Cup Series Texas DFS Picks
- RoundersKyle
- 1 minute ago
- 4 min read
The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Texas this week for 400 miles on the 1.5 mile track. The racing has been the best this season on 1.5 mile tracks in this car so hopefully we see more of that this weekend. I would expect the top drivers in the series to rise to the top at the high speed oval on Sunday and we could see some long green flag runs. Track position will be important throughout the race but we do have a good amount of big place differential plays on this slate for DFS.
Potential Dominators
Kyle Larson
William Byron
Denny Hamlin
Tyler Reddick
Carson Hocevar
Larson is the guy to beat most weeks in NASCAR and he had good speed again in practice this weekend at Texas. He starts in 4th so he has the track position to start and should be one of the top options to be a dominator this week. Byron was not as good as Larson and some other in practice but he does start 2nd and if he gets the clean air early he could end up leading a good chunk of the race. Byron is a solid option but I don't like him as much as some of the other options. Hamlin is another one of the top options that had speed in practice. My only concern with him is that him and the other Gibbs Toyotas did not run well at the similar Las Vegas 1.5 mile track earlier this season. Reddick is one of the Toyotas that ran well at Las Vegas and he had speed in practice again this week. He did not make a long run in practice but he does start in 17th giving him more place differential potential than some other top options. Hocevar will be an interesting play this week as he was fast in practice and went out and got the pole. He will have the chance to lead early at just $7400 salary so he could be a good option if he gets some dominator points early and can end up with a good finish.
Place Differential Plays
Joey Logano
Chase Briscoe
Chase Elliott
Ross Chastain
Brad Keselowski
Logano and his teammate Blaney both start outside the top 20 making them both solid options for place differential as either should have at least top 10 potential. I do prefer Logano this week as he is cheaper, starts a few spots farther back, and looked good on the longer run he ran than Blaney. Briscoe is another in the Gibbs Toyota stable that looked good in practice but I worry about how he struggled at Las Vegas. He does start 22nd so he has room to move forward.
Chase Elliott starts back in 29th and should be a great play this week. The Hendrick cars should be good this week and I expect him to move forward and run in the top 10. Chastain and Keselowski both have huge place differential potential starting in the 30s and should be popular plays because of it. They both were solid at Las Vegas earlier in the year and I would expect them to have top 15 potential making them great plays at their salaries.
Cheap Options
Ryan Preece
Daniel Suarez
Ricky Stenhouse
John Hunter Nemechek
Preece starts back in 33rd and has huge place differential upside for the race. He finished 3rd at Las Vegas earlier this season and came in 12th at Texas last season. He should be a great option for this weekend. Suarez is another good option that finished well at Las Vegas and Texas last season. He starts in 25th and has a good amount of positions to gain making him a good option. Stenhouse is a great value play this weekend starting back in 34th at $6200 salary on Draftkings. He usually runs well at 1.5 mile tracks and I would expect him to have top 20 potential. Nemechek is a solid flier play starting in 28th as there are some limited place differential plays in the cheap driver range for this slate.
Ty Gibbs
Austin Cindric
Two drivers that were some of the fastest in practice were Ty Gibbs and Austin Cindric. They both were in the top 3 in lap averages throughout the runs in practice and they both went out and qualified in the top 10 for the race. Gibbs I do like as a sleeper play this week to potentially lead and have a chance for his first wins if the Toyotas are indeed fast this week in the race. Cindric I think can stay towards the front all day with the speed he showed in practice and he could still be a good value play if he does. Both start towards the front so they are risky plays with so many place differential options in this race, but they could help you differentiate your lineups if they pan out with the speed they had in practice.
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