Daily Fantasy NASCAR DraftKings Forecast: 2024 Bank of America ROVAL 400

If you feel like your driver sitting just above the cut line is safe after last week’s mayhem at Talladega Superspeedway, you’re very wrong.

This weekend the NASCAR Cup Series runs its final road course event of the year at the unique and sometimes controversial Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL. The ROVAL has been the site of varying degrees of playoff insanity since its inception and this season promises to be no different.

The configuration of the ROVAL has changed, which means for all intents and purposes, you have to throw out most of the statistics from past races here. You’ll have to rely on the typical “who’s good at road courses” line of thinking when picking your lineups and filling out your bet slips this week.

Now, before we get into all that, let’s look at how things transpired last week. It certainly wasn’t pretty.

RIGHT ON THE MONEY	LICK YOUR WOUNDS
Erik Jones (Finished fifth, 67.6 points scored)	Ryan Blaney (Finished 39th, -29.6 points scored)
Alex Bowman (Finished 16th, 34.7 points scored)	Chase Elliott (Finished 29th, -3.4 points scored)
Daniel Suarez (Finished 26th, 22.8 points scored)	Missed on all three of my bets. Literally all of them.

A tough week to be sure, and it doesn’t get much easier from here. However, I have a better record on road courses this season, so I have high hopes.

Here’s a quick rules breakdown:

Drivers will be awarded points based on their finishing position, position differential, fastest laps and laps led. The driver who wins the race scores 45 fantasy points, while second gets 42 points, third gets 41 points and so on, at least through the top 10. The 11th-place finisher scores 32 points, 21st gets 21 points and 31st gets 10 points.

However many spots drivers lose or gain on the track are added to or subtracted from their score. Then, if the driver leads a lap, they will earn 0.25 points for each lap led and 0.45 points for each fastest lap.

DraftKings NASCAR Fantasy Scoring Rules

Fantasy Forecast

1. Shane van Gisbergen ($10,300)

SVG has had one heck of an Xfinity Series season, winning on multiple road courses throughout. He very well could have repeated at the Chicago street course on the Cup side and was even in the mix at Talladega for a time last week.

I think the momentum he has combined with the skills he has on this type of racetrack easily makes him the favorite. The only thing that will possibly stop the Aussie phenom this weekend is potentially the equipment he’s in, despite the fact that Kaulig Racing is the defending winner of this race.

2. Chase Elliott ($9,500)

Oh, I don’t have the best feeling about this.

I’ve put Elliott in the lineup a lot this season, and sometimes it’s big payoff and often times it isn’t. However, I just cannot ignore the track record. He has two wins at the ROVAL, and if not for a speeding penalty last season, he might’ve driven away with another.

That crash at Talladega hurt his momentum a bit too, though he was very much a contender to win before that. This guy is just too good on road courses not to put him in here.

3. Chris Buescher ($9,100)

One of the best road course drivers on the circuit that is not named Elliott, Kyle Larson or Tyler Reddick, Buescher is always a threat at places like this.

He’s coming back to this style of race track after a thrilling win over SVG at Watkins Glen International too, so he’s got that going for him.

Buescher is an easy but high end addition at this price in the three slot.

4. Michael McDowell ($8,700)

Here’s another driver that never gets the kind of credit he deserves for his ability on road courses. He led some laps at The Glen and of course had that memorable win at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course a couple of seasons ago.

What really motivates me with this pick is his speed in qualifying. McDowell has a series-leading six poles this year. At a place that is difficult to pass like the ROVAL, I like the guy who starts first.

McDowell needs to put a stamp on his swan song season with Front Row Motorsports, and this is his best chance to do just that.

5. Brad Keselowski ($6,900)

Alright, bear with me here.

This pick is not based at all on his second-place run last weekend, but that certainly helps justify it a little. No, my motivation here is based on just how much he’s improved on road courses this season.

At The Glen, he was running very well before the big crash that ended up with him getting an eye full of William Byron‘s right front tire. He also had decent days at the Chicago street course and Sonoma Raceway before that.

I think Keselowski has learned something from his teammate, and that will translate to a very good day for the No. 6.

6. Kaz Grala ($5,900)

Grala is the recipient of the “I didn’t have much money left award.”

He’s shown some flashes of brilliance on road courses in his Xfinity Series career, so I think it justifies this pick. Either way, this is based on low expectations.

He will likely start poorly, and if he finishes poorly you won’t lose much in the way of points. It’s a win-win to be sure.

Prop Bets and Locks

1. Carson Hocevar to finish in the top five (+1300): This is definitely my bet of the week. Hocevar doesn’t seem like a likely candidate to get the job done here, but his last top five came at The Glen a few weeks ago. These odds are decent and the reward for taking the chance could be massive.
2. Martin Truex Jr. to win (+2800): Truex’s Cup Series career is coming to a close and he’s been kind of dreadful since the summer. However, it’d be fitting if that last win came here. I saw a replay of the classic finish between he and Jimmie Johnson here back in 2018, and I just think it’d be cool to see.
3. Alex Bowman to finish in the top three (+700): Bowman’s insane opening to these playoffs kind of came to a screeching halt last weekend at Talladega. However, I look at that +700 and remember that he’s finished in the top five in two of the four road course events so far this season, including his win a Chicago. I am far from saying this is a safe bet, but it’s one of the better ones I’ve picked as of late.