2 months agoAlthough Harrison Burton did score his best career finish in the NASCAR Cup Series on a road course in the Indianapolis GP in 2022 with a third-place finish, that is an outlier for him in general, as he is not particularly known as a road racer. This weekend the series is at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, and in his two previous starts here, Burton started and finished in mid-pack with a best finish of 17th. Burton was drastically slow on road courses in 2023 with a speed percentile of 13.01, slower even than his overall weak speed percentile of 22.89. Couple that with his miserable 29th-place qualifying spot this weekend and the fact that the Fords seem down on power and it is evident that Burton will not remotely contend this weekend unless he can feast on chaos as he did at Indy.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 months agoChase Briscoe has been a solid performer at Circuit of the Americas but it may be tough for him to run as well in this weekend's EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. In the first COTA race in 2021, Briscoe finished sixth, matching his best finish in his rookie season. The following year he finished 30th, but he was significantly faster than that as he ranked 11th in speed and even took the lead on track from eventual winner, Ross Chastain, on a mid-race restart. Road courses were a highlight for Briscoe in his earlier years but not so much last year as his overall speed percentile of 39.71 almost exactly equaled his speed percentile on road courses only (39.44). Although Briscoe has been faster in 2024 than in 2023, the Fords were dreadfully slow in qualifying and Briscoe himself qualified a mere 32nd. However, the No. 14 Ford did rank fourth-fastest in five-lap average during practice, so there may be some speed there during the race.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 months 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
2 months 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
2 months 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
2 months 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
2 months 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
2 months 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
2 months 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
2 months 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
2 months 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
2 months 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
2 months 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
2 months 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
2 months 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
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