1 week agoRyan Blaney started 7th and consistently ran in the top ten in this weekend's race at Texas until he was wrecked by Ryan Preece on lap 181, resulting in a disappointing 33rd-place finish, which did not reflect how well the No. 12 Ford ran. After staying out on the first Stage break, Blaney had his best stint early in Stage 2 when he swapped the lead with Austin Hill on the restart and then swapped it again with Kyle Larson shortly before the subsequent caution period. Counting only the laps before the crash, Blaney would have ranked fifth in average speed but he ran so slowly in the final third of the race that he dropped to 31st overall by the end. He clearly remains the best Ford driver on the circuit, but he remains winless at Texas despite it being one of his best tracks. Additionally, Ford's shutout continues in the 2024 Cup Series season, as Chevrolet went to victory lane again.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 weeks agoTyler Reddick finished right in his starting position of fourth in the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway. Reddick had one of the fastest cars of the day as he remained around the Top 10 for most of the race. The driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota also scored stage points during the first stage but fell short of stage points in the second after pit strategy shuffled him back to 11th. Reddick would eventually find the speed and track position to find his way to the front during the third stage, eventually taking the lead from Denny Hamlin while leading 37 laps. Issues on pit road would eventually force Reddick out of the lead. Still, despite a strong recovery to the Top 5 late, Reddick would get moved up the track by others and fall back to as low as eighth before recovering again to his eventual finishing position of fourth. This finish marked the third top-5 finish at Texas in Reddick's career and the fourth top-10 finish in a row in 2024.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 weeks agoRichard Childress Racing driver Austin Dillon captured a finish of eighth at Texas during the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400. Starting from the 15th position, Dillon did not have one of the fastest cars from the jump and fell behind in the first stage. The driver of the No. 3 Chevrolet would fall further behind during the second stage and fail to score any stage points during the day. In the third stage, however, Dillon and his team finally turned their luck around after improving the car and taking advantage of staying out of the pits until lap 229. Dillon would gain track position as a result and return to the Top 20, where he would slowly climb through the field, avoiding wrecks and passing cars to obtain his first top-10 finish of 2024 and best finish of the year so far. Although it was a top-10 finish gained through attrition, it should provide Dillon and the No. 3 team confidence as they head to Talladega, a track where he has 13 top-20 finishes in 21 Cup starts.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 weeks agoCarson Hocevar began Sunday afternoon from the 16th position. After 276 laps, the Spire Motorsports driver moved up six spots to tenth. Hocevar steadily gained track position. After Stage 1, the Chevy driver was 29th. Stage 2 saw Hocevar in 16th. The No. 77 car benefitted from a few more wrecks including the one that caused a second overtime. With so many spins, the young driver ended up tenth. Hocevar improved at Martinsville and now at Texas. With three Top 15 results on the season, the 21-year old keeps showing late-race speed while avoiding incidents.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 weeks agoChase Briscoe took the worst that Texas can dish out on Sunday. Briscoe and his Stewart-Haas Racing car found a way to finish sixth after starting fifth. Though he did not lead a single lap, Briscoe was there at the end when it counted. He survived the double overtime and a spin on Lap 172. Avoiding contact with Bubba Wallace would prove beneficial to both drivers. Briscoe has been in the Top 15 for five of its previous six races. While that is not closer to a win, at least Briscoe has been more than competitive in 2024.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 weeks agoFor Sunday's Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway, Christopher Bell will start third. This will be Bell's best starting position in his Cup career to a race at Texas and of 2024 so far. Bell has three top-5 finishes in five previous Texas races, including last Fall's race at the site, where he placed fourth. Through eight races so far in the 2024 season, Bell has five top-10 finishes and led in five different Cup events. In practice, Bell's car looked best on longer runs as he ranked fifth of all drivers in 20 consecutive lap averages. The driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is a DFS risk this week due to his starting position, leaving little place differential upside. However, with Texas being one of his better 1.5-mile intermediate tracks, Bell is worth considering for tournament-based lineups. Regardless of track type, Bell is also worth considering as he ran well at all races where he was unaffected by car issues or accidents so far this season.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2 weeks agoKyle Busch will start the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway from the 35th position this week. Busch was credited with this deep starting position toward the rear after crashing during practice and not running a lap in qualifying. In 33 starts at Texas, Busch has four wins, 27 top-20 finishes, and 1,069 laps led, which is second-most of all drivers in the field. After eight races in 2024 so far, Busch has five top-20 finishes with only two inside the Top 10. Despite only running 10 total laps in practice, Busch's five-consecutive lap average ranked 25th among all drivers. Considering his enormous place differential upside, equipment, and history, Busch is a must-play for DFS lineups, especially in cash games, despite going to a backup car.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2 weeks agoIn qualifying for the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway, Chase Elliott gained a starting position of 24th. This is Elliott's second time this season that he will start worse than 11th and his second consecutive time at Texas that he will start outside of the Top 20. In 13 Texas starts, Elliott has six top-10 finishes but also led in his last two appearances at the site. During practice for Sunday's race, Elliott showcased a car best suited for longer green flag runs by having the fourth-best 20-consecutive lap average and the second-best 25-consecutive lap average. Although Elliott has yet to score a top-10 finish at Texas in the next-gen car, he still has a great place differential upside and is in Hendrick Motorsports equipment. Elliott also has yet to finish outside of the Top 20 in any race this season. With these factors in mind, Elliott is a fantastic recommendation for all DFS formats this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2 weeks agoTy Gibbs will start second in this week's Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway. This will be the highest starting position of his Cup career yet at Texas and is the third time this season that the driver of the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
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2 weeks agoFront Row Motorsports driver Todd Gilliland nabbed a starting position of 28th for this week's Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway. Gilliland matches the best starting position of his career at Texas and will start 24th or worse for the sixth time this year. In two previous Texas starts, Gilliland's best finish is 28th, which he scored in 2022, while he has three top-10 finishes in seven Truck Series races at the site. Through eight races so far this season, Gilliland has two top-20 finishes, but he did obtain a positive place differential four times, including in Las Vegas, where he placed 24th. In practice, Gilliland ranked 21st in five-consecutive lap averages and 17th in 10-consecutive lap averages of all drivers. With favorable PD upside and equipment capable of competing for a top-20 finish, fantasy players should consider Gilliland as a solid DFS value play.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2 weeks agoDuring qualifying for the ninth race of the season, the Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway, Denny Hamlin qualified 11th. This marks Hamlin's fourth race this season where he will start outside of the Top 10 and his first starting position outside of the Top 10 at Texas since 2017. In 33 starts at Texas, Hamlin has three wins and 16 top-10 finishes, including the past two races at the site in the next-gen car. The driver of the No. 11 Toyota is one of the most successful drivers of the season so far with two wins, five finishes of 11th or better, including an average finish of 11.0, and he led in every event after eight races. In practice, Hamlin ranked 11th in overall lap averages of all drivers. With his equipment and overall performance so far this season, expect Hamlin to finish in the Top 10 and continue his strong 2024 season.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2 weeks agoStewart-Haas Racing driver Ryan Preece will start 26th in this week's Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway. This is the fifth time Preece will start below 25th at Texas, and the third time this season, he will start outside the Top 25. Through seven previous races at TMS, Preece's best finish is 18th, but he did obtain a positive place differential four times in his last six appearances there. After eight races so far this season, Preece has three top-20 finishes but also scored positive PD seven times, making him one of the better DFS performers for the price this season. In practice, Preece's 10-consecutive lap average ranked 23rd of all drivers, while his overall lap average ranked 22nd. Considering his starting position, Preece once again has a favorable PD upside and should move up a couple of positions based on his practice speeds while competing for a top-20 finish.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: Driveraverages.com
2 weeks agoThe road to victory lane at Texas Motor Speedway will likely go through Kyle Larson this weekend. The Hendrick Motorsports driver was super fast in practice, posting the second-best ten-lap average, and then went out and qualified on the pole for this weekend's Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400. The last time he started on the front row at a 1.5-mile track was at Las Vegas earlier this season, where Larson led 181 of the 267 laps en route to victory, sweeping the Stage wins along the way as well. Since the start of the 2023 season, Larson has the best average running position, most laps led, and highest number of fastest laps on this track type. He is priced at $11,000 on DraftKings this weekend, and even though the price is high, Larson should be a core DFS pick--at least in cash games.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Win The Race
2 weeks agoTyler Reddick should be one of the contenders in this weekend's Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas Motor Speedway. He won the 2022 race here and led 36 in laps in last year's event but finished 25th after being burned by a caution in the middle of the pit cycle. At Las Vegas earlier this season, Reddick had one of the best cars and finished runner-up to Kyle Larson after showing a ton of speed late. Las Vegas correlates well to Texas, and this weekend's race will likely come down to those two once again. Reddick is priced at $10,000 on DraftKings, which is a bit lower than he should be. This allows you to fit the 23XI Racing driver nicely into lineups, and with his high upside for finishing position as well as dominator potential, you definitely should. Reddick is one of the best DFS picks on this weekend's NASCAR slate at Texas.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
2 weeks agoBubba Wallace qualified his No. 23 Toyota in 10th-place for this weekend's Autotrader EchoPark Automotive 400 and he should be a top-10 contender when the checkered flag waves as well. Looking back at all of the races on 1.5-mile tracks since the start of the 2023 season, Bubba has the 12th-best average running position on them along with an average result of 13.57. Here at Texas, he started on the pole last fall and led 111 laps en route to a career-best third-place finish. Bubba ranked ninth-fastest in terms of ten-lap average during practice at Texas this weekend. Look for him to challenge for his fourth top-10 finish of the season on Sunday. When it comes to DraftKings, though, Bubba's $8,700 salary and limited place differential potential make it tricky to go too heavy on him. In tournaments, he could be a contrarian dominator, but it'll take a lot for Wallace to get into the optimal Texas lineup at that price.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Win The Race
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