Kyle Larson The Guy To Beat At Homestead
Source: ifantasyrace
Kyle Larson is the favorite to win this weekend's Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Even though he has only one victory to his credit at this race track, Larson is a constant contender in Miami, with five top-five finishes in his last nine starts here and a series-leading 626 laps led. For context to how impressive that number is, Kyle Busch ranks second in laps led at Homestead with 470, and he's had nearly twice as many career starts at the track as Larson has had. In practice this weekend, the No. 5 Chevrolet was the fastest on the long runs for sure, ranking number one in 20-, 25-, and 30-lap average on Saturday. Larson qualified in 14th-place for this weekend's race, which gives him the rare combination of Place Differential upside, race-winning upside, and dominator potential. You should have plenty of Larson in your DFS lineups on Sunday--even with his high price tag of $11,000 on DraftKings. Tyler Reddick An Easy DFS Pick This Weekend
Source: Driver Averages
Tyler Reddick has amazing upside in DFS this weekend, as the 23XI Racing driver qualified back in 20th for Sunday afternoon's Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Reddick is the defending race winner at Homestead and is one of the elite "rim rider" drivers in the series--which is the fastest way to get around this race track. In practice on Saturday afternoon, Reddick posted the ninth-fastest overall lap and ranked sixth-best when it came to 30-lap average. Despite his high price on DraftKings ($10,700), Reddick is still a premiere DFS option on Sunday, as his Place Differential upside is worth the price alone--not even taking into account his race-winning upside and potential dominator status. In five career starts at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Reddick has finished fourth or better four times, with the only exception being the 2022 race, in which he wrecked out of.Ryan Blaney Should Be Strong At Homestead
Source: ifantasyrace
Look for Ryan Blaney to contend for the win at Homestead-Miami Speedway on Sunday afternoon. The Team Penske driver had one of the best long-run cars in practice this weekend, as the No. 12 Ford ranked second behind Kyle Larson in 30-lap average. Additionally, Blaney had a strong effort in qualifying, laying down a lap of 32.141 seconds, which will allow him to start from the third row when the Straight Talk Wireless 400 goes green. Homestead has been a very strong race track for Blaney over the years, particularly in the Next Gen era. Over the last two races here, he has finished runner-up each time and led a combined 100 laps between the two events. At $10,000 on DraftKings, Blaney is still a viable DFS option this weekend due to his dominator potential and race-winning upside. Chase Elliott Could Contend At Homestead
Source: BVM Sports
It has been 33 races since Chase Elliott won a NASCAR Cup Series race, but that could change at Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend. The No. 9 Chevrolet was one of the best in the field here at Homestead last fall, as NASCAR's most popular driver led 81 laps en route to a fifth-place finish. That's his third top-five result in the last eight Homestead races. And this weekend, Chase looks to have a similar No. 9 Chevrolet to work with on Sunday. During practice, Elliott struggled to put up a fast lap time, but his averages over the long run looked great--particularly in 30-lap average, where Chase ranked fifth-fastest. Priced at $9,500 on DraftKings this weekend, Elliott makes for a solid Place Differential DFS pick that potentially has race-winning upside as well. Chase is a strong option in all daily fantasy formats this weekend.Ross Chastain Has Horrible Track Record At Homestead
Source: ifantasyrace
Ross Chastain finished second here at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2022, but other than that, his track record leaves much to be desired. In his five other starts at the 1.5-mile track, the "Melon Man" has four results of 31st or worse along with a 17th-place finish in 2021. So, the question now becomes, is his record at Homestead due to bad luck, or was that runner-up finish in 2022 a fluke? Fresh off of a top-five finish at Las Vegas last weekend, Chastain will look to keep the momentum rolling in this weekend's Straight Talk Wireless 400. The No. 1 Chevrolet will start back in 25th on Sunday, but Chastain looked faster than that in practice, ending up 15th-fastest in the session in single-lap speed. As far as playability in DraftKings, you need to have some Chastain exposure due to his Place Differential upside, but at a $9,000 salary, there are some better DFS options to roll the dice with this weekend.AJ Allmendinger Tied For Best Average Finish At Homestead In Next Gen Era
Source: The Daytona-Beach News Journal
When it comes to AJ Allmendinger, we mainly think about him when the NASCAR Cup Series visits a road course track, but you need to keep him in the conversation at Homestead-Miami Speedway, too. In the Next Gen era, Allmendinger is tied with Christopher Bell for the best average finish (5.3) at this track. Over those three races, Dinger has been able to post two top-five results and hasn't finished worse than eighth. It's especially impressive considering his average starting position during that span is 22.3. This weekend, Allmendinger qualified up in 10th for Sunday afternoon's Straight Talk Wireless 400. He also did that in the 2022 race at this track and came away with a third-place result when it was all said and done. AJ is a very risky DFS play this weekend because he starts so high in the field, but his track record still makes him a playable option in large-field tournament formats. Chase Briscoe Finally Finds Some Speed, Qualifies Fourth At Homestead
Source: Autoweek
After a promising fourth-place finish in the season-opening Daytona 500, it has been a bit of a struggle for Chase Briscoe and his new No. 19 team at Joe Gibbs Racing, as they haven't finished better than 14th in the month of racing since then. This week at Homestead, though, there appears to be a little hope, as Briscoe qualified fourth for the Straight Talk Wireless 400 on Sunday. This qualifying effort wasn't a fluke, either, as the No. 19 Toyota was sixth-fastest in practice as well. As far as track record goes, Briscoe has struggled at Homestead-Miami Speedway, with zero top-10 finishes in four career starts at the track. His 12th-place effort here last fall has been his best thus far. Expectations-wise, it's hard to trust Briscoe and his new team this weekend, especially considering he's still getting used to how the Toyotas drive. At $8,400 on DraftKings, you should probably use him sparingly (if at all) with your DFS lineups this weekend. Austin Dillon Has Excellent Track Record At Homestead
Source: Speedway Media
Even though he qualified back in 30th for this weekend's Straight Talk Wireless 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Austin Dillon should be on your radar for a solid finish on Sunday. There are a few tracks on the schedule where Austin really excels, and Homestead is one of them. In 11 career starts here, he notched four top-10 finishes and just two results worse than 14th. Additionally, his average finish of 12.6 at this track ranks fifth-best among active drivers with more than one start at the track. In practice on Saturday, the No. 3 Chevrolet looked to be about a mid-pack or better car. Dillon ended up 18th-fastest on the single-lap speed chart and was 17th-best when it came to 30-lap average. In terms of DFS this weekend, Austin Dillon makes an excellent pick on DraftKings, as he is relatively cheap (at $6,300) and has a ton of Place Differential upside at one of his best tracks. Justin Haley Hoping For A Better Result At Homestead This Time
The last time the NASCAR Cup Series was at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Justin Haley had a day to forget. After having a solid qualifying effort and starting 10th, Haley got spun on the first lap of the race (while running in sixth)read more...
Could Zane Smith Be A Sleeper This Weekend?
Source: Racing-Reference
One driver who had better-than-expected speed during practice at Homestead-Miami Speedway this weekend was Zane Smith, who ranked between ninth- and 11th-fastest in all lap average categories, including 10-, 15-, 20-, 25-, and 30-lap average. His single fastest lap was 17th-fastest on the board. Zane then qualified 17th for this weekend's Straight Talk Wireless 400, which forces the question, does he have upside on Sunday--particularly in DFS? Smith had a day to forget here at Homestead last season, as he qualified up in 19th but ended up finishing 30th when it was all said and done. The No. 38 team also struggled to find speed during the race last week at Las Vegas despite qualifying ninth, as Smith ended up 23rd out in the desert. There's always some sneaky potential for Zane Smith on race days--he does have a second-place finish to his credit at Homestead in the Truck Series--but more than likely, he's going to slip back a bit this weekend. Use him sparingly, if at all, in your DraftKings lineups this weekend.Todd Gilliland Has Steadily Improved At Homestead
Source: ifantasyrace
Todd Gilliland and his No. 34 Ford will roll off the starting grid from 29th place for this weekend's Straight Talk Wireless 400 after the Front Row Motorsports driver posted a time of 32.445 seconds in qualifying on Saturday afternoon. This is par for the course for Gilliland at Homestead-Miami, as he has started from 31st, 32nd, and 29th place in his three career Cup Series starts at the track thus far. Finish-wise, Gilliland has walked away with 20th-, 25th-, and 31st-place results, respectively. In practice this weekend, Gilliland ranked 26th-fastest on the single-lap speed chart and was 23rd-fastest when it came to 30-lap average. There's some upside for him this weekend, but you should definitely temper your expectations. A top-20 finish out of Gilliland would be considered a good day out of the No. 34 team on Sunday.Ty Dillon Provides Valuable DFS Cap Relief At Homestead
Source: Driver Averages
Don't be afraid to roster Ty Dillon on DraftKings this weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway. There are several high-priced drivers on the slate this weekend that are very good at Homestead, so you're going to need to find salary cap relief somewhere. Ty Dillon is an excellent option. Although he's not going to blaze through the field and challenge for a top-10 finish on Sunday, Ty should be able to keep his fenders clean and challenge for a mid-20s result. At just $5,200 on DraftKings, that would be an incredible value considering he qualified back in 34th for this weekend's Straight Talk Wireless 400. Ty has finished between 22nd and 28th in each of his last six races at this track. Sometimes in DFS, all you need is a reliable and cheap option to fill out a lineup. That is Ty Dillon this weekend at Homestead-Miami.Tyler Reddick's Solid Performance Is Derailed By Late Pit-Road Issues At Las Vegas
Tyler Reddick of 23XI Racing finished 24th in Sunday's Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. In the first stage, Reddick began the race from the 14th position and eventually made it as high as second before fading to 11th byread more...
Ryan Blaney's Struggles End In A Disappointing Exit Late At Las Vegas
Source: NASCAR.com
Ryan Blaney's performance on Sunday was defined by struggle and disappointment. Starting from the rear of the field due to having to his team having to repair his car due to a practice crash, Blaney began the first stage, making moves through the field. Blaney intended to split the first stage into two green flag runs but had issues during his pit stop, causing him to go two laps down. It wouldn't be until lap 109 in the middle of the second stage when Blaney returned to the lead lap, and he made the most of it as he got to sixth by the end of the stage. In the final stage, Blaney ran around the top five before getting caught in contact with Noah Gragson and Bubba Wallace, causing his car to spin and get massive damage. The No. 12 Ford driver would be unable to continue the race, being scored 35th for the day.Josh Berry Impressively Earns First Cup Series Win At Las Vegas
Source: NASCAR.com
Josh Berry is officially a NASCAR Cup Series winner--and it wasn't a fluke victory. Although he only led 18 of the 267 laps at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday, Berry was strong from start to finish, boasting the third-best average running position during the Pennzoil 400 and having the fourth-fastest Green Flag Speed. This win comes in Berry's 53rd career Cup Series starts and a strong indicator that Wood Brothers Racing made the correct decision in signing him this year. Berry now sits 13th in the points standings after five races and is one of just five drivers to have multiple top-five finishes this year.