DraftKings NASCAR Picks: Quaker State 400

SPARTA, KY – JULY 13: Martin Truex Jr., driver of the #78 Auto-Owners Insurance Toyota, signs the UNOH pole award after qualifying for the pole position for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart at Kentucky Speedway on July 13, 2018 in Sparta, Kentucky. (Photo by Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images) DraftKings NASCAR Picks /

Welcome to the first installment of our new weekly NASCAR DraftKings series. The beauty of NASCAR on DraftKings is that unlike any other fantasy sport there are multiple ways to construct a winning lineup.

There are two major different ways to accumulate points in your DraftKings NASCAR Picks in order to construct a winning lineup. First there are dominators, these are drivers who are expected to rack up points in both laps led and fast laps. A driver is granted +0.25 points for every lap led and +0.5 points for every lap they are the fastest on the track. Secondly, there are place differential plays where drivers receive a +/- of 1 point for their finishing place compared to their qualifying position. The Kentucky Speedway has shown that a good balance of both of these plays is best when constructing a winning lineup. Follow and reach out to me on Twitter @stevezimkouski for up to date NASCAR and DFS news, now without further ado let’s get to the picks.

Dominator Plays

Martin Truex Jr. ($11,200)

Qualifying Position: 1st

Kentucky Speedway 2017 Finish: 1st

Martin Truex Jr. started 2nd at the Kentucky Speedway last year and managed to lead a whopping 152 of the 274 laps as he ran up front all day on his way to victory lane. While he has not shown the consistent speed that he showed last season It’s hard to mention dominators at the Kentucky Speedway without mentioning Truex.

Kevin Harvick ($11,600)

Qualifying Position: 3rd

Kentucky Speedway 2017 Finish: 9th

To say Kevin Harvick has shown some speed this year would be a vast understatement. If we scratch the crash filled Daytona race last weekend, Harvick has scored 77.8, 68.8, 75.8 and 76.8 fantasy points in his 4 previous races before that. He should be a staple for most cash lineups as the top dominator this weekend.

Erik Jones ($8,300)

Qualifying Position: 2nd

Kentucky Speedway 2017 Finish: 6th

Erik Jones is fresh off his first career win at the Monster Energy Series level last week at Daytona and provides a ton of momentum coming into the Quaker State 400. Jones ran the fastest single lap in in the Quaker State 400 final practice and looks to build on a 6th place finish from last year at this track. Jones makes for a nice pivot in large pools off the usual Harvick and Truex as a discounted dominator.

SPARTA, KY – JULY 13: Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 FedEx Office Toyota, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart at Kentucky Speedway on July 13, 2018 in Sparta, Kentucky. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

DraftKings NASCAR Picks Place Differential Plays

Denny Hamlin ($9,500)

Qualifying Position: 36th

Kentucky Speedway 2017 Finish: 4th

Denny Hamlin came in 4th last year at this race and will start 36th after failing to make it through inspection for qualifying. While Hamlin’s price tags may be high and he most likely won’t win the race or lead many laps he possess huge upside place differential perspective and should be a heavy staple in cash lineups.

Kyle Larson ($10,100)

Qualifying Position: 18th

Kentucky Speedway 2017 Finish: 2nd

Kyle Larson started this race in the rear at 40th last year and finished 2nd. Larson has time and time again shown the ability to race his way from the back to the front and we can count on that again on Saturday. Larson showed the fastest speed in the opening practice and starting at the 18th position provides some nice place differential upside.

SPARTA, KY – JULY 13: Kyle Busch, driver of the #18 NOS Energy Drink Toyota, leads a pack of cars during the NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco 300 at Kentucky Speedway on July 13, 2018 in Sparta, Kentucky. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

DraftKings NASCAR Picks – Value Plays

Matt DiBenedetto ($5,500)

Qualifying Position: 37th

Kentucky Speedway 2017 Finish: 25th

DiBenedetto who could easily have also been featured in the place differential section comes in averaging 24.4 fantasy points per race this season which sets him at near 5 times value. After failing to qualify he will start 37th, the last time he started 37th he finished with 37.5 fantasy points.

More from FanSided

Bubba Wallace ($6,000)

Qualifying Position: 25th

Kentucky Speedway 2017 Finish: 11th

Wallace has had a very up and down season but it’s worth noting that he finished 11th at the Kentucky Speedway last year. As a cheap option with top 15 upside Wallace is a nice value play with good upside at his price point.

Fades

Paul Menard ($7,200)

Qualifying Position: 6th

Kentucky Speedway 2017 Finish: 21st

Menard is starting way too close to the front for any type of consideration outside of large GPP contests as an extremely contrarian play. With only one top 5 finish in his past 6 races he is almost a certainty to give you negative place differential points, a 21st place finish at this race last year also isn’t very encouraging

Ryan Blaney ($8,500)

Qualifying Position: 7th

Kentucky Speedway 2017 Finish: 10th

Blaney has struggled recently finishing 40th, 18th and 34th in his last 3 races. While he sports a fast car, a starting position of 7th he is more likely to generate negative place differential points than positive ones. With the horses of Truex, Harvick and Kyle Busch all near the front, it is also unlikely that many laps led are up for grabs.

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Best of luck in your DraftKings NASCAR Picks and stay tuned to Fantasy CPR each and every day for all your fantasy sports and DFS news and analysis!