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The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Charlotte Motor Speedway roval on Sunday for the Bank of America ROVAL 400. This is the final road course race of the season and is likely the last chance for a major surprise winner.
It's also the final race of the Round of 12, with four drivers set to see their playoff lives end after the checkered flag flies. As of now, the four drivers below the cut line are Joey Logano, Daniel Suarez, Austin Cindric, and Chase Briscoe.
Below are my NASCAR DFS lineup picks for the Bank of America ROVAL 400 on DraftKings and FanDuel this week. This slate locks on 10/13/2024 at 2:36 p.m. EDT. If you have any questions or want to talk about NASCAR, you can find me on X at @juscarts.
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A.J. Allmendinger
Starts Third - DK: $10.0K, FD: $13.5K
On Saturday, A.J. Allmendinger finished second in the Xfinity Series race here at the Roval. That's obviously a good result, but it also marked the first time since 2018 that Allmendinger failed to win here in the series that's running for points.
Allmendinger at the Roval:
Combined: 9 starts, 5 wins, 7 top 5’s, 8 top 10’s, 1 Pole,
Xfinity Average Finish: 1.2
Cup Average Finish: 12.5
Cup Average Finish w/o DNF: 4Combined Average Finish: 6.22
Combined Average Finish w/o DNF: 2.2521.75% Laps Led
24.5% Laps Led w/o DNF— Christopher Beltram Hernandez “Swaggy Y” Yeley (@Tom_Engels_Desk) October 12, 2024
The Roval has been a wildly successful track for Allmendinger. He blew an engine in the 2021 Cup Series race here, but he finished in the top 10 in his other seven starts here across Cup and Xfinity.
That includes five wins—four in Xfinity, and then also in the 2023 Cup Series race, when he led 46 laps on his way to the victory. While his teammate Shane Van Gisbergen is on the pole and will be a major threat on Sunday, I still lean toward Allmendinger as the favorite because of his track record here.
William Byron
Starts 10th - DK: $9.8K, FD: $11.5K
Two of William Byron's five most recent Cup Series wins have come on road courses, including at COTA earlier this season, when the No. 24 car dominated, leading 42 of the 68 laps on his way to his second of three wins so far this season.
Byron hasn't won here at the Roval, but he's come close. He's led 20-plus laps three times at this track, including in 2019 when he started on the pole before finishing sixth. Byron didn't lead a lap in the 2023 race here, but he still managed to finish second, earning his first top-five at this track. He should be a contender for another top-five on Sunday.
Chris Buescher
Starts 29th - DK: $9.1K, FD: $10.5K
I really love the place differential upside for Chris Buescher, as the No. 17 Ford will start all the way back in 29th on Sunday after his car was just off on Saturday during practice and qualifying.
“Losing rear grip too fast. Started with entry… lateral loading… forward drive isn’t bad”@Chris_Buescher reports to the No. 17 as he sits P26 overall on the speed charts with 8 minutes left in practice. pic.twitter.com/xuvbnZ5XZi
— No. 17 Team (@RFK17Team) October 12, 2024
Based on how Buescher usually runs on road courses, I have to think this RFK Racing team figures things out on Sunday. We've actually seen examples this season of Buescher overcoming a poor starting spot on a road course. At COTA, Buescher started 20th, but he ended the day in eighth place. At Sonoma, he went from 26th to third.
And at Watkins Glen, Buescher started 24th, then went on to win his first race of the 2024 season. So...yeah, I'm going to ignore his issues on Saturday and play him as a top-place differential play on Sunday because his 2024 track record suggests that that's the right move.
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Ty Gibbs
Starts 19th - DK: $8.5K, FD: $11.0K
Ty Gibbs had a strong run here last year, starting 10th and going on to finish in fourth place. He's also got a second-place finish at this track in the Xfinity Series.
I think Gibbs is a really solid place differential option on Sunday. He has a pretty easy path to 10-ish place differential points, with an opportunity to do even better if things break right. Gibbs has some strong road course runs this season, finishing third at COTA and third at Chicago. He can definitely add to that track record on Sunday.
Josh Berry
Starts 36th - DK: $6.4K, FD: $4.5K
I don't really think about Josh Berry being particularly good at road courses. And, I mean...his best road course finish this year was 25th at Watkins Glen, with finishes worse than 30th in the other three races.
Josh Berry's Ford Mustang didn't enjoy flying over the chicane😳
📸:NBC pic.twitter.com/wthpaO85ws
— Sportskeeda NASCAR (@NASCARatSK) October 12, 2024
That isn't good, but I'm also not sure that matters at all when Berry is starting 36th on Sunday. You almost have to have some exposure here since his average finish this year is 23.3. Sure, he's been bad at road courses, but anything can happen, right?
And hey...Berry has raced at this track twice in the Xfinity Series and finished in the top 10 both times, including a third-place result last year. 👀 👀 👀
Zane Smith
Starts 23rd - DK: $5.8K, FD: $4.2K
Zane Smith's been running really well lately. He has 10 consecutive finishes of 25th or better, with three of his four top 10s this season coming in that span.
Included in that span was a fifth at Watkins Glen. He finished top 20 in the other three road course races this season. Smith doesn't get talked about as a great road course racer, but he has two Truck Series wins at COTA and keeps running well this season at them.
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