NASCAR Daily Fantasy Helper: Drydene 400
Despite smashing his nose into the Turn 1 wall, there was no true competition for Chase Elliott last weekend at the Roval. He ended Round 1 on a high note with that win, where as poor road course racers Ryan Newman and Aric Almirola saw their seasons come to a heartbreaking end by missing the next round. Round 2 of NASCAR's playoffs begin at Dover, DE, where the circuit heads to the treacherous, 1-mile long Dover International Raceway, known colloquially as "The Monster Mile". These 24-degree banked corners always give drivers a headache with mistakes so plentiful.
400 laps on the docket for Sunday means the race at Dover will feel more similar to a short track for daily fantasy, with laps led and laps completed points aplenty. However, the wide corners at Dover means DFS players should not be scared of fast drivers and top teams starting further back in the field.
Here at numberFire, we've always got you covered for everything NASCAR DFS. Our track preview gives you more information about the history of the track, our driver preview helps bring you up to speed on recent driver history, and our Heat Check Podcast with Jim Sannes gives you insight to how he is approaching this weekend's slate.
With this weekend's lineup set, and with practices one and two complete, let's preview the Drydene 400:
High-Priced Drivers
Martin Truex Jr ($14,500): While teammate Kyle Busch ($13,500) will be more popular since he is cheaper, starting much deeper in the field, and has more wins in 2019, there should be much more confidence in Truex Jr. He dominated the second half of the spring race at Dover, leading 132 laps and winning the event. Truex also has five top-five finishes in his last six races at Dover, which shows his continuity at this race track, where he earned his first career win in 2007. Truex Jr. starts 3rd, compared to his teammate Busch starting 18th, but Kyle has finished in the top five just once in the last five at Dover. Take the more consistent Truex Jr. this weekend.
Kyle Larson ($12,500): Kyle Larson appears to have the dominant car of the weekend. Larson was fastest in final practice both on single laps and a 10-lap average, and he qualified second on Friday. This is no fluke, as Larson has four top-10 showings in his last five at the Monster Mile. Larson's strong car will be popular, but it should be justified as he jockeys with Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin to lead large parts of this race early.
Mid-Priced Drivers
Jimmie Johnson ($9,200): Johnson has 11 wins in Dover over his illustrious career, which makes him worth considering whenever the circuit visits. However, Jimmie is in a different state of his career, one where he is not expected to compete for wins weekly, but he may be trying to reverse that. He posted second on the 10-lap charts in final practice. At a track where he owns so much success, that is incredibly appealing at only $9,200, with some place-differential upside, as well, from 11th on the grid.
Daniel Suarez ($8,000): Suarez has five career starts at Dover, and he has never finished worse than 11th at this difficult track. Suarez starts 15th, which would justify starting him should he continue that streak. Suarez likely won't challenge for the win, but he is a consistent cog in a more balanced approach to a FanDuel lineup in a tournament format.
Low-Priced Drivers
Matt DiBenedetto ($7,200): Dover's closest sister track is the smaller Bristol Motor Speedway, where, as you might remember, DiBenedetto challenged for the win at around this same price tag. While it might be difficult to expect that again, DiBenedetto did post sixth in final practice, which means Matty D might continue his career year this week with yet another top 10, his seventh of 2019. From 20th on the grid in Gibbs equipment, DiBenedetto is a solid play once more.
Austin Dillon ($6,500): Austin Dillon has had a disappointing season, but the older Dillon brother is a very consistent presence on ovals. Dillon's price has plummeted to just $6,500, and starting 27th after a poor qualifying run Friday, he should ascend to closer to his normal range at the Monster Mile. Dillon has five top-20 finishes in the last six events at Dover, and posting ninth in final practice should solidify that he is certainly capable of that today. Dillon is a lock in both formats this weekend at this price tag.
Austin Swaim is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Austin Swaim also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username ASwaim3. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
