Cup Series Nashville DFS Picks

NASCAR wraps up the weekend in Nashville with the Cup race on Sunday night on the concrete oval. Nashville is a little different than every track on the schedule in NASCAR and I would expect track position to be important this weekend and some long green flag runs that will give us a couple of main dominators in the race. We did not see much falloff on tires in practice so I would expect a lot of different strategies throughout the race on pit stops.

Potential Dominators

Denny Hamlin

Tyler Reddick

Chase Briscoe

William Byron

Hamlin and Reddick were at the top of the lap averages in the 5 through 15 lap runs in practice. Hamlin is on baby watch so he has Ryan Truex on standby if he needs to leave, but that hasn't happen in NASCAR yet and I expect Hamlin to be able to run and complete the race. He starts in 2nd so he has the opportunity to lead early and be a main dominator in the race. Reddick also starts up front in 4th and should be a contender throughout the race this weekend. Briscoe starts on pole so he has the best chance to get the lead early. He had the best practice session he has had all year with top 5 lap averages throughout the entire 5-30 lap averages run. If track postion end up being super important as expected, he could be a great option under $9000 salary on Draftkings. Byron was one of the best non Toyota cars in practice and starts 3rd on the field Sunday Night. He was dominate last week in the Coke 600 and should be a top contender again this week.

Place Differential Plays

Kyle Larson

Ryan Blaney

Alex Bowman

Carson Hocevar

Larson did not show great speed in practice but that will not keep him off my list to potentially put in lineups this weekend. The concern is that he is the most expensive driver on the slate so it will be difficult for him to hit value if he doesn't lead laps, even with him starting 28th. But he is still a solid option and great place differential play as he will move significantly forward from his starting spot as long as he doesn't wreck or have mechanical issues. Blaney could be a potential dominator this weekend as he had really good speed in practice. He starts in 15th so he has some room to move forward and could be a good driver to pair with someone starting at the front that might lead the early laps. Bowman I really like this week for his value as he has been a top 10 driver on intermediate tracks this season and he starts back in 24th. He should move forward and be a solid value play this weekend. Hocevar has been really fast recently when his car is on the track. He had race winning speed last week before he blew up and looked to have around top 10 speed in practice. He should be a solid play this weekend starting back in 26th.

Cheap Options

Daniel Suarez

Corey Heim

Noah Gragson

Zane Smith

John Hunter Nemechek

Riley Herbst

Suarez had good speed in practice and saw his teammates with speed as well. He starts way back in 32nd so he has a lot of room to move forward and should be a great option under 7k salary on Draftkings this weekend. Heim and Gragson both start in the 30s as well and have had some good runs in the top 20 lately. They didn't stand out in practice but I wouldn't be surprised to see them run around the top 20 again this weekend making them both solid place differential plays. Zane Smith did not make a long run in practice but he had good speed on his 5 lap run and has had speed o intermediate tracks lately. He should be a good cheap options for the race tonight. Nemechek and Herbst start way in the back in 36th and 37th giving them major place differential potential. I don't have super high hopes for them but they are great flier options that are great plays at their salaries and could end up optimal if we get a handful of incidents in the race.