Welcome to my NASCAR DFS Breakdown! In this article, I will preview the race, lineup construction, and offer some of my favorite drivers to target for Sunday’s race at the Indianapolis Road Course. You can find all of our Core Plays throughout the NASCAR Premium Package, or you can click here to join our free Discord!
Note: This article was written before qualifying (Friday night) so things might change between now and the race. If I have time on Sunday, I’ll try to update some information on here. Make sure to follow me on Twitter @DFS_NASCAR_Zone because I’ll definitely have info/notes there after qualifying.
Race Preview
The Cup Series will be racing on the Indianapolis Road Course for the first time! Because of this, they’re having a 50 minute practice session Saturday morning and qualifying on Sunday. There’s only a three hour window between qualifying and the race. If you’re playing, make sure you’re around from 9:00-12:00. The Indy Road Course is just under 2.5 miles in length and consists of 14 turns. It’s a new track for all the drivers, but I expect the great road course drivers to figure it out pretty quickly. Practice data will definitely be important to look at but shouldn’t be the only factor to look at when selecting a driver. The best road course racers are the ones that can consistently put down fast laps. It takes about 90 seconds to complete a lap here, so most of the drivers should be able to stay on the lead lap.
Lineup Construction
Obviously, things could change with qualifying, but lineup construction at the road courses is very easy. It’s mostly about targeting guys that offer place differential and can get a strong finish. With only 82 laps, this isn’t a race where we want to target multiple dominators because there aren’t many dominator points available. DraftKings and FanDuel had to get the salaries out before qualifying which might create some chalk depending on where certain drivers start. The optimal lineup last week at Watkins Glen had more drivers starting near the front. However, I don’t think that’ll happen this weekend because the field isn’t set using the formula. With all of that out of the way, let’s get into some of my favorite drivers to target for Sunday’s race.
Chase Elliott (DK $11,000 FD $14,000)
Elliott didn’t win last week at Watkins Glen, but we have to remember that he started from the rear. It’s very difficult to pass at road courses which is why it took him so long to work his way up to the front. He’s the best road course driver in the Cup Series. He’s had a lot of success in his debuts at road courses with three wins in four starts. If you don’t believe Chase is great at these tracks, hope this helps!
Martin Truex Jr (DK $10,400 FD $13,000)
Truex is a great road course racer but often gets overlooked by Elliot’s dominance on them as of late. There’s a reason why he led 34 laps last week at Watkins Glen. Over his last ten road course starts, he has one win, five top 5’s, eight top 10’s, and an AvFn of 8.2. His last win at one of these tracks was Sonoma in 2019 but another is coming very soon. He could definitely be a factor for the win this weekend.
AJ Allmendinger (DK $8,800 FD $10,500)
Allmendinger is back in the #16 car for Kaulig Racing this weekend. He has more experience than most racing at the Indy Road Course last season and running both Xfinity and Cup this weekend. His finishes so far this season in the Cup Series are 7th, 5th, and 29th. I think AJ could be a contender to win on Sunday and is too cheap on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Ross Chastain (DK $7,700 FD $7,500)
Chastain is one of the most underrated road course drivers in the Cup Series right now. His finishes at these tracks this season are 4th, 7th, 7th, and 12th. He was running 8th at Watkins Glen last week but ran out of fuel on the last lap. I think he was lower owned last week because people saw his finishes back when he was driving in garbage equipment. We’ll have to see where he starts but as long as it’s not too high, I think he looks like a great play on both sites this weekend.
Austin Dillon (DK $6,300 FD $5,500)
Dillon was one of the highest owned drivers last week because of his ridiculously cheap price. He didn’t hit 5x value but still made the optimal lineup because most of the other value plays failed. Dillon definitely figured out the road courses because he’s finished top 15 in all four of them in 2021. Austin is only $6,300 on DK and $5,500 on FD, so I expect him to be a very popular value play depending on where he starts.
Corey LaJoie (DK $5,600 FD $3,500)
LaJoie has finishes of 18th, 20th, 21st, and 24th on the road courses this season. With the different scoring rules, this is probably a DraftKings play only. He’s playable on FanDuel, but it probably won’t be worth it for your lineups. His consistency is exactly what we want from a value play each and every week. If he qualifies around 25th or worse, I think he’ll be a solid option we can target.
NASCAR Indy Road Course Picks:
Winner: Chase Elliott
Favorite Play: Martin Truex Jr
Favorite Low Owned Play: Ross Chastain
Fade: Kyle Busch
Guy I’m playing you shouldn’t: Tyler Reddick
I hope you guys enjoyed reading my free article for the Cup Series Indianapolis Road Course race, and I wish you the best of luck in your DFS contests! Again, this article was written before qualifying so things could change! Make sure to follow me on Twitter if you haven’t already @DFS_NASCAR_Zone, so you can see when I post NASCAR DFS content or ask any questions! If you want access to our final thoughts with all of the drivers we like today, core plays, prop plays, and betting card, make sure to sign up for the NASCAR Core Plays Package! You can click here to join our free Discord! Good luck and we hope to see those winning screenshots!
