NASCAR DFS: Verizon 200 at the Brickyard

Kyle Larson led the final 26 laps on Sunday en route to his fifth win on the season. Moreover, he caught  Denny Hamlin in the point race (both have 917 points). Despite this, he would not be free of controversy. On the 55th lap, Larson and Christopher Bell had a dust-up that would leave Bell on the losing end. As Larson attempted to overtake Bell in turn 1, his brakes evidently locked up, which would cause Bell to spin out. Bell finished seventh in the race.

After 27 years, the running of the Brickyard will not be on the 2.5-mile oval but instead the 2.4-mile road course. Considering the history of racing on the oval at Indianapolis, it’s not surprising that some drivers weren’t going to be thrilled with the change to a road course layout. Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick were among those who expressed dissatisfaction with the move to the Indy road course. It appears one driver is excited about this weekend, however, and it’s A.J. Allmendinger. Allmendinger, who is on double duty at the Brickyard, is still determined to kiss the bricks at Indianapolis. It will be his fourth cup attempt this season.

Due to this being the second straight road course event, the strategy won’t vary much from the race last week at Watkins Glen. The event will consist of 82 laps run, which works out to 20.50 DraftKings points, a two-point decrease from last Sunday. Once more, you will receive most of your points based on place differential and finisher position. The addition of one dominator is fine, however. There will be practice and qualifying this weekend for teams in the Cup and Xfinity series.

This week, the Money Train delves into the DFS options for Sunday’s Cup Series event in Indianapolis, IN. I’ve broken down the selections between high salary, mid-range, and value play. Included are player salaries from both FanDuel and DraftKings. Best of luck to everyone with their lineups this weekend.

High Salary

Chase Elliott (14,000 FD | 11,000  DK)

Even though Elliott was buried in the back twice, he still kept Larson on his toes in the closing laps. It’s something we all expected from him. Simply put, when out on a road course, he’s just on another level from the rest of the field. For Elliott, the entirely new course won’t be a challenge. Remember he won all of our first-year road course events this season. He will likely qualify among those top 10 drivers, giving him a chance to rack up points early. Due to Elliott’s immense popularity at the road course, avoiding him last week was an obvious mistake that won’t be repeated. He’s as close to a stone-cold lock as you’re likely to find this weekend.

Denny Hamlin (12,000 FD | 10,000 DK)

Hamlin has lost control of his points lead with three races left, so he cannot afford to misstep. You get an extra 15 playoff points for winning the regular season, so these next few races are of great significance. Hamlin has been pretty impressive this season at the road course events. He has finished no worse than eighth in five of the six road courses they have run at so far. As one of only two cup drivers without a DNF this season, he is as consistent a finisher as you will find. Is this the weekend Hamlin wins his first race? Considering how unstoppable Elliott has remained, I wouldn’t be so sure. He is nevertheless very well suited for a top-five finish.

Kurt Busch (8,000 FD | 9,000 DK)

Given how well he has performed this season on road courses, I expected much more from Busch at Watkins Glen. After starting from 17th, he finished a respectable 13th but didn’t live up to the hefty price tag. In any case, he has fallen 1,000 dollars on DK since last week, which piques my interest. Whenever you can get a Chip Ganassi driver for Indy, make sure you do so. In tournaments, you may want to stack him with Ross Chastain. Busch is still a top-flight road racer and would make an excellent bounce-back candidate.

Value Play

Daniel Suarez (5,000 FD | 6,600 DK)

A potential top-15 run was ruined last Sunday by a damaged battery on pit road. When Suarez got his car back on the track, he was able to make up seven positions. With a late caution, Suarez may have salvaged the day. Based on his salary on both DK and FD, Suarez is a great bargain, depending on where he qualifies.  If Suarez does succeed, he will make an excellent bookend driver. At the very least, you should consider including him on a few rosters. Although there may be some disillusioned owners, this is a great spot to make amends.