NASCAR DFS Picks 10/6/19: Drydenne 400
As the NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series heads to the Monster Mile of Dover International Speedway to kick of the second round of the playoffs, we take a look at the drivers that could fuel your fantasy and DFS lineups to victory on Sunday.
NASCAR DFS Top Contenders
The Busch Pole Award for the Drydenne 400 at Dover International Speedway was won by Denny Hamlin on Saturday, and the 11 car will pace the field when they take the green flag at 2:45 pm ET on Sunday.
Dover hasn’t been Hamlin’s best track throughout his career, as he has yet to win a race at Dover. But after Hamlin won the pole, he explained that he has the car capable of getting to victory lane come Sunday, locking him into the next round of the playoffs.
Hamlin was top ten in both fastest lap and 10-lap average in First Practice on Friday, and had the ninth fastest 10-lap average and just the 19th fastest lap in Final Practice before his impressive pole run on Saturday. Hamlin and his fantasy owners will hope that he can lead a lot of laps, post a lot of fastest laps (which give you .5 points in DraftKings), and hold off a ton of fast cars behind him for a win, or at least a solid top three or five finish.
In the Spring, Hamlin did not perform well at this track, finishing 21st after starting eighth, and failing to score any stage points. However, in this race a season ago, Hamlin started 15th and worked his way up to a second place finish. Obviously he will not earn any positive place differential points, but Hamlin should be fast on raceday, should finish towards the front of the field, and could compete for a win.
Hamlin just barely edged Kyle Larson for the pole position in qualifying on Saturday. That may have been due to the cloud cover that appeared later in qualifying for Larson’s run, as he was confident all weekend that he was going to win the pole.
In addition to his quick qualifying run, Larson and the 42 car were bad fast in Final Practice. He had the fastest single lap, five lap, 10 lap, and 25 lap average. He also had a top 10 lap in First Practice and did not run 10 consecutive laps in that first session to post an average.
Larson has a top three average finish at Dover both for his career and over the last five races at the track. Like Hamlin, he has not won at The Monster Mile. However, Larson has led the second most laps at the track since 2017.
While Larson failed to lead a lap in the Spring at Dover, he finished third and was top 10 in each stage. I think Larson will run up front once again, and has a very good chance of grabbing his first victory at Dover, locking himself into the round of eight for the Playoffs. As the seventh-priced driver on DraftKings, he should be a steal and a lock at the top of most DFS lineups.
Kevin Harvick
While Harvick has not been as dominant this season as he had been in recent years, he is quietly strong week after week. This week, the Cup Series is heading to a track where he has been very solid in the past couple races, and he may compete for his first win of the playoffs.
In the first race of the year at Dover, Harvick finished fourth, finished top five in both other stages, and led a lap. This race a year ago, the 4 team won the first two stages and led the most laps before ending up with a sixth place finish.
Harvick is very fast this weekend. In Final Practice, Harvick had the third fastest lap, fourth fastest 10 lap average, and the fastest 15 and 20 lap averages of the session. That followed a First Practice where he posted the fastest 10 lap average. the 4 car is fast on short runs and long runs, and is starting fourth on Sunday.
Harvick is the third-highest priced driver on DraftKings, and I think he is a better option straight up than the drivers priced ahead of him. He should run at the front all day and “The Closer” should be right in position to win the race towards the end.
Honorable Mentions
This race has a handful of drivers that are very viable DFS options and could win the race. I went with my three favorites, but these three honorable mentions could have just as good of a chance to win as the drivers above.
Martin Truex Jr.-Won first two races of first round of the playoffs. Final Practice second fastest lap and sixth fastest 10 lap average. Won race and second stage in Dover Spring race. Starting third.
Chase Elliott-Led the most laps and finished top five in all three stages at track earlier this season. Won this race a year ago. Starting fifth.
Joey Logano-Fastest in First Practice. Won stage one earlier this year. Starting 14th with place differential potential.