July 13, 2025
After backing into the Round of 16 in the NASCAR In-Season Challenge because he finished both of the first two races while his heavily-favored opponents Denny Hamlin and Brad Keselowski both crashed, Ty Dillon's run will likely end on Sunday now that he is facing Alex Bowman, a driver who has earned top-10 finishes in all three of his road/street-course starts, while Dillon has never had one in his career. At $5,000, Dillon is one of the most inexpensive drivers in the field, but in five Sonoma starts, he has never finished better than 23rd. The fact that he had his best qualifying run on Saturday and starts a career-best 26th indicates he's even less likely to gain place-differential points than he was in previous years. There are plenty of drivers who are available relatively cheaply who should be considered before him.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
July 13, 2025
Haas Factory Team driver Cole Custer will start 27th for Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 after qualifying. Custer has never qualified lower than this position in his entire Cup career at Sonoma Raceway. In two Cup starts at Sonoma, Custer has two finishes of 21st or better, but has only scored positive Place Differential once. With 19 races completed this season, Custer has five top-20 finishes, with his only top-10 being claimed at Mexico City, another road course venue. The No. 41 Ford driver also has finished with positive PD in two of the three road course events this season. In practice, Custer ranked 18th in overall lap averages and 25th in five consecutive lap averages. Based on his practice speeds and overall results at road courses this season, Custer is one of the more favorable DFS value options to consider for all formats this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
July
13,
2025
Erik
Jones
of
Legacy
Motor
Club
obtained
a
starting
position
of
31st
after
qualifying
for
Sunday's
Toyota/Save
Mart
350
at
Sonoma
Raceway.
Jones
is
the
lowest-qualifying
Toyota
driver
of
the
week
for
Sunday's
race
and
is
matched
up
against
his
teammate,
read more...
July
13,
2025
Cody
Ware
of
Rick
Ware
Racing
will
start
36th
after
qualifying
for
this
week's
Toyota/Save
Mart
350
at
Sonoma
Raceway.
Ware
is
the
lowest-qualifying
Ford
driver
in
the
field
for
this
week's
race.
In
four
previous
Cup
races
at
Sonoma,
Ware
read more...
July 8, 2025
After a missed cut at the U.S. Open and a poor T45 finish at The Travelers, Sepp Straka is an easier name to forget about, even though he's a top 10 player in the world. A short stint of hot putting has withered to a point that he's averaged -1.47 strokes gained putting over those two starts. Accuracy has been the biggest selling point for the 32-year-old this season, but from an off-the-tee perspective, his lack of firepower is more of a detriment than his accuracy is a benefit. In two previous appearances, the former Bulldog has had horrendous weeks on the greens. That makes for a scary proposition this time around since things are already trending in that direction. Avoid him in most situations.
--Todd McGillSource: Data Golf
July 7, 2025
Ty Gibbs had one of his better races of his career at the Chicago Street Course yesterday. After starting ninth, he remained in the top ten for the entire race with the exception of his pit stops late in Stage 1 and Stage 2 to flip both of those stages. He caught a significant break when Chase Briscoe and Tyler Reddick both pitted on lap 61 even though they might've been able to make it on fuel, which elevated Gibbs from fourth to second where he remained the rest of the race. Shortly after the ensuing restart, Briscoe had a flat tire, which effectively ended his race while Reddick's attempt to get around Gibbs was thwarted by a last-lap caution for Cody Ware's crash. Although the result helped Gibbs advance in the In-Season Challenge over A.J. Allmendinger, it did little for him in the playoff picture as he still almost certainly needs to win to make the playoffs
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
July 7, 2025
Alex Bowman started 11th and finished 8th at Chicago yesterday, but his race was no mere Sunday drive as his feud with Bubba Wallace dating back to the 2019 Charlotte roval. As Bowman was driving up through the field on fresher tires, he attempted to follow Wallace's teammate Tyler Reddick around Wallace but the pair began hammering each other for nearly an entire lap until Bowman spun Wallace with six laps to go, resulting in a 28th-place finish for Wallace. It remains unclear whether Bowman spun out or Wallace spun himself out across Bowman's bumper, but Wallace seemed more aggressive in this encounter. This allowed Bowman to beat Wallace and advance in NASCAR's In-Season Challenge. He now sits 39 points above the playoff cutline, but it's possible that could be reduced if NASCAR decides that Bowman right-hooked Wallace.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
July 7, 2025
Bubba Wallace's summer of futility continues with another crash in a race where he was fast. Despite being relegated to a 37th-place starting position after a botched qualifying lap, he had driven up to 16th when he was spun by Kyle Larson at the start of Stage 2. However, good strategy and a decision not to pit allowed him to vault into the top ten by the end of Stage 2. He remained there until Alex Bowman attempted to follow Wallace's teammate Reddick around him. After running into each other numerous times for nearly an entire lap, Bowman spun Wallace out again with six laps remaining. This relegated Wallace to a 28th-place finish. As a result, he only sits a mere two points ahead of Ryan Preece on the playoff bubble. After the race, he ran Bowman into the wall. It remains to be seen whether either driver will be penalized.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
July 7, 2025
After qualifying second at Chicago, Michael McDowell unexpectedly took the lead from eventually Shane van Gisbergen on the opening lap and led the entire first stage. He declined to pit during the first stage break in an attempt to make the race distance on only one pit stop. However, he was forced to go behind the wall early in Stage 2 to fix a broken throttle cable. McDowell returned to the track and finished 22 laps down in an attempt to collect his fourth fastest lap point of the season, but he didn't succeed. Nonetheless, the rash of crashes allowed him to finish 32nd. McDowell still has three plausible chances to win at Sonoma, Watkins Glen, and Daytona, but he is probably now in a must win situation even if he wasn't before.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
July 7, 2025
Austin Hill earned his first top ten in the NASCAR Cup Series in yesterday's race at the Chicago Street Course. Although Richard Childress Racing has lacked speed most of this season, they have been very fast on road or street courses as Kyle Busch has earned both of his top fives this season on that track type while even Austin Dillon qualified in the top ten. Hill, who had proven to be a canny road racer in the Xfinity Series, skillfully weaved through the carnage of numerous crashes in Stage 3 to creep into the top ten with four laps remaining and eventually finish 9th. It remains to be seen whether he'll ever land a full-season ride in the Cup Series, but Hill made something of a case for it yesterday.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
July
7,
2025
23XI
Racing's
Tyler
Reddick
was
one
of
the
most
consistent
drivers
of
the
Grant
Park
165
at
the
Chicago
Street
Course
in
terms
of
running
close
to
the
front
in
Sunday's
race.
Starting
from
the
fourth
position,
Reddick
kept
his
car
read more...
July
7,
2025
Richard
Childress
Racing
driver
Kyle
Busch
acquired
a
finish
of
fifth
during
the
Grant
Park
165
at
the
Chicago
Street
Course
on
Sunday.
Busch
started
the
race
from
the
sixth
position
but
quickly
moved
closer
to
the
front
as
he
avoided
read more...
July
7,
2025
Joe
Gibbs
Racing's
Denny
Hamlin
obtained
a
hard-fought
top-5
finish
in
Sunday's
Grant
Park
165
at
the
Chicago
Street
Course.
Hamlin
began
the
race
from
the
40th
position
due
to
having
an
engine
problem
during
practice,
which
left
him
unable
to
read more...
July
7,
2025
William
Byron
of
Hendrick
Motorsports
had
a
messy
weekend
that
he
wanted
to
forget
from
this
week's
Grant
Park
165
at
the
Chicago
Street
Course.
Before
the
race
even
began,
Byron
hit
the
wall
during
practice
and
sustained
enough
damage
that
read more...
July 6, 2025
Spire Motorsports driver Carson Hocevar will start third after qualifying for Sunday's Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course. This is Hocevar's first time starting inside the top five at Chicago in his Cup career. In his only prior Cup start at the site, Hocevar has a finish of 24th and lost place differential. Through 17 Cup races so far this season, Hocevar has three top-10 finishes and an average finish of 22.5. Hocevar has just one top-15 finish in two road course events ran this season, with a finish of 13th at COTA. In practice, Hocevar ranked 26th in overall lap averages and 16th in five consecutive lap averages. Hocevar is a driver that is hard to recommend based on his practice speeds and past Chicago history for this week's race. His almost miniscule upside however, is the biggest factor for why Hocevar is a driver to avoid in DFS for this week's race.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
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