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 Saturday’s race at Daytona International Speedway! You can find all of our Core Plays throughout the NASCAR Premium Package, or you can click here to join our free Discord! All of our content is FREE this weekend!
Race Preview
The Cup Series regular season is just about over with its last race this weekend at Daytona International Speedway. A lot of drivers are in must-win scenarios tonight and can advance to the playoffs with a win. With all the pressure on the line, things could definitely get crazy especially under the lights. We’ve seen multiple upset winners here with Stenhouse, Jones, McDowell, and Haley if you count that one. The Fords are always the best at working together at the superspeedways which is something to consider when making your DFS lineups. The drivers are inches apart for most of the race so one little mistake could cause a big crash. Let’s get into lineup construction!
Lineup Construction
A lot of people have caught onto the strategy but if you don’t know, it’s to stack the back. Most of the cars can stay in the lead draft which means any of them could win the race. A mistake by one driver can cause a huge wreck and take out multiple drivers. If your driver started 5th and crashes, they’ll score negative fantasy points. However, someone who started in the back can still wreck but won’t kill your chances of cashing. That’s the reason why we mostly play the guys starting near the back. For cash games, there’s no reason to play anyone starting in the top 25. For GPPs though, we’re looking for upside, so we’ll have to get a little creative with how we build those lineups. Also, don’t be afraid to leave money on the table! Salary doesn’t matter!
Here are the rules that I use when constructing my GPP lineups for the superspeedway races. The numbers are by starting position and how many I want from each group.
1-10: 0-1
11-20: 1-2
20-30: 2-3
30-40: 2-3
Austin Dillon (DK $10,300 FD $12,500)
Dillon still has a chance to make the playoffs by points, but it’s pretty much a must-win scenario. He finished 3rd at Daytona and 8th at Talladega for the two superspeedway races this season. In cash games, he looks like a great option with the place differential and upside he has. However, I don’t mind being underweight in GPPs because his ownership will be very high. You have to understand that anything can happen in these races. The chances of a driver busting are higher than usual.
Aric Almirola (DK $9,300 FD $9,000)
A lot of us probably thought that Almirola would be in a must-win scenario tonight but he’s not. That doesn’t matter though because he’s already in the playoffs and is one of the best superspeedway racers in NASCAR. His recent finishes at these tracks might scare people off but that’s superspeedway racing. He offers plenty of place differential and could definitely be a threat for the win tonight. I wouldn’t play him in cash games, but I love him for tournaments.
Kaz Grala (DK $8,900 FD $8,000)
Grala is back in the #16 car for Kaulig Racing which just won a couple weeks ago at the Indianapolis Road Course. In his two superspeedway starts this season, he has finishes of 28th and 6th. Like I said earlier, place differential is massive, and he offers a ton starting 38th. Grala looks like a great option for cash games but can be faded in tournaments with the high ownership he’ll have.
Ryan Preece (DK $7,700 FD $6,000)
Preece usually isn’t a contender most weeks but always looks strong at the superspeedways. He’s one of the drivers that might be lower owned because of his starting spot. Chastain, LaJoie, Cassill will probably be the highest owned options in the mid tier because they’re starting further back. Preece is in a must-win scenario, and I love the upside he has tonight. He’s also my deep sleeper on my betting card for the win.
Corey LaJoie (DK $7,400 FD $5,500)
LaJoie has had a lot of success at the superspeedways with four top 10’s and an AvFn of 14.6 over the last ten at these tracks. He’s one of the drivers that’ll usually ride around in the back for most of the race to try to avoid the big one. This is what usually leads to his really good finishes. LaJoje offers a lot of place differential starting 33rd and has top 10 upside.
Justin Haley (DK $5,500 FD $2,500)
Can we give Haley some credit? I don’t know how he keeps winning these superspeedway races in the Xfinity Series. He just won the Xfinity Series race earlier today as well. The equipment isn’t the greatest, but that hasn’t stopped him from finishing top 15 in three of his five Cup starts at these tracks. Starting 28th, he still offers plenty of place differential and might be lower owned with some of the options starting further back.
NASCAR Daytona Picks:
Winner: Joey Logano
Favorite Play: Kaz Grala
Favorite Low Owned Play: Daniel Suarez
Fade: Denny Hamlin, Michael McDowell
Guy I’m playing you shouldn’t: Ryan Blaney
I hope you guys enjoyed reading my free article for the Cup Series Daytona race, and I wish you the best of luck in your DFS contests! 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!
Remember, all of our NASCAR DFS content is free this weekend in the Discord! Make sure to join if you want access to everything we have for tonight’s race!
