The NASCAR Cup Series returns to Elkhart, Wisconsin for the Kwik Trip 250 on the Fourth of July weekend. It will be just the second year that Road America will host a Cup Series race. As this race has only been run once, you may have to rely on results from similar type tracks. A few road course tracks that come to mind include Watkins Glen, Sonoma, and Charlotte Roval. There’s a lot at stake for drivers like Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr, and Christopher Bell, all of whom are winless and could secure themselves a playoff spot with a win.
With 14 turns, Road America is a massive size track spanning 4.048 miles. In total, there are 62 laps divided into three stages of 14, 15, and 33 laps. When it comes to dominator points, 62 laps doesn’t leave much meat on the bone. It’s best to load up on drivers with solid place differentials.
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Practice & Qualifying
A group practice session will be held on Saturday morning for the Cup Series. The practice session will last approximately an hour before qualifying begins. The field will be divided into two groups. In total, 37 drivers will compete, including road course regular A.J. Allmendinger. Both groups will compete in single-car qualifying, consisting of a timed lap for each driver. In the second round of qualifying, the five fastest drivers from each group will attempt their best lap time. The driver with the quickest time will earn the Busch Pole.
This week, the Money Train delves into the DFS options for Sunday’s Cup Series event in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin. 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 (14,000 FD | 11,100 DK)
It took Elliott a grueling seven hours to lift the guitar over his head in a race marred by foul weather. With 36 laps to go, he took over the lead from Kyle Busch and didn’t look back. With a win this weekend, he would become the only driver this season with three victories. Even though his Road America win last year is significant, followers of the sport know how strong he is on the road course.
Among Elliott’s 15 Cup victories, almost half have been on road courses: two each at Watkins Glen and Charlotte Roval, and one each at Daytona Road Course, Circuit of The Americas, and Road America. Since it’s rare to see a driver win back-to-back races anymore, Elliott is capable of breaking that mold. There’s no dominator value with drivers this weekend, so a qualifying position outside of that top three would be ideal.
Ross Chastain (13,000 FD | 10,300 DK)
Despite the occasional hiccup, Chastain has continued to produce for fantasy owners this season. Last weekend, he earned added to his string of top-10 finishes, taking fifth place. During his short stint with Chip Ganassi Racing, Chastain had run several strong road race performances, including a seventh-place run at Road America. It was clear throughout that race that he had given the front runners a real fight. Adding Chastain and Elliott to a DraftKings roster will most likely not be possible. However, he can be a strong alternative to Elliott. If you decide to go that route. The Melon man could easily win his second road course of the season.
Mid-Range
Christopher Bell (8,800 FD | 8,900 DK)
Bell has been somewhat of a silent assassin this season. In fact of the Gibbs drivers, only Busch has more top-10 finishes. If Bell can keep up this consistency, he shouldn’t have a problem qualifying for the postseason just based on points alone. He finished runner-up last year at the Road America, coming up short by half a second to winner Elliott. So far in 2022, he has placed third at the Roval, and then just two weeks ago at Sonoma, Bell picked up an ugly 27th place run. At just 8,900 on DraftKings, you’d be committing highway robbery should he put together another excellent road course performance.
Value Play
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (5,000 FD | 6,900 DK)
Having signed a multi-year deal with JTG Daugherty Racing last week should demonstrate to Stenhouse that ownership still believes in him. Two days after news of the contract, he finished 16th after gaining nine positions from the start of the race. The debut race at Road America last year saw him finish 12th after rolling off the line 14th. As far as road course finishes go, it was his best, not including the Brickyard last year. Due to his strong finish at Road America last year and his bargain price this weekend, Stenhouse is a speculative pick. Get some shares if Stenhouse qualifies for that top 25. His performance should be good enough to secure himself a good points day for owners.
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