Truck Series Daytona DFS Picks
- RoundersKyle
- Feb 14
- 3 min read
The NASCAR Truck Series race at Daytona marks the official start of the NASCAR regular season on Friday night. Known for its tight drafting and unpredictable nature, this race often delivers thrilling, close-quarters action and intense finishes. Given the high likelihood of big crashes and pack racing, DFS strategy for superspeedway races differs from most tracks, requiring a focus on place differential as the most important factor when creating your lineups.
With place differential being so important, drivers starting towards the front of the field have an uphill battle to rack up enough points to outscore the drivers starting towards the back. Due to the draft being the great equalizer for the field, most of the trucks in the race have a chance to get up front and contend for a top 5 finish.
Fades
Ben Rhodes
Ty Majeski
Corey Heim
Grant Enfinger
Jake Garcia
Clay Greenfield
Dawson Sutton
Frankie Muniz
Norm Benning
Spencer Boyd
Mason Maggio
The drivers starting at the very front of the field do not have the place differential points to gain that many of the drivers behind them have. Daytona has a lot of lead changes so they are unlikely to lead a bunch of laps to get dominator points either, making it difficult for them to hit value or to outscore other drivers. Because of this I am fading these drivers starting at the front as there are a lot better opportunities for drivers starting farther back. This has been the better strategy at Daytona and other Superspeedway drafting tracks consistently over the last several years.
Also the lower end drivers like Muniz, Benning, Boyd, and Maggio are usually solid plays here but those drivers I do not like for tonight as they start mid pack which is higher than you get them on superspeedways normally. Their upside usually is to miss all the wrecks and end up around the top 15, but if they start around there it takes away their upside for the race. I prefer to stay away from those few and stick with the same type of drivers that start at the very back.
Place Differential Plays
Tyler Ankrum
Stewart Friesen
Michael McDowell
Layne Riggs
Parker Kligerman
William Sawalich
Justin Haley
Connor Mosack
Drivers starting towards the back of the back and that are in good equipment are going to be some of the top plays for the Truck race at Daytona. These are the top drivers that are likely to be some of the most popular plays for the slate as they have big place differential potential. Ankrum and Friesen had penalties in qualifying and start at the back of the field. This gives them huge place differential potential and makes them two of the top options for the slate. They are likely going to be the highest owned drivers for this race and will have the biggest upside of anyone in the race if they stay out of trouble. McDowell, Riggs, Kligerman, Sawalich, Mosack and Haley are all top drivers that start outside the top 15 so they have good place differential to move forward. They are all solid choices if they can make it to the end of the race and should have an opportunity to finish at the front.
Cheap Options
Giovanni Ruggiero
Timmy Hill
Jason White
Josh Reaume
There are a handful of the lower end drivers and teams that can still be viable options at Daytona. They all have big place differential potential and are more likely to ride in the back to miss the wrecks. Some of them won't be very aggressive throughout the race but they could race hard at the end after any big wrecks to get a good finish.
Ruggiero had a flat tire in qualifying so he is one that is likely to try to race hard throughout the race as he is in good equipment on a big team. But drivers like Hill, White, and Reaume likely are to take it easy early to not wreck and make it to the end.
Even if they do not race hard, if there are a lot of wrecks and a lot of the trucks end up out of the race, they can still be big point scorers for DFS since they start in the back.
Tournament Plays
Kaden Honeycutt
Matt Crafton
Tanner Gray
Rajah Caruth
Bayley Currey
Jack Wood
Some drivers that might be lower owned but still have some upside just based on place differential are some of those drivers starting in the 8-20 range. These drivers fall into that category and could be some lower owned drivers that can help differentiate your lineups in a big contest.
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