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After taking last season off from Auto Club Speedway, the Cup Series returns to the site for the Wise Power 400 on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET. If practices and qualifying were any indication of what to expect this week, we could have some mishaps and unpredictability at Fontana because of the Next Gen car.
Multiple drivers spun out during qualifying and practices, and we may see more of the same on Sunday. As always, you should employ multiple lineups, especially as we watch many teams continue to figure out the challenges of the new cars.
Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric is going to start on the pole, but Daytona results are no indication of how many drivers will run at other tracks, and starting Cindric will be a major risk to lose place differential points. We will look for a dominator to lead many laps at ACS, and one of those could come from the second row.
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Kyle Busch
Starts third – DraftKings $10.400 | FanDuel $13,000
Busch is the only active driver with more than one win at ACS, and he has four victories at the site. He leads all active drivers in top fives (11), top 10s (16) and laps led (807) at Fontana. He also leads the Cup Series all-time in Driver Rating (111.4) and Fastest Laps Run (372).
Recent loop data numbers at ACS also point to Busch being a top choice. We will certainly see the Next Gen Car alter some outlooks, but loop data will still be very helpful in making selections. From 2018 to 2020, Busch led all drivers in Driver Rating (127.8), Fastest Laps Run (100) and Laps Led (196). He was also second-fastest in Saturday’s practice.
Denny Hamlin
Starts fourth – DraftKings $10,700 | FanDuel $12,500
Hamlin was fastest in Saturday’s practice and he has run very well at Fontana in recent seasons. In four of his past five races at ACS, he has finished sixth twice, seventh once, and third once. In his two sixth-place showings, he started 25th and 28th. The last time he started third at the site, he finished third.
Hamlin went to the garage at Daytona and will be primed for a better run this week, and good showings in practice and qualifying make him look like one of the safer selections. He is fifth all-time in Driver Rating at Fontana (93.4) and he is fourth in Quality Passes (passes of cars in the Top 15 while under Green Flag conditions, 879). This week, instead of scaling from the back of the pack to near the top 5, he can potentially move out to the front and lead a healthy amount of laps.
Joey Logano
Starts seventh – DraftKings $9,400 | FanDuel $10,500
Logano was fourth-fastest in practice on Saturday. He has finished in the Top 5 in four of his past five races at Fontana. He should place in the Top 5 again this week and may challenge for his first win at the site. He finished second at ACS in 2018.
Logano was fourth in Driver Rating at Fontana from 2018 to 2020 (106.9). He was also second in Average Running Position (6.3). Logano will be looking forward to returning to the Los Angeles area, where he won the Busch Clash on February 6.
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Kevin Harvick
Starts 32nd - DraftKings $9,200 | FanDuel $9,700
Harvick wrecked in practice and now will start deep in the field, making him an obvious target for Place Differential upside. He is coming off a disappointing season, but he is still good enough to take advantage of for PD purposes when he is starting so far back in the pack. Harvick does have the third-highest all-time DR at Fontana (95.4).
Harvick finished ninth and fourth in his two most recent starts at ACS. He is second all-time in Fastest Laps Run at the site (242). He has not finished in the Top 15 just once in his last six Fontana starts. This is where you can take advantage of some pre-race event misfortune to bolster your DFS outlook.
Alex Bowman
Starts 14th - DraftKings $9,000| FanDuel $10,000
Bowman was fifth fastest in practice on Saturday and he won the most recent Cup race at ACS in 2020. He led for 110 laps and set a track race record for 200 laps of 152.753 mph. He is third with 66 of the Fastest Laps Run at the site from 2018 to 2020.
Tyler Reddick
Starts 11th - DraftKings $8,400| FanDuel $9,500
Reddick was third-fastest in practice on Saturday. In 2020, in his first Cup series start at Fontana, he started 19th and finished 11th. He moved up three positions in the final 10 percent of the race, which is a very good number in the Closer loop data category. Reddick has finished seventh and fourth in his two Xfinity Series starts at ACS.
Bubba Wallace
Starts 34th - DraftKings $7,000| FanDuel $6,000
Like Harvick, Wallace dealt with pre-race issues, as damage during practice led to him not making a qualifying attempt. Still, Wallace was seventh-fastest in practice, and you have to like the PD promise at the price tag. He and Harvick may seem to be “chalk” plays, but they will be essential in cash games and you can sprinkle them in different lineups if you so desire when using multiple builds.
Wallace does not have much to highlight loop data wise in three starts at ACS, but he is starting so deep in the field that he is one of a few notable drivers to consider for PD upside. Kurt Busch ($8,800 DK, $9,200), who starts 36th, and Aric Almirola ($7,400 DK, $6,500 FD), who starts 31st, are two others. Price and a good practice run, with the PD potential, are the prime factors that make Wallace a quality selection.
More Recommended Selections
Kyle Larson ($11,600 DK, 14,000 FD), Christopher Bell ($8.000 DK, $8,500 FD). Cole Custer ($5.900 DK, $4,000 FD) won the Saturday Xfinity race at ACS).
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