Daily Fantasy NASCAR Picks for DraftKings - O'Reilly Auto Parts 500

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O'Reilly Auto Parts 500

Texas Motor Speedway - Fort Worth, TX
Track - 1.5 Mile Quad Oval Intermediate Track
20° - 24° Banking in the Corners

If you haven't already, be sure to go check out my  DFS NASCAR Race Preview article for all the top trends and stats. If you missed qualifying you are probably wondering why there are nine drivers without a time posted, starting from the back. Well, it was another crazy Friday afternoon at the tech inspection area as none of those drivers made it through. This changes the strategy from a DFS perspective as there are so many high-end drivers with elite place differential value. If you are a contrarian type player, it will be a great week to find so low ownership by fading some of the place differential value. Fading it completely would be a mistake, however, so pick and choose wisely. Let's jump into the picks.

Drivers to Build Around

Kyle Busch
DraftKings - $9,900
Practice 1 - 19th
Qualified - 34th
Practice 2 - 18th
Final Practice - 8th

The #18 was one of the nine cars to miss inspection and will start 34th on Sunday. Before qualifying started, Kyle was my favorite driver coming into this week and this solidifies it. After a rough start to the season, Kyle has put together three straight Top 10 finishes including a runner-up last week at Martinsville. He now comes back to Texas, a place he has been dominant at lately. He won this race last spring and has finished Top 5 in five straight and seven of his last eight Texas races. On top of all that, his salary has dropped below $10K. He is safe in all formats.

Jimmie Johnson
DraftKings - $9,700
Practice 1 - 14th
Qualified - 24th
Practice 2 - 15th
Final Practice - 1st

I am not 100% but I have a good feeling Jimmie will be a low owned contrarian option this week. He made it through the first round of qualifying but had to change tires and as a result, will start from the back of the pack. The reason I think he will be lower owned is due to the fact his DK place differential still qualifies at 24th. This usually keeps people away and this week with the amount of elite place differential plays, I could be spot on. Jimmie has had a rough start to the season but comes back to another track he has dominated over his career and even though it's a new pave and setup in the corners, Jimmie and Knauss are the best at adapting.

Also Consider: Brad Keselowski (Starting inside Top 5 with fast car)

Top Place Differential Value Plays

Chase Elliott
DraftKings - $9,500
Practice 1 - 20th
Qualified - 33rd
Practice 2 - 5th
Final Practice - 2nd

Starting near the rear of the field, Chase Elliott presents a ton of place differential value this week. He also returns to a track where he had a ton of success in his rookie season. He finished fourth and fifth in the two races last year and looking at Saturday's practices, appears destined for another Top 5 this week. He has a great shot to be the highest scoring DK driver this week.

Kyle Larson
DraftKings - $10,300
Practice 1 - 6th
Qualified - 32nd
Practice 2 - 2nd
Final Practice - 3rd

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup series points leader is an elite DFS play once again this week in Texas. He will start 34th after posting the sixth-fastest speed in opening practice, then came out on Saturday and posted the second and third fastest speeds. Since finishing Top 10 here in both races in 2014 Larson has struggled in the past four races with no Top 10 finishes. This makes hi a bit riskier than the other place differential values but doesn't he look like the best driver in the sport at the moment?

Bottom Tier Value Play

Chris Buescher
DraftKings - $6,000
Practice 1 - 3rd
Qualified - 38th
Practice 2 - 21st
Final Practice - 17th

If you read my preview article, you know that Buescher was the only driver to get to drive on the newly paved track before opening practice. While it was only a pace car, he appeared to get a lot of information from it as he came out in opening practice and posted the third fastest speed. The #37 team was also one of the nine cars to miss qualifying meaning he will have even more value with place differential. At just $6,000, he will be in nearly 40% of my GPP lineups this week.

For a limited time, I am offering a copy of my DFS NASCAR cheathsheet which includes Track History, Current Form, Odds, Track Type History, Practice/Qualifying Ranks and much more. Get it HERE.

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!
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.