RADIO
Friday features the first of back-to-back NASCAR Truck Series races at Kansas Speedway, with the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 200. This race should be mostly normal -- it's Saturday with a partial field invert that can create some really neat ways to exploit the DFS pricing -- but if Thursday's Cup race is any indication, it might feature plenty of carnage.
The good news this week is there's no Kyle Busch in this one, so you don't have to radically rethink who your lineup goes to fit Kyle Busch and his $50,000 salary or something. (That was a joke for now, but watch him get priced that high one day.)
Here at RotoBaller, we want to help you make informed decisions about your DFS lineups, which is why I'll be breaking down the slates for the Truck Series. Let's look at some NASCAR Truck Series DFS lineup picks for the Vankor 250 on DraftKings. (And if any other DFS providers want to start doing Trucks, we'll do those too!) Be sure to also check out our NASCAR Premium Tools for Truck Series including our DFS Lineup Optimizer and powerful Research Station.
Truck Series DFS Lineup Picks - DraftKings
Be sure to also check out all of our other weekly NASCAR DFS articles and analysis to help you set your optimal DFS lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Matt Crafton #88 ($10,000)
Starting 17th
I still believe in Matt Crafton, and the past two races are finally proving that my faith in the veteran trucker is paying off.
After a first lap crash at Pocono that left him 40th in the finishing order and 14th in points, Crafton's scored consecutive third-place finishes at 1.5-mile tracks.
And guess what, y'all: we're at another intermediate track tonight, and it's one where Crafton has two career victories and 10 top 10s in 19 starts. Since 2013, he's got four finishes of first or second at the track, and the past two years has finished sixth.
Basically, this is an ideal spot for Crafton to continue his recent resurgence.
Christian Eckes #18 ($8,900)
Starting 1st
Look, I'm not going to pretend that Eckes starting on the pole doesn't worry me because of place differential, but as the 10th-highest priced driver on this slate in a truck with a lot of speed and a good chance of leading some early laps, I'm taking Eckes.
Last week at Texas, Eckes finished second after starting seventh in a race that saw him lead 52 of the 167 laps. He's led laps at multiple 1.5-mile tracks this season, and he ranks fourth in the series in early run speed. I'm expecting Eckes to pull out front for at least a little while at the start of this thing, which helps negate the concern of him not getting place differential points.
Sheldon Creed #2 ($8,400)
Starting 10th
Creed's got some decent upside as he launches from the 10th position on Friday. The winner at Kentucky, a flat tire ruined his chances at Texas, but Creed's in a great spot to rebound this week.
Creed is already locked into the playoffs by virtue of that Kentucky win and Creed -- who ranks fifth in average running position -- should have a truck capable of getting up front and challenging for a top five, if not a second victory of 2020.
There's not a ton else to say about Creed. His truck's been in the bottom half of the top 10 in most speed ranks this year, and while he's not driving the fastest vehicle on the track, he is driving a pretty good GMS Racing machine.
Zane Smith #21 ($8,000)
Starting 7th
Speaking of GMS Racing, Zane Smith! Another driver who's starting in the top 10 -- going with guys like this just made sense this week after looking over some data for the bottom half of the starting lineup -- and has a chance to contend for a strong finish.
Smith's struggled with consistency lately, with just one top 10 in his last four races. But that's also helped depress his DFS price, which is good news for us, because all four of Smith's top 10s this year have come at intermediate tracks.
That includes Charlotte, when he drove from 30th to third, his best finish of the year. Smith knows his way around this type of track, and he does have a third-place finish here in ARCA, for whatever little that's worth.
Ty Majeski #45 ($7,100)
Starting 19th
Hi, my name is Justin and I have a problem called "I won't stop putting Ty Majeski in my DFS lineups."
Despite only having two top 10s this year, I keep falling for Majeski's top 20 upside. In the six races where he didn't crash out, he has a worst finish of 19th. Keep the truck in one piece, and Majeski has a chance to sneak into the lower half of the top 10 or, at least, somewhere in that 11-15 range.
This Niece Motorsports truck isn't elite equipment. Teammate Ross Chastain is fourth in green flag speed, while Majeski is 18th. But the team has shown flashes this year of production, and before crashing at Pocono, Majeski had driven as high as third.
Derek Kraus #19 ($6,900)
Starting 15th
Let's end things with another regular to this space, Derek Kraus.
Even without the place differential upside of some other drivers, I think Kraus is a better play than higher-priced drivers like Clay Greenfield and Jordan Anderson, mainly because Kraus is a better driver than those kind of drivers and has a better truck.
Kraus has a top 10 in half of his starts this season, and just one finish outside of the top 20, which came at Vegas. He's been racing so consistently since then, with just one finish off of the lead lap, and even that race saw him finish 11th. Kraus and this Bill McAnally team continue to improve. It's not going to be long before they're fixtures in the top 10.
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Five-time NASCAR Racing Writer of the Year finalist and fantasy industry legend Scott "The King" Engel is also in the crew, bringing you his weekly strategies and lineup picks. Set your winning DFS lineups with our award-winning team. He has been nominated once again in 2024 for this award.
