August 3, 2025
Cole Custer has never competed at Iowa Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series since the Cup Series race was not added to the schedule until last year when he was a full-time Xfinity Series driver. However, the fact that had Custer spent more time in the Xfinity Series than many of his peers means he is more experienced at the track than other drivers and he had some success, winning the pole and finishing second in the first Xfinity Series race of 2019 and leading 169 laps there in 2018 and 2019. However Stewart-Haas Racing had one of the dominant teams then while the Stewartless Haas Factory Team has not had that kind of speed. Although Custer qualified 19th (which is better than usual), he is still more likely to lose positions than gain them and is therefore a weak selection for DFS play.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
July 28, 2025
Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports had one of the strongest performances of the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday, but fell short of the ultimate prize as he finished the race in second place. Larson began the race from the 13th position, but made some progress right from the first stage as he went up to the eighth position by the end of it and gained a few stage points. In the second stage, Larson and his No. 5 team worked around some pit strategies by pitting on a different time frame compared to the competition, which worked out due to a caution on lap 90, allowing him to stay out and gain track position. He then went on to finish stage two as the runner-up to Ryan Blaney, which gave Larson more stage points. In the final stage, Larson acquired the lead for the first time and led until his green flag pit stop, where he fell a few positions back. Larson eventually made it back up to second, passing 23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick, and had his sights set on his teammate, who was leading, Bubba Wallace. Larson was gaining time on Wallace until a caution came out for rain with six laps to go. After NASCAR dried the track, the race went into overtime, and despite his best efforts on the two overtime restarts, Larson could not get past Wallace and settled for second.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
July 28, 2025
Denny Hamlin had one of the fastest cars in practice, but wrecked during qualifying for the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As a result, he started the race on Sunday from the 39th and final position. The No. 11 Toyota driver spent the entire race steadily working his way through the field both on track and through pit strategies. By the end of the first stage, Hamlin was in the 18th position. Hamlin made it to the top 10 during the second stage and despite playing with pit strategies, it worked out for Hamlin to gain further track position as he ended the second stage in the third position, collecting stage points. In the final stage, Hamlin slid into second behind Kyle Larson until green flag pit stops sent him back in the field again, but he made it back up to fourth by the race's final restart. During that final restart, Hamlin made it past William Byron, who went on to run out of fuel on the final lap of the race. Hamlin finished the race in the third position, earning his first top-5 finish at Indianapolis since 2018.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
July 28, 2025
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Chase Briscoe finished 18th in the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday. Briscoe started the race from the pole position in first and ran away with the lead early on, leading laps until the race's first caution for incident on lap 17. Briscoe lost the lead through pit road, but regained it by the end of the stage as the drivers in front of him went to pit road for fuel. Briscoe went on to win the first stage of the race and collect stage points. In the second stage, Briscoe lost the lead through pit stops during the stage break and spent his time in the middle of the pack. Despite inheriting the lead again by lap 90, Briscoe caught a caution and was mired back in traffic again due to having to hit pit road at the same time. He ended the second stage in 11th, falling short of scoring further stage points. In the final stage, Briscoe spent the entire stage working his way back up to the top 10 and eventually did so during overtime. However, Briscoe and the No. 19 team elected to take tires and fuel before the final restart, sending him to the back where he would be unable to make up much ground and placed 18th, marking a new career-best Cup finish at Indianapolis.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
July 28, 2025
Ty Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing placed 21st in Sunday's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Gibbs started the race from the fifth position, but during the first stage, he ended up losing positions and shuffled back due to pit strategy, ending the stage in 14th and not collecting stage points. The second stage was similar to the first for Gibbs, where he and his team played around with pit strategies, and although they ran inside the top 10 at times, they mostly remained outside of it during the stage. Gibbs ended stage two in the 18th position and failed to score any stage points for the day. In the final stage, Gibbs and his No. 54 team continued to experiment with pit strategies with taking tires and fuel at different times compared to the competition, but it did not work at all as Gibbs could not move through the field. He finished in the 21st position, but still finished ahead of Ty Gibbs in order to win NASCAR's Inaugural In-Season Challenge Tournament and one million dollars.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
July 28, 2025
Yesterday's Brickyard 400 was a mixed blessing for Ryan Preece as his fourth-place finish was his best since Las Vegas 17 races ago and his 12 laps led were his most since Phoenix the race before, but because Bubba Wallace, the driver he was chasing for the final playoff transfer spot, won the race Preece's deficit on the playoff cutline nonetheless increased from 16 points behind Wallace to 42 points behind his RFK Racing teammate Chris Buescher. This drastically decreases the odds he will make the playoffs especially since he does not tend to dominate races and stages and has been more consistent and he will likely need Buescher, a driver who is even more consistent, to get in a wreck to make up the needed ground. Preece stayed out of the pits in Stage 1 and led 12 laps. Going off-sequence allowed him to make his final pit stop much later and he made an impressive charge from 12th to 4th in the final seven laps.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
July 28, 2025
In a Brickyard 400 that was pretty much just a strategy roulette, Brad Keselowski attempted to make up for his painful near miss last year and almost succeeded as the No. 6 team's typical decision to stay out later than other drivers on the race's final green-flag pit sequence reaped great dividends when the race had two overtime restarts, which resulted in a crash and several drivers running out of fuel. The greater fuel and fresher tires allowed Keselowski to drive from 12th to 5th in the last three laps of the race, although he needed to win to have any chance of making the playoffs with his own car. However, he was more successful as an owner as Ryan Preece finished one position ahead of him and Chris Buescher ran well and more or less maintained his playoff position despite losing several positions on the final restart.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
July 28, 2025
In a race where none of the Team Penske drivers qualified particularly well, Penske tried some wild strategies to gain track position as Austin Cindric, Joey Logano, and Josh Berry stayed out of the pits during the Brickyard 400's first caution yesterday although Ryan Blaney did not. Blaney's team had something else up his sleeve as he went well off-sequence in the race's final stage in an attempt to make it on fuel to the end after earlier stretching his fuel to win Stage 2. Although there was some speculation he might be able to do this, Blaney's team aborted this strategy early, but he did benefit from the crash on the first overtime restart and several other drivers running out of fuel during the second one, which helped him maintain his seventh-place points position. While it does nothing to erase his bad luck from earlier in the season, it's conceivable he could again make up for it in the playoffs.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
July 28, 2025
Although Tyler Reddick entered yesterday's Brickyard 400 as probably the favorite on paper, his teammate Bubba Wallace ultimately won the race. Reddick ran well throughout the event, starting fourth and driving quickly up to second, but in keeping with the rest of this season, he had a high average running position while rarely leading. Although Reddick led no laps in the event, he did come out of the pits third on the final green-flag pit cycle and inherited second behind Wallace after Joey Logano cut a tire. Aero push pretty much entirely prevented any passing for the lead and Reddick fell to sixth after suffering minor damage on a restart. When the late caution for rain came out, Reddick elected to pit before he was taken out in the crash on the first overtime restart. Although it was pretty much a worst-case scenario for Reddick, he still sits 138 points above the playoff cutline and could clinch a playoff spot next week.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
July 27, 2025
Erik Jones of Legacy Motor Club will start third in this week's race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Brickyard 400. This is the highest starting position yet of the 2025 season for Jones. In five Cup starts at Indianapolis, Jones has one second-place finish, but also three DNFs. In 21 races completed this season, Jones has three top-10 finishes. In practice for this week's Cup race at Indianapolis, Jones ranked second in overall and five consecutive lap averages. The track history for Jones has not been great at Indianapolis, but he has been one of the fastest drivers through practice and has a high starting position. Jones is a huge DFS risk because there is almost no upside from his starting position; therefore, he should only be considered for tournament lineups in this week's race.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
July 27, 2025
After qualifying for the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Carson Hocevar of Spire Motorsports will start in the eighth position. Hocevar outqualified his teammates from Spire as he is the only one from the organization to score a top-10 starting spot. In his only prior Indianapolis Cup start last year, Hocevar started 30th and went on to finish in the 12th position. After 21 Cup races this season, Hocevar has four top-10 finishes and an average finish of 23.6. In practice, Hocevar ranked 34th in overall lap averages and 14th in five consecutive lap averages. Hocevar's high starting position leaves little upside, and although Hocevar has flashed with speed in a few races this season, his practice speeds indicate that he will finish outside of the top 10. For the salary, Hocevar is a driver who can only be considered for tournament lineups, and even then, he is not the best driver to consider around $7,900 this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
July 27, 2025
Kaulig Racing's A.J. Allmendinger obtained a starting position of ninth after qualifying for this year's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This is just the second time in his Cup career that Allmendinger qualified inside the top 10 on the oval track at Indianapolis. In 11 previous races at Indy, Allmendinger has two top-10 finishes and gained positive Place Differential six times. Through 21 races this year so far, Allmendinger has five top-10 finishes and an average finish of 19.9. In practice for Sunday's Brickyard 400, Allmendinger ranked fourth in overall and 10 consecutive lap averages, and 10th in five consecutive lap averages. Although Allmendinger's history has leaned unfavorable at this track in the past, his practice speeds this week do make him a driver to consider at his price of $6,800 for DraftKings lineups, but mainly as a tournament play due to his low upside from his starting position.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
July 27, 2025
Zane Smith of Front Row Motorsports will start 27th in this week's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Smith has the lowest starting position of the three drivers from FRM in this week's Cup race. In his only Cup Series start at Indianapolis last season, Smith started 27th like this year's race, but went on to finish in the 17th position. With 21 races completed this season, Smith has 12 top-20 finishes and an average finish of 19.8. In practice for this week's Cup Series race at Indianapolis, Smith ranked fifth in overall lap averages and 18th in five consecutive lap averages. Despite his lack of overall experience compared to others, Smith has solid upside and equipment, with practice speeds indicative of competing for a top-20 finish, making him a respectable value option at $5,900 on DraftKings.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
July 27, 2025
Haas Factory Team driver Cole Custer will start 29th for this week's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This will be the best starting position of Custer's Cup career at the site. In his only prior start in the Cup Series at Indy on the oval back in 2020, Custer started 30th and finished in the fifth position while driving for Stewart-Haas Racing. Custer also has three top-10 finishes in four Xfinity Starts at the site, including a runner-up finish in last year's race. In 21 races completed this year, Custer has five top-20 finishes and an average finish of 24.6. In practice for Sunday's Cup race at Indy, Custer ranked 18th in overall lap averages and 21st in five consecutive lap averages. Considering his overall positive history at Indianapolis in prior NASCAR events, his upside from his starting position, and his practice speeds, Custer is a driver worth consideration as a value option with plenty of cap flexibility.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
July 27, 2025
Riley Herbst of 23XI Racing will start 25th after qualifying for Sunday's Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Herbst is making his first Cup Series start at Indianapolis in this week's race. In his only Xfinity Series start at Indy's oval track, Herbst led 30 laps and won the race. Through 21 Cup races so far this season, the No. 35 Toyota driver has six top-20 finishes and an average finish of 25.4. In practice for this week's race, Herbst ranked 33rd in overall lap averages and 35th in five consecutive lap averages. Despite his solid equipment, low salary, and his past Xfinity win, Herbst is a driver who is hard to recommend for DFS over other drivers in this week's race due to his slow practice speeds, lack of Cup experience on this track, and lower upside compared to others in his salary range.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
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