First things first; a big congratulations to three of our members who tied for first place in the Xfinity DraftKings Beast this past weekend! Our research station, VIP articles and Slack chat helped to point everyone in the right direction while the Domination Station put it all together. Here’s a look at their winnings, some of my Slack chat notes, and one of the ways the perfect lineup was crafted in the Domination Station. And yes, it wasn’t just the winning lineup; it was the perfect lineup that day!
And a look on the inside…
We had lots of other winners from both races, even from members who have never played NASCAR before. It’s never too late to join up, so come check us out. Don’t forget to use promo code NILLY to lock in a 10% savings!
Fontana / Auto Club Speedway
We next head to Fontana for a 300-mile race at Auto Club Speedway. This 2-mile track is one of two we’ll visit this year and is a different animal than most others. Rather than the staggered lap-down formation we saw at Phoenix, drivers tend to get lapped gradually and in larger groups here. This makes it easier for faster cars to gain back laps since they pass the slower ones much easier on those long stretches, and also makes unscheduled green flag pitstops & penalties much more manageable. That, combined with the fact that this isn’t an overly chaotic track (in the last 8 races, there were only 9 wrecks in 35 non-stage cautions), makes this a good track for both cash games and GPP alike. Of course, this also makes it harder for the slow cars to move up, so we’ll need to choose carefully if we need to dig that deep.
Monster Energy drivers
Only two drivers from the Monster Energy Cup series will make an appearance this week:
Joey Logano ($11,200) – Logano offers a solid track history at a surprisingly low (relatively speaking) price.
Austin Dillon ($10,200) – Dillon should be good for a top 10 finish, but don’t expect him to lead many (if any) laps.
Compared to what we saw last week, these two are much more affordable and should garner higher ownership than the studs did last week. Lineup construction should start with a decision on what you want to do with these two drivers.
Xfinity drivers
Note: a lot of Xfinity drivers saw a significant price increase this week.
Elliott Sadler ($10,600) – Mr. Top 10 has a solid history at Auto Club, but this week he comes with a $900 price increase. He’s had a solid floor of no less than 40 DKFP at all four races this year but hasn’t shown an elite ceiling yet for somebody so expensive. He remains a safe cash option, but with only two lead laps and seven fastest laps so far, he hasn’t yet shown us a high ceiling for tournament use.
Justin Allgaier ($10,000) – Allgaier had an impressive race last week and showed us that he can put up a big score when he’s in the right situation. He’s only led three laps in nine races at Auto Club but has a tendency to qualify fairly poorly considering his driving skill (15th or worse five times). Not so good for him, but great for us!
Christopher Bell ($9,700) – Bell hasn’t actually raced at Auto Club yet, but a 2nd place finish at Michigan last year shows he knows how to tame a 2-mile track. He’s one of the best in the field and I expect more of the same out of him this week. This might be the last time we see him under the $10,000 mark.
Daniel Hemric ($9,100) – Hemric had a decent outing at this race last year with an 11th place finish and a 93.2 driver rating. That’s right on par with what he’s been doing so far this year, so he should be a solid option yet again this weekend.
Ryan Preece ($8,600) – Preece will be making his 2018 Xfinity debut this weekend. While he didn’t have much luck here back in 2016 (started 24th and finished 25th), he’s in a much better car this time around. He’ll be piloting the #18 Joe Gibbs Racing car that’s often used by elite drivers such as Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin.
Austin Cindric ($7,700) – Like Bell, Cindric has not raced at Auto Club yet either. However, he performed well at Michigan in the Camping World truck series, leading 24 of 100 laps on his way to a solid 5th place finish last year.
Jeremy Clements ($6,900) – Clements has a fair amount of experience at Auto Club with 8 races and only two “bad” finishes. Keep an eye on him, as he may turn into a good mid-range option depending on where he qualifies.
We have a slightly larger window of time between qualifying and the green flag this week, but it’s still fairly narrow compared to Sunday’s race. Don’t wait until then to start your research! If you haven’t quite figured out a good process yet, consider reading my beginner NASCAR strategy articles to help get you pointed in the right direction; beginner’s – intermediate. And of course, if you’re not yet a member and you want to come join us for the more in-depth discussions we have in our Slack channels, along with access to all of our tools/resources, you can do so here. Don’t forget to use promo code NILLY to lock in that 10% savings!
