October 5, 2025

After being roughed up by his boss Denny Hamlin on the last lap at Kansas, Bubba Wallace probably won't make the Round of 8 now, but the once-subpar road racer has picked up a little speed on road courses in recent years with seventh and ninth-place finishes at the Charlotte roval in the last three years and starting positions of fourth and ninth. Today, he is starting 12th while his teammate Tyler Reddick is on the pole. While it's unlikely that Wallace will significantly contend for the race, he does pretty consistently have top ten speed including an eighth-place finish in the last road course race at Watkins Glen, so he could be a decent option at $6,700 on DraftKings, but since he will still more likely finish worse than he starts, there are probably many better options.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

October 5, 2025

Although Austin Cindric is quite unlikely to actually advance to the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs and he is nowhere near as good on road courses as his reputation, he's still pretty decent on them and finished fourth in last year's Charlotte roval race. However, he started fifth last year and is now starting 19th at a track and in a car where it is frequently difficult to pass. Cindric is too far behind in the playoffs to go for stage points, so he will probably flip the stages and gain a few positions on track that way but given his history of tending to finish worse than he runs this year, he probably won't make up enough places to make him viable when compared to better options like Alex Bowman or Carson Hocevar or possibly Kyle Busch.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

October 5, 2025

Alex Bowman has been reliably consistent at the Charlotte roval and in 2019, he made a gallant come-from-behind drive to finish second in the race and make the Round of 12 even though he was below the cutline entering the race. In his first five starts here, he finished in the top ten every time, but he had probably his worst run here last year, only barely pointing into the Round of 8 before his disqualification allowed Joey Logano to back into the Round of 8 and the championship instead. However, starting 25th, one can be pretty confident that he will earn a substantially better finish based on his history here, making him a top-tier DFS selection and probably the best choice starting on the back half of the grid, especially because he only costs $7,800.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

October 5, 2025

In what could be Daniel Suárez's last road race in the NASCAR Cup Series, while starting 20th, unsurprisingly far behind his teammates Shane van Gisbergen and Ross Chastain, who qualified second and 12th, respectively. Although road courses used to be a strength for him, he hasn't really had any strengths this year in what has arguably been his worst season in the Cup Series. Nor has he typically finished well at the Charlotte roval, where his best finish was a mere 13th in the 2021 race. He has had speed before with back-to-back third-place qualifying runs in 2022 and 2023 and an 11th-place average running position the latter year, but with Suárez a lame duck, SVG a contender to win, and Chastain looking to advance to the Round of 8, Suárez will almost certainly get lost in the shuffle, and he is therefore probably best avoided.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

October 5, 2025

Carson Hocevar is a strong option for DFS lineups for Sunday's race at the Charlotte Roval. Last year, he started 20th and finished 12th, and this year, he qualified even worse (27th). When you consider that he has been typically faster this year than last year, he stands a solid chance of gaining a lot of place-differential points, particularly if the race is not chaotic. Hocevar has been a little sloppier this year in terms of crashes, but the past few Charlotte roval races have had minimal carnage compared to the prior ones. If the race plays out methodically like the last few, Hocevar should neatly move through the field and could threaten for a top-10 finish, thereby making him a great option for place-differential points.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

October 5, 2025

Brad Keselowski has typically been a strong choice on paper for DFS lineups most weeks because he tends to qualify poorly in races and run better, but he has often not delivered finishes commensurate with his running position, so he's also been a pretty risky choice for most of this year and not as reliable as others like Ross Chastain for place-differential points. Keselowski starts 22nd, and he'll probably be more likely to finish better than that than worse, but he's been a pretty awful road racer in recent years, even though he led 29 laps in the inaugural race here in 2018. One thing that does make him potentially appealing is that you don't normally get the chance to sign him as cheaply as $6,500, but there are still likely better options like Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman, and Carson Hocevar, who are starting even worse and are barely more expensive.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

October 5, 2025

Ty Dillon earned the best qualifying result of his NASCAR Cup Series career on a road course on Saturday at the Charlotte roval, where he qualified 16th, breaking his previous record of 24th originally set at Watkins Glen during his 2017 rookie season. Although he's occasionally shown moments on road courses, such as displaying unexpected speed in the rain or upsetting Alex Bowman to advance in this year's in-season challenge, his best career road-course finish of 15th in this race in 2018 is only better, which means he is almost guaranteed to lose positions from his starting position. With a nearly guaranteed negative point total in terms of place-differential points, coupled with it being doubtful he will either earn fastest-lap or lap-leader points, he's a bad choice to start for DFS, even at $5,000, unless you want to free up money elsewhere to sign Shane van Gisbergen.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

September 29, 2025

Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports won the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway on Sunday. Elliott started fourth at the beginning of the race on Sunday, and ran inside the top five during the entire first stage outside of pit stops. He placed third at the end of the first stage behind Denny Hamlin and his teammate, Kyle Larson, but earned stage points as a result. In the second stage, Elliott ran as high as second through the stage, but just could not pass Hamlin for the lead. Larson and Christopher Bell passed him before the end of the stage, leaving him in fourth, but with more stage points at the end of the stage. In the final stage, Elliott continued running well, maintaining a top-10 position through most of the stage. With 10 laps to go, Elliott employed a contrarian strategy compared to other top contenders, where he took four tires instead of two and restarted towards the back of the top 10. Elliott took advantage of his four tires through the final restarts and was much faster than his competition, especially after Brad Keselowski gave him a push on the second-to-last lap. Elliott made it back to the top five on the final lap and on the final corner, as Hamlin and Bubba Wallace drove each other up the track, Elliott zipped by both of them to claim the victory. Elliott's victory was his second of the 2025 season and the second of his career at Kansas, which also allowed him to automatically advance to the Round of 8 in the 2025 playoffs.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

September 29, 2025

Chase Briscoe of Joe Gibbs Racing finished in the fourth position in Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. Briscoe originally started in first and led the opening 19 laps of the race. Through the rest of the first stage, however, Briscoe would get passed by several drivers, and despite cleanly executing his pit stops, he ended the first stage in sixth, collecting a couple of stage points. In the second stage, Briscoe quietly continued to run inside the top 10 and keep his car out of trouble. He ended the second stage in fifth and gathered even more stage points. The final stage, much like the second stage, had Briscoe continue to run around the top five for the majority of the stage. Although he would never make it back to the lead, he played a role in the final two restarts, pushing his teammate Christopher Bell to keep up with Bubba Wallace. Briscoe passed Wallace on the final lap while Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe got by him, leaving him in the fourth position. With 21 points over the cut line heading into the final race of the Round of 12 of the playoffs at the Charlotte Roval, Briscoe holds a decent chance of advancing, but cannot afford to have a bad performance.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

September 29, 2025

Joe Gibbs Racing driver Christopher Bell had a strong performance during Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. Bell began the race in the fifth position and ran inside the top five throughout the first stage. He was able to pass his teammate, Chase Briscoe, while executing on pit stops, and finished the first stage in fourth place, earning stage points. In the second stage, Bell was able to obtain the lead through pit stops on the stage break and held until midway through the stage, when his other teammate, Denny Hamlin, passed him for the lead. Bell ended the second stage in second, collecting more stage points. In the final stage, Bell remained one of the key players at the front of the pack, continuing to run inside the top five. He competed with Hamlin and Bubba Wallace for the lead throughout the final stage and, on the last two restarts, competed with Wallace for the win. On the final restart of the race, Bell tried to keep up with Wallace, but ended up grazing the wall, causing him to fall back and be passed by Hamlin, Briscoe, and Chase Elliott. On the final lap of the race, Bell passed Briscoe and finished the race in third place. Heading into the final race of the Round of 12 at the Charlotte Roval, Bell sits 44 points above the cut line, meaning he is one of the more likely drivers to advance into the next round of the playoffs. --Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

September 29, 2025

Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson ran well throughout the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. Larson started the race from third and had one of the fastest cars during the start of the race. He eventually passed Chase Briscoe and, through the rest of the stage, chased down Denny Hamlin for the lead, even across green flag pit stops. Larson ultimately settled for second by the end of the first stage, scoring plenty of points despite being unable to pass Hamlin. In the second stage, Larson continued running in the top five and tried to nab the lead from Christopher Bell towards the beginning of the stage. Although Larson did get by Bell, he lost positions to Hamlin and his teammate, Chase Elliott, in the process, sending him back to third. Larson placed third at the end of the second stage and collected even more stage points. In the final stage, Larson quietly continued running inside the top 10, and although he would never get close to the lead, he remained highly competitive throughout the stage. Larson briefly brushed the wall during the final stage, but was able to continue and went on to finish in the sixth position. The No. 5 Chevrolet driver now sits 54 points above the cut line heading to the last playoff race of the Round of 12 at the Charlotte Roval. Out of all drivers remaining, Larson is the most likely to lock in on points and can potentially do so with enough stage points at the Roval.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

September 29, 2025

Joey Logano of Team Penske had a rollercoaster of a weekend that ended in disappointment for the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway. After qualifying 35th due to a slow car and damage during practice, Logano spent the first stage of this week's race moving through the field on track. It worked as Logano even through pit stops, made it from 35th to finishing seventh and scoring stage points at the end of the first stage. In the second stage, Logano kept his car clean and continued to run inside the top 10. He would end the stage in seventh and gain further stage points. In the final stage, Logano continued to run with his car intact until about 51 laps to go, when a huge wreck occurred in front of him that he couldn't escape from. Logano received damage from this multicar crash, and although he was able to continue, his car never handled the same. Despite trying to use a pit strategy of taking two tires to gain track position late, Logano's car faded back to his eventual finishing position of 21st. With one race left in the Round of 12, Logano currently holds the final playoff spot above the cut line by 13 points over Ross Chastain.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

September 29, 2025

As has become almost routine of late, Denny Hamlin dominated Sunday's race at Kansas, winning both stages and setting a personal record of 156 laps led at the track despite losing his power steering in Stage 3 in one of his grittiest performances. After starting second, Hamlin took the lead from his teammate Chase Briscoe on Lap 20 and held it for most of the race, even after the power-steering failure until he fell to seventh on the final round of pit stops. But he made it back to challenge his team's driver, Bubba Wallace, for the lead on the last lap, slightly roughing up Wallace, which allowed Chase Elliott to pass both of them for the win. The resulting second-place finish and race-high 56 points place him 48 points above the cut line, making him a virtual lock to advance to the Round of 8.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

September 29, 2025

Kansas is usually 23XI Racing's best track, and Sunday's race was no exception as both Bubba Wallace and his teammate Tyler Reddick were in the hunt for the win with both drivers seemingly in a must-win situation to advance to the Round of 8. Despite starting seventh, he fell out of the top 10 on Lap 2 and didn't reemerge there until Lap 88, but for most of the race after that, he consistently ran in the top five. After his boss, Denny Hamlin, had a power-steering failure and a slow pit stop, that elevated Wallace to second. He took the lead from Christopher Bell on Lap 259 and held it for all but one lap until Hamlin ran him into the wall on the last lap, which resulted in a fifth-place finish after having gotten into scrapes with both his boss and his teammate. Since he almost certainly won't win at the Charlotte roval, it's hard to envision him advancing to the Round of 8.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference

September 29, 2025

For a while, it looked like William Byron might be in danger of missing the Round of 8 as he was bafflingly slow for most of a race where Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson regularly ran in the top five. Byron's average running position of 17th was his worst on an unrestricted oval since Pocono and he plummeted into the 20s for most of Stage 2 and even Stage 3 before narrowly evading a string of crashes and utilizing savvy pit work to elevate him from 12th to 6th with 11 laps in regulation before he eventually finished 9th. With neither Bubba Wallace nor Tyler Reddick winning from below the cutline, this leaves Byron 40 points ahead of Ross Chastain for the last transfer spot to the Round of 8, making him a very safe bet to advance especially considering his road course prowess.--Sean Wrona - RotoBaller
Source: Racing Reference