Welcome to the NASCAR Cup Series DFS Preview. For this edition, we will take a look at the upcoming NASCAR Cup Series race at Talladega Superspeedway. This article is brought to you by DFSArmy.com and written by Ryan Larkin. Now is the very best time to sign up and become a DFS Army VIP Member. Become a VIP member!! Sign up and use code LARKIN to save 20%!! You can catch up with Ryan on twitter or in the DFSA VIP slack @Larkin8

Talladega Superspeedway

This weekend the Cup Series heads to Talladega Superspeedway. At 2.66 miles Talladega is the largest oval on the NASCAR schedule. The cars run in big packs and run 3, 4, and even 5 wide throughout the race. The draft is a major factor that keeps all the cars close to each other. Due to the cars all running near each other when something goes wrong it often results in massive wrecks. These massive wrecks are referred to as “The Big One” and will eliminate quite a few cars from the race whenever one happens. This is the most important aspect of this race for DFS but also the most impossible to predict. You just never know who may be involved in one. When making lineups, you will need to use past history to make educated guesses for who might be more likely to avoid these wrecks. Teamwork is a massive factor for this race. Teams from the same organization and even the same manufacturer will work together to beat the competition. Team and manufacturer stacks are in play as a result. NASCAR has implemented a new rules package for this race that will eliminate aero ducts in the nose and reduce horsepower. This is being done to slow the cars down and hopefully prevent tandem drafting.

Quick Facts

Date: June 21st

TV: FOX

Race: Sunday 2:00 pm ET.

Laps: 188 Stages: 55/110/188

Drivers: 40

Defending Champion: Ryan Blaney

AVG. # of Cautions: 7 excluding stage breaks

AVG DNF’s: 14 per race

Pit selection:

• Order based on finishing position from the June 14th race at Homestead, followed by new entries in order of points.

Starting lineup:

• Starting Positions 1-12: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
• Positions 13-24: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
• Positions 25-36: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
• Lastly, Positions 37-40: Open teams in order of owners points

Competition Caution:

We should expect a competition caution around lap 15.

Homestead was a massive weekend for many of our DFSA members but none had a better weekend than Brutus and Nicholas. Congrats to those guys and the dozens of big winners last weekend. Be sure to sign up and join the winning team with our VIP membership today to gain access to our NASCAR Research Station (Cup/Xfinity/Truck Series), NASCAR Domination Station Optimizer (Cup/Xfinity/Truck Series), Coaches Notes/Driver Picks, NASCAR Tools, Coaching, Chat, and more! Your VIP subscription gets you access to all sports for one low price!

If you are not already a VIP member sign up and use code LARKIN to save 20%!!

 

DraftKings

On DraftKings we are going to really favor the place differential drivers. Drivers who will start deep and the field and can gain 15-20+ spots are a must for the optimal. We average 14 DNFs here so it is easy to see how drivers can accumulate place differential points simply by avoiding the wrecks. The backmarkers are obviously great plays for lineups. They usually ride in the back to avoid the wrecks and bring home a solid finish. I highly recommend attacking these drivers for cash lineups. You will still want to attack some elite level drivers for GPPs who can add a few place diff points, but more importantly, lead a little and win. Superspeedways can be some of the hardest to predict but with so many new people playing NASCAR currently, I believe there can be a real edge this week. I love playing cash this week on DK.

Favorite Play: Brendan Gaughan

That car in the picture above that is upside is that of Brendan Gaughan. He is an almost completely retired driver who now only competes in the superspeedway races. Even in the race in which he flipped he finished 27th. In the four Dega races before that, he finished 8th, 12th, 22nd, and 19th.  He will start 39th for this race giving him incredible upside and giving him a really solid floor if he does wreck. Anything can happen but the safety of his floor and his upside make him my favorite play.

FanDuel

FanDuel is going to play quite a bit differently than DraftKings. On DK the full point in place differential really brings the low end, punt teams, into play. For FD, the half point doesn’t do enough for these drivers unless the can finish top 15. We instead look to get the perfect combination of drivers who can finish as high as possible with some positive place differential. I really like team or manufacture stacking on FD. Getting a group of drivers like the Penske group or Ford drivers who will finish top 5 together would be great. There are an endless amount of options for FD which is why I really like it for MME. Running the domination station and playing smaller MME contest vs running a handful of lineups in bigger entry stuff.

Favorite Overall Play: Brad Keselowski

Brad has 5 wins here which is more than anyone else in the field. Teammate Logano has the 2nd most with 3. Oh and teammate Ryan Blaney won here last fall. Clearly, the Penske cars are great here. In my opinion, Keselowski is the smartest driver in the series and nobody adapts to rule changes like he does. He is a master of adapting his Superspeedway ability to new packages. We have the new rules package this week and because of this, I believe he can have an edge on the field. Has led 20+ laps in 6 of the last 8 races here.  Starting 6th he carries lineup ruining risk but I am looking for that race winner and I like BK to do just that.

 

DFS Army VIP Content

The DFS Army provides the absolute best NASCAR content out there. The results speak for themselves. Check out what we have in store for members every single week!!

Available NASCAR content includes:

NillyJay’s – Calming the Chaos: Exceptional slate breakdown

AuburnFan30’s – The Sway Bar: Slate coaching and top plays.

Cheat Sheet notes from Larkin8, Nilly Jay and Taco for each Cup slate

Cheat Sheet notes from Larkin8 and Taco for each Xfinity and Truck slate

Research Station with amazing statistical info on each slate.

(This is a massive tool considering we currently have no qualifying or practices for all NASCAR races.)

Domination Station optimizer – The best in the industry for NASCAR DFS

If you are not already a VIP member sign up and use code LARKIN to save 20%!!

 

NASCAR on SuperDraft

Have to lose the high multiplier drivers starting deep in the field. They are going to have higher than normal place differential upside. Pairing that with their large multipliers is great. You will also want to look at some of the drivers starting towards the back that can be high risk, high reward. Michael McDowell, Christopher Bell jump out. Drivers who could finish top 10 but also could be at risk of wrecking because they are more likely to run within the big pack. There are going to be a lot of viable plays but I believe safety first may be the ticket for SuperDraft. Of course, we will have our industry best SuperDraft NASCAR notes and projections for this race and I believe we will have the upper hand on the field.

If you have been thinking of joining the DFS Army team but aren’t quite sure – this is your chance to get a month of free membership ($49.99  Value). Simply sign up for a new, first-time account AND make your initial deposit of $20 or more on any of the following sites. NOTE: Existing accounts and second accounts do not qualify. 

Go to www.dfsarmy.com/free-offer to see how to sign up

***This promo is also available to current DFS Army members. Follow the instructions above and simply note that you are an existing DFS Army VIP member in the email!! We want everyone to jump on board the SD train.***

DFS Army Strategy Series – NASCAR on SuperDraft

Are you ready to join the domination?  If you would like to reach out and talk NASCAR, follow me on twitter @Larkin8 or of course Become a VIP member and join me as well as our other DFS Army NASCAR contributors (Brady Miller, Taco, and NillyJay) in the NASCAR coaching channels.