3 days agoKyle Busch could definitely contend for the win in this weekend's GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, but that doesn't make him a slam-dunk DFS play. Rowdy qualified fourth for this weekend's race at 'Dega, and while he did win this event one year ago (in addition to finish third the year prior), Busch will likely need to get to victory lane and lead plenty of laps this weekend in order to make it into the optimal lineup on DraftKings. Therefore, it's probably better to stay away from Rowdy in DFS this weekend. With that being said, Busch can still challenge for the win at Talladega, as he has been strong on superspeedways as of late; he has the fourth-best average running position at Daytona and Talladega since the start of the 2023 season. Many sportsbooks have Kyle Busch's odds of winning the GEICO 500 in the 16-to-1 range heading into race day.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Win The Race
3 days agoCorey Lajoie has cemented himself as one of the better superspeedway racers in the NASCAR Cup Series, which means you often have to look his way when the series stops at Daytona or Talladega. And that's exactly the case this weekend with the GEICO 500. Lajoie qualified 31st for this weekend's race, and at just $6,600 on DraftKings, he has huge FPTS scoring upside at a relatively low price. Looking at recent results here at Talladega, Lajoie finished fourth last fall and came home 14th in the first race here during the 2022 season. He has ended up 16th or better in six of the last seven races over at Daytona. Don't be afraid to roll the dice with the No. 7 Chevrolet this weekend at Talladega. Lajoie certainly has a knack for this type of racing.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: DriverAverages
3 days agoBeard Motorsports doesn't race many events in the NASCAR Cup Series, so seeing the No. 62 Chevrolet on the track this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway may seem unfamiliar, but don't count out Anthony Alfredo from getting a good finish in the GEICO 500. Alfredo actually has a solid track record here at Talladega, as posted finishes of 12th and 10th in the two races he ran here back in 2021 while with Front Row Motorsports. This weekend, he qualified 24th for the GEICO 500, which makes "Fast Pasta" a great tournament option in DraftKings DFS contests. Because so many players will be flocking toward the bigger names starting outside of the top 20 for this race, Alfredo's ownership on DraftKings is likely to be quite low despite his place differential upside from starting 24th. Alfredo is a very good low-dollar DFS option this weekend in tournaments.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: DriverAverages
3 days agoFront Row Motorsports showed up with speed this weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, as Michael McDowell qualified on the pole for this weekend's GEICO 500 while Todd Gilliland ended up third-fastest. But will they race well? Gilliland has shown prowess on the superspeedways this season, leading 16 laps in the season-opening Daytona 500 and then leading 58 laps at Atlanta the week after. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to get the finishes he deserved in those events, ending up 35th and 26th, respectively. This weekend at Talladega, Gilliland may seem like a sleeper option in DraftKings contests, especially at his low salary of $6,100, but it would be wise to stay away. At tracks like Talladega, place differential is king, and Gilliland barely has any room to improve there. While the young underdog could surprise with a decent finish in this weekend's GEICO 500, his chances of ending up in the optimal DFS lineup on DraftKings are extremely low due to his starting position, so it'd be best for fantasy players to stay away.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Jayski
3 days agoAustin Cindric qualified on the front row for this weekend's GEICO 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, and this should cause DFS players to immediately remove him from their player pool. While Cindric does have a superspeedway victory to his credit (he won the 2022 Daytona 500), his starting position this weekend makes him unplayable in DFS contests due to the potential for negative place differential. While Cindric could lead some laps and earn FPTS in DraftKings because of that during the GEICO 500, it is extremely unlikely that he makes it into the optimal lineup this weekend--even at his moderate salary of $7,400 on the DFS site. Look elsewhere when building your DraftKings lineups this weekend.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Jayski
3 days agoOn Saturday at Talladega Superspeedway, while Kyle Larson's No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet was being pushed on to pit lane to prepare for his qualifying lap, NASCAR noticed something they didn't like with the race car. Particularly the roof rails. After further evaluation, NASCAR determined that an unapproved adjustment was made on the roof rails and Larson would not be able to qualify for this weekend's GEICO 500. Larson will still be able to race but will have to start from dead last (38th-place). At a track like Talladega, this is not a big issue at all, as starting position doesn't matter. For DFS purposes, Larson is an extremely low-risk fantasy pick, as it is impossible for him to score negative FPTS. Larson will be highly owned in DraftKings contest due to his starting position, and he has tremendous upside in scoring potential because of it as well.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: NASCAR
1 week agoBubba Wallace finished seventh in Sunday's Auto Trader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway. While Sunday's results did not come close to matching the performance he put up a year ago at this track when he led 111 laps, it was still a solid afternoon for the eight-year Cup veteran. Between his finish, earning three points for positive place differential, leading five laps, and recording four fastest laps, the No. 23 ended the day with 43.05 DraftKings points, which was right at value on his $8,700 salary. Up next for the Cup Series is a trip to Wallace's home state of Alabama for the Geico 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.
--Adam Erhardt - RotoBallerSource: Jayski.com
1 week agoAfter suffering significant damage during Saturday's practice session, Kyle Busch was forced to go to a backup car for the Auto Trader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway. Despite being in a backup vehicle and having to start 35th, Busch worked his way through the field up to a ninth-place finish. While not the result fans of the RCR star were looking for, it was still a solid weekend for the former Cup Series champion as he not only earned his third top-10 finish of the season but also won the truck race on Friday night. Busch will look to build off his success at Texas next weekend at Talladega, a track he won on last spring.
--Adam Erhardt - RotoBallerSource: Jayski.com
1 week agoSomeone had to win the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway on Sunday afternoon, and that driver was Chase Elliott, who snapped his 41-race winless streak by doing so. There were 16 cautions for 72 laps during the event along with 23 lead changes among 13 drivers, making it one of the most wild races of the season thus far. Chase is now locked into the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs because of the win, and Hendrick Motorsports has now won five of the first nine races this season. After the event, Elliott stated, "It was crazy. And I couldn't be more proud of our team." Chase is now fourth in the points standings after nine races, 32 points behind the points leader and his teammate, Kyle Larson.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: NASCAR.com
1 week agoWilliam Byron's strong 2024 season continues, as the Hendrick Motorsports driver walked away from the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 with a third-place finish--but it didn't come without some controversy. Byron made contact with fellow Chevy racer Ross Chastain on the final lap while battling for the runner-up position. This contact allowed Brad Keselowski to swoop by for the second-place result, while Byron was credited with third. Chastain wound up 32nd. After the race, Byron stated, "I just had a big run. Ross and I race really well, and I didn't want to wreck him there, but he blocked me late, which is understood. ... I hate that that happened, but it's the last lap and I had the run so I am going to just take the run. I didn't expect it, but I don't want to do that to a fellow Chevy guy, and we always race really well."
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Motorsport
1 week agoUsually it's Ross Chastain that is the one that is the aggressor late in races. Well, at the end of this weekend's Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway, Chastain got a bit of his own medicine, as an incident with William Byron relegated Ross to a 32nd-place finish after he was poised to collect a top-three result. On the final lap of the race, Byron got a strong run on Chastain, who tried to block, resulting in the No. 24 Chevrolet turning the No. 1 Chevrolet into the outside wall. While it was a positive and strong run for Chastain and his Trackhouse Racing team, it was equally as frustrating. Ross declined to issue a comment to the media after the race.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: On3
1 week agoKyle Larson had the dominant race car at Texas Motor Speedway this past weekend, but you wouldn't really know by looking at the finishing order. By the end of the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400, Larson was credited with a 21st-place finish and earned just 26 points. This is because Larson's right rear tire fell off during an early caution period, and he was subsequently held by NASCAR for two laps as a penalty. Larson was able to rally, but he was never able to make it back to the front after all of that. "Some days are just not meant to be," Larson told Bob Pockrass after the race. He added, "Had we not had the wheel issue, we would've, you know, been up in the top two all race long."
--Jordan McAbeeSource: FOX Sports
1 week agoDaniel Suárez had a strong fifth-place finish at Texas this weekend, which is one of his most consistent tracks. However, he ran much worse than his finishing result and was probably the luckiest driver in the race. Suarez, the winner of the previous high-banked intermediate race at Atlanta, was nowhere to be seen for most of the event until John Hunter Nemechek crashed in the middle of a cycle of green flag pit stops, leaving many of the faster cars trapped a lap down while Suárez was not. This propelled him into the top ten where he would stay for the remainder of the race, but he only had an average running position of 20th and ranked just 21st-best in driver rating and 24th-fastest in speed. Suárez is proof positive that sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
1 week agoDenny Hamlin had a methodical run at Texas. He ranked second in average speed behind only his driver, Tyler Reddick, who tied him for third in laps led with 37. However, Hamlin's strong run was cut short when he spun out on the penultimate lap of the race shortly after Chase Elliott cleared him for a lead he would not relinquish. Hamlin likely wouldn't have won anyway, as Reddick and Elliott were better duelists throughout the race. The spin ended up relegating Hamlin to a 30th-place finish, but in a playoff format where consistency no longer matters as long as you win, that means little. Hamlin continues to lead the NASCAR Cup Series in races with an on-track pass for the lead (6), races with the most laps led (2), and speed percentile (90.87).
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
1 week agoTy Gibbs qualified on the outside front row alongside polesitter Kyle Larson at Texas, but he fell to 13th in what was an extremely topsy-turvy afternoon. Gibbs fell to 8th after the first round of green flag pit stops because he pitted several laps later than the other leaders, then fell to the back after a loose lug nut on his next pit stop. He periodically cycled back into the top ten on pit strategy but never completely made it back to the front and eventually finished 13th. Because all three of his teammates also had issues, Gibbs ended up having the best finish for his grandfather's team, but Denny Hamlin certainly outran him. Gibbs continues to have solid speed, though, as he ranked sixth-best in speed at Texas and ranks seventh-fastest for the season, but his racecraft and his passing ability do not yet match his speed.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
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