1 month agoLook for AJ Allmendinger to have a strong showing at Circuit of the Americas this weekend. The Kaulig Racing driver noted that his No. 13 Chevrolet wasn't quite where he wanted it after practice and qualifying, but even so he was able to qualify in 14th for this weekend's EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. Allmendinger has had a rough couple of races at COTA over the last two years (finishes of 34th and 33rd) but it wasn't because he was slow. Last season, Allmendinger looked to have top five speed, but got involved in a wreck and damaged his race car. In 2022, he was battling for the win on the final lap but was spun out by Ross Chastain, which relegated Dinger to his 33rd-place finish. AJ is priced at $8,800 on DraftKings this weekend and with his place differential upside, he has the potential to be one of the highest-scoring drivers on the slate for COTA. You should definitely have plenty of Allmendinger in your DFS lineups this weekend.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
1 month agoDon't sleep on Ross Chastain in the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix this weekend. The Trackhouse Racing driver has a phenomenal record at Circuit of the Americas, as he has never finished worse than fourth at this track in three career starts. Additionally, Chastain has the best driver rating (119.6) at this track and has led the second-most laps (35). He led 31 of those 35 in the 2022 race, which he won. With that being said, Chastain is a bit of a wildcard at road courses. Looking at similar tracks, when you look at the eight most recent road course races, Chastain has just one top-five finish (his fourth here at COTA) and only three top-10s. Still, his track record at this Austin, Texas race track can't be ignored. Chastain qualified sixth for this weekend's race, too. In DraftKings, he becomes a very sneaky alternate-dominator potential pick, as his place differential upside as limit. Consider going overweight on Chastain in tournament formats on DraftKings.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
1 month agoPut Alex Bowman on your list of drivers to target in DFS at Circuit of the Americas this weekend. The Hendrick Motorsports driver qualified back in 17th for this weekend's EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix but has a much higher finishing potential than that. In three career starts here at COTA, Bowman has posted finishes of eighth, second, and third. He has also had the third-best average running position on road courses over the last two seasons, behind only Chase Elliott and AJ Allmendinger. At just $7,700 on DraftKings, Alex Bowman will be one of the main drivers I will be targeting heavily at COTA on Sunday. The No. 48 Chevrolet was third-fastest in practice on Saturday morning in Austin.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Win The Race
1 month agoAdd Daniel Suarez to list of drivers that will likely go under the radar this weekend at Circuit of the Americas. The No. 99 Chevrolet will roll off the starting grid from 19th-place when the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix goes green on Sunday, giving Suarez a nice potential of place differential points to get in DraftKings. With that being said, Suarez's record at COTA isn't the best, as he has never finished better than 24th here in three career starts. However, a lot of that is due to bad luck. Just last year, Suarez was running inside the top five during the second overtime when he had issues and ended up finishing 27th. This weekend at COTA, Suarez's Trackhouse Racing teammate, Ross Chastain, has shown great speed, so you have to assume that Suarez has good speed as well. At $8,500 on DraftKings, he is a very sneaky tournament play with good upside.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
1 month agoMichael McDowell qualified 27th for this weekend's EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas, and while that is definitely not an advantage at a road course track, it's a position that McDowell is quite used to. In three career starts at COTA, the Front Row Motorsports driver has started 20th, 27th, and 23rd but ended up with finishes of 12th, 13th, and seventh (respectively) in those races. The 27th-place starting spot is actually good news for DFS players this weekend, as McDowell has a lot of place differential upside considering his prowess on road courses. At a modest $8,000 on DraftKings, Michael McDowell has the potential to be one of the best value drivers on the slate when it's all said and done on Sunday. He has an average finish of 13.9 on road courses over the last two seasons, which is ninth-best in the Cup Series.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Win The Race
1 month agoChris Buescher qualified 20th for this weekend's EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas, but that doesn't mean you should stay away from him. Road course race tracks have been one of the most consistent venues for Buescher in the NextGen era, as he has finished 11th or better in each of the last ten races on this track type. That includes an eighth-place result here at COTA last season despite starting back in 32nd-place. At $7,800 on DraftKings, Buescher makes for an interesting pick, as the upside is there due to his midpack starting position and place differential potential, but he has just one top-five finish at road courses over his last nine starts. Still, you can't say he hasn't been a safe pick for a top-10 at these tracks lately. His average finish of 10.1 over the last 18 road course races is second-best to Chase Elliott's 8.5 over that same span.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
1 month agoKeep an eye on Kyle Busch this weekend at Circuit of the Americas. The Richard Childress Racing driver finished runner-up to race winner, Tyler Reddick, in this race last season and was consistently one of the better drivers on road course tracks throughout the 2023 season. When you look at average running position on road courses last year, Busch ranked fourth-best with an ARP of 9.88. His average finish was slightly worse (11.4) but Busch did post top-five results at Sonoma and the Charlotte ROVAL in addition to last year's race here at COTA. Rowdy qualified 16th for this weekend's EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix, giving him solid place differential upside. At $9,200 on DraftKings, there is potential for Busch to be a great value DFS pick this weekend. You should definitely consider him in your lineups.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Win The Race
1 month agoIt has been a tough start to the 2024 season for Austin Cindric and the No. 2 Team Penske team. Although they did finish fourth at Atlanta, the other four races have all ended with Cindric in 22nd-place or worse in the running order. Hopefully, though, he he can turn things around at Circuit of the Americas this weekend. Earlier this week during media availability, Cindric noted, "I think it's a great opportunity for us to kind of get back on track and hit the reset button. [COTA has] been a place that we've had some good pace. We obviously have to adapt to the new package, but I'm excited to go hit the reset button and get after it." Cindric has posted finishes of sixth and eighth over the last two races at this track. He starts 11th for this weekend's EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix and makes for a very sneaky fantasy pick in DraftKings, especially at his $7,200 salary. You should consider Cindric as a tournament DFS play this weekend.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Motorsport
1 month agoKamui Kobayashi will be making his second-ever NASCAR Cup Series start at Circuit of the Americas this weekend with the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. Kobayshi has an impressive racing history all over the world, particularly in the FIA World Endurance Championship, but his other NASCAR Cup Series start ended in a disappointing 33rd-place finish at the Indy Road Course last season. This weekend, Kobayashi will pilot the No. 50 Toyota for 23XI Racing. In practice on Saturday morning, he was able to post the eighth-fastest single lap time, but Kobayashi wasn't able to back that up in qualifying and will start from 25th for this weekend's EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. With such limited Cup Series experience, it's hard to tell what to expect from the Japanese racer. After practice, he said, "Practice went well. This is way different driving. Obviously, we brake late. With this Cup car, you can't. I just overdrove a lot and couldn't get a good lap time."
--Jordan McAbeeSource: PRN
1 month agoFresh off of his strong run at Bristol last weekend, Justin Haley is keeping the speed up at Circuit of the Americas this weekend. The No. 21 Ford ranked 21st-fastest during practice on Saturday morning in Austin, Texas, and Haley followed that up with a 13th-place qualifying effort later that day. It is the best start spot for Rick Ware Racing at this race track. As far as finishing potential goes, Hely goes have 19th- and 15th-place finishes to his credit at COTA over the last two years, but those were with Kaulig Racing equipment. Although he should be a fun underdog to root for in this weekend's EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix, Justin Haley is a bit too risky to be recommended in DFS contests due to his abnormally high starting position.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Rick Ware Racing
1 month agoMartin Truex Jr. did not have the best practice session on Saturday. However, his Toyota seemed to warm up much like he did. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver ended up seventh in qualifying. Truex Jr. and his No. 19 car found a way to get into the final round. However, he still ended up more than 1 3/4 seconds off the time set by William Byron. Overall, six of the top ten qualifiers were from Toyota. Fellow teammate Ty Gibbs was 0.015 seconds off of the pole. There is little doubt that Joe Gibbs car is fast. Toyota could again place four or five drivers in the top ten easily. Truex Jr. finished seventh in 2022 and has the speed to contend on Sunday.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
1 month agoRyan Preece has not had the best of starts all year. Saturday afternoon at the Circuit of Americas was no exception. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver was almost a full second behind William Byron. That placed Preece 24th among the 39 cars who qualified for the Echopark Automotive Grand Prix. Preece has finished 15th and 32nd in two trips to Austin. However, once again, he has work to do on Sunday. His average qualifying position is 26.6 in 2024. That is his worst since becoming a full time driver in 2019. Sunday may see Preece trying to struggle to maintain position.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
1 month agoJohn Hunter Nemechek had little to be happy about during practice on Saturday. The Legacy Motor Club driver lagged way back in his Toyota. However, the No. 42 car managed to turn in a decent lap in qualifying. That got him up to 22nd. It was better than practice where Nemechek lagged near the back. He was 31st in practice but his overall average ranked 35th. Like Erik Jones, the Legacy version of the Toyota lacked the speed and power needed to better command the Circuit of the Americas. Nemechek has done well this year but Sunday will be a test.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
1 month agoErik Jones and the Legacy Motor Club team had one bad afternoon on Saturday. Jones qualified 38th more than 1.9 seconds behind William Byron. The problem was that practice was even more calamitous for Jones and the Toyota. The No. 43 car was almost 3.3 seconds off the pace then. Everything seemed off on the turns unlike the other Toyota cars. He was a bit better in his lap averages placing 23rd at 133.7 mph. Unfortunately, over 68 laps, Jones may only find enough speed to move up several spots. A lot of work will need to be done to fix the Toyota for Sunday afternoon.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
1 month agoTimmy Hill felt the sting of the Austin, Texas road course on Saturday in practice and qualifying. The Power Source Ford lagged way back and ended up 37th in qualifying. The No. 66 car was several seconds off the pace of William Byron. In practice, Hill was more than eight seconds slower. Worse, he could only run four laps on the car. Hill kept losing speed coming out of the turns. A tenth here and a couple of tenths there add up quickly over the 3.426-mile course. The hope for Hill will be to gain some experience and finish all 68 laps on Sunday.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
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