Welcome to the Cup Series Setup for Fanduel. Here we will be breaking down the best plays and fades for Fanduel purposes. My name is RyanLarkin88 and you can follow me @Larkin8 on twitter. This week the Cup Series is at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. Based off practice I expect the first couple of laps to be crazy after every restart but for the field to spread out over the course of the long run. Tire fall off will be a huge factor in long run speed. Be sure to check out the VIP Member Research Station and Domination Station to help create your lineups. Also, jump in the NASCAR VIP Slack as tons of info is being talked about all the time. If you are not a DFS Army VIP Member then sign up now and use promo code Xfinity for 20% of your subscription.
Top Plays
Martin Truex Jr – Truex is the defending race winner here at Auto Club Speedway. He has also led 50% of the laps the last two races here. Starting 27th he offers a large amount of positive place differential and has top 5 upside.
Brad Keselowski – Brad had the fastest single lap in final practice. He was also 1st in 10 lap average during 2nd practice and 3rd during final practice. He won here in 2015 and has posted 3 finishes of 4th or better in the last 4 races here. He generally doesn’t dominate the race in terms of laps led but starting 13th he adds some position upside. BK is a strong top 5 contender and one of my favorites for the win.
Kyle Busch – KB is on fire so far this year as he heads to one of his best tracks. He has finished inside the top 3 five times in the last seven races including 2 wins. He has also led 430 laps in those 7 races. Busch was 2nd and 6th in 10 lap averages. Starts 4th in the preferred outside lane gives him a strong shot of leading early and often.
Value Plays
Paul Menard – Starts 25th but I would expect a top 20 finish. At $7000 that is good value. He recorded 3 consecutive top 10s here from 2013-2015 and he has also performed well at Michigan and Indy which are similar high speed tracks to ACS. He usually stay out of trouble so he is a safe play as well who I believe can find his way into the top 15 this week.
Alex Bowman – Bowman finished 3rd and 4th in the final two practices for 10 lap average. While I don’t think he will finish top 5 I do believe he has solid speed in the car. He starts 23rd but is another driver who I believe will finish inside the top 15. He finished 13th here last season.
Ryan Blaney – Price wise he might be too much to be a true value play but with 10 guys priced higher I decided to put him here. Blaney has finished top 10 the last 2 races here. He also starts 10th and posted the 2nd best 10 lap average in final practice. Blaney offers top 5 upside here at a solid price.
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Punts
Matt Dibenedetto – Has solid top 20 potential with an outside shot at a top 15. His 24th starting position offers positive position differential. Matt D finished 21st at Vegas the other high speed track this season and was well inside the top 15 last week before issues midway through the race. At $5500 he is a steal.
Ryan Preece – I don’t necessarily love Preece but he only cost $5000 and starts 26th. He can probably be of value simply gaining a few spots finish somewhere around 22nd. Both JTG cars have shown enough speed to make me believe Preece can deliver on his price.
This will conclude this edition of The Monster Energy Cup Series Setup for Fanduel. If you would like to reach out and talk NASCAR Follow me on twitter @Larkin8 or Become a VIP and join me as well as our other DFS Army NASCAR contributors (Brady Miller, Taco, and NillyJay) in the NASCAR coaching channels.