NASCAR DFS picks 9/21/19: Federated Auto Parts 400

NASCAR DFS – Mid Tier Options

Clint Bowyer

In the midst of a less-than-stellar season for Clint Bowyer, he heads back to a track where he picked up one of just two top-three finishes this season. In the last race at Richmond, Bowyer finished top five in all three stages. After qualifying fifth, it wouldn’t surprise me if he did it once again.

Bowyer didn’t show a ton of speed in practice throughout the week, but he seemed to get better as the weekend went on (11th best 10-lap average in final practice and fifth in qualifying), so he is trending in the right direction heading into the race.

A win, or even just a top five, would be huge for Bowyer and his chances to advance in the playoffs. After sneaking his way into the playoffs, Clint would love to be able to make some noise, and this is the perfect track for him to do so.

At 20-1 odds, Bowyer is my favorite “dark horse” pick to win the race. I’m not sure that he has quite the speed that some of these other guys do, but he should be right there to take advantage of any door that does open for him to get to victory lane.

Bowyer is the 12th-highest priced driver on DraftKings, and before qualifying on the pole but finishing 25th last week, he posted three straight top-seven finishes. Bowyer performs well at this track and should outperform those priced near him in DFS.

Ryan Blaney

Ryan Blaney is a guy that seems to run solid each and every week but has failed to knock on the door of victory in quite some time. In his last nine races, he has just one finish outside the top 13. He also has just one finish higher than fifth in that stretch.

Blaney struggled earlier this season at Richmond, finishing 25th and failing to earn a stage point. However, it seems as though the 12 team has found some speed this weekend, as Blaney was fast in both practices. The 12 car posted the eighth-fastest lap in both practice sessions and improved his 10-lap average by over a second, fifth-best to second-best from first to final practice.

Blaney didn’t quite show that speed in qualifying, which should be a good thing for potential fantasy owners. Starting 15th, Blaney looks like he is capable of working his way up towards the top five rather quickly. He is also a sneaky bet to win at 40-1 odds. If he can run upfront for the whole race and post a solid finish, Blaney is a great option in the middle of the salary list in DFS.

Ryan Newman

Similar to Blaney, Newman has run decent all year, qualified rather poorly, but showed good speed in practice.

Newman will roll off 19th Saturday night. He also improved greatly from first to second practice as the 6 team posted the 10th-fastest lap and the third-best 10-lap average of the session. Newman has top 10 finishes and has scored over 40 DraftKings points in each of his last two races.

Like Bowyer, Newman is below the cutoff line as the standings sit following Las Vegas, so a win or a solid finish coupled with struggles from his fellow competitors are imperative if Newman wants to advance in the playoffs. Newman should sneak under the radar for the most part, and is a great DFS play this weekend.

Honorable Mentions

William Byron, Daniel Suarez, Alex Bowman