Daily Fantasy Nascar Picks
Bojangles' Southern 500

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Want to see how more analysis and information on building lineups for the Bojangles' Southern 500? Chris is selling his cheatsheet & targets for only $5. Just scroll to the bottom of the picks. This is a separate service than our traditional monthly membership.

Bojangles' Southern 500

Darlington Raceway - Darlington, South Carolina
Track - 1.366 Mile Oval Intermediate Track
23°-25° Banking in the Corners

With Kyle Larson's big win at Michigan last weekend the Chase Grid is almost complete. There are currently 13 drivers with wins who are locked in to the Chase for the Sprint Cup. There are three spots left up for grabs should any driver inside the Top 30 in points pickup a win in the final two races of the regular season. If no new drivers get wins it will come down to a handful of drivers fighting for position around the bubble. Chase Elliot leads the way with 628 points on the season which is six points ahead of Austin Dillon and 12 points ahead of Jamie McMurray who sits in the bubble spot. Ryan Newman still has a great shot as he trails McMurray by just 15 points. Kasey Kahne(52 points back)and Trevor Bayne(58 points back) would need a miracle at this point to get into the Chase. It is going to be an exciting race to the finish in the next two weeks.

 

With just two races to go NASCAR heads to Darlington Raceway for the Bojangles' Southern 500. It's the race everyone has been waiting for as NASCAR goes Throwback for a weekend. Take a look at the awesome paint schemes for this weekend by visiting this link. Darlington is one of the toughest tracks on the circuit with two completely different turns on each end of the track. Often referred to as the track "Too Tough to Tame" drivers will try to avoid getting lose and into the wall creating a majestic Darlington Stripe. This is another track that we visit just once a year so track history will be downgraded a bit this week in favor of current form and practice/qualifying speeds.

**Update: All track activity has been postponed on Friday**

The following schedule has been released:

• First Practice - Saturday @ 11:00 am et
• Final Practice - Saturday @ 1:30 pm et
• Qualifying - Cancelled (Field set by Owner Points)
• Race - Sunday @ 6:00 pm et

 

Are looking to get better as fantasy NASCAR but don't have the time to conduct all the research necessary? Check out my DFS NASCAR Cheatsheet which will give you the edge to cash more consistently on DraftKings. The cheatsheet includes driver salaries, current form(Last 5 races), Track History(Last 5 Years), Loop Data, weekly salary trends,  and practice and qualifying ranks. I have also created a weighting system which changes weekly and takes in to account all of the things listed previously. I update the practice and qualifying as they happen which changes the overall rankings through the weekend. The cheatsheet will also be final shortly after the final practice. If you purchase the cheatsheet prior to final practice you will receive an email when the final lineup has been set.

If you have any questions about the cheatsheet throw me an email(jagerbombs99@gmail.com) or hit me up on Twitter(@jager_bombs9).

 

Upper Tier Targets ($9,000+)

 

Kevin Harvick
DraftKings - $10,600
Practice #1 - 11th
Final Practice - 19th
Qualified - 1st

I am going right to the top of the chart for my top pick this week. Despite having just two wins this season Harvick leads the points standings as with help from his series leading 19 Top 10's and 11 Top 5 finishes(3 in the last 4 races).  He is also on a good run here at Darlignton with a win and two other Top 5's in the last three years. As always, things can change dramatically through Practice so stay tuned for an update Saturday afternoon.

 

 

Denny Hamlin
DraftKings - $9,600
Practice #1 - 2nd
Final Practice - 9th
Qualified - 7th

What makes Denny such a good play this week? It's a combination of his current form, track history and price tag under $10K this week. Denny is getting hot at the right time with six straight Top 10 finishes including his second win of the season at Watkins Glen a few weeks back. Looking at career Top 10 % Denny leads all active drivers with eight Top 10's in 10 career races here at Darlington. Look for Joe Gibbs Racing to be strong here like they were last year when they had three cars finish inside the Top 10(Edwards-win, Hamlin-3rd, Kyle-7th). Denny is safe in all formats regardless of qualifying.

 

 

Jimmie Johnson 
DraftKings - $9,300
Practice #1 - 1st
Final Practice - 3rd
Qualified - 9th

Jimmie's price tag continues to hover in the low $9K range making him an excellent value play for tournaments. After another summer to forget for the #48 team it is time to start warming up for the Chase for Jimmie really shines. Over the last five years he has a win and three Top 5 finishes here at Darlington and has three career wins and 12 Top 10's in 17 career starts at the Lady in Black. He has finished each of the last two races inside the Top 10 and is ready to breakout this weekend.

 

Also Consider - Kyle Busch

Middle Tier Targets ($7,000-$9,000)

 

Ryan Newman
DraftKings - $8,000
Practice #1 - 5th
Final Practice - 26th
Qualified - 14th

The narrative on Newman is red hot this week. With Larson's big win last week it pushed Newman outside the Chase bubble with just two races to go. He sits just 15 points back of McMurray and has much better track history. In 17 career starts at Darlington Newman has recorded seven Top 5's and 11 Top finishes with a 12.18 average finish. His salary has reached its highest point of the season but with the pressure sky high and his track history he makes an excellent play in any format this week.

 

Kyle Larson
DraftKings - $9,100
Practice #1 - 4th
Final Practice - 13th
Qualified - 16th

I am going to cheat a little bit this week as I was positive Larson was in the middle tier. I wanted to talk about him so bad I decided to add him in this section anyway. After his big win last week his price has hit a season high but he after getting one his first win he will be extra hungry for more. He has limited track history here with just two starts but both have resulted in Top 10 finishes so a back to back isn't at all out of the question. With the high price I don't fully trust in cash games but feel he makes an elite GPP play depending on Qualifying order.

 

Also Consider - Kasey Kahne(GPP Only)

 

 

Low End Targets ($6,900 and Below)

 

Regan Smith
DraftKings - $5,300
Practice #1 - 25th
Final Practice - 31st
Qualified - 33rd

Looking at the sub $7K range this week Smith is the only driver who has recorded a Top 10 finish in the last five years. That Top 10 finish also happened to be his only career win. In six career races at Darlington has never finished outside the Top 30. It is a special place for him and at a low $5K price tag he is an excellent punt play for a stars and scrubs lineup.

 

Also Consider - Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

 

 

Post Practice & Qualifying Update

Qualifying Top 20

 

 

 

If you have any questions on lineups or drivers prior to lineup lock scroll down to the comment section and join the conversation.

 

Good Luck everyone!

 

 

Want to see how more analysis and information on building lineups for the Bojangles' Southern 500? Chris is selling his cheatsheet & targets for only $5. Just scroll to the bottom of the picks. This is a separate service than our traditional monthly membership. Or Purchase through PayPal here.

Chris Durell has been playing Daily Fantasy Sports for three years and fantasy in general for more than a decade. He is active player in college football, NFL, NBA, PGA, and of course NASCAR. He lives in Saskatchewan, Canada with his wife and two daughters. You can follow him on Twitter at @jager_bombs9 for advice, strategy, answers to any NASCAR questions or how he copes with the winters up north.