Cup Series Kansas DFS Picks

The NASCAR Cup Series is in Kansas this week for the first race of the second round of the playoffs for the round of 12. Playoff drivers are going to want to get a good finish this week as the next two races in this round are wildcards with Talladega and the ROVAL up next. The Cup car has been great on 1.5 mile tracks this season so we could be in for a great race this weekend. The race here in the spring had the closest finish in NASCAR history with Kyle Larson edging out Chris Buescher at the line.

Potential Dominators

Kyle Larson

Denny Hamlin

Christopher Bell

Ty Gibbs

Larson and Hamlin once again are at the top of the list for potential dominators. It is hard to count either of them out on a 1.5 mile track as they have been so good this season and should have some of the fastest cars again this week. At Kansas they both have been the top lap leaders over the last 3 races here and both have finished in the top 5 in all of those races. They were solid in practice and should be contenders throughout the race. Bell is an interesting play this week as he starts on pole and had top 5 lap averages in practice throughout the run. However, he started on pole the last 2 races at Kansas but didn't do much with it as he barely led any laps and was not one of the top cars. He still had solid top 10 to top 5 runs, but wasn't the dominate car you would need at his salary. I am still going to be using him a lot but him having this same situation in the previous two races here and not doing much with it does raise some concerns. Gibbs is a solid pivot away from Bell as he starts right next to Bell and will have the chance to get the lead early if he can get by Bell. Gibbs is also a lot cheaper for the potential dominators in this race so he won't need to lead as much as some of the others to end up optimal. He was fast in practice as he moved up the lap averages chart as he ran longer so he may be good on the long run in the race.

*I don't mind Ryan Blaney too as he was really good in practice but my concern is he will be good, not great. I could see him running top 5 all day but not being good enough to get the lead and be a dominator that he would need to be at his salary.

Place Differential Plays

Chase Elliott

Chris Buescher

Brad Keselowski

Alex Bowman

Elliott is going to be the driver this week that everyone is putting in their lineups. He had engine issues in practice so he is starting dead last and before he had the engine issues he was fast in practice with the 2nd fastest 15 lap average in the session. He is close to a must play, things would have to go wrong or there would have to be several good value drivers to get dominator points for him not to be one of the top drivers. The RFK cars of Buescher and Keselowski should be good options this week as they have had speed on 1.5 mile tracks the last two years and Buescher lost this race by an inch in the Spring. They start in 25th and 26th so they have a lot of place differential potential and should have a chance to run in the top 10. Bowman was one of the fastest cars in practice throughout the run and could be a great play for the race. He starts in 12th so he shouldn't be overly owned and could be a good value play this week.

Cheap Options

Josh Berry

Justin Haley

Daniel Hemric

There are not a lot of cheap options this week that I am super confident in. Josh Berry is probably the most obvious one but he also on the higher side for his salary. He starts back in 29th and he finished 15th here in the spring and his teammate Gragson got a top 10 then as well. He should have top 20 potential with upside for more. Haley is in a new car this week as him and Lajoie traded rides. Spire cars have been fast lately so I think this could help Haley who himself has been fast in lower tier equipment this season. He starts 23rd so he doesn't have huge place differential potential but he could be a solid play if he can get a top 15. Hemric was actually the best of the cheap drivers in practice as he was 7th in 15 lap averages in practice. That was probably inflated some with the session he was in but he could have top 20 potential for the race. He starts back in 30th and is only $5300 salary on Draftkings, so he could be a great value play.

There are some other cheap options that are usable based on their starting spots but they did not look good in practice. Ryan Preece, Todd Gilliland, and John Hunter Nemechek all start in the 30s but were not good on the speed charts in practice. Nemechek and Gilliland did finish 13th and 24th here in the spring so there is some hope that they will race well and be solid place differential options.

High Risk Low Owned Tournament Play

Carson Hocevar

One cheap play that had a lot of speed in practice in the laps that he run but is a risk because he starts up in 14th is Carson Hocevar. Hocevar has shown a lot of speed lately and he was fast in practice this week with the third fastest 10 lap average. His ownership is likely to be low with so many large place differential plays priced below him, but the lack of speed those guys showed makes me think that Hocevar could be a winning play if he can finish around where he starts or gains a few spots.

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