This weekend, NASCAR action comes to us from Talladega Superspeedway for the Geico 500. Before you draft your daily fantasy NASCAR roster, though, check out our take on five of the top drivers entered so that you know everything you need to know from a daily fantasy sports point of view.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.: According to DraftKings, Earnhardt is the top seed for this race with his salary of $10,300. He has 6 top ten finishes so far this season, and throughout his 11 races so far this year, his average finishing spot is 9.9. His average fantasy score per race is a bit low for our liking at 49.7, but he’s quickly picking up momentum this season. The start to his season has been slow, but even with that, he’s routinely made our top five list. Of his last three races, he has finished second twice, which indicates to us that he’s getting better. Yes, he had a 13th place finish last weekend, but his differential was good and he had 6 of the fastest laps. We’re liking him here, but wish he was about $500 cheaper. Still, he’s a strong top five possibility, and even though we like that, we think there is better value out there. We won’t be drafting him because there is more consistent talent at cheaper prices, but definitely see him doing well.
Carl Edwards: Edwards is about as consistent as they come right now. His salary of $10,100 is spot on for us, and even though he’s the number two ranked driver in the field, we think he’s a good value pick. He’s made the top ten in 9 of his 11 races, has won his last two starts, and has an average finishing position of 6.5. We like him even more than we like Earnhardt for this race, and if you only draft one of these two, it should definitely be Edwards. His average fantasy contribution per race of 68.5 is the second best in the field, making him a much stronger pick than Earnhardt.
Kevin Harvick: When it comes to value, Harvick is our number one choice. His price tag of $9,400 is much lower than we anticipated spending on a top tier driver this week, and he’s probably going to be the first or second choice on our list. He has the highest average fantasy point total of this field at 73.2, and his average position of 8.0 is pretty strong. He has made the top ten 9 out of 11 times, and has a win. We’re not sure why he’s ranked at just number six overall for this race. Even with an off race last week, he was able to finish 5th. We’re not complaining though; we get top level talent for cheap as a result.
Kyle Busch: Busch is ranked one place lower than Harvick going into this race and has a salary of $9,200. When it comes to fantasy points, though, Busch is third overall with an average total of 64.3. He has made 8 of 11 top tens, and finished 2nd overall last weekend. We’re drafting him this weekend because he’s seriously discounted. We also see an easy top ten finish for him. Because he’s so discounted, there should be no issue getting other consistent talent on the roster, too.
Jamie McMurray: McMurray’s probably going to be a surprise to some, but we’ve included him here for a specific reason. He’s priced below the median driver salary cost, but is very likely to perform at a high level this weekend. His salary of $7,900 makes him accessible to any roster, yet he has top ten potential. He’s already made it twice this year. And his average fantasy score of 30.8 puts him at the top of all drivers that are priced below the median point of $8,333. He’s averaging a finishing slot of 14.6 and has a strong differential, making him perhaps the best bottom tier pick you will make.
