NASCAR
Daily Fantasy NASCAR: Current Form, Track History, and Betting Odds for the Drydene 400
William Byron could be a low-salaried outlet for laps led on Sunday, given his strong runs this year in the 750-horsepower package. What other data should we note for NASCAR DFS at Dover?

We've got a clear edict this week in NASCAR DFS. We need upside, and we need lots of it.

With 400 laps in Sunday's Drydene 400, there are 40.0 FanDuel points available for laps led. As outlined in this week's track preview, a healthy chunk of those are likely to wind up in the perfect lineup.

Luckily for us, we have good data to determine who will be in contention.

Dover is the sixth oval race this year to feature the 750-horsepower package. The other five have largely been at very different tracks, but there has been heavy overlap in which drivers have run out front and finished well.

The data from those previous five races is included in the current form section below. The other race included is last year's playoff race at Bristol. It was a different season, so teams have changed, but it was the other most recent race on a high-banked, concrete track. With Bristol being the closest comp to Dover, it made sense to dabble in those waters, as well.

As always, the data included is each driver's average running position during the race rather than where they finished. Martin Truex Jr. ($14,000 on FanDuel) dominated the Bristol dirt race this spring, leading almost half the laps. He had a second-place average running position. However, he cut a tire late and finished 19th. The finish there fails to reflect his dominance and undersells what we should expect out of him at Dover.

The other data listed is each driver's FanDuel salary, starting position, and win odds at FanDuel Sportsbook. The win odds are in fractional form, so Truex's listing of 3.5 means he's +350 to win.

Current
Form
Track
History
DriverFD
Salary
Win
Odds
StartDarlingtonRichmondMartinsvilleBristol
Dirt
PhoenixBristol
Concrete
2020
Race 2
2020
Race 1
2019
Race 2
2019
Race 1
Martin Truex,Jr.$14,0003.5114426217437
Denny Hamlin$13,0005.524224417123219
William Byron$10,300163687511256201012
Kyle Larson$13,5004.5472182711------35
Kevin Harvick$11,50075871315833844
Kyle Busch$12,000868912211851881011
Ryan Blaney$9,5002078124115145141610
Chase Elliott$12,5009811126101243911373
Joey Logano$10,50014963842747369
Chris Buescher$7,0001501012261613231616172723
Christopher Bell$9,000281111811289142321----
Tyler Reddick$7,8005012715151221101614----
Ryan Newman$5,800150131428147272622192320
Austin Dillon$8,300661418101421211412112018
Brad Keselowski$11,00012152010161841886117
Alex Bowman$10,000201614814151713102467
Chase Briscoe$5,500250171523242219----------
Matt DiBenedetto$8,000661815111719141412171219
Ross Chastain$5,000250191516243220------3231
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.$6,3002002023181911123937121726
Michael McDowell$6,0002502125272622242025232524
Bubba Wallace$5,2002002222241612161720222228
Erik Jones$6,200200231723211317122116910
Daniel Suarez$6,700200242318254242727291713
Ryan Preece$4,5005002524272615251924231927
Corey LaJoie$3,00010002623222637242926273029
Anthony Alfredo$4,0001000272732273836----------
Kurt Busch$8,500502830151719141312391016
Justin Haley$3,500100029283830--28----------
Cole Custer$6,500200303125242219211014----
B.J. McLeod$2,000100031313034--29--31363236
Aric Almirola$7,5001003237122135141010171613
James Davison$2,000100033323533--3334--------
Cody Ware$2,5001000343336333335--------34
Quin Houff$2,5001000353134312833313435--36
Garrett Smithley$2,000100036--33----3535363634--
Josh Bilicki$2,5001000373337313235393333----


You can see why the win odds for Truex and Denny Hamlin ($13,000) are so short. They've scorched the field in the 750 package this year, and they should be top of mind when hunting for lap-leaders.

Another key for this weekend is identifying mid-range plays who can potentially push for a win. Having a third lap-leader boosts the upside of your lineup in a big way. Four drivers who stand out there are Joey Logano ($10,500), William Byron ($10,300), Ryan Blaney ($9,500), and Christopher Bell ($9,000).

Logano, Byron, and Blaney stand out because of what they have done in the 750 package. They rank third, fourth, and fifth, respectively in aggregate average running position on the 750-horsepower ovals this year, trailing just Truex and Hamlin. All three rank inside the top seven in projected average running position in my model and have win odds of at least 4.5% in my simulations. They're all drivers we should target, even if it means punting with the fifth slot on our roster.

As for Bell, this involves a bit of projection because we've never seen him at Dover in the Cup Series with Joe Gibbs Racing. However, when he ran the concrete tracks in the Xfinity Series, he was hard to beat. He won two of four Xfinity races at Dover and added a win and a runner-up in four races at Bristol. He has had a top-11 average running position in 4 of the 5 ovals using this package, so a win is fully within his range of outcomes this weekend.

When you're looking for those potential punts, two drivers to consider are Cole Custer ($6,500) and Chase Briscoe ($5,500). Briscoe finally showed life last week with an 11th-place finish, tying the best mark of his rookie season. He's another guy who ran well on concrete in the Xfinity Series, winning in both Dover and Bristol last year with an additional pair of runner-up finishes at Bristol throughout his career. His $5,500 salary moves the needle a decent amount.

Custer is starting back in 30th, which increases the wiggle room in rostering him. His current form is rough, but he ran well at Dover last year with a top-14 average running position in both races. He was Bell's main Xfinity competition at Dover in 2019, and it was Custer who beat Bell in the fall race that year. It is a leap of faith given Custer's rough current form, but for $6,500 and a low spot in the starting order, he's worth decent exposure.

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