July 19, 2025

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has been a positive place-differential machine this season, and that is likely to happen again at Dover Motor Speedway this weekend. Thanks to this weekend's starting lineup being set by the metric, Stenhouse will roll off the starting grid from 34th place when the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 goes green at Dover on Sunday. If Stenhouse has just an average race, though, he should finish much better than that. In the Next Gen era, he has posted finishes of second, 15th, and 35th at Dover, and that last one was due to a wreck in last year's race. At just $6,200 on DraftKings, Stenhouse is a cheap place-differential option that could challenge for a top-15 finish if things go right on Sunday. Stenhouse has finished inside that mark in 10 of his 21 career starts at Dover.--Jordan McAbee
Source: ifantasyrace

July 19, 2025

Justin Haley has struggled quite a bit this season, as the Spire Motorsports driver currently has an average finish of 22.0 through the first 20 races of the season. Although that is better than his average result last year (23.4), it is still quite a disappointing number, as Haley hasn't shown many real flashes of speed on the track this year. Could that change this weekend at Dover? Probably not, but Justin does have an 11th-place finish to his credit at "The Monster Mile" (back in 2022). His other two Cup Series starts have ended with him in 23rd-place each time. Thanks to this weekend's starting lineup being set by the metric, the No. 7 Chevrolet will roll off the starting grid from 20th-place on Sunday. Given how he has raced this season overall, that's likely about the ceiling for Justin Haley in terms of finish as well.--Jordan McAbee
Source: ifantasyrace

July 19, 2025

If you're looking for a low-tier driver to roll the dice on this weekend at Dover Motor Speedway, don't overlook Cole Custer. The driver of the No. 41 Ford has just five top-20 finishes in 20 races this season, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him add to that number this weekend at "The Monster Mile." In four career Cup Series starts at this track, Custer has finished between 10th and 15th each time, and in his last two races here he started way back in 30th-place when the green flag flew. For this weekend's Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400, Custer will start from back in 29th-place. With his very low salary on DraftKings ($5,100) and stellar (for his caliber) track record at Dover, you should definitely have some Cole Custer exposure in your DFS lineups this weekend.--Jordan McAbee
Source: Driver Averages

July 19, 2025

Ty Dillon will roll off the starting grid from 21st place for this weekend's Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 thanks to the starting lineup being set by NASCAR's metric. Dillon has been one of the biggest underdog stories of the season, as the Kaulig Racing driver is now in the final four of the In-Season Tournament, going head-to-head with John Hunter Nemechek for a spot in the final two next week at Indianapolis. As far as track history goes, Dover actually hasn't been that bad of a venue for Dillon, as he has finished between 14th and 24th in five of his 11 career starts at "The Monster Mile." Another top-20 finish could be in the cards for him this weekend, which makes him a risky but interesting DFS tournament option, considering he's only $5,000 on DraftKings. He could be a sneaky cap-saving option to round out your lineup on Sunday.--Jordan McAbee
Source: Frontstretch

July 14, 2025

Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott finished third in this past weekend's race at Sonoma Raceway, the Toyota/Save Mart 350. Elliott started the race from the 13th position, and during the first stage, he quietly worked his way into the top 10 until he went to pit road before the end of the stage. Despite pitting, Elliott still managed to finish the first stage in the 10th position and score one stage point. In the second stage, Elliott continued to quietly compete for a top-10 spot and, much like the first stage, waited until just before the end of the stage to head to pit road again. This time, Elliott shuffled outside of the top 10 and despite his best efforts, he fell short of finishing stage two in the top 10 and ended up 11th, missing out on further stage points. In the final stage, Elliott, through the use of a pit strategy, finally ended up inside the top five and then decided to take a bold pit strategy on lap 97 by pitting for tires, which was a different strategy from Shane Van Gisbergen, who stayed out on older tires. Then, through the last few restarts, Elliott charged up through the field, making it to third and looking to pass Chase Briscoe for second, but went off course, allowing Christopher Bell to pass him back for third. Elliott soon regained the position, but did not have enough time to catch Briscoe and Van Gisbergen by the end of the race. The No. 9 Chevrolet driver settled for third, earning his fifth consecutive top-10 finish at Sonoma.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

July 14, 2025

Chase Briscoe of Joe Gibbs Racing held his best result at Sonoma Raceway this weekend during the Toyota/Save Mart 350. Briscoe began the race from the second position, and during the first stage, he held a strong top-3 running position through most of the stage, only losing one spot to William Byron before he eventually hit pit road before the end of the stage. Briscoe's pit stop sent him back to seventh, where he eventually finished in the stage, allowing him to score a few stage points. During the second stage, Briscoe shuffled back into the top five, and then he progressed back up to second behind Shane Van Gisbergen, who ended up being the dominant driver of the day. Briscoe followed behind Van Gisbergen until he pitted before the end of the stage, sending him back a few positions to sixth, where he would end the stage and gather more stage points. In the final stage, Briscoe shuffled back to second and spent the rest of the race trying to chase Van Gisbergen, who led the rest of the event, even after pit road cycles and cautions. Despite an admirable effort, Briscoe was not fast enough to overtake Van Gisbergen and settled for second place, marking Briscoe's first Cup Series top-5 finish on a road course and a new career-best at Sonoma.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

July 14, 2025

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell had a rollercoaster of a performance during Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway before scoring a top-five finish. Bell started 10th in Sunday's race but quickly showcased that he had a solid car during the first stage. After a few laps, he made it up to as high as the fourth position until he went to pit road a few laps before the end of the first stage. Bell maintained a top-10 running position until he spun himself on Lap 24, causing him to finish the stage in 18th place and miss out on stage points. During the second stage, Bell avoided further accidents and slowly worked his way back up into the field. The No. 20 Toyota driver recovered to make it to the sixth position before he went to pit road a few laps before the end of Stage 2. Bell spent the last few laps of the stage recovering ground but fell short of earning stage points, as he ended the second stage in 12th. In the final stage, Bell went back up through the field into the top 10, and over the course of pit stops in the middle of the stage, he briefly inherited the lead before pitting himself multiple times over the course of the stage. Bell avoided catastrophe, and by the race's final few restarts, he had fresher tires than the leaders in front of him. He mounted a late-race charge into the top 10 after restarting outside of it, and by the end of the race, he finished in the fifth position. Bell's fifth-place finish was the first top-five result of his Cup career at Sonoma, and he climbed up to sixth in the regular-season standings.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

July 14, 2025

William Byron had a mostly consistent and solid performance during Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. Byron began the race from third place, but then quickly passed Chase Briscoe for second after just the third lap of the race in the first stage. Byron held second for the rest of the stage until he decided to pit before the end of the stage to keep up with Shane Van Gisbergen. Byron ended the stage in fourth and still scored stage points. In the second stage, Byron most of the time held the second position behind Van Gisbergen, until Briscoe made it past Byron for second once again on lap 42. The No. 24 Chevrolet driver then went ahead to pit road early before the end of the stage once again on lap 52, and held on to finish the stage in 10th, gaining one extra stage point. In the final stage, Byron was quiet and kept his car clean, but mostly kept to the same strategy as Van Gisbergen, who ended up being the dominant driver of the day. This also meant that during the last couple of laps, Byron ended up on older tires and did not have the grip to keep his car ahead of those with fresher tires. As a result, Byron ended up falling back to eighth during the checkered flag for the second Sonoma top-10 run of his career. Byron did finish well enough to maintain the regular season points lead as the Cup Series will next head to Dover Motor Speedway.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

July 14, 2025

Kyle Busch of Richard Childress Racing fought through a challenging day in order to finish in the 10th position for Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. Busch began the race from the 17th position, but had some struggles with his car during the first stage. Busch had a hard time holding a top-20 position through the stage, as he ended up finishing it in 29th and failed to gain stage points. During the second stage, Busch's team improved his car, and he was finally gaining ground on the field. Busch raced his way back into the top 20, but improved his position further to the point that he finished the second stage in third position, collecting stage points. After pitting between stages, Busch was set up to compete for a top-10 finish, but midway through the final stage on lap 76, Busch lost control and spun his car, sending him to the back of the field. In the late parts of the stage, several drivers ended up losing control of their cars and getting into accidents, which took Busch from roughly 29th to inside the top 15 in a few laps. He then worked his way up to finish 10th by the final lap of the race to score back-to-back top-10 finishes for just the second time in the 2025 season. --Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

July 14, 2025

It looked for most of Sunday's race at Sonoma that Ryan Preece was actually going to upset In-Season Tournament favorite Tyler Reddick to advance to the semifinal against Ty Gibbs, which was very shocking as Preece spent much of Stage 3 inside the top 10, while Reddick was outside of it, even though he is a vastly better road racer and driver in general. Much like his Mexico City run, he showed uncharacteristic mediocrity for much of the race, but a decision to pit for fresh rubber when a caution came out for a loose tire bunched up the field, and Reddick passed Preece on a restart as Preece ran into the back of Noah Gragson and slightly damaged his car. At that point, he blasted through the field to finish sixth, making him the only driver to finish in the top 10 in all three Challenge races, but he's tending to run worse than his finishes, so don't be surprised if Gibbs upsets him at Dover.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

July 14, 2025

In an odd coincidence, all three NASCAR Cup Series drivers named Tyler advanced to the final four of NASCAR's In-Season Challenge tournament bracket. While Tyler Reddick is not really a surprise, both Ty Dillon and Ty Gibbs definitely were as Dillon isn't a good driver and Gibbs isn't very good yet. Nonetheless, Gibbs benefited mightily from the fact that his first-round opponent was the extremely mediocre Justin Haley while the second and third rounds took place on road courses, which are Gibbs's best track type. Gibbs ran in the top ten virtually all day before beating Zane Smith and finishing seventh to advance to the semifinal against Reddick. Smith made a play for the upset by staying out of the pits on the caution for a loose tire, but Gibbs passed him on fresher tires as Smith plummeted through the pack. He also became a slight contender to advance to the playoffs on points as he now sits 60 points behind bubble driver Bubba Wallace, but he's still unlikely to make the playoffs.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

July 14, 2025

Kyle Larson had a curiously mediocre run at Sonoma, a track where he had earned impressive wins twice before in 2021 and 2024 as well as four consecutive poles from 2017-2022. Larson wasn't remotely in contention, spending most of the race between 11th and 20th while his teammates William Byron and Chase Elliott were fast all race. Larson did make a couple strategy plays as he elected not to pit prior to Stage 2 in an attempt to win a playoff point, but he failed as eventual winner Shane van Gisbergen passed him on the last lap of Stage 2. He then long-pitted in Stage 3 and led two more laps, but his decision to pit on the subsequent caution ended up backfiring, as John Hunter Nemechek spun him out in traffic and into the line of Ryan Blaney, resulting in a 35th-place finish as his futile summer continues. Although he trails both Byron and Elliott in the championship, he is only 44 points behind Byron for the regular season title, who also isn't running very well.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

July 14, 2025

As usual for the Legacy Motor Club drivers on road courses, neither John Hunter Nemechek nor Erik Jones ran very well at Sonoma on Sunday. But also as usual, Nemechek had more road-course speed than Jones, who was at times battling the slowest cars like Katherine Legge's. That allowed Nemechek to beat Jones to advance to the semifinal of the In-Season Challenge bracket, where he will face Ty Dillon at Dover. Since Nemechek is 22nd in points and Dillon is 31st, he is more likely to advance, but the fact that both drivers were so low in points is really a reflection of how the tournament has a terrible format that rewards mediocrity rather than performance, especially by starting the tournament on a drafting track. Even if Nemechek wins the bracket, it won't be that significant of an accomplishment.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

July 14, 2025

Improbably, Ty Dillon advanced to the semifinal of NASCAR's In-Season Challenge after bumping his opponent Alex Bowman out of the way despite Bowman outrunning Dillon for nearly the entire race. Although his 17th-place finishing position was the best of his career at Sonoma, he still didn't actually run very well as his average running position was 24th, and his average running position at Chicago of 25th was even worse. Really, all this proves is how single-race finishing results have little to do with how drivers are actually running. Despite the fact that he was actually a top ten points scorer at Sonoma because he scored points in both stages, he still only ranks 31st in the championship nearly 100 points behind his teammate A.J. Allmendinger, and it's unlikely he will beat John Hunter Nemechek to make the final of the tournament.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

July 13, 2025

For a second race weekend in a row, Shane van Gisbergen is the heavy favorite to win the NASCAR Cup Series race. Last week at the Chicago Street Course, Michael McDowell looked like he could contend with SVG, but once McDowell had his mechanical issues, van Gisbergen went on to put on a dominating effort en route to his second win of the season. Now SVG is on the pole for Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma and is the heavy favorite to win his third race of the year. Can he get it done, though? SVG himself wasn't entirely confident after practice, saying it was a "bit of a worry" and that the No. 88 Chevrolet isn't very good--especially on the long runs. Of course, he said a similar comment after practice at Mexico City and went on to obliterate the field there. SVG should still be considered the most likely to win and dominate the race at Sonoma this weekend.--Jordan McAbee
Source: Jeff Gluck