2 months agoAlthough Kyle Larson won the pole for yesterday's Grant Park 165 in Chicago, he lost the lead to Ty Gibbs in the first corner and failed to lead any laps. However, he did run in the top five for the entire first 33 laps and was catching Gibbs for second when he overshot the corner and crashed into the Turn 6 tire barrier en route to a 39th-place finish. Larson still retained the regular season points lead over his teammate, Chase Elliott, by 11 points after Daniel Suárez spun Elliott on the last lap of the race. Larson seems to frequently alternate between brilliant drives and embarrassing mistakes, but he is simply responding to the incentives of a win-and-in championship format, which rewards risk-taking more than NASCAR's previous points systems did. Despite his errors, he remains the fastest driver in the series and the championship favorite.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 months agoJoey Hand made good use of the fastest cars he has ever had in the NASCAR Cup Series to finish fourth at Chicago despite starting 38th. Although Hand is better on road courses than street courses, he's still vastly more experienced on street courses and rain racing than the NASCAR regulars. He methodically carved through the field and was running seventh on lap 42 when he and many other drivers stayed out of the pits assuming they would not run out of fuel since there was only a half-hour left in the race. This gave him the lead for seven laps until Alex Bowman made the pass for the win on lap 51, and Tyler Reddick and Ty Gibbs also overtook him on the penultimate lap. Although Hand was unable to replicate Shane van Gisbergen's feat from last year, his strategy worked out and gave him his best career finish.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 months agoFor the second consecutive year, Christopher Bell dominated Stage 2 at the Chicago Street Course in treacherous conditions before bad luck befell him after getting stuck in traffic. Bell elected to switch from wet tires to slicks at the end of Stage 2 in yesterday's race, which dropped him to 13th. However, that move was questionable because NASCAR had already announced the race would end in thirty minutes. Nonetheless, Bell made a remarkable charge and was poised to take fourth with three laps left when Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. bumped Martin Truex, Jr. into him, which wrecked Bell out of the race and relegated him to a 37th-place finish. Bell probably would have run down Alex Bowman to win had he not been wrecked, but he almost certainly would have led the rest of the race if he'd stayed out of the pits. Arguably the No. 20 team outfoxed themselves in this one.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
3 months agoMartin Truex Jr. will start 24th in this week's Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course. This is the lowest start position of his Cup Series career at Chicago and the third-lowest of the year for Truex. In last year's Cup event at the site, Truex placed 32nd, one lap down after obtaining damage through a crash. After 19 races this year, Truex has 15 top-20 finishes, with eight inside the Top 10. In practice, Truex ranked ninth in five consecutive lap averages, fifth in overall lap averages, and third in 10 consecutive lap averages. As one of the fastest overall drivers in practice, Truex is one of the best drivers to recommend for all DFS formats, with highly favorable Place Differential upside and a car capable of competing for a top-10 finish.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: racing-reference.info
3 months agoTrackhouse Racing driver Daniel Suarez will start ninth in this week's Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course. This is a lower starting position for Suarez at the site compared to last year's event, but it is the second time this season that Suarez will start in the Top 10. Last year at Chicago, in his only start at the site in the Cup Series, Suarez placed 27th after a failed pit strategy and underwhelming performance. Through 19 races so far this season, Suarez has one win and eight top-20 finishes, including a finish of 14th in the last road course event at Sonoma. In practice, Suarez ranked eighth in five consecutive lap averages and seventh in overall lap averages. Despite the fast practice speeds and his proficiency at road courses based on history, Suarez is best utilized in tournament lineups this week due to his low Place Differential upside.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: racing-reference.info
3 months agoFor the Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. will start from the 33rd position after qualifying. Despite being a starting position outside the Top 30, this is Stenhouse's highest starting position to date at Chicago. In his only race at the site last season in the Cup Series, the No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Racing Chevrolet driver placed 34th, one lap down. In 19 starts so far through the 2024 season, Stenhouse has seven top-20 finishes, including three of the last five Cup events. In practice, Stenhouse ranked 30th in overall lap averages, 23rd in five consecutive lap averages, and 12th in 10 consecutive lap averages. Due to his extremely high Place Differential upside, equipment, and practice speeds, Stenhouse is one of the safer and more favorable DFS value options available this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: racing-reference.info
3 months agoHendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott will start 18th in this week's Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course. This is the highest start position for Elliott at the site, but the lowest at a road or street course this season. In his only start at Chicago last year in the Cup Series, Elliott started 26th, obtained plenty of positive Place Differential, and finished third. Through 19 races so far in the 2024 season, Elliott has one win, nine top-10 finishes, and remains the only driver in the field to place in the Top 20 of every race. In practice, Elliott ranked 14th of all drivers in five consecutive lap averages and seventh in single-lap times. With favorable PD upside, top-notch equipment, and some of the best road course history, Elliott is one of the better options to consider for any DFS contest at Chicago this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: racing-reference.info
3 months agoRoss Chastain will start 14th in this week's Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course. This is the highest start position of his Cup career at Chicago for Chastain and the first road/street course event he will start outside of the Top 10. In last year's race at the site, Chastain started 34th, nabbed plenty of positive Place Differential, and placed 22nd. After 19 races completed so far this year, Chastain has seven top-10 finishes, including both road course events at COTA and Sonoma. In practice, Chastain ranked 27th in overall lap averages, 22nd in five consecutive lap averages, and 14th in 10 consecutive lap averages. With his starting position being just above the middle of the pack, Chastain does not offer the highest PD upside. The No. 1 Trackhouse Racing driver works best for tournament lineups based on practice speeds, equipment, Chicago history, and past road course results.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: driveraverages.com
3
months
agoIn
this
week's
Grant
Park
165
at
the
Chicago
Street
Course,
William
Byron
qualified
27th.
The
No.
24
Hendrick
Motorsports
driver
experienced
power
steering
issues
during
practice
and
qualifying.
As
a
result,
the
team
will
fix
the
power
steering,
which
is
an
adjustment
made
to
the
car
that
read more...
3
months
agoFresh
off
a
runner-up
finish
in
Nashville
one
week
ago,
Zane
Smith
will
look
to
build
off
this
momentum
when
he
starts
30th
in
the
Grant
Park
165
from
Chicago,
IL.
While
a
second-place
finish
is
nothing
to
scoff
at,
and
while
the
No.
71
team
should
take
read more...
3 months agoSportsbooks have made Shane van Gisbergen the heavy favorite to win the Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course on Sunday afternoon. After qualifying fifth for the second-ever race at the temporary track, van Gisbergen is sitting at two-to-one odds to win the race at most sportsbooks across the country. Pole sitter, Kyle Larson, is the next favorite to win, and can be found at four-to-one odds at some books. A big reason why SVG is such a heavy favorite is because of his win in the Xfinity Series at Chicago on Saturday afternoon. While the two-to-one odds are likely too short to bet on van Gisbergen outright, he's still a very likely contender for the race win, and at $10,000 on DraftKings, he makes a great DFS play with a little bit of Place Differential potential to go along with the dominator and race-winning upside.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
3 months agoChris Buescher has some work to do at the Chicago Street Course on Sunday afternoon if he wants to keep his streak of top-11 finishes on road courses alive. Currently, Buescher has a 13-race streak of results of 11th or better at the road courses, including a 10th-place finish here at Chicago last year. However, the No. 17 Ford spun out during qualifying and contact with the wall broke the toe link along with flattening the left rear tire. It is likely that Buescher will have to drop to the rear of the field at the start of the Grant Park 165 on Sunday because of the repairs needed to the toe link. He will still be scored from his official qualifying position in DFS contests (16th). While it's not impossible that Buescher comes away with another solid finish this weekend, it's certainly much more difficult if he has to come through the field at a tight road course like the Chicago Street Course is.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: RFK X Account
3
months
agoDenny
Hamlin
will
start
11th
in
the
Grant
Park
165
from
Chicago,
IL.
With
what
looked
to
be
the
win
in
hand
just
one
week
ago
in
Nashville,
one
that
slipped
away
because
of
fuel
issues
related
to
multiple
overtimes,
Hamlin
and
his
team
will
look
for
a
read more...
3 months agoThe road to victory lane in the Grant Park 165 will go through Kyle Larson on Sunday afternoon. The Hendrick Motorsports driver put down a great lap in qualifying on Saturday, winning the pole for the second-ever race at the Chicago Street Course, and also had the fourth-best five-lap average during practice that same day. The street course is a very narrow and precision-sensitive track, making track position very important on Sunday afternoon. With his first-place starting spot, Larson has the best track position to start the race, and he's going to be tough to beat. Although Place Differential should be the main thing you're targeting with your DraftKings lineups for this race, you still need plenty of Larson exposure on the DFS site because of his dominator potential in the race.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Jayski
3 months agoAll eyes are on Kyle Larson and Shane van Gisbergen heading into the Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course on Sunday afternoon, but don't count out Ty Gibbs when talking about potential winners. Gibbs finished second to van Gisbergen in the Xfinity Series race here on Saturday and has posted top-five finishes in three of his last four road course races in the Cup Series (at COTA, Charlotte Roval, and Watkins Glen). Gibbs qualified second for this weekend's race at Chicago, which is going to lower his DFS ownership a bit on DraftKings, but considering he comes in at a very palatable $8,400 salary on the site, he's definitely worth having a good amount of exposure of on Sunday. Gibbs has the third-best average running position on road courses since the start of the 2023 season.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Win The Race
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