NASCAR

NASCAR Daily Fantasy Helper: EchoPark Texas Grand Prix

Chase Elliott has a great track record on road courses. Which other drivers are in a great spot for today's race?

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 who crash out of the race is a must, of course!

numberFire is always your home for fantasy NASCAR advice. In addition to this helper, Jim Sannes has you covered with his current form and odds breakdown as well as his track preview to spotlight this week's venue. For driver picks and a full preview of the event, Jim also discussed this weekend's race on the latest NASCAR episode of The Heat Check Daily Fantasy Podcast.

Last week's race was all about Hendrick Motorsports putting a beatdown on the competition. Kyle Larson arguably had the most impressive afternoon, leading 263 laps in dominant fashion, but teammate Alex Bowman led the final 98 to capture the trophy. When it was all said and done, Hendrick finished 1-2-3-4 with their four entries, and they will look to keep their momentum rolling in NASCAR's inaugural trip to the Circuit of the Americas (COTA). This 3.4-mile road course has played home to the United States' Formula 1 event since 2012, and NASCAR's expanded road course schedule puts the world's best stock car drivers on display at this historic venue.

The lineup for this event was set through time trial qualifying on Sunday. Practice also took place on Saturday, although it was in rainy conditions. COTA is a long track, and therefore the single-lap data does not indicate a lot about performance for the event on Sunday. But the data is still present. There is a 90% chance of precipitation at some point Sunday in Austin, Texas, which means that rain tires may be used during the event to navigate poor weather conditions.

With that in mind, let's preview the EchoPark Texas Grand Prix in Austin on FanDuel.

High-Salaried Drivers

Chase Elliott ($14,500): There is no secret as to the favorite for this weekend's road course event. Elliott has won five of the last nine races on road courses in NASCAR's Cup Series, and Elliott has led at least 25 laps in each of the last six events on this type of configuration. He would have likely added a sixth win to his tally in NASCAR's only stop at a road course in 2021, when he dominated to lead 44 laps before pit strategy forced him into on on-track spin. Elliott starts eighth and is driving for NASCAR's hottest team at the moment. He's worth the high salary.

Martin Truex Jr. ($14,000): The challenger to Elliott on road courses has been Truex at just about every turn. Truex has two road course wins in that same nine-race span, with two other second-place finishes (both to Elliott). His 5.44 average finish on road courses is tops among all drivers since the start of 2018, and he should come at less popularity than Elliott as a result of his lackluster 12th-place finish in the Daytona Road Course event earlier this year. Another worthwhile plus for Truex is his personal strength on tracks using this 750-horsepower aerodynamic package this year. Truex has three wins on the package and has led 581 laps at those tracks this year. The only concern is Truex's 17th-place qualifying effort, but that leaves him with place-differential upside, as well.

Others to Consider: Denny Hamlin ($13,000), Ryan Blaney ($12,000)

Mid-Salaried Drivers

Michael McDowell ($8,500): It is surprising to see McDowell at this salary and equally surprising that he may be well worth it. McDowell has finished 16th or better in four of the past five road course races, including an eighth-place finish back at the Daytona Road Course earlier this season. This salary likely factors in that his Front Row Motorsports team does not have the best equipment, which was evident in McDowell qualifying just 23rd for Sunday's event, but that leaves him with place-differential upside. Buyer beware, however, as the results of qualifying leave McDowell as one of the few avenues in the mid-range to place differential, so he will probably be popular.

A.J. Allmendinger ($8,000): Given how Truex and Elliott qualified, this race could be wide open in terms of both a dominant car and lap leader on this brand new configuration. Allmendinger could certainly be a factor for the win given he does have back-to-back seventh-place finishes on road courses in Cup Series -- as well as the fact he has won five times in his career on road courses. The only potential downside with qualifying is Allmendinger is starting seventh, which has me considering the upside of truly winning or scoring a top-five finish versus the risk his part-time Kaulig Racing entry has an issue at some point in the race. The same can be said for Austin Cindric ($8,200), but both have road course talent worth monitoring and getting exposure to in tournaments.

Others to Consider: William Byron ($10,000), Austin Cindric ($8,200)

Low-Salaried Drivers

Chase Briscoe ($7,000): With just 68 laps on the docket at a brand new racetrack where mistakes are going to be made, being able to find place differential in value plays was the hope, and qualifying delivered. Briscoe, salary factored in, gets a slight nod over Chris Buescher ($7,700) as a top-end value pick with top-10 finishing upside. Briscoe was the primary challenger on road courses to Austin Cindric through most of their Xfinity Series careers, with Briscoe winning at both the Indianapolis GP and Charlotte roval events. Strangely enough, both of those wins were on the inaugural weekend of the tracks on NASCAR's schedule, so the newness of COTA is unlikely to faze him, as well. He starts 27th.

Ryan Preece ($5,000): Preece has delivered in this exact position on back-to-back road course slates, but he might still be overlooked starting 36th. Preece is one of many drivers without any COTA experience outside of this weekend's practice and qualifying sessions in mixed weather conditions. It may take some time for him to find his groove on this course, but starting so deep gives him plenty of cushion as a punt should he stay on the lead lap. Preece's upside is monstrous given his results on the last two road courses, with 14th- and 9th-place finishes, and those are likely no fluke, either, as he finished fourth in each of his last two Xfinity Series road course starts, as well.

Others to Consider: Chris Buescher ($7,700), Tyler Reddick ($6,500)



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.