NASCAR Cup Series Watkins Glen DFS Picks

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the highest speed road course on the circuit in Watkins Glen this weekend. Watkins Glen usually produces some great racing and we should get some intense battles throughout the field. Place differential and finishing position is going to be important this week as we have a few top road course drivers that are likely to take most of the fast laps and laps led with only 90 laps in the race. We also need to take into consideration the few drivers around the playoff cut line that are going to go for stage points and potentially give up a good final result with that strategy.

Potential Dominators

Shave Van Gisbergen

William Byron

Michael McDowell

Just like the Xfinity race, SVG is going to be the favorite and one to beat this weekend on the road course. He is generally in another zip code on these tracks and that should continue this weekend. He should be out front early starting on the front row and will be hard to get around for the rest of the field so he is the most likely to lead a lot of laps. The one concern with SVG is that Draftkings has really priced him up this week $2500 more than the next driver so there is a chance he wins the race and is still not optimal for a DFS Lineup. The Hendrick cars were really fast in practice and Byron led the group with the fastest lap averages in practice. He starts up front and should be running up there all day and be a threat if something happens to SVG. McDowell is one of the other drivers that will be up front and be there to get a win if SVG makes a mistake or gets caught off strategy for some reason. McDowell has been fast all weekend and should be a top contender in the race.

Place Differential Plays

Kyle Larson

Chase Elliott

Chris Buescher

Ty Gibbs

Tyler Reddick

AJ Allmendinger

Larson starts way back in 27th after he had good speed in practice with his teammates. He should be a lot better in the race and move forward but he is likely only a play if you are going with place differential instead of lap leaders as you won't be able to fit SVG and Larson in your lineup. His teammate Chase Elliott is also a good road racer and had solid speed in practice. He starts in 20th and he should have top 10 speed with upside for more making him a good option this week. Buescher and Gibbs have been two of the better road racers in NASCAR in recent years and they both start just outside the top 10. They both were good in practice and they should be good options at their salaries this week. Allmendinger was the old road course ace but has fallen off in recent years with SVG and others coming into the series. But I would expect him to be solid in the race and move forward from his 18th starting spot making him a solid place differential play this week.

Cheap Options

Justin Haley

Zane Smith

Todd Gilliland

John Hunter Nemechek

Haley was really fast in practice and starts back in 23rd so I think he should have the speed to move forward and have top 10 upside this weekend. The Spire cars have speed on the road courses and Haley could be in for a good weekend if he stays out of trouble. Smith is a solid road racer and starts way in the back in 34th. He had decent speed in practice but for a lot of these cheap drivers it is about getting track position throughout the day and not getting caught up in having issues. Gilliland and Nemechek are two solid road racers and start in the back half of the field this week. I don't expect them to drive through the entire field but if they can get track position by the end of the race they should be good enough to stay up there and should have top 20 potential for the race.