DraftKings’ daily fantasy NASCAR heads to Kansas Speedway this weekend for the Hollywood Casino 400. This is the final event in round two of the Monster Energy Series playoffs. The green flag flies Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN.
The DraftKings strategy for intermediate tracks is all about finding dominators for your roster. A dominator is a driver who will run up front, lead laps, and generate fast laps for extra bonuses.
Alternatively, for the middle to back end of lineups, it’s crucial to find someone that performed poorly in qualifying and could work their way up the field for those coveted position differential points.
Here are two must-start drivers on DraftKings for Sunday’s race.
This week’s fantasy forecast is brought to you by DraftKings, the No. 1 platform for Daily Fantasy Sports. You can jump in on all of the daily fantasy NASCAR action at Kansas this weekend by signing up at this link for a free entry into one of this weekend’s contests. All you have to do is make a $5 deposit to get started!
BREWER: Full DraftKings Kansas Preview
Martin Truex Jr. ($9,700)
Starting Position: First/Pole
Truex won the regular season race at Kansas back in May. In that event, he started third and led 104 laps. The 2017 regular season champion also recorded 62 of the race’s fastest laps, putting together a strong DraftKings performance.
Truex is averaging a third-place finish on 1.5-mile tracks this season, including five wins. His victories at Charlotte, Chicagoland, and Kentucky make three in a row on these type of racetracks. He is going for win number four this weekend at Kansas.
Furniture Row Racing clearly has their intermediate track program in high gear. Truex has led 856 laps on these 1.5 and 2-mile ovals, over 200 more than the second-highest total.
In five of six wins this season, Truex has started inside the top three. Starting from the pole Sunday afternoon, he is as close to a lock as it gets. Make the No. 78 Toyota driver your top dominator pick this weekend.
Ryan Blaney ($5,800)
Starting Position: 40th
Blaney originally qualified third this weekend. However, his time was disallowed after NASCAR found a rear deck lid violation in post-qualifying inspection. As a result, he will be starting dead last on Sunday. The No. 21 car can certainly win the race, but Blaney will need to fight through the entire field to get there.
In five starts at Kansas, this Cup Series sophomore has run as well as anyone. He led 83 laps from the pole back in May and won the second stage. Blaney was actually fighting for the win late in the race, but fell back to a fourth-place finish after fading during the final laps. He finished seventh in his debut at the track in 2015, and has ripped off two top fives since.
Blaney has the most positive position differential potential this weekend, armed with the possibility of passing 30-35 other cars. He will need to finish inside the top 10 if he wants to keep his championship hopes alive.
Blaney sits two points better than Jimmie Johnson above the cutline, but the start from the back will put him in a hole early.