NASCAR on TV this week

Daily Fantasy NASCAR Hot-Starts: KC Masterpiece 400

NASCAR heads to Kansas Speedway this weekend for the KC Masterpiece 400. Saturday night (May 11) marks the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ return to intermediate track racing following a four-race stretch of short tracks and superspeedways.

FanDuel debuted its new daily fantasy NASCAR contest at Talladega two weeks ago and it will continue on throughout the 2018 season. This weekend, you can win a piece of Dalton Sargeant’s truck from GMS Racing and the contest is ABSOLUTELY FREE! Why not sign up and check out what FanDuel is all about! Check out fanduel.com/frontstretch for more information.

Here are the rules for FanDuel’s new Daily Fantasy NASCAR game.

FanDuel has put more of an emphasis on finishing position than other DFS sites. For this reason, FanDuel allows you to look at the entire field instead of just dominators and big movers.

Also, with only 0.1 points awarded for each lap led by a driver, the need for a dominator is less important when building a winning lineup. This 267-lap race will only have a total of 26.7 points up for grabs in this category. Take note when building your roster and focus on mid-pack drivers who can climb up toward the front on race day.

Here are three drivers who are primed for a big night at Kansas.

Kevin Harvick ($13,500)
Starting Position: 1st/Pole

Harvick has an average finish of 3.5 in the last four Kansas races, including a win in the fall of 2016. He has led laps in the last three races and in eight of the last nine at the track.

Starting on the front row, Harvick is the obvious choice to hoard all the points available for laps led. He won the pole by .150 seconds and was also among the fastest in practice. He already has four wins this season and will have the best shot to tie his career high mark this week.

If you would rather save salary cap by passing on Harvick, the driver starting alongside him would be another good bet.

Ryan Blaney ($11,500)
Starting Position: Second

Kansas is by far Blaney’s best track. In six starts, he has three top-five finishes. Blaney was 19 laps short of winning this race from the pole in 2017. He followed up a fourth-place finish with a third in the fall, also combining to lead 86 laps in those events.

Blaney has shown the ability to take control of races since his switch to a full-time Penske driver this offseason. He has led over 100 laps in three separate races so far in 2018 and is part of a Team Penske Ford trio that’s working well together. He is much cheaper than the top three options this week and packs heavy upside.

Blaney starts on the outside pole for Saturday’s race and has great upside on finishing position. He was the fifth fastest driver in 10 lap average in final practice. He has a good long-run car, and has the speed to finish inside the top five, if not race for the win.

Aric Almirola ($9,400)
Starting Position: 4th

Almirola was third in 10-lap average in final practice and is another car with top-tier speed this weekend. With Harvick and Clint Bowyer  (also a good play this weekend starting from the back) locked into the playoffs, Stewart-Haas Racing is putting extra effort into getting its other two cars into the playoffs via a win. It would be poetic for Almirola to win at the track that broke his back and caused him to miss an extended amount of races last season.

Post-Qualifying Lineup Example:

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