Following Alex Bowman‘s second victory of the 2021 season, NASCAR heads West to Texas. Cup, Trucks and Xfinity all make their maiden voyages to Austin, Texas at the Circuit of the Americas. Let’s wrap up implications from last weekend’s race at Dover and what to expect for NASCAR DFS on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Dover Wrap Up
What was supposed to be a stellar day for Joe Gibbs Racing turned out to be anything but that. Martin Truex Jr. suffered early damage, causing his car to drive like it had a giant parachute. Denny Hamlin ended up with a top-10 finish but was never a factor, save for the two total laps he led. Kyle Busch had initial issues with what he thought was an engine dying causing him to go immediately seven laps down. Finally, Christopher Bell was a non-factor, finishing multiple laps down in the 20s.
However, by the end of 400 laps, it was Hendrick Motorsports standing atop the hill taking places one through four. Although he didn’t win, Kyle Larson turned in a stellar performance, leading the majority of Sunday’s race. Larson did exactly what was thought impossible, turn a 400-lap race into a single-dominator event. This marks the second straight week in the high-horsepower package there has been a crushing performances from a single driver. As the heat continues to rise, this may be a trend to be wary of, especially as the next race in the 750-horsepower package will be the inaugural event at Nashville.
NASCAR DFS Circuit of the Americas DFS Picks & Preview
As previously mentioned, this week goes from one of NASCAR’s oldest venues to a place the series has never raced at. The Circuit of the Americas, or COTA, is a 3.42-mile road course. Originally built for Formula One Racing, this track has hosted Moto GP, American Rallycross, Le Mans, IMSA and IndyCar. In regards to shape and size, this is definitely more of a technical track than the Roval races at Charlotte and Daytona.
The track, outlined in red and black, features an uphill turn one, multiple S-turns, hard braking zones where skilled drivers will make passes, carousels and a backstretch where drivers will reach upwards of 180 mph.
With open-wheel race cars in mind, as the track’s original intent, the track has been called “narrow.” Thus drivers may have to be highly selective of where their passing zones are going to be. It appears if drivers don’t make passes in braking zones, they’ll have to do so on the straightaways, or on pit road.
For a “personalized” look at COTA, the track has provided a tour featuring its more well-known turns. From a driver’s perspective, tag along with Kyle Busch here as he takes a Toyota Camry around COTA for a lap.
Latest NASCAR DFS Content
- NASCAR DFS Picks: Top Drivers for the Wurth 400 at Dover (2024)
- DraftKings NASCAR Cheat Sheet: NASCAR DFS Sims Picks for the GEICO 500 at Talladega
- NASCAR DFS Picks: Top Drivers for the GEICO 500 at Talladega (2024)
- NASCAR DFS Picks: Top Drivers for the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 at Texas (2024)
- NASCAR DFS Picks: Top Drivers for the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville (2024)
- Stokastic DFS on Youtube
Circuit of the Americas Schedule
What matters most of all this weekend is the schedule. As this is a new track, NASCAR has implemented one round of practice, as well as qualifying, for all three races this weekend. Unlike most weekends this year, the starting grid will not be known until hours before the race begins.
Both Trucks and Xfinity will hold their lone practice sessions on Friday: Trucks at 2 to 3 p.m. ET and Xfinity at 3 to 4 p.m. Meanwhile, the Cup Series practice will be held from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. the following Saturday. After practice there will be about a day to stew on the numbers. Although 60 minutes of practice data isn’t fantastic, it’s far more than what there has been all season since Daytona.
The real numbers to keep in mind are the gaps between qualifying and race times.
- Trucks qualify from 8-9 a.m. on Saturday, race at 1 p.m.
- Xfinity qualify from 10-11 a.m. on Saturday, race at 4 p.m.
- Cup qualifies from 9:30-10:30 a.m. on Sunday, race at 2:30 p.m.
With each of this weekend’s races, DFS players will have at least a four-hour window to parse the starting grids and make lineup decisions. Even if that seems scary, four hours is plenty of time to make rational decisions for DFS. If making roster choices in a tight window forces bad decisions, this may be a week to pivot to PGA DFS and check up on all of our great content for the PGA Championship, especially for those who play lots of cash games. Gamers can also limit bankroll, reserve just a few lineups and build those with aid of the Race Sheets and Awesemo’s premium tools as everyone else struggles to build lineups in that same small window.
NASCAR DraftKings & FanDuel Roster Construction
Everything is going to depend on how qualifying shakes down. DraftKings and FanDuel optimal lineups could be based around place differential and finishing position or a dominator. Plus, with no prior track history, there is nothing to provide an idea of what to look for.
What is known is this is going to be a “short” race in terms of laps — 68, to be precise. There will be relatively few dominator points available; add in two stage breaks and who knows how many cautions for wrecks or the weather, and this could very easily be a race where nothing matters but nailing drivers who finish in the top 10. That we will figure out Sunday once the starting grid is set.
Due to this week’s schedule, don’t expect “Picks” articles for any of the three events. Instead, each race has its own RaceSheet with past road racing information. Like every other week, drivers will be highlighted according to the category they fit best under; purple for dominators, blue for tournaments/upside and green for cash/floor plays. In the Awesemo Premium Slack Chat for NASCAR, expect notes for additional roster construction ideas to help guide your process.
Follow us on all of our social channels! Check out our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube for more great Awesemo content.
[NASCARPAGE]
