5 months agoOne of the surprises during qualifying for the Xfinity 500 at Martinsville Speedway this weekend was Harrison Burton, who made the final round and will roll off the starting grid from sixth place on Sunday afternoon. And while that is a great run for Burton and his Wood Brothers Racing team -- that's actually their best qualifying effort of the season -- that high starting position does make him pretty much unplayable in DFS contests. Burton is extremely likely to fall back from sixth on Sunday, and while he does have finishes of 15th and 11th place over the last two Martinsville fall races, those aren't the norm, as Burton's three other Cup Series finishes here have been 33rd, 29th, and 26th. Burton could have been viewed as a DFS sleeper this weekend if he qualified back in the mid-20s, but that's not the case. You should look elsewhere when building your DraftKings lineups on Sunday.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Jayski
5 months agoHarrison Burton will start 34th for Sunday's Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, which is the lowest in his Cup career at the site. In two starts at Homestead, Burton has one top-20 finish and one DNF due to overheating his car. Through 33 races so far this year, Burton has one win and eight top-20 finishes, including one top-15 at 1.5-mile Intermediate tracks, a track type where he scored four finishes with positive or neutral Place Differential. In practice, Burton ranked 18th in overall lap averages while ranking 17th or better in all other categories on speed. Although Burton's 2024 season has been lackluster statistically, his practice speeds and high upside make him a decent pick to consider for any DFS format this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
6 months agoHarrison Burton will start Sunday's South Point 400 from the 31st position, marking the third time he will start a race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway from outside of the top 30. In five starts at Vegas, Burton has two top-20 finishes, a best finish of 16th, and nabbed positive place differential three times. Through 32 races so far in 2024, Burton has one win and seven top-20 finishes. None of those top-20s were gained at 1.5-mile intermediate tracks like Las Vegas, but he does have three finishes with positive PD at the track type this season. In practice, Burton ranked 34th out of all drivers and ranked as high as 25th in 15 consecutive lap averages. Despite the high potential upside and underwhelming practice speeds, Burton is not a top DFS recommendation over other drivers due to his lackluster performances on 1.5-mile intermediate tracks this season and is best utilized in cash games only.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
6 months agoAlthough it's hard to imagine Harrison Burton contending in Sunday's Charlotte roval race, especially since he is a lame-duck driver and starting 26th, it is worth noting that he did finish third on the short-lived Indianapolis roval as a rookie in 2022, which was his best finish before his win at Daytona this year. He also won a Michelin Pilot Challenge race at Daytona in a shared drive with Zane Smith, so he is not entirely averse to road racing. Having said that, he has never scored a top-10 finish at the Charlotte roval in any division, and now that his next year with AM Racing in the Xfinity Series has been announced, it's hard to see what motivation he has to elevate his performance since he has been eliminated from the playoffs and the team is pretty much guaranteed to finish 16th in points.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
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