This week NASCAR heads to Watkins Glen, NY for the Cheez-It 355 at Watkins Glen International. It will be the second road race of the year and a chance for a few drivers to grab that win that will lock them into the Chase for the Sprint Cup playoffs. Watkins Glen is a 2.4 mile road course with a total of seven different corners.

There always seems to be plenty of bumping and banging in the corners with drivers trying almost anything to gain track position. This year NASCAR has implemented a new package for road courses in the case of rain. The new package will include window wipers, de-foggers, and rain tires that can be used if rain should fall on Sunday. This would create quite an exciting race if this should happen.

The DraftKings $5K Happy Hour tournament last week saw the winner use a very balanced lineup that was also unique. The changes of adding an additional driver slot and removing pass differential points seems to have worked so far. This week there is an opportunity to try multiple strategies like stars and scrubs or balanced. As always pay close attention to practice and qualifying and be sure to check back for the post qualifying/practice update and final thoughts going into the Cheez-It 355 on Sunday afternoon.

Editor’s Note: If you've never played Daily Fantasy before, our partner DraftKings is hosting a Fantasy NASCAR tournament this weekend for the Cheez-It 355 at Watkins Glen.

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Daily Fantasy NASCAR: DraftKings DFS  Lineup Picks

Kyle Busch - $10,500

His streak of consecutive wins is over with a 21st place finish at Pocono last weekend. Fuel mileage came into play and Kyle was a half lap short of making it four straight wins. He still gained points on 30th in the standings and is now only 13 points out of being locked into the Chase playoffs. He comes back to Watkins Glen with a nice history here scoring a win, two top 5's and four top 10 finishes in his previous five races here. When most people will be using the road course expert Allmendinger, pivot to Kyle Busch at $300 more and possibly lower ownership percentage.

Brad Keselowski - $9,900

He comes into the Cheez-It 355 on a nice run as of late with three top 5 finishes in his previous five races. He has  12.2 average finish in his previous five races at Watkins Glen with three top 5 finishes. He is an aggressive driver who will take advantage of any opening on the track. This style will be needed to gain valuable track position this week. Priced under $10K this week Brad will be a popular pick and best suited at the top of a cash game lineup.

Carl Edwards - $9,200

He is another driver much like Keselowski who has had recent success at this track. He is averaging a 8.0 finishing position in his previous five races at Watkins Glen with three top 5 finishes. The Joe Gibbs Racing team has been on fire as of late and none of their drivers should be overlooked especially Carl who four straight top 15 finishes wit two of those being top 10's as well.

Clint Bowyer - $8,300

He is known as an excellent road course racer and has one top 5 and two top 10 finishes here in his previous five races. Nothing special but a few small breaks either way changes everything in these races. He is coming into this race after scoring two straight top 8 finishes and is building confidence as we get closer to the Chase cutoff. He is currently sitting in 14th in the points standings and will be looking for a high finish to secure his place in the playoffs.....for now.

Austin Dillon - $6,600

He raced here in the Sprint Cup Series for the first time last season and finished in the 16th position after starting the race near the back of the field. That was a huge positive for a rookie driver to move through the field like that on a tough course for passing. He will be looking to build on that success this time around. He has been up and down lately but has finished inside the top 25 in each of last five races. As this is being written Practice #1 is underway and Dillon is sitting in the 10th position. Look for a top 15 finish out of Dillon this week.

David Ragan - $6,200

If you are looking for an under the radar guy going into the race this weekend the #55 might be a good choice. He hasn't had a top 10 finish here in his previous five races but holds a 23.0 average finish. Not bad for a guy priced this low. He has been consistent as of late with four top 20 finishes in his previous five races. In practice #1, Ragan is sitting as the 7th fastest car on the track. He will be a great option for both cash games and gpp tournaments this weekend.

Post Practice & Qualifying Update

AJ Allmendinger captured the Coors lite Pole award on Saturday afternoon and will lead the field to green on Sunday. Rounding out the top 5 are Martin Truex Jr., Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Gordon. It is a star studded top 10 so it will be tough for anyone outside the top 10 to make their way towards the front without a great pit strategy or bad luck to some one.

That doesn't mean there isn't some value outside the top 10 cause there is for sure. Joey Logano will be starting 16th and was 5th in final practice. He would be one guy I would think could make his way inside the top 5 and possibly contend for a win. Looking at guys priced under $8K this week I am focusing on Sam Hornish Jr. He qualified in the 24th position but ran fast in both practices. He was 4th in practice 1 and 8th in practice 2.

Two other guys I like on the low end are Paul Menard($7300) and Casey Mears($6700). Both drivers qualified outside of the top 25 and were fast in practice one. It will be a great week to play some stars and scrubs lineups. Good luck!

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