Daily Fantasy NASCAR Race Preview & Picks for DraftKings - Bank of America Roval 400

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Bank of America Roval 400

Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course- Concord, NC

The race that everyone has been talking about since it was cemented on the 2018 schedule is finally here. The first elimination race of the Monster Energy Cup Series Playoffs takes us to Charlotte Motor Speedway but it won't be like any race you have ever witnessed. The track added a hybrid road course this season called the Roval and it presents a ton of unpredictability for drivers and teams making it a complete wildcard for those remaining drivers who are not locked into the second round. Before going any further, let's take a look at the track overview and then take a ride around the track with AJ Allmendinger.

 

For fantasy, it appears there will be some opportunity for passing on the oval portion of the track so track position may not be as important(still very important) as other road courses. I will also be targeting playoff drivers for the most part to create my core. I will definitely not be playing cash games this week as there WILL be wrecks at this track adding a ton of variance meaning you can be contrarian and target drivers who might be lower owned this week. Stay tuned for updates on practices and qualifying on my sheet and in chat. Let's now look at some road course trends, form trends, and then a few pre-qualifying targets.

Top 5 Current Track Type History(Road Course)

Over the last two years(six race) on road courses, no team has been more consistent than Joe Gibbs Racing. Kyle Busch doesn't have a road course win since Sonoma in 2015 but since then he has reeled off seven straight Top 10 finishes. Denny Hamlin won the Watkins Glen race in 2016 and is right up there with Busch having a 5.7 average finish in the last six races overall on road courses. Martin Truex Jr. who runs in the #78 car, a technical alliance teammate of JGR, has been terrific on road courses lately having finished second at Watkins Glen back in August and before that had back to back wins at Sonoma and Watkins(2017). Daniel Suarez, another JGR driver, has been up and down at road courses having finished Top 10 at Watkins Glen in both of his races there but outside the Top 10 at Sonoma. Looking at just 2018, Chase Elliott has been terrific on the road courses joining Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch as the only three drivers to finish Top 5 in both races.

Top 5 Current Form (Last Six Races)

No change at the top going into the first elimination race of the playoffs as Brad Keselowski leads the way with four straight Top 10's including three wins. Kyle Larson has picked up a Top 10 finish in each of the first two playoff races and has four in his last five with three Top 5's as well. Coming off a win at Richmond last weekend, Kyle Busch remains in third with Top 10's in four straight and five of the last six races. Joey Logano is coming off a 14th and a 4th place finish in the first two races and still sits on the good side of the cutline but can't afford another finish outside the Top 10 here at the Charlotte road course. With even less room for error is Kurt Busch who sits on the bubble after a 21st and an 18th place finish to open the playoffs. With the craziness that is about to ensue, I assure you these form ranks will change in a big way going into Round 2. Stay tuned.

Pre Qualifying/Practice Targets

Kyle Busch(DK - $11,400 FD  - $14,500)

I am going right back to last weeks winner Kyle Busch this week as he has been tremendous on road courses. Dating back to the 2015 season, he has eight straight finishes of 7th or better on road courses including a win at Sonoma, his fourth career road course win. He doesn't have to worry about wrecking as he is already locked into the next round so look for Busch to be aggressive giving him a great shot at two straight wins in the first round.

Kurt Busch(DK - $9,000 FD - $11,200)

The older Busch brother has a ton more on the line this weekend as he currently sits on the bubble in 8th place in the standings. The good news is that he has been very consistent on road courses lately with nine straight finishes of 11th or better with seven Top 10's in that time. I love his chances of getting another Top 10 this week and moving on to the second round.

Erik Jones(DK - $7,400 FD - $10,000)

What I like most about Jones this week is that his price has finally dropped to it's lowest point since the road course race at Watkins Glen in August where he finished 5th. After struggling in his first road course race at Sonoma last season, he has gotten better each race finishing 10th, 7th, and 5th. He will need at least a Top 5 this week to move on to the next round as he sits 15th in the standings so look for the #20 car to push hard to get there.

Below you will find a copy of my DFS NASCAR cheathsheet which includes Track History, Current Form, DraftKings points averages, Track Type History, Practice/Qualifying Ranks and much more.

Chris Durell has been playing Daily Fantasy Sports for four years and fantasy in general for more than a decade. He is an active player in NFL, MLB, NHL, 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.