RADIO
California Dreamin, Californication, and California Love are some great jams named after the surf state. Auto Club Speedway isn’t necessarily a jam but it’s one of the hottest tracks when NASCAR goes west. We head there this week coming off of a big victory for driver Kyle Busch at ISM Raceway in Phoenix where he led 177 laps and brought it home for the Joe Gibbs Racing team. For a while it looked promising for Ryan Blaney and the number 12 Ford but when Rowdy Busch is trailing tight it can be a tough scene for a lot of young drivers.
This week a young driver who’s running the iconic number three car has taken the pole at the Auto Club 400. Austin Dillon posted a lot this week on Instagram that he was feeling good about his ride along with other photos of him as a Jedi and some of his car. His emotions and confidence are riding high but the stats don’t lie and in years past he’s had a hard time holding it down as a top 5 car. He won’t be one of my fantasy picks this week, but I do have some guys that I think even Tupac would approve of for the last run in the Wild Wild West until June.
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Auto Club 400 - Starting Lineup
- (#3) Austin Dillon - Chevrolet
- (#4) Kevin Harvick - Ford
- (#10) Aric Almirola - Ford
- (#18) Kyle Busch - Toyota
- (#22) Joey Logano - Ford
- (#11) Denny Hamlin - Toyota
- (#6) Ryan Newman - Ford
- (#9) Chase Elliott - Chevrolet
- (#14) Clint Bowyer - Ford
- (#12) Ryan Blaney - Ford
- (#48) Jimmie Johnson - Chevrolet
- (#17) Ricky Stenhouse Jr - Ford
- (#2) Brad Keselowski - Ford
- (#37) Chris Buescher - Chevrolet
- (#42) Kyle Larson - Chevrolet
- (#13) Ty Dillon - Chevrolet
- (#8) Daniel Hemric - Chevrolet
- (#20) Eric Jones - Toyota
- (#38) David Ragan - Ford
- (#41) Daniel Suarez - Ford
- (#1) Kurt Busch - Chevrolet
- (#24) William Byron - Chevrolet
- (#88) Alex Bowman - Chevrolet
- (#95) Matt DiBenedetto - Toyota
- (#21) Paul Menard - Ford
- (#47) Ryan Preece - Chevrolet
- (#19) Martin Truex Jr - Toyota
- (#43) Bubba Wallace - Chevrolet
- (#34) Michael McDowell - Ford
- (#32) Corey Lajoie - Ford
- (#15) Ross Chastain - Chevrolet
- (#36) Matt Tifft - Ford
- (#00) Landon Cassill - Chevrolet
- (#51) Cody Ware - Ford
- (#27) Reed Sorenson - Chevrolet
- (#52) BJ McLeod - Chevrolet
- (#77) Garrett Smithley - Chevrolet
- (#66) Joey Gase - Toyota
DFS Lineup Picks - DraftKings, FanDuel
Martin Truex Jr #19 (DraftKings $10,000 | FanDuel $13,700)
In the past two years Martin Truex Jr has bagged a win and a top five finish. The change to Joe Gibbs Racing hasn't been much of a difference maker except for his bad finish in Daytona. Truex ran 177 in qualifying and practice but that shouldn't be a concern given his history at Auto Club. With him starting deep in the pack, look to haul in big points when he has a top-10 finish.
Kyle Larson #42 (DraftKings $10,800 | FanDuel $12,400)
This is another driver with an excellent record in Fontana. Larson will be starting in 15th this Sunday but regardless of position and speed you cannot ignore his absolutely impressive stat line at this track. In his career with Chip Ganassi Racing, Larson has had three top-five finishes with one of them being a victory. Keep in mind that he's only been racing for five years and three out of five ain't bad.
Clint Bowyer #14 (DraftKings $8,600 | FanDuel $10,300)
The wild man himself is back on the radar in Cali. Since his switch to Stewart - Haas racing he has finished this race in third and 11th. In his top 3 finish he started in 17th, while he started 23rd in his top-11 finish, showing improvement as he starts higher from the pole. Bowyer had a top speed of 178 in qualifying and starts in the ninth position from the pole. PLUG AND PLAY!
Kurt Busch #1 (DraftKings $9,100 | FanDuel $10,800)
I'm not sure whats going on with Kurt Busch but I like it to the extreme. Busch has been on a hot streak lately with his top 10 finishes and it has fantasy owners in a state of pure bliss (me included). His numbers at Auto Club have not been great but those numbers come from a different team. It seems that the switch to Chip Ganassi Racing is working out in Busch's favor and even Vegas odd makers are "High On Kurt" in Cali this week.
For any and all fantasy NASCAR questions, find me on Twitter @GarageGuyChase. Good luck RotoBallers!
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