It seems like the 2016 NASCAR season just ended, but it’s already time to rev those engines for the start of the 2017 campaign. We have no points-paying races this weekend, but DraftKings has still opened up their contests for Saturday night’s Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona–and the payouts are actually pretty good. The $27 Victory Lane contest is awarding $15,000 to 1st place while the $3 Slingshot has a $4,000 prize for the top team. This is going to be a somewhat-typical restrictor plate race on Saturday night, so you should focus on place differential for the most part. With only 17 cars in the field, though, you’re going to have to think outside the box a bit if you plan on taking home any big prize money. Remember, the starting lineup was set via random draw for this race, and The Clash is only 75 laps in length–meaning there is only 56.25 FPTS up for grabs between laps led and fastest laps.
DraftKings Drivers to Target in The Clash
Denny Hamlin ($8,600) – The Toyotas flexed their muscles in the second Clash practice on Friday night and they were led by none other than Denny Hamlin–who, in case you forgot, won this race last year along with the season-opening Daytona 500. On Saturday night the #11 Toyota will roll off the grid from 2nd, and while that isn’t ideal in a Fantasy NASCAR format like DraftKings, it’s actually worth the risk. If the Toyotas hook up and dominate this race on Saturday night, Hamlin is going to be in prime position to be out front for most of those laps because of his starting spot. Another positive aspect of building around Denny Hamlin this weekend is that he is moderately priced. The only negative with that is that he’s going to be pretty widely owned.
Joey Logano ($9,400) – A lot of eyes are going to be on the other Penske Ford of Brad Keselowski on Saturday night, but you really shouldn’t overlook Joey Logano. He wound up finishing 2nd in this race one year ago and followed that up with three finishes of 6th or better on restrictor plate tracks during the regular season, including his win at Talladega in October. Logano is a previous Daytona 500 champion and will start from back in 9th when Saturday night’s Clash goes green. He probably won’t make his way toward the front until mid-race, though, so hopefully there isn’t an early-race crash that collects the #22 Ford.
Kyle Larson ($7,000) – Larson got off to an absolutely terrible start on the restrictor plate race tracks during his rookie season but he rebounded in a big way (although quietly) last season; in the four races on the plate tracks in 2016, the #42 Chevrolet finished 7th and 6th in the two Daytona races and 29th and 6th in the Talladega events. In addition to his low salary this weekend, Larson will start in the bottom half of the field on Saturday night, and he’s aggressive enough that he should try to make his way to the front early. This #42 team ended the 2016 NASCAR season with quite a bit of momentum and will look to build on that here at Daytona over the next two weeks.
Matt Kenseth ($7,200) – With the way the salaries are set up for this weekend, you really shouldn’t run into cap issues. Still, it has to be noted how underpriced Matt Kenseth is. As stated before, the Toyotas once again look like the cars to beat here at Daytona, and while Kenseth has turned into a somewhat disappointing fantasy pick at these restrictor plate tracks, all he needs is to have a little good luck on race day and the #20 Toyota could very easily wind up in victory lane. Kenseth is an aggressive plate racer that loves to get out front and lead, and that’s the type of driver you want on your DraftKings team at Daytona. Add in the fact that he drew the 15th-place starting spot (out of 17 cars) and it’s a no-brainer: Matt Kenseth should be in your lineup on Saturday night. Expect his ownership percentage to be pretty high, though, so keep in mind that that opens the door to a fade opportunity.
