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 Bristol. The VIP Member Research Station and Domination Station will be ready to go for you to help create your lineups so be sure to check that out. Also, jump in the NASCAR VIP Slack and get some great insight into this weeks race.
This week is yet another impound race with inspection being done Sunday morning at 9am. If a team fails inspection their qualifying time will be disallowed and they will start from rear of the field. They will also be scored from rear of the field as well. These picks are made before the inspection process was done. Obviously if an elite driver starts in the back they are a great play!!
Top Tier Plays
Kyle Larson
Larson is great here at Bristol especially as the top groove comes in. He has an unbelievable ability to ride right on the edge and carry the most speed. This has led to him leading 200+ laps twice in the last five races. He has also scored two runner up finishes and four top tens. He starts 2nd and I like him to potentially dominate early and often. With 500 laps there is plenty of laps led points to be had.
Kyle Busch
Busch has won three of the last four Bristol races and eight times overall. He has also led 70+ laps in 10 of the last 21 races here and 150+ laps 6 times. He is projected to start 31st which means he offers elite place differential upside. He has incredible finishing position upside and can even lead a bunch of laps putting together a score that can not be touched by anyone.
Joey Logano
Logano has finished inside the top five 5 times in the last 10 Bristol races. During that stech he has also led over 500 laps and secured two wins. He starts 11th so he can pair together place diff and top 5 finish for a scoring night. His recent runs here have seen him finish 3rd and 4th with 241 laps led. Real threat for the win.
Value Plays
Clint Bowyer
Bowyer has finished 8th or better in four of the five races here at Bristol since joining SHR. During those five races he has an average finish of 8.4 and has led 144 laps. He starts 20th and cost $10,000. On the playoff bubble and is in desperate need of a strong run. Fully expect him to be contending for a top 10.
Ricky Stenhouse
Stenhouse has seen a lot of attention at Bristol the last couple races and failed to deliver. The reason for that attention was due to his 6 top 10s in 9 races and five finishes of 6th or better during that stretch. Starting 15th this week and at only $7,700 if he can get back on track here at Bristol he can be an elite play.
Jimmie Johnson
In his last 10 Bristol races he has 1 finish worst that 11th. During that stretch he has secured five top 5s and a win. He is right on that playoff bubble so I expect a smart safe race from Jimmie. He is set to start 30th so he has really solid place differential upside to go along with his 7th place average finish over the last 5 races here. He checks all the boxes of a top value play at only $8,800.
Ryan Newman
Yet another track where Newman just always seems to put together a solid finish, He starts 14th this week and has finished 14th or better in 9 of his last 10 races here. During that stretch he has 6 top 10s. I also like the fact that starting 14th he may go over looked and have relatively low ownership.
Low Tier/Punts
Chris Buescher
I am running out of things to say. He is an elite play every week and they still give us a fantastic price on him every week. This week he cost $7200. He is set up to start 29th which means he has some really good place differential ability. He is also on a streak of finishing 18th or better in 12 straight race. He is a great driver who is killing it for us every week in DFS.
Matt Dibenedetto
Matty D has been great at these 750 hp races with finishes of 7th, 6th and 4th in his last three such races. He comes to Bristol on a hot streak and looking for a ride. He was fastest in final practice so we know the car has speed. He finished 12th here in the spring. He does come with some risk starting 7th but if he can manage to stay top 10 he can certainly be a great play.
Paul Menard
Since 2012 (15 races) Menard has six top 10s and eleven finishes of 16th or better. He is a really solid driver who does a great job of staying out of trouble. He is slated to start 25th at $7,300. If he can have a clean race and score another strong top 15 finish he can easily end up one of the best plays of the race. Good combo of place diff and finishing position upside.
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 and join me as well as our other DFS Army NASCAR contributors (Brady Miller, Taco, and NillyJay) in the NASCAR coaching channels.