After nine races and three hard fought rounds the NASCAR Sprint Cup series championship will be decided this weekend. Four drivers(Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Carl Edwards) will battle it out with the highest finisher becoming the new champion. For the final race drivers and teams head to Homestead-Miami Speedway for the Ford EcoBoost 400 this Sunday afternoon.
From a fantasy strategy it would be wise to build your core around the four drivers battling for the championship and it can be easily done as there is some terrific values. Also of note is that all four drivers come with place differential value as Kyle Busch, starting 9th, has the top starting position of the four drivers.
If you want a closer look at some of the variables that go into the picks each week be sure to check out the weekly Daily Fantasy NASCAR cheatsheet. It will be a free offering for the remainder of the season before receiving some upgrades as we get ready for the 2017 season. It includes all drivers track history(5 year), current form(last 5 races), season Loop data, historical DraftKings points, salary trends, practice & qualifying ranks and a weighted ranking system that takes all of these variables into account. When opening the cheatsheet you are going to see my initial weighted ranking on the far right. You can fully customize the rankings by clicking "File" at the top left of the sheet and clicking "Make a Copy" which will open the same cheatsheet in another screen which will be fully customizable for you. If you have any questions about the cheatsheet or my rankings you can contact me via Twitter(@Jager_Bombs9).
Daily Fantasy NASCAR: DraftKings DFS Lineup Picks
Favorite to win: Kyle Busch ($10,500)
He is the only driver remaining in the Chase without a win which is a testament to his consistency and understanding the rules. For fantasy I think he makes perfect sense as he thrives in the underdog role. Just check out last season's story. He has upside for place differential points starting 9th and despite the slow practice speed in the second session, the #18 team is elite and will figure it out raceday. I also feel he makes the best play from a DFS perspective as he could very well be the lowest owned Chase driver.
Top Value Play: Carl Edwards ($9,700)
Carl is the only remaining driver priced under $10K making him a terrific value this final week of the season. He has talked about the experience of coming so close five years ago and how it has motivated him leading up to the race. He has just one Top 10 here over the past five years but has experienced a ton of success winning here twice in career. He qualified 10th and already have shown signs of an improving car as they posted the 3rd fastest time in the second practice.
Mid Tier Value: Ryan Newman ($7,800)
Newman makes an interesting GPP play this week as a non Chaser in the sub $8K range. He was fastest in opening practice and ended up qualifying 3rd for the race. This limits the place differential upside on a track he has never won which is where the risk comes into play. He continued to show speed during second practice ranking 9th and could very well challenge the Chasers for the checkered flag on Sunday.
Low End Value: Paul Menard ($6,500)
He comes into the final race of the season with a little momentum having scored his second Top 10 of the season last week at Phoenix. Homestead hasn't been his best track but it hasn't been his worst either. He scored his first career Top 10 here two years ago and over the last five years has a 18.2 average finish. He will be starting 28th and was 12th in opening practice and 24th in the second session so it appears there could be some nice place differential value this week. Stay tuned for final practice starting right away.
DFS & Fantasy NASCAR Chat Room
If you have any questions leading up to the race hit me up in the chat below!
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