The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Texas on Sunday for the first race of the Round of 12. Last weekend saw Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Michael McDowell's title hopes come to an end. What will happen in this round?
For the first time since 2004, there's just one race at Texas Motor Speedway this season. Last year, the series came here once for a points race, but was also at TMS for the All-Star Race. Tyler Reddick won the regular season race while Ryan Blaney won the All-Star Race.
Below are my NASCAR DFS lineup picks for the AutoTrader EchoPark Automotive 400 on DraftKings and FanDuel this week. This slate locks on 9/24/23 at 3:48 PM ET. If you have any questions or want to talk about NASCAR, you can find me on Twitter at @juscarts.
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DFS Lineup Picks - DraftKings, FanDuel
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Tyler Reddick
Starts 15th - DK: $10,200, FD: $12,000
Tyler Reddick won this race last season, leading 70 laps, the most of any driver. That includes the final 24 laps of the race. It continued a strong track record for Reddick at the track just north of Fort Worth. In four Cup Series starts, he's got a first, a second, a ninth, and a 15th. His average finish of 6.8 is his best at an oval track, bettered only by two road courses.
And Reddick's record at intermediate tracks this season is pretty good as well. The last time the Cup Series was at a 1.5-mile track, Reddick won, taking the lead late at Kansas. He was also fifth at Charlotte and led 33 laps at Nashville before having issues.
Kyle Busch
Starts 7th - DK: $9,600, FD: $10,500
This 8 car, piloted by Tyler Reddick, won here last fall. Can Kyle Busch make it two years in a row for Richard Childress Racing at this track?
Busch crashed out of this race last year on lap 48, but he's a four-time Texas winner, most recently in 2020, when he led 90 of the 334 laps. He's recorded a top 10 in 56.3% of his Texas starts, including five straight before last year's crash. He starts seventh, putting him in a good position to contend for the victory.
Chase Elliott
Starts 29th - DK: $9,200, FD: $9,000
Chase Elliott still hasn't won a race this season. Time's running out for Elliott to extend his streak of consecutive seasons with a win to six years. And it's unlikely to happen on Sunday at Texas Motor Speedway, as he'll fire off all the way back in 29th place.
Still, there's plenty of place differential upside for Elliott just based on how fast Hendrick cars usually are, even when you factor in a lack of success historically at Texas for Elliott. He's finished in the top 10 in half of his starts here, but has just two top fives. Both times he led double-digit laps, he finished outside the top 10, including last year. Elliott led 44 laps in that race, but crashed and finished 32nd.
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Chris Buescher
Starts 2nd - DK: $8,800, FD: $10,000
Chris Buescher's been on fire lately, with top-10 finishes in six of the past eight races. He has a pair of victories in that span, plus two other top fives. This Roush Fenway Keselowski team has had a major turnaround and arguably looks like the third-best team in the Cup Series.
Now, Buescher and his increased performance get a shot at his time track. Buescher's from Prosper, a town that's up on the northern edge of the DFW Metroplex.
Buescher's never had a top 10 here in the Cup Series and just once has he finished in the top 15, but it's hard to really compare 2023 Chris Buescher to any other year. He was in sub-par equipment forever. He's a nice value over on DraftKings.
Chase Briscoe
Starts 31st - DK: $6,200, FD: $4,800
Here's where we start to look deeper down for some value, starting with Chase Briscoe, who's had a nightmare season for Stewart Haas Racing. He sits 30th in the point standings; last year, he finished ninth.
But Briscoe finished fifth here last year and was 15th in his other Cup Series start at Texas. He's also had a couple decent runs lately, with top 20s at Darlington and Kansas. I don't expect a ton out of him, but the place differential upside from a guy who starts 31st is tough to ignore, even if his season as a whole has been awful.
Justin Haley
Starts 28th - DK: $5,900, FD: $4,500
Justin Haley's another driver who ran well here last season, finishing third in this 31 car. That's one of just five top fives that Haley's ever had in the Cup Series.
His performance lately hasn't been great, with no top-10 finishes since early July. But with his salary on both platforms being so cheap and a solid track record at Texas, which includes top 10s in five of his six Xfinity starts, I think Haley's a decent punt play.
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