2 months agoMost analysts and sportsbooks are heavily favoring the Team Penske drivers of Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano to win the Cup Series Championship this weekend, but you definitely shouldn't count out William Byron on Sunday. In the Next Gen era at Phoenix Raceway, Byron has the fourth-best average running position in the series, and over the last four races in the desert, he has finished sixth or better three times (including a win back in 2023). In practice this weekend, Byron looked strong, ranking fifth-fastest in 10-lap average and third-best in 15-lap average. As far as DraftKings strategy goes, Willy B makes for an interesting tournament pivot, as his $11,000 salary on the DFS site will likely deter many players from picking him. But he has some place-differential upside since he starts eighth, and it's not like there is dominator potential there.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Win The Race
2 months agoTeam Penske's Austin Cindric will start 11th on Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series Championship race at Phoenix Raceway. This will be the highest starting position of Cindric's Cup career at Phoenix since his debut at the site back in 2022. In five races at Phoenix, Cindric has four finishes outside of the top 20 and only finished 11th and scored positive Place Differential once. Through 35 races so far this year, Cindric has one win and seven top-10 finishes, with only one of them coming at a short track this season (last week's race at Martinsville, where he placed fourth). In practice, Cindric ranked 26th in overall lap averages but displayed top-10 speeds in all other eligible categories, including first in 30 consecutive lap averages. Although historically, Cindric has not been the strongest performer at Phoenix and has been underwhelming at short tracks this year, he is worth consideration for tournament lineups due to his top-notch equipment and fast practice speeds, indicating he will compete for a top-10 finish.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
2
months
agoRoss
Chastain
qualified
third
for
this
weekend's
NASCAR
Cup
Series
Championship
Race
at
Phoenix
Raceway,
and
the
Trackhouse
Racing
driver
should
easily
be
able
to
turn
that
into
another
good
finish
in
the
desert
on
Sunday.
In
addition
to
winning
the
finale
race
here
last
season,
Chastain
has
read more...
2
months
agoChristopher
Bell
didn't
hold
back
this
weekend
at
Phoenix
Raceway
after
the
controversy
at
Martinsville
last
weekend,
as
the
Joe
Gibbs
Racing
driver
simply
said,
"I
feel
cheated,"
when
discussing
his
elimination
from
Championship
contention.
And
while
Bell
won't
be
able
to
compete
for
his
first-ever
series
Championship,
read more...
2 months ago For this week's NASCAR Cup Series Championship race at Phoenix Raceway, Chase Briscoe will start the race from the 12th position. This will be the fourth time in his Cup career that Briscoe will start inside the Top 15 at Phoenix. In seven previous starts at the site, Briscoe has four top-10 finishes, including a win from March 2022, and he nabbed positive Place Differential four times. Through 35 races this season, Briscoe has one win and nine top-10 finishes, including four at tracks using the short track rules package. In practice, Briscoe ranked 29th in overall lap averages, eighth in five consecutive lap averages, 20th in 10 consecutive lap averages, and 16th in 15 consecutive lap averages. Despite his practice speeds being slightly underwhelming outside of the short run, Briscoe is worth having some exposure to in DFS lineups this week, mainly as a tournament play due to his solid Phoenix history, equipment, and overall performance on shorter tracks this season.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
2 months agoDon't be surprised if Denny Hamlin ends up being a contender in the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on Sunday afternoon. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has been one of the strongest on the short, flat tracks this season--he has the third-best average running position at Phoenix and similar tracks--and the No. 11 Toyota looked stout in practice on Friday, as Denny had the third-best 10-lap average along with the best 20- and 25-lap averages. Hamlin is a two-time winner at Phoenix Raceway and has finished inside the top 10 in five of the last eight races here. He ended up qualifying 14th for this weekend's finale race, which gives Denny a little Place Differential upside in DFS contests as well. At a palatable $9,800 on DraftKings, Hamlin definitely has potential has a tournament play on this daily fantasy slate.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Win The Race
2 months agoMany drivers had problems making their race car stick in turn one during qualifying on Saturday at Phoenix Raceway, but the one who had the most problems was Josh Berry, who ended up spinning out and slightly hitting the wall in his No. 4 Ford. Because of that, Berry will start from back in 39th-place when the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race goes green on Sunday. That shouldn't deter anyone from picking him in fantasy, though. Berry has been one of the strongest on the short, flat tracks this season, as the Stewart-Haas Racing driver has the 10th-best average running position at Phoenix and similar tracks this year. In practice on Friday, Berry looked to have a relatively strong car on the long run as well, ranking 15th-fastest in 15-lap average. He should be able to get plenty of Place Differential fantasy points on Sunday and is a relatively safe option at $7,400 on DraftKings this weekend.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Win The Race
2 months agoMartin Truex Jr. will lead the field to the green in his final full-time Cup Series start as the Joe Gibbs Racing driver edged championship contender Joey Logano by 0.01 seconds in qualifying on Saturday to grab his second straight pole position. As far as Phoenix Raceway goes, the flat track in the desert has always been a good one for Truex. He won here back in 2021 and currently has back-to-back top-10 finishes at the track (a seventh and a sixth). Truex led 55 laps in the spring race here earlier this season and should be able to add to that total on Sunday. In practice on Friday, Truex looked to have one of the better cars on the long run, as the No. 19 Toyota was third-fastest in 20-lap average during the session. At just $9,000 on DraftKings, Truex makes for a pretty good DFS play on Sunday, as he should be able to grab some early dominator points while challenging for at least a top-10 finish.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
2 months agoOne driver who has been surprisingly slow this weekend at Phoenix Raceway has been Chris Buescher. The RFK Racing driver currently has back-to-back top-five finishes in the desert, but it looks as though that streak may come to an end, as the Buescher was just 24th-fastest in practice on Friday and wound up qualifying 24th for Sunday's finale race as well. With that being said, Buescher did look pretty solid on the long runs in practice on Friday, posting the sixth-best 20-lap average, so there is still hope for him to compete for a top-10 finish this weekend. As far as usability in DFS contests goes, Buescher is relatively expensive at $8,200 despite his Place Differential upside. Without getting back to his old ways and being a legitimate contender on Sunday, Buescher will likely struggle to his value in daily fantasy contests this weekend. It is worth noting, though, that Buescher has the fifth-best average finish (10.6) at Phoenix in the Next Gen era.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Win The Race
2 months agoLast week at Martinsville, one of the pleasant surprises in qualifying was Harrison Burton, as the Wood Brothers Racing driver qualified in sixth place at the half-mile short track. Ultimately, Burton wound up finishing 36th after engine issues, but it was nice to see him earn his best starting spot of the season, and it looks as though that speed has carried on into Phoenix. In addition to looking relatively strong in practice on Friday -- the No. 21 Ford was 12th-fastest on the overall speed chart and ranked fourth-fastest in 20-lap average -- Harrison was able to make the final round of qualifying yet again and will start the NASCAR Cup Series championship race from ninth on Sunday. With that being said, it's not about where you start, it's where you finish. Burton has just one top-20 finish in five career starts at this track (a 19th-place effort in 2022) and will likely fall back quite a bit once the race goes green on Sunday, making him a good choice to stay away from in DFS contests.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
2 months agoZane Smith will close out his first full-time season in the NASCAR Cup Series when he rolls off the starting grid from 28th place in Sunday's championship race at Phoenix Raceway. The last time he raced here, Smith had a relatively uneventful race and walked away with a 29th-place finish after posting an average running position of 28.7. With that being said, Smith and this No. 71 Spire Motorsports team has improved greatly since the beginning of the season, and he was 14th-fastest on the overall speed chart in practice on Friday (with the 17th-best 10-lap average). At Gateway back in June, which is a similar track to Phoenix, he walked away with a 19th-place finish despite starting back in 36th. He has some place-differential upside as a DFS pick this weekend and comes at an affordable price on DraftKings ($5,900).
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
2 months agoRyan Preece will start from 33rd place when the NASCAR Cup Series championship race goes green this weekend, and while the Stewart-Haas Racing driver isn't going to compete for the win or anything, there's a good chance that he will be able to improve his position during the event at Phoenix, which should pay dividends in DFS contests. In his three Phoenix starts in the Next Gen era, Preece has posted results of 23rd, 14th, and 12th, and he also ended up with an 11th-place result at New Hampshire earlier this season, which is a comparable track to Phoenix. In practice on Friday, the No. 41 Ford wasn't blazing fast, but Preece was able to post the 18th-fastest 15-lap average, which shows that he probably has more speed than his qualifying effort shows this weekend.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Jayski
2 months agoDon't expect much from Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the championship finale at Phoenix Raceway this weekend. The JTG Daugherty Racing has just one top-20 finish in the five Next Gen races at this track, and that was a 19th-place run in the spring race of last season. This weekend, Stenhouse was 27th-fastest in practice on Friday and ended up qualifying 30th on Saturday. As far as DraftKings goes, Stenhouse ($6,500) could look like an attractive pick due to his place-differential potential, but there are several other drivers in his price range that have more promising upside. It's likely to be a Sunday full of struggles for Stenhouse to close out the 2024 Cup Series season.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
2 months agoEven though Daniel Suarez made the playoffs and Ross Chastain did not, Suarez has been shockingly slow at times this season and his speed percentile of 39.06 is a massive 27 points off of Chastain's 66.29. This trend continued in Phoenix qualifying yesterday after Suarez qualified 34th while Chastain (who won last year's race) was 3rd. Although Suarez can be fast sometimes, he's rarely contended in 2024 except at Atlanta or when he goes off-sequence on a cycle of pit stops. Although he had two top ten finishes very early in his Joe Gibbs Racing years, he has finished no better than 9th at Phoenix for Trackhouse and has never led at the track. He will probably finish in the low 20s as he usually does on shorter ovals and is unlikely to remotely contend.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
2 months agoJohn Hunter Nemechek has been very consistent in his previous races at Phoenix Raceway. Unfortunately, this is an example of how consistency isn't always a good thing. In his four previous NASCAR Cup Series starts at Phoenix, Nemechek has finished between 25th and 27th in all of them and has been nowhere near competitive. His average running positions were all in the 20s as well and Nemechek has struggled for speed all season because Legacy Motor Club has had terrible setups and he still seems not to have mastered the Next Gen chassis. He may run a little better than usual since the Legacy cars were a little faster than expected in qualifying and he did outqualify his teammates in 18th, but he'll likely backslide a few positions and finish close to where he usually does.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
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