This weekend, NASCAR action comes to us on Sunday from the Charlotte Motor Speedway with the Coca-Cola 600. As you’re getting ready to draft your daily fantasy NASCAR team, here’s our analysis of five of the top drivers entered to race this weekend. This should help you better structure the top of your roster, so that you have more freedom to draft who you prefer at the bottom of the roster.
Jimmie Johnson: Let’s get Johnson out of the way first. He’s finally at a price that we like, but his stats have slipped considerably to get him there. At $10,200, he is a good buy, if he were performing where he as a month ago. Is he capable of that? Sure. Will he? We have no idea. His average finishing position is 12.1, he has 6 top ten finishes out of 15 races, and his average per race contribution for fantasy points is 41.8. Those things considered are not bad, but last week he finished 12th, and put up 28 fantasy points. If he has that kind of performance again, he’s not worth drafting. But he does have 2 wins to his credit this season. Our thoughts are that he’s too much of a risk to draft, even if he is at a semi-decent value here. We want to see him either cheaper or racing better before we spend money on him.
Kevin Harvick: Harvick is the number one ranked racer going into this event with a salary of $10,500. There’s no question that he’s the top racer for this; he has finished in the top ten 10 out of 15 times, has a win, and is averaging 69.2 points per race. There’s no one else in the field with numbers that good, and he’s worth every penny of that, despite an 11th place finish in his most recent outing and a 15th place before that. In fact, that probably makes him a bit cheaper for this race than he’s actually worth. We will draft him, but we will also need to be a bit creative with our next two picks as a result.
Kyle Busch: Busch is the number two racer behind Harvick. And while his numbers are impressive, he’s a bit unpredictable at times. His salary of $10,400 doesn’t take this into account, making him a gamble. He’s scored negative fantasy points twice this season, but despite this he has 4 wins, and is averaging 57.7 fantasy points per race, according to DraftKings. There’s a very high ceiling for him, but a very low basement. What it’s going to come down to is you will need to choose either Harvick, Busch, or Carl Edwards, and of those three, Harvick has shown the most potential for consistently great performances. We’ll pass on Busch, but do know that there’s a chance he could be a steal if he has a good day. We just don’t think that the chances of that happening are good enough to outweigh Harvick’s chances.
Carl Edwards: Edwards is the number three choice here with a salary of $10,300. He has 10 top ten performances out of his 15 races, and has an average finishing position of 10.0. We like Edwards, but don’t think he has the same potential for fantasy points as Harvick or Busch. He’s more consistent than Busch, but not quite at Harvick’s level. For that reason, he’s not going to be drafted by us, but he is a decent pick on some rosters. His average fantasy contribution of 55.9 points and his 2 wins makes him worthy of thought, especially if you are going to skip a mid-tier racer on your roster.
Kurt Busch: Rather than discount a mid-tier racer, though, we suggest you take a look at Kurt Busch. His salary of $9,000 is very attractive, and his statistics don’t seem to support such a low price. He’s made the top ten 13 out of 15 races, has an average finishing spot of 8.3, and is averaging 45.3 fantasy points per race. His only drawback is he doesn’t have a win, but that’s just a matter of time before it happens, judging by the rest of his season. He’s an easy draft for us.
