Oi! Do you want to win $50,000!? Because we are looking for someone to make it two in a row for the DFS Army, after Hall-D’s maiden voyage to big GPP win land! 
As always, the research is just getting started, so think about getting signed up and get exclusive access to our projection model, the domination station lineup optimizer, and most importantly, direct chat room access to some of the sharpest NASCAR minds in the industry. I will be on there all weekend updating everyone on my research. Lets get it, shall we?
Top Plays
Kyle Larson – So this one is kind of a no brainer. Larson was fastest in final practice, and then he went and didn’t pass inspection so his official starting spot will be 40th. Oy vey. Larson will be a canadiate for highest owned driver of the year this week, and I still can’t find a reason to fade him. Not only has he been a top two car all year, but with the rain and new track configuration – the field stands to be starting from scratch, which benefits the pure driver Larson greatly.
Martin Truex Jr. – My top plays are all going to seem like I am just touting the highest salary drivers in the field, but DK got the pricing is bang on this week. Truex has been almost TOO good on the 1.5 milers this year…like suspiciously good. Alas, I think we are in for a long night of “Stage WINNER M-T-J” come Saturday night. His track record isn’t the best but as we know, it’s a new configuration AND his car in 2017 is transcending all history. Look for Truex to take the lead and dominate this race.
Kyle Busch – Kyle Busch is one of just three drivers that have EVER won at Kentucky (along with Keselowski and Kenseth), and he will start on the point come Saturday night. Historically, only Keselowski can compete with Busch in terms of track history, and Busch showed top five speed across all practices. Kyle Busch will also have more track time than anyone in the field – as he is running all three national series this weekend. For a track that has recently be reconfigured, that could be of great value.
Matt Kenseth – I am not super convinced I should be putting Kenseth as a top play, and I may amend this, but at the time of publishing, I really like Kenseth as a pivot off of Kyle Busch, who stands to go 30%+ owned. Kenseth has a much faster car than the practices showed, and has a lights out track record (he has never finished outside of the top 10 here! NEVER! ). Here’s the thing – he is starting third so he will HAVE to dominate. Given what we have seen from the 20 car so far in 2017, I have a hard time beliving he can run faster than Truex without some sort of strategy. Alas, I think Kenseth is a good play as a pure pivot, of which their are few this week.
Plays That Make Sense But I Don’t Really Consider Top Plays But They Are Still Worth A Look, Ya Know What I Mean?
Brad Keselowski – I am going back and forth on Brad K this weekend. On the one hand, he qualified low enough to give him a bit of place differential potential (10th) and he has THE BEST track history of anyone in the field, paired with three career wins at Kentucky. However, he hasn’t shown any speed in practice so far. The thing is, the practices were during the day and they will race at night, so they may well just be setup for racing under the lights. It’s really hard to say. Alas, I will have exposure to him this weekend – the question is how much.
Clint Bowyer – This is a valuable play for just two reasons. 1) Bowyer showed top ten speed in practice and 2) He is starting 16th. He is the only driver in this range that I feel comfortable rolling out, so he is worth mentioning. He doesn’t have a great track history here, but should make his way into the top ten at some point.
Value Plays
Ty Dillon – Ah yes, the value play staple Ty Dillon is back and better than ever. In the sub – $7000 range there has been few better on 1.5 milers than Ty. He is rolling off 27th and just based on his incredible survival instinct he should compete for a top 20, and maybe even peak at the top 15. He has not shown significant speed during practice, but that usually doesn’t matter for the younger Dillon brother. Roll him out with confidence this week.
Trevor Bayne – Speaking of 1.5 mile kings in the $7000 range, Trevor Bayne! Bayne has shown sneaky speed all year and know he gets to put it to use at one of his best tracks. He starts a little high at 19th, but at a hard to pass track, the 20 – 25 range tends to be the sweet spot. During practices Bayne got faster and faster as time progressed and I anticipate that will continue as we move into the race.
Landon Cassill – Landon seems to have lost a bit of speed over the last couple weeks, while he teammate David has seemed to find it. That should only serve to drive Landon’s ownership down, and starting 35th it is hard to look past him. His track history is littered with top 30s and he is another driver who stands to benefit from the unknown nature of the track surface.
The only driver completely out of the question this week is Timmy Hill – who is a long shot to finish in the MBM Motorsports car. Gase, Gaulding, Earnhardt, Seig and Sorenson are playable in theory, but carry a HUGE risk. It may however be necessary to work one of those drivers in to fit in the high salary guys.
So there it is folks, use that to start your research. We will be talking more strategy on the DFS Army Slack Room right up until lock, and thats what it will be all about this week. Strategy. Get signed up and get exclusive access to our projection model, the domination station lineup optimizer, and most importantly, direct chat room access to some of the sharpest NASCAR minds in the industry. As always, use my research as a launching point for yours. Trust your process, good luck this week, and let’s make some cash.
