RADIO
The NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series heads to COTA on Saturday as part of a tripleheader weekend down in Austin for NASCAR's top three series. The Truck Series race finds a brand new face on the pole as Connor Zilisch, making his series debut, broke the track record and will lead the field to green.
Last week at Bristol, Christian Eckes drove to victory lane from the pole, leading 38 laps in the win. He's just fifth in the point standings right now, behind Tyler Ankrum, Corey Heim, Rajah Caruth, and Ty Majeski.
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 Craftsman Truck Series. Let's look at some NASCAR Truck Series DFS lineup picks for the XPEL 225 on DraftKings. Be sure to also check out our NASCAR Premium Tools for Truck Series including our DFS Lineup Optimizer and powerful Research Station. This slate locks on 3/23/2024 at 1:30 p.m. EST.
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COTA Race Trends
Saturday's race will be the fourth visit to COTA for the Truck Series. None of the previous race winners are in this field, so a new name will host the trophy down in the Lone Star State.
This is a track that doesn't see a lot of movement through the field. Last year, every top 10 finisher started 13th or better, and two of the drivers who started in the top 10 had DNFs, so it really was important to start up front. Three drivers led double-digit laps, and all three finished in the top five.
And lest you think that was just a one-time thing, 2022 saw just one more lead change than 2023 saw and featured nine of the top 10 finishers starting 13th or better. Again, just a tough place to make passes. Place differential isn't nearly as important as place differential, which is why when I'm looking for value plays this week, I'm looking for cheap guys starting up front, not place differential.
Drivers Who Could Dominate
We begin with the driver who leads the field to green in his first Truck Series start: Connor Zilisch ($9,200), who is set to lead the field to green in the No. 7 Spire truck.
Zilisch has never run a Truck Series race, but the 17-year-old might be one of the best road series racers in the world. He's won the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring already this year. He can legitimately win this race even though he's new to the series.
Connor Zilisch in his Nascar Truck debut just set a lap faster than the Nascar CUP lap record at COTA
he's still only 17. make it make sense. pic.twitter.com/ZEJeylty4M
— Fifth Gear (@NotFifthGear) March 22, 2024
If you don't want to take the risk, you could give Corey Heim ($10,500) a long look. He starts on the front row with Zilisch and was sixth here last year. Heim also has a road course win in his Truck Series career, driving to victory lane at Mid-Ohio last year.
Ross Chastain ($11,000) is pricy, but this has a chance to be a great race for him. He's won here in the Cup Series and has three top fives in three Cup starts at the track. He also was fifth in the Truck Series race last year. This is arguably Chastain's best track and as long as the Niece Motorsports equipment holds up, he'll contend for the victory.
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Top Place Differential Plays
Like I said earlier, place differential just isn't really in abundance here. It takes a good driver in a good truck who had a poor qualifying run to really find a PD driver worth playing.
The obvious name here is Ben Rhodes ($9,500), who starts way back in 34th. He had a shock issue and was unable to run a qualifying lap. Rhodes should move forward in the field and he has top 10s in all three races here, so he's a must-play in Cash games. He's also likely to be way, way overplayed in GPPs, so I'm more inclined to fade him there.
Starting lineup for Saturday's Truck Series race at Circuit of the Americas.
Connor Zilisch to start on pole in his series debut. He's also pulling double duty in ARCA East tomorrow night at Pensacola.
Ben Rhodes, shock issue
Thad Moffitt, power steering pic.twitter.com/3P2HHHf3o8— Matt Weaver (@MattWeaverRA) March 22, 2024
Beyond Rhodes though, it's tough to find a good name here. Maybe there's upside on Jake Garcia ($6,800) back in 25th, who enters this race with three top 20 finishes in a row. He started 32nd and finished 19th here last year, so there's definitely something here, potentially.
Marco Andretti ($7,000) is making his first Truck Series start of the year. He ran three races last year, with a pair of top 20s. He starts 28th on Saturday, though the No. 04 truck he's in isn't as good as the Spire truck he raced last year. Still, he ran well here in his lone IndyCar start at the track, starting 20th and finishing sixth.
If we really want to get risky, Vicente Salas ($6,000) starts 31st in a Young's Motorsports truck. This is the first start for the 20 this year, but Mason Massey has an average finish of 23.5 in the team's other truck. Salas is actually an eNASCAR driver who is making the transition into real Truck Series racing this weekend, so this could be a tough one, but it's a fun story. Maybe there's upside.
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Deep Sleepers
I mentioned earlier that this has been a track where drivers who start near the front stay near the front, so that's where my search for sleepers begins.
While Jack Hawksworth in sixth worries me because of a lack of Truck Series experience, I can see upside for all three of third-place starter Taylor Gray ($7,800), eighth-place starter Layne Riggs ($7,700), and seventh-place starter Tanner Gray ($7,500).
Last year, Tanner Gray was eighth and Taylor Gray was 11th here, which encourages me to think both drivers can maintain their spot in the top 10 for much of the day. At that price, both drivers are very much in play for me.
As for Riggs, he's driving for the team that won the last two COTA races. He only has one top 10 this season, but it came last race so maybe he's building momentum right now. Riggs has never run a Truck Series road course though, which definitely worries me a bit. I'll have some exposure, but not as much as I'll have with the Gray brothers.
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