For only the second time, NASCAR will host the All-Star race in Fort Worth, Texas. The All-Star race was a regular event held in Charlotte, North Carolina for the longest time. Looking at track specifications, Texas Motorspeedway features an oval design with a 1.5-mile overall track length. Hendricks drivers Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson have combined to come away with the last three All-Star victories. It remains to be seen whether or not another manufacturer can shake things up in this year’s event.
Be sure to check out all of our Daily Fantasy Content.
All-Star Open & Race
So far 20 drivers are already locked in for Sunday, leaving four other drivers with the chance to punch their tickets via the All-Star Open. AJ Allmendinger has already locked himself in as one of those 20 drivers, through his Brickyard win last season. Open qualifying consists of a traditional single-car, single-lap race, as cars start in reverse order of the current owner points, then run one round to set the lineup for the 50-lap race. The 50 laps will be broken into three stages, and each stage winner will earn himself the right to be in the main event. The fourth and final driver will be selected through an All-Star fan vote.
NASCAR announced its new format for the 2022 All-Star Race at the end of April. The finale this year will run 125 laps through four stages: three 25-lap stages and one 50-lap stage. The pit crew competition will occur between Stage 2 and 3 when each team must complete a four-tire pit stop. The team with the fastest pit stop wins, and their driver will start fourth in the final stage if he finished 15th or higher in Stage 3. Apart from the pit stop incentive, there are in-race rewards for winning the first three stages.
This week, the Money Train delves into the DFS options for Sunday’s Cup Series event in Fort Worth, Texas. The selections are broken down between high salary, mid-range, and value play. Included are player salaries from both FanDuel (FD) and DraftKings (DK). Best of luck to everyone with lineups this weekend.
High Salary
Chase Elliott (13,000 FD | 9,700 DK)
After blowing a left rear tire that brought out a late caution on lap 197, Elliott would see his day ruined. Coming into the race last weekend, Elliott was on a streak of five straight top-10 finishes. He will just have to put that stinker behind him and move forward. Elliott is still relatively new to the all-star race, having only raced at the event six times. However, in that time, he’s already tied for second in wins. Had he not been overtaken by a hard-charging Larson with eight laps to go, Elliott had a fair chance to come away with his second all-star win last year.
While Larson has been the winner of the last two all-star races, he’s not shown that same dominance yet in 2022. Elliott, on the other hand, isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. If you have the cash to play with this weekend, get him in at least a portion of your lineups.
Martin Truex Jr. (11,500 FD | 9,000 DK)
Suffering through a miserable finish at Darlington, Truex would storm back for a gutsy sixth-place run. Blowing his rear tire at the end of Stage 2, he would have just the final stage to crawl his way back from being a lap down. What is intriguing about Truex this weekend is that he’s shown the speed on 1.5-mile tracks this year. In addition to his sixth-place run at Kansas, he picked up an eighth-place finish at Atlanta. His numbers at all-star races are not top tier, so he won’t have that heavy chalk. Look at Truex as a dark horse this weekend. He’s a fair price on DraftKings, so you can likely pair him with another high-salary driver.
Mid-Range
Ryan Blaney (10,000 FD | 7,900 DK)
Despite finishing 12th, Blaney ran a solid race at Kansas, staying in the top 10 for most of the day. On a late race restart, he had the opportunity to challenge for the lead. Yet, he would end up getting squeezed out by the two front runners, and that was that. In his last three races at the All-Star race, Blaney has enjoyed solid success. His 87 laps led tops all drivers. Whether at Charlotte or Fort Worth, he has taken care of business.
The price of Blaney on DraftKings is very reasonable at only 7,900. Given how well he has run at Texas over the past few years, it’s a puzzle. Whatever the reasoning is, don’t overanalyze it and just get as many shares as possible. He doesn’t need to have a huge day to have earned his salary, just a serviceable one.
Value Play
Aric Almirola (5,000 FD | 6,300 DK)
After starting the season with three straight top-six finishes, Almirola has since fallen into the background. His 11th place finish at Darlington two weeks ago was nice to see. Over the last three all-star attempts, Almirola has a worst finish of ninth. Compared to his starting position of 16.7, he finished with an average of 7.7. You need not worry about whether he needs to qualify since he’s already guaranteed a spot in the All-Star race. Selecting a driver who has consistently beaten his starting position by a wide margin for only $6,300 on DraftKings is fantastic value. Grab him as a bookend starter and just sit back and collect the points.
Check us out on our socials:
Twitter: @PTSTNews and @TalkPrimeTime
Facebook Page: Prime Time Sports Talk
Join our Facebook Group: Prime Time Sports Talk
Instagram: @primetimesportstalk
Follow Dale Money on Twitter @packerd_00
Main Image Credit: Embed from Getty Images
