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 Michigan. 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.
Top Tier Plays
Brad Keselowski
Keselowski is starting from the pole and has been one of the fastest cars in every practice session in terms of average speed. His teammate Joey Logano was able to dominate this race from the pole earlier this year and I believe BK has a shot to do the same. He is for sure a top 5 car heading into the race and is one of the clear favorites for the win.
Kevin Harvick
Harvick had the out right fastest car in central speed back in June but could just never get things to go his way and finished 7th. He showed up this week with one of the fastest cars again this time out and qualified 2nd. He is a contender to dominate like Logano did back in June and is certainly someone I expect to finish inside the top 5.
Martin Truex Jr.
Due to his price I am favoring Truex over his teammate Kyle Busch. The extra $1,500 allows more flexibility when making lineups. Truex is starting 15th so he has some place differential ability . Back in June he started 16th and finished 3rd and I expect him to be able to match that performance again this weekend.
Value Plays
Kurt Busch
At $11,000 it might be a slight stretch to call him a true value play but when making lineups he seemed to come up a lot as someone to pair with the ultra top tier. Back in June he finished 2nd here but more impressively was the fact he ran inside the top 5 for almost the entire race. He starts 13th which gives him a little place differential upside and I think it is safe to expect a top 10 with top 5 upside from him.
Kyle Larson
Larson starts 17th so he offers obvious place differential. He can be a bit hot and cold at times but when he is on he can be an elite play. His teammate Kurt Busch finished 2nd here in June and Larson was 5th fastest in 10 lap average in final practice. Team seems to have good speed for Michigan and the upside for Larson is always top 5 which is why he is a strong play.
Clint Bowyer
Bowyer comes in at $9,400 this week and starts 5th. He had the fastest overall average in final practice and I believe has a great shot at staying top 5. Riding the playoff bubble means Bowyer should play it safe in an effort to maximize his points this week. Very important race for the #14 team.
Erik Jones
Jones starts 16th and has shown great speed so far in practice. He is currently on a streak of four top 5s in a row and I believe he can capture another fifth straight this week. Offers both place differential upside but also a really high finishing position upside. Big fan of Jones again this week.
Low Tier/Punts
Chris Buescher
Until it doesn’t work Buescher is staying here. He cost $7,000 this week so he is an easy fit and he is coming off finishing 16th here in June. He has finished 18th or better in ELEVEN straight races and starting 25th this is exactly what we can hope for yet again.
Austin Dillon and Daniel Hemric
Both drivers failed post qualifying tech which means their times were disallowed and they will start from the back. Hemric 38th and Dillon 37th offer fantastic place differential upside and are great plays even if they can just finish 20th. Good news is both guys actually posses top 10 speed and both should have no issue working their way towards the front of the field. They will of course be chalk plays but hard to ignore the potential both drivers have this week.
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.