6 days agoKyle Larson finished a close second to Denny Hamlin in this past weekend's Dover race. He led 39 laps after first beating Martin Truex, Jr. on a green flag pit cycle to win Stage 2 and again took the lead on a caution-flag exchange of pit stops on lap 325. In both cases, Larson eventually lost the lead to Hamlin, first in the pits under caution and later on the penultimate restart when Hamlin took the lead immediately before the crash that took out Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, and William Byron. Although he failed to pass Hamlin for the lead, Larson's finish was deserved as he also ranked second in speed and third in driver rating (only barely behind Martin Truex, Jr.) It was a strong run for Larson, but ultimately he could not overcome Hamlin's successful aero-blocking in a race where it was difficult to pass except on restarts.Source: Racing Reference
6 days agoDenny Hamlin scored his third win of the season at the Würth 400 at Dover this past weekend, a win that was forecasted by many models, including our own Jordan McAbee's algorithm-predicted finishing order two days ago. Hamlin's win shouldn't have come as a surprise because many observers expected that the tire wear at Dover would be similar to that at Bristol, a race where Hamlin dominated. Although the Dover race ended up not being much like Bristol, Hamlin still won, led the most laps, posted the fastest average speed, and took the lead from the other leading favorite, Kyle Larson, on the lap 329 restart shortly before the race's biggest crash. With his win, Hamlin ties William Byron in wins with 3 this season and extends his lead in most races with an on-track pass for the lead to 8. Denny continues to rank second in speed for the season to his teammate, Martin Truex, Jr.Source: Racing Reference
6 days agoAfter finishing second in the last two races, Brad Keselowski fell back to Earth on Sunday as he finished 30th in the Wurth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway. Despite only qualifying 24th, Keselowski worked his way up the field early in the race until an incident late in stage one took him out of contention for the day. On lap 118, as he was running 13th, the RFK driver-owner blew a tire, causing him to spin out. Unable to rebound from this setback, the 40-year-old end up completing just 383 of the scheduled 400 laps in Sunday's contest, the eighth fewest of the day. The timing of Keselowski's disastrous performance could not have come on a worse week for the DFS community as he was the second most owned driver in DraftKings featured contest (33.42%) but scored the eighth fewest points on the slate (9.60 DK points). Nevertheless, the No. 6 will try and shake off Sunday's disappointment next weekend at Kansas, a track he has won at twice in his Cup career.Source: Jayski.com
6 days agoRyan Blaney finished seventh in Sunday's Wurth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway, marking his fifth top-10 finish of the season. Overall, it was a solid race for the reigning Cup Series champion as he led 47 laps, recorded 23 fastest laps, and spent 99.5% of the race in the top 15. For his efforts, the Team Penske star earned 54.10 points on DraftKings, the sixth-highest total on the slate. Despite not having any wins this season, following Sunday's race, Blaney sits seventh in the NASCAR playoff standings, just six points behind William Byron who has three wins on the year. Up next for the Cup Series is a trip to Kansas, a track he finished 12th at last fall.Source: Jayski.com
6 days agoComing off of his best career Cup Series finish last week at Talladega (third), Noah Gragson follows up Dover with a finish of sixth. Starting from the fifth position, Gragson looked strong early on as he maintained a top-5 running position for most of the first stage. Gragson, however, would eventually fade back to 12th at the end of stage one after his handling during a longer run would go away. Unfortunately for Gragson, he would continue to be back in traffic during the second stage, fail to score stage points, and be at the tail end of the Top 20. During the final stage, however, Gragson improved his car, and he would catch a break when a caution allowed him to regain track position. Gragson would remain competitive as he would obtain back-to-back top-10 finishes for the first time in his Cup Series career. As the Cup Series next heads to Kansas, Gragson looks to capture more success at a track where he has two top-20 finishes in three starts.Source: NASCAR.com
6 days agoIn this week's Wurth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway, Kyle Busch finished fourth. Starting at the front as the pole sitter, Busch led the opening 34 laps before getting passed by Ryan Blaney. Busch remained steady, however, and scored points at the end of the first two stages. The No. 8 Chevrolet driver would remain in the Top 10 despite some minor pit road struggles where his crew would not fully fuel the car. Busch would eventually rally back to capture just his second top-5 finish of the year. This finish also marked Busch's second top-10 finish at Dover within the last five Cup Series events at the site. As the Cup Series heads to Kansas next week, Busch looks to continue building momentum at a track where he saw success with two wins and 15 top-10 finishes, including last year's race there, where he placed seventh.Source: NASCAR.com
6 days agoDaniel Hemric did it again on Sunday. The Kaulig Racing Chevrolet started 14th and was in first place for five laps. He was the fifth of five Chevy's to wind up in the Top 10 on Sunday from "The Monster Mile." Hemric was 22nd after both stages but made a charge over the final long run. In the last 10-15 laps, the Chevy driver was turning in laps in the 24.3-24.6 second range. That beat out the likes of Martin Truex Jr and Alex Bowman. Only Kyle Larson and Denny Hamlin were faster by the end of the race. Hemric's ninth gives him hope for Kansas on Sunday. Source: NASCAR.com
6 days agoTy Gibbs did not win the Wurth 400 but did managed to finish tenth on Sunday evening. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver began 19th and improved to tenth. Gibbs was running pretty well as the race moved along. He was 17th after Stage 1 then 11th after Stage 2. It was an interesting week for the No. 54 Toyota. Gibbs never had the race speed out of the turns to contend but was fast enough late (Top 10 in the final two segments). It will be intriguing to see what happens at Kansas. Gibbs was running third last year before an accident ended his day last May. Source: NASCAR.com
7 days agoJoe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. will start 15th in this week's race at Dover Motor Speedway, the Wurth 400. This marks the lowest start position of the year since Daytona and the third Dover race in a row where Truex will start outside the Top 10. Truex is one of the most accomplished drivers in the field at Dover with four wins, 19 top-10 finishes, and 1,064 laps led, which is the third-most of active drivers. Truex is also the defending winner of this week's cup race at DMS. After 10 races so far this year, Truex has nine top-15 finishes while leading in seven different Cup events. In practice, Truex ranked 13th in five-consecutive lap averages but fourth in 10 consecutive lap averages, displayed a car that's great on longer runs. With solid Place Differential upside and being one of the betting favorites at one of his best tracks, Truex is a driver all fantasy players should consider for DFS this week.Source: Driveraverages.com
7 days agoTyler Reddick qualified fourth for this week's NASCAR Cup Series race at Dover. This is the highest starting position of his Cup career and just the second time Reddick will start in the Top 10 at the Delaware track. In five starts at Dover, Reddick has two top-10 finishes, including his best finish of seventh, which he collected in his first year driving for 23XI Racing. Reddick is one of the most consistent drivers so far this year, as he scored one win and is tied for the most top-10 finishes of all racers after 10 Cup events. In practice, Reddick displayed top-10 speeds in all eligible categories, including ranking seventh in five-consecutive lap averages. Despite little Place Differential upside, Reddick is a driver that can gain a quality finish regardless of track type as indicated by his 2024 consistency this season so far. Fantasy players should roster the driver of the No. 45 Toyota in tournament formats this week. Source: Driveraverages.com
7 days agoIn qualifying for this week's Wurth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway, Michael McDowell scored a starting position of eighth. McDowell's starting position this week is the highest of his Cup career at Dover and will be the sixth time he will start from the Top 10 this season. In 23 Cup starts at DMS, McDowell has three top-20 finishes, with his best finish being 17th, which he obtained in 2022. In 10 races so far this year, McDowell has three top-20 finishes, all being 11th or better. The driver of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford has also captured positive Place Differential thrice this year. In practice, only McDowell's single-lap and five-consecutive lap averages were ranked among the Top 10 fastest, showcasing how McDowell's car has takeoff speed early in a run. Fantasy players should not expect McDowell to remain in the Top 10, especially with his long-run practice speeds not being favorable. It is recommended to fade McDowell in all formats for this week's race at Dover, especially when his history at the site is unfavorable.Source: Driveraverages.com
7 days agoDuring qualifying for this week's Wurth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway, Joey Logano obtained a starting position of 13th. This start position is the highest of Logano's Cup career at Dover since 2022, when the Next-Gen car was introduced. In 27 starts at DMS, Logano has 15 top-10read more...
7 days agoSophomore Cup driver Noah Gragson will start fifth in this week's Wurth 400 at Dover Motor Speedway. This is the highest start position for Gragson in a Cup Series race to date, and the first time he will start from the Top 5 in his career. While driving for Legacy Motor Club, Gragson scored a DNF in his only previous Cup start at Dover in 2023. In the Xfinity Series, however, Gragson has five top-10 finishes in seven Dover starts. With 10 races completed in the 2024 season so far, Gragson has seven top-20 finishes, with three inside the Top 10. In practice, Gragson ranked 11th in 10-consecutive lap averages, third in 15-consecutive lap averages, and was the only driver to run at least 20-consecutive laps. Considering his starting position, Gragson is a DFS risk with little Place Differential upside. With his car looking solid in practice however, Gragson could work as a sneaky tournament play where not many would roster him, especially as he is capable of placing in the Top 10. Source: Driveraverages.com
7 days agoKyle Larson has some work to do at Dover this weekend if he wants to end up in victory lane because the No. 5 Chevrolet was just mediocre during qualifying on Saturday. Larson will roll off of the starting grid from 21st when this weekend's Würth 400 goes green, although it is fully expected that "Yung Money" will be able to race his way to the front. All sportsbooks still have Larson as the favorite to win this race, with most coming in at the +450 range. Larson has a series-best 8.6 average finish here at Dover over 15 career starts with one win, which came back in the 2019 season. He's priced at a very steep $11,500 on DraftKings this weekend, which can make it difficult to fit him into a lineup, but Larson has the potential of being the highest-scoring driver on the slate between his race-winning possibility as well as the Place Differential upside.Source: ifantasyrace
7 days agoDover Motor Speedway is one of the best tracks on the circuit for Chase Elliott, as the Hendrick Motorsports driver has posted top-five finishes there in 10 of his 13 career starts, including two wins (in 2018 and 2022). That statistic alone should make Chase a solid DFS pick, but when you add in the fact that he qualified 29th for this weekend's Würth 400, he becomes a must play in DFS. The Place Differential potential alone make Elliott one of the strongest options on this weekend's slate, and his $9,900 salary on DraftKings is very palatable. Use Chase early and often when building your DraftKings lineups for Dover.Source: ifantasyrace