NASCAR Daily Fantasy Helper: Super Start Batteries 400
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. 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 plays for Sunday's slate.
Ryan Blaney dominated the first two stages on Sunday at Texas, but an ill-timed caution trapped he and Denny Hamlin a lap down late. A strategy call left the two Richard Childress Racing machines of Austin Dillon and Tyler Reddick up front, and Dillon bested his teammate for his third career win, punching his ticket to the playoffs. A quick turnaround to the first Thursday night event of the season looms at Kansas Speedway, where this fast, 1.5-mile track should race like the recent events at Texas and Kentucky, where speed is critical but track position is most essential.
The starting lineup for Thursday's race was determined by a tiered random draw based on owner points, which put Kevin Harvick on the pole position for the event. Pit stalls, however, were drawn off last Sunday’s finishing order in Texas, which gives Austin Dillon in the premier first pit stall. By all accounts, the PJ1 traction compound will not be used at Kansas Speedway this weekend.
With that, let's preview the Super Start Batteries 400 at Kansas.
Higher-Priced Drivers
Kevin Harvick ($14,000): Harvick was second to teammate Aric Almirola in total green flag passes last Sunday at Texas, but like Almirola, Harvick never found the front of the field at the right time after a mistake in the early going. But Harvick will be impossible to ignore on Thursday night as a fantasy option, which is the case at most 1.5-mile events. He has led a series-high 306 laps at Kansas in the last six races at the track and has the highest driver rating here (118.7). In short, Harvick has been the most consistently fast option at the track and starts the race on the pole with the lead. Provided no early pit trouble again like he had Sunday, Harvick should be around the front a majority of the night after starting there.
Ryan Blaney ($11,000): Blaney, the Penske driver slowly building momentum as a championship favorite, was dominant again Sunday -- even with brutal luck keeping him out of victory lane. He led a race-high 150 laps before a devastating caution flag during pit stops. Still, it was his sixth consecutive finish of seventh or better on 1.5-mile racetracks. It is only a matter of time before Blaney cashes in as such a solid presence at these tracks, and it may happen at Kansas tonight, a track where he has the fourth-highest driver rating amongst active drivers (102.3).
Mid-Priced Drivers
Alex Bowman ($10,300): If you want an off-the-board pick to lead laps, Bowman might be your driver. Bowman led 63 laps before finishing second here last spring, and this is a similar format as a night race to that event over a year ago. Bowman has three top-10 finishes and an 11th-place effort across the last five races at Kansas, and he badly needs a rebound. He is one of only three drivers -- Chase Elliott and Ryan Blaney the others -- with a top-10 average running position in 2020 at the three most similar sister tracks to Kansas (Las Vegas, Miami, and Kentucky).
Tyler Reddick ($8,800): Reddick sees a bit of a price uptick here but for good reason. He still landed a favorable draw for fantasy purposes with a 23rd-place starting spot that increases his pass-differential potential. And despite being a rookie, Reddick is a known commodity at this track. He finished ninth last year at Kansas in the May race as a one-off event for Richard Childress Racing, and he finished second in the lone Xfinity Series race here in 2019. Last week was his sixth top-10 finish of what has been an impressive rookie campaign, and he is a strong contender for a seventh top-10 showing on Thursday night.
Lower-Priced Drivers
Cole Custer ($7,500): In that lone aforementioned Xfinity Series event, Custer was the dominant car, leading 85 laps before a near crash on a restart sent him to the very back of the field after a great save. As mentioned, Kansas profiles very similarly to Kentucky, where Custer surprised all of NASCAR with a win two weeks ago. Custer was running well in that race prior to the victory, and he will look to do so again from a starting spot of 24th, the worst possible draw he could have gotten based on his owner points.
Ty Dillon ($5,000): Sometimes value is not necessarily sexy. Ty Dillon got a really poor draw and starts 36th as a result. He, however, finished 16th at sister track Kentucky and had an average running position inside the top-20 last week at Texas before crashing into William Byron. As a product of starting so far back, he will have better equipment than several drivers in front of him, so Dillon packages a very high floor with a nice ceiling and is a tremendous addition to a FanDuel lineup at this small 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.
