NASCAR heads back to Circuit of the Americas this weekend! We get the first road race of the season from COTA in Austin, Texas. This race will deliver a unique batch of drivers. A.J. Allmendinger and Shane Van Gisbergen will step up for Kaulig Racing. Meanwhile, Kamui Kobayashi steps into an additional car for 23XI Racing. They’ll have to go toe-to-toe with the likes of Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, and Martin Truex Jr. in addition to some other road course specialists. It’s certainly worth noting we have to re-think our DFS approach this week. We don’t get the 500 laps that we had at Bristol this week. Road courses tend to be tricky in trying to nail the optimal lineup when dominator points don’t matter. Here are this week’s Echopark Automotive Grand Prix Picks for your NASCAR DFS lineups!
As mentioned in the Echopark Automotive Grand Prix Preview, we only have 68 laps for this race. This course was made for F1 and open-wheel racing. It’s a little funny to see stock cars making their way up the 400-foot incline into turn one as the field gets bunched up making a sharp left turn. But 68 laps mean just 6.8 dominator points on FanDuel, and about 45 points on DraftKings. So we really want to make sure we draft the winner, in addition to drivers that finish well. That’s the name of the game this week. Let’s dig deeper into the Echopark Automotive Grand Prix picks following Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions.
Echopark Automotive Grand Prix Picks: The Top 10
- William Byron (#24 Hendrick Motorsports)
- Ty Gibbs (#54 Joe Gibbs Racing)
- Tyler Reddick (#45 23XI Racing)
- Christopher Bell (#20 Joe Gibbs Racing)
- Corey LaJoie (#7 Spire Motorsports)
- Ross Chastain (#1 Trackhouse Racing)
- Martin Truex Jr. (#19 Joe Gibbs Racing)
- Denny Hamlin (#11 Joe Gibbs Racing)
- Chase Elliott (#9 Hendrick Motorsports)
- Bubba Wallace (#23 23XI Racing)
For the first time in 69 races, not a single Ford cracks the top 10. It’s a little surprising but qualifying was dominated by the Chevy’s and Toyota’s. All four Joe Gibbs Racing cars and two of the three 23XI cars make the top 10. Bubba Wallace will be a tough play. He is, admittedly, not a great road course driver. But we have plenty of previous road course winners in the top 10: Williams Byron, Tyler Reddick, Ross Chastain, Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, and even Denny Hamlin won at Watkins Glen previously. It’s very likely that the winner comes from the top 10. The return of stage breaks this weekend also allows us to focus on position differential again. The field will reset twice at the beginning of the second and third stages and that presents an opportunity to move up.
Which Value-Priced Echopark Automotive Grand Prix Picks Got A Points Movement Bump?
DraftKings
- Chris Buescher – $7,800; Starting P20
- Ryan Blaney – $7,500; Starting P28
- Joey Logano – $7,400; Starting P35
- Brad Keselowski – $6,900; Starting P36
- Erik Jones – $6,800; Starting P38
- Noah Gragson – $6,500; Starting P39
FanDuel
- Chris Buescher – $8,500; Starting P20
- Joey Logano – $7,200; Starting P35
- Ryan Blaney – $6,800; Starting P28
- Noah Gragson – $6,200; Starting P39
- Erik Jones – $5,200; Starting P38
As you can see, qualifying was eventful. A handful of drivers had their qualifying laps disallowed. Moreover, we have good drivers in great equipment that are priced down. The pricing is reactive to this being a road course. The fact these names are affordable and offer PD means ownership will flock to them. You could certainly submit lineups solely with these drivers. You might be fine for cash games. And you may even make some green in a tournament. But none of these drivers carry much win equity. And there are plenty of drivers not listed in this article. You likely want at least two of these drivers in your lineups. The equipment is good enough for them to move up. But aside from Blaney, we don’t have any elite road ringers in this group.
Which Higher-Priced Drivers Got A Similar Bump?
- Kyle Larson – Starting P15
- Shane Van Gisbergen – Starting P12
- Kyle Busch – Starting P16
- J. Allmendinger – Starting P14
Obviously, we don’t quite have the position differential appeal of the previous group. But these are the more expensive drivers and we obviously are intrigued by SVG and Allmendinger. Larson will have to start from the rear because the team had to replace a cracked brake rotor. He will be scored from P15. He’s still playable. In fact, with the cheaper options offering more PD, he may come in on the softer side of ownership. However, the two Kaulig drivers should still garner some attention. They have win equity and received extra track time in Saturday’s Xfinity Series race.
Echopark Automotive Grand Prix Picks
DraftKings
- Tyler Reddick – $10,500; Starting P3
- Shane Van Gisbergen – $9,500; Starting P12
- Michael McDowell – $8,000; Starting P27
- Alex Bowman – $7,700; Starting P17
- Ryan Blaney – $7,500; Starting P28
- Erik Jones – $6,800; Starting P38
This lineup is a perfect blend of win equity, position differential, and just a collection of drivers who can finish well. Reddick won this race a year ago. He’s arguably the best road course driver among full-time Cup Series names. We know SVG thrives on this type of track following his win at Chicago in his Cup Series debut. Alex Bowman has finished second and third in the last two COTA races. Michael McDowell is a road course winner and affordable for where he starts. And I’m fine rounding this build out with Blaney and Jones. Both should move up and score well from their respective starting positions when it’s all said and done.
FanDuel
- Tyler Reddick – $14,000; Starting P3
- J. Allmendinger – $11,000; Starting P14
- Kyle Larson – $10,500; Starting P15
- Alex Bowman – $7,000; Starting P17
- Ryan Blaney – $6,800; Starting P28
We take a similar approach with this FanDuel lineup. We still target win equity with Reddick. And we get a little more with the likes of A.J. Allmendinger and Kyle Larson. Sure, Larson will start from the year. But he’s one of the best drivers in the series and with stage breaks, he can move back up. We’ve touched on Bowman’s success at COTA and Blaney has an average finishing position in the top 15 at COTA with a top six finish baked in that sample size. At the end of the day, we have five drivers that can certainly finish top 10, but we may not even need that from Blaney for him to be optimal.
White Flag Thoughts Before You Go
With all the qualifying efforts that were disallowed, it’s entirely possible to build lineups based solely on the position differential. And in doing so you leave money on the table. A lot of NASCAR DFS players do not really like leaving salary on the table. If making 20+ lineups for Sunday’s race, play around with this concept. Get comfortable being uncomfortable with your lineups. At the end of the day, you’re likely making a unique lineup. I would suggest not leaving more than $3,000 on the table on either site. We still want win equity but it’s rare that we have a road course with an excess of PD options. Best of luck, and I hope to see you all in victory lane!