NASCAR DFS picks 9/1/19: Bojangles’ Southern 500

NASCAR DFS Mid-Tier Options

Next, we’ll take a look at a few drivers towards the middle of the DFS salary lists that could grab a surprise victory, post a solid top-five finish, or score more fantasy points than average in this week’s race.

William Byron

This is another obvious place to start. Byron and his “Days of Thunder” themed 24 car will start on the pole on Sunday.

Byron has qualified rather well all season, and has shown some spurts of competitiveness in races at times, but hasn’t consistently run upfront. Over his last four races Byron has two 21st place finishes and two top-eights. He does have two top-fives and eight top-tens on the year, so maybe Byron will manage to stay up front this week.

In addition to his pole run, Byron posted top-three practice speeds in each practice session. He also had the best 10-lap average in first practice. So he may be poised to hang in there all race with some of those top guys and fight for his first career win.

In the last two races that Byron qualified on the pole, he finished ninth. His starting spot doesn’t bode well for position differential, but a solid top-five or 10 run with a chunk of laps led should lead to a solid fantasy day for a pretty cheap driver.

Clint Bowyer

One driver that is probably the least happy with how his season is going is Clint Bowyer. Bowyer has had more than his fair share of bad luck and is currently on the outside looking in on the playoff bubble with just two races left of the “regular season”.

Bowyer was consistently solid in both practices, as well as qualifying. He wasn’t quite top five, but was 7th through 11th on the list on both practice speed sheets and 10-lap averages. And his 13th starting position could give him a few position differential points with a nice finish.

If Bowyer can run well all race and avoid the bad luck and problems that he has faced so often this year, he can be a fantasy asset at his price. I think he will get back on track this week and put himself back in playoff contention.

Alex Bowman

Another Hendrick Motorsports driver in this section, Bowman will look to catch and pass his teammate William Byron and grab another victory. Bowman broke through with his first career win at Chicagoland eight races ago but has managed just one top-10 finish since.

First practice is really where Bowman shined, with the fourth-fastest lap and the third-best 10-lap average. He didn’t perform quite as well in final practice and qualified 16th for the race, but that could be a formula for a decent fantasy day. If Bowman can find the speed he had in first practice and move up at least a handful of spots he could prove to be a worthy pick in DFS at his salary.

Honorable Mentions

Daniel Suarez, Jimmie Johnson, Aric Almirola