NASCAR Daily Fantasy Helper: Supermarket Heroes 500
If you are looking for an action-packed way to get your sports fix, NASCAR may be a great avenue to explore. Far from just driving in circles, some of the world's best compete nearly every weekend from February to November on tracks across America. NASCAR drivers are scored ultimately based on how they finish in the race, how many spots they advance from their starting position, and how many laps they finish and lead. Avoiding drivers that crash out of the race is a must, of course!
Here at numberFire, we've always got you covered for everything NASCAR DFS. Every week, in addition to this helper, we have a current form and stats breakdown to dive deeper into this weekend's action. Our track preview breaks down this week's venue, and we also have The Heat Check Fantasy Podcast, where Jim Sannes breaks down his favorite slate for this rare Wednesday night NASCAR Cup Series event.
Chase Elliott would not be denied on Thursday evening at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Waiting out the rain, Elliott ascended to the front and drove around a fading Kevin Harvick for his first win of the season. It's a quick turnaround for NASCAR's best, as they will head to Thunder Valley and the famed Bristol Motor Speedway for a race on Sunday afternoon. Dubbed "The Last Great Colosseum" because of its unique fan atmosphere (that will be eerily empty), Bristol always brings the action as the most famous short track in NASCAR.
As has been the case since NASCAR's return, a tiered random draw decided the starting positions for this race. Pit selection was determined by Thursday night's finishing order. There will again be no practice, which means there will be no data to draw from before the race begins.
With that, let's preview the Supermarket Heroes 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Higher-Priced Drivers
Kyle Busch ($14,000): Kyle Busch is the undisputed "King of Bristol" and has a gluttony of accomplishments to back that claim. He has the most NASCAR touring wins at the track with 22 total between Cup, Xfinity, and the Truck Series. He has won three of the last five races at Bristol, leading 374 laps in those five. Busch will absolutely be a factor in this race because of his experience and skill at this track, and the random draw put him a manageable seventh place on the grid, giving him a shot to find the front quickly. Chase Elliott ($13,000) has recent form on his side, but do not ignore Busch, a horse on this course.
Joey Logano ($11,700): Logano is such a well-rounded driver that he excels everywhere, but Bristol is definitely one of his best tracks. He led a race-high 146 laps last spring with this aero package and was strong again in August before an incident with Alex Bowman. Even with that, he has four top-10 showings in his last six outings at this track, but the most enticing thing for Logano is that he is starting at the front. Logano has led 246 laps in his last three races here, and starting third, he will be right at the front when the green flag is dropped, putting him in position to run out in front once again.
Mid-Priced Drivers
Ryan Blaney ($10,300): Speaking of Logano, his former crew chief -- Todd Gordon, who dialed in that race car -- is now with Penske teammate Ryan Blaney. Blaney, however, has his own impressive resume in this spot beyond his crew chief. No one has led more laps in the last four races at Bristol than Blaney has (397 laps), and he has three top-10 finishes in addition to those points. Blaney's stats at Bristol are as impressive anyone not named Kyle Busch. He rounds that off with great current form, as he finished in third place in both events in the past week at Charlotte.
Clint Bowyer ($9,000): The only driver to finish inside the top 10 in the last four races at Bristol? No, it's not Kyle Busch or one of the Penske drivers -- it's Clint Bowyer. Bowyer has been incredibly consistent in Thunder Valley, and he has actually led 144 laps in the last three races here. Any concern about starting a deeper 20th should be put aside, as Bowyer started exactly there and finished seventh at Bristol in August. At this price tag, Bowyer is absolutely in play in all formats, and he is looking to turn it around after finishing outside the top 10 in all four races since NASCAR's return to action.
Lower-Priced Drivers
Ryan Newman ($7,700): With no practice, the theme of the helper so far has been to look at drivers who have been successful at this track. Newman fits that mold. In the bargain bin, Newman is as solid as any option. He has six straight top-15 showings at this small track, and with how small the track is, his success here should come as no surprise from the driver unanimously dubbed inside the garage as "the toughest driver to pass." Newman starts 17th, which creates some pass-differential upside but also puts him up far enough to keep him from going a lap down early.
Bubba Wallace ($5,000): Bubba at this exact price seemed to be a home-run play Thursday night, when he earned stage points for finishing 10th at the end of Stage 2 and was primed for a career day. But his brakes failed him again, and he finished poorly. Wallace has plenty of reasons to be optimistic, though. His team had not previously shown that kind of contending speed since he started there, and the great news is he carries it to one of his best tracks on the circuit. Even with poor equipment, he has three top-20 finishes in his last four races at Bristol and will have plenty of pass-differential upside from a starting spot of 36th. Wallace may very well go a lap or two down in this event, but doing so and still finishing inside the top 25 at this price would be just fine. And his price allows you to jam in more potential lap leaders into your lineup.
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.
