The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series heads to Bristol on Thursday night for the first race of the Round of 8. There's just four more races all season in the Truck Series, with four drivers set to compete in the Championship 4 race in November. Which four will make it there?
Last year, Ty Majeski won this race, leading 45 of 200 laps, with all 45 of those coming in a row. It was a race where passing was tough, as just four drivers led, with each of them leading just once throughout the race. We saw streaks of 27, 89, 39, and 45 laps led.
Here at RotoBaller, we want to help you make informed decisions about your DFS lineups, which is why I'll be breaking down the slates for the Craftsman Truck Series. Let's look at some NASCAR Truck Series DFS lineup picks for the UNOH 200 on DraftKings. Be sure to also check out our NASCAR Premium Tools for Truck Series including our DFS Lineup Optimizer and powerful Research Station. This slate locks on 9/14/2023 at 9:09 p.m. ET.
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Ty Majeski - $11,400
Starting 4th
Ty Majeski was hit with a major penalty last round, and it's put him on the outside of the top four heading into the Round of 8. He opens this round 14 points behind leader Corey Heim and six points back of the cut line.
This looks like it could be a big week for Majeski that gets him on the other side of that cut line, though. He won this race last year, leading the final 45 laps of the race. Consider him one of the favorites to leave Bristol with a victory on Thursday night.
Majeski hasn't had a ton of laps at Bristol in his career, but considering he's 1-for-1 at winning here in the Truck Series, I won't hold that against this 98 truck.
Nick Sanchez - $9,800
Starting 35th
Nick Sanchez enters this round of the playoffs as the No. 8 seed. He'll start 35th at Bristol, which is definitely not a great spot to be in as a playoff driver. It'll take a lot of work to move forward.
But in terms of DFS, a 35th-place starting spot gives Sanchez a ton of place differential upside, making him a must-play in Cash games, though he might be worth fading in GPPs because he'll be too chalky.
Sanchez doesn't have a lot of great results here, but he has run Xfinity and ARCA races at this track, so that experience might be useful on Thursday night.
Stewart Friesen - $8,900
Starting 24th
Stewart Friesen's season overall is a bit of a disappointment as he missed the playoffs, but he has a shot to finish as the top non-playoff driver still, as he's just seven points behind Chase Purdy for 11th in the standings.
Bristol's been a good track for Friesen. He's never won here or even led a lap, but he's got four top 10s in his seven carer starts, which includes three top fives. His best finish was in 2018, when he finished second in this race behind Johnny Sauter.
Starting 24th gives Friesen a solid amount of place differential upside as well.
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Jake Garcia - $7,800
Starting 30th
Another big place differential option is Jake Garcia, who'll fire off 30th after a poor run in qualifying. He enters this race with four finishes in a row of 13th or better, so I expect this 35 truck to find some speed over the course of the race, especially when he was fast in practice.
Garcia finished 22nd in this race last year, but he ran as high as ninth and spent 28.5% of the laps in the top 15. This team wasn't as strong last season and Garcia wasn't nearly as experienced running a truck as he is now. I think he can easily get you 15 place differential points on Thursday night.
Tyler Ankrum - $7,100
Starting 25th
Tyler Ankrum finished ninth last week at Kansas, his seventh top-20 finish in the past eight races. The only race in that span where he wasn't top 20 was IRP, when the truck had a mechanical issue.
His short track results have been pretty poor this season, as he was 27th at Martinsville and 26th at North Wilkesboro, but Ankrum has a decent track record at Bristol. Notably, he led 53 laps in the 2020 race here, starting and finishing seventh.
Stephen Mallozzi - $5,000
Starting 34th
Stephen Mallozzi is a great story this weekend. An Outback Steakhouse employee when he's not racing, Mallozzi got sponsorship from the company this week as he climbs into the 22 truck for the third time this season.
Last time he was in this truck, Mallozzi had a solid run. He started 36th at Pocono but managed to finish on the lead lap in 24th. This truck hasn't had as many good runs as it has in the past, but there's been some solid results for it. At IRP, Logan Bearden had a 21st-place finish, and Chase Briscoe was seventh at the Bristol dirt race.
Now, Mallozzi's truck was way, way off the pace in qualifying, as he was the only driver to not run a lap faster than 16 seconds. That obviously worries me. If it worries you, you could play Bret Holmes instead, as he's just $200 more and starts 29th.
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