Welcome to the Cup Series Setup for Fanduel. Here we will be breaking down the best plays for Fanduel purposes. My name is RyanLarkin88 and you can follow me @Larkin8 on twitter. This week the Cup Series is at Martinsville Speedway. 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.
This week the Cup Series makes its way to the paper clip of Martinsville Speedway. Martinsville is a tight half mile track with low banked corners. It offers some of the best racing action in all of NASCAR. The race is 500 laps long and offers tons off additional points with laps led. This race last year was won by Clint Bowyer while the fall race was won by Joey Logano. We usually see double digit cautions at Martinsville however we have seen races with long green flag runs in the first 75% of the race with the intensity picking up in the later stages. This race last year only saw TWO natural cautions. Penske and Gibbs cars are again the favorites for this week.
Note: At the time of writing this article post qualifying inspection has not been done. Be sure to check for any updates on starting positions tomorrow morning between 9-11 am ET.
Top Tier Plays
Martin Truex Jr – Truex looks incredibly fast based off his practice times especially on the long runs. He posted the best 20 and 30 lap average in final practice. He also has scored 3 straight top 5s at Martinsville. I believe Truex can be a threat to lead and also win the race.
Kyle Busch – I will make this short and sweet. 7 straight top 5s, 2 wins and 4 dominator performances in last 7 races here. Dude is on one of the largest swings of positive momentum in NASCAR history. He is expensive but starting 14th* he offers enough position differential upside to offset 100 laps led by any driver.
Ryan Blaney – Blaney jumped into the top 10 highest priced drivers this week so I move him into the top tier. He starts 18th which means he offers good position upside while still being a strong contender for a top 5 finish. He lead 145 laps in this race last year before finishing 3rd.
Value Plays
Austin Dillon – Dillon has 2 top 5s, 5 top 15s and 7 top 20s in his 10 Martinsville races. In those 7 races he has a +105 position differential. He is slated to start 30th on sunday meaning if he can replicate those performances he can offer a solid finishing position and position diff. that will outscore numerous drivers finishing around him.
Daniel Hemric – I don’t like Hemric in the same way I like Austin Dillon however I don’t really like a lot of the mid tier priced drivers. Hemric at least offers position differential upside starting 29th. I believe he will finish 18th to 22nd but at $6500 that wouldn’t be a bad score.
Jimmie Johnson – The Seven time champ has been an easy fade for a while now but I am dusting him off and putting him to use. He has a fantastic history here and even though he has been a step off the last couple years has still finished top 15 in his last 7 races. He has decent speed and has some positive momentum for once as well. A top 10 is a decent possibility this week which would make him a great play.
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Punts
Ryan Preece – Ryan was $5000 last week. He started 26th and finished 23rd. SO naturally this week he only cost $4500. I am baffled by this pricing. Good news is he drives for a team that has 5 top 10s and 8 top 15s in their last 10 races at Martinsville. This style of track also suits his driving style and is the type of track he has spend the last decade on racing Modified cars on.
David Ragan – Starts 26th so he has some position upside if he can get into the top 20 which he did last fall finishing 18th. He was 14th in 10 lap average during final practice. Not as confident about him but all the signs point to having a good chance to score nicely at $5000
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.