Round two at Las Vegas Motor Speedway kicks off at 7:00 PM EST on Sunday in hopes of a cooler race for the fans. Last season, the South Point 400 had one of the lowest attendance records in history due to the blistering heat, so Chris Powell (Las Vegas Motor Speedway President) made the push to get the start time changed, and was successful. Although the fans will be cooler, the drivers will be on fire as they kick off the first race of the playoffs.
On Saturday, Clint Bowyer grabbed the pole for the South Point 400 followed by all three of his teammates (Daniel Suarez, Kevin Harvick, Aric Almirola) making Kurt Busch the only non Stewart-Haas Racing driver in the starting Top 5. Another set of teammates that made it into the Top 10 were Richard Childress Racing drivers Daniel Hemric (6th) and Austin Dillon (7th). I don't think things will go well for the RCR guys from a fantasy standpoint, and out of the guys mentioned above, Kevin Harvick has the best shot at getting up top early to lead laps.
One thing that has me pumped about this race is the number of stud drivers that are starting outside of the Top 10. One sleeper that I talked about in this week's Sleepers And Drivers To Aviod article was William Byron. Byron qualified 14th, which is a sweet spot for him to make a push for the Top 5. Out of the entire field, the four drivers listed below are my favorite picks to help you stack paper in DFS this weekend.
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DFS Lineup Picks - DraftKings, FanDuel
Ryan Blaney #12 (DraftKings $8,700 | FanDuel $10,000)
Blaney may seem like a not so appealing play this weekend for most, but after his not so great finish at this track earlier in the season, I see him bouncing back on Sunday. Blaney finished the second practice on Friday in fifth place with a speed of 176.114, and qualified 23rd on Saturday. With Blaney trying to stay relevant in the playoffs, he'll have extra motivation to finish great at one of his better tracks.
Joey Logano #22 (DraftKings $9,700 | FanDuel $12,500)
Logano ended up qualifying in 22nd on Saturday, which means there's probably some sorcery going on with him and his team (probably not but it's pretty cool). Since 2014, Logano has had seven consecutive Top 10s at this track, which is a stat that shouldn't go unnoticed. Logano has averaged 65.25 FPTS when in Vegas, so in short, "Leggo" Logano.
Martin Truex Jr. #19 (DraftKings $10,700 | FanDuel $13,200)
Truex Jr. is super relevant this Sunday in Sin City with a whopping average of 74 FPTS (best in the game). Earlier in the season, Truex Jr. finished the Penzoil 400 in eighth place after starting 23rd, which is no surprise for the guy who won Dover from the rear of the field. Look for Truex Jr. to boot, scoot, and boogie on Sunday (enjoy singing that song in your head all day).
Brad Keselowski #2 (DraftKings $9,500 | FanDuel $13,000)
It's a "Slam Brad Ks" kind of weekend again, and out of all these guys I'm plugging, Keselowski is the one I'm betting on to take it all. Keselowski qualified 18th for Sunday's race, and finished third in the second practice with a speed of 176.321. "The Miller Man" also averages 73.75 FPTS in Vegas, and has only finished two races at this track outside of the Top 5 since 2013.
More NASCAR DFS Analysis
Be sure to also check out this week's Revvin' Up, a weekly video series by Sean Engel focused on previewing every Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race from DFS perspectives. Sean Engel is a six-time DraftKings NASCAR DFS tournament winner and a 15-year NASCAR veteran.
For any and all fantasy NASCAR questions, find me on Twitter @GarageGuyChase and subscribe to the Garage Guys Fantasy Sports Podcast for Fantasy Football and NASCAR talk. Good luck RotoBallers!
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