Nashville Superspeedway this weekend? Gibbs was decent in practice on Saturday, ranking 12th-fastest in 15-lap average, and he ended up qualifying in 22nd place later that day. As far as DFS potential goes, Gibbs is a decent option at $7,400 on DraftKings, but nowhere near a slam-dunk pick. You need exposure to him for the place-differential upside, but don't go too crazy. In two starts at Nashville, Gibbs has posted results of 14th and 23rd.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: NASCAR.com
June 1, 2025
If you're looking for a moderately priced place-differential DFS option on Sunday night, look no further than Daniel Suarez. The Trackhouse Racing driver qualified back in 32nd place for this weekend's Cracker Barrel 400 at Nashville Superspeedway but should be able to move up throughout the race and finish better than that. Suarez has started all four Cup Series races at Nashville and has finished seventh, 15th, 12th, and 22nd. This weekend, the No. 99 Chevrolet showed decent speed in practice, too, ranking 14th-fastest in 10-lap average. Unfortunately, Suarez went out early in qualifying this weekend and that attributed to his 32nd-place qualifying effort. He's a viable option in all DraftKings formats this weekend, and at an affordable salary of $6,900.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
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