The next event for the NASCAR circuit is the Cheez-It 355, held at The Glen. Before you finalize your rosters for daily fantasy NASCAR this coming Sunday, be sure that you know the strengths and weaknesses of the top drivers, and that you’ve used your salary dollars where they will be of the most help to you. Our analysis will get you pointed in the right direction.
Kevin Harvick: From a fantasy point of view, Harvick is the best driver in the field. He’s the second most expensive driver though, which is both a good thing, and a bad thing. His salary stands at $10,300, just $100 cheaper than the number one driver. As you probably know, there is always an element of danger in drafting the most expensive drivers in the field because it means you have less to work with at the bottom of your roster. With Harvick, the big price tag is worth the investment. He has made 18 out of 24 top tens, and has both the highest average fantasy point contribution per race, and the lowest average finishing position per race with his 9.0. Harvick is expensive, but he’s worth the salary.
Brad Keselowski: Keselowski has the second best average finishing position in the field with a 9.3. His salary is much lower than Harvick’s, making him a much nicer fit in most rosters. It stands at $9,300, giving him top tier status, but just barely. With Keselowski, you are getting a pretty high ceiling, too. He has four wins so far this season, which is 3 more than Harvick. And although he has a lower fantasy average than Harvick with his 45.1, thanks to his greater win number, you should expect Keselowski on his best day to outscore Harvick on his best day. That’s a strong argument for him, but the downside is that Harvick outscores Keselowski when they are both having average days. Still, Keselowski is a really strong pick here, and he will be far more suitable for most people than Harvick will thanks to his great potential and the price discount.
Kurt Busch: Busch is ranked number one for this race, according to DraftKings, with a salary of $10,400. The most attractive feature about Busch is his consistency, as he’s made the top ten 19 out of 24 times. However, even though this is the best in the field, consistency isn’t worth this high of a price. There are others in the field that are $1,000 or more below Busch, and right behind him when it comes to consistency. He only has 1 win, and his fantasy point average is pretty low at 41.1. Busch is definitely a talented driver, but overpriced for this particular race. We’re passing on him.
Martin Truex Jr.: Truex is pretty cheap for this race at $8,900, and that’s exactly why we’re including him here. He’s priced as a mid-tier addition for your roster, but has the potential to easily break into the top ten, giving him top tier talent. He has made 9 out of 24 top tens, has averaged 48.3 fantasy points per race (which is better than both Keselowski and Busch), and has an average finishing position of 13.7. While that last number is a bit lower than we’d like, the rest is strong enough to encourage us to draft him. The good news is that he’s cheap, so even if he doesn’t crack the top ten in this race, you are still getting your money’s worth out of him as long as he stays in the top 15. He had a rough race at his last appearance, but that looks like it’s just a blip on the screen and can be ignored for this race.
Jeff Gordon: No analysis would be complete without talking about Gordon. He has raced twice this year, but hasn’t really shown us much. That’s not a surprise, but with Gordon, you should always expect greatness. He’s cheap at $8,600, and that’s probably the cheapest he’ll be all year. But without any decent results yet, he’s more of a gamble than we’d like.
