While last week it was pretty cut and dry which driver was going to lead the most laps and dominate the race, that’s not the case for this Sunday’s Kobalt 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Typically the races at this track see a handful of leaders as opposed to one dominator, so your goal for your DraftKings lineups on Sunday should be to have as many potential lap leaders on there as possible. From there, fill out the rest of your lineup with drivers that didn’t qualify very well but should improve throughout the race. The track is going to change a lot on Sunday and the teams that are best at adjusting to those changes will be the ones that make their way to the front in the end.
Also check out: DraftKings Drivers to Avoid at Las Vegas
High-Dollar DraftKings Drivers to Target at Las Vegas (over $9,000)
Jimmie Johnson ($10,200) – Ownership of Kevin Harvick ($10,700) is going to be high on Sunday, and rightfully so. He qualified back in 19th but should be a top 5 threat on Sunday. However, that #4 Ford is definitely not as fast as it was in Atlanta last weekend, and Harvick might not even get up to the lead at all here in Vegas on Sunday. Yes, he led 142 laps en route to victory here back in 2015, but that is Harvick’s only top 5 in Sin City since 2010. Jimmie Johnson, on the other hand, has a rocketship after the #48 team made some wholesale changes to the car late in practice on Saturday. Typically Jimmie isn’t very vocal about his race car either, but he quickly got on Twitter to let it be known that that #48 Chevrolet is fast. And he starts back in 16th so there’s plenty of room for place differential points there, too. Johnson is a four-time winner at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and has finished 6th or better in four of the last five races here. He’s also $500 less than Harvick this week so that gives you more room to play with for the rest of your lineup.
Chase Elliott ($9,700) – There have been times that, heading into race day, it looked like Chase Elliott might finally break through and get his first win in NASCAR’s top series. Unfortunately that has yet to come true. However, don’t be surprised if that #24 Chevrolet winds up in victory lane here at Las Vegas on Sunday. During Practice #2 on Saturday, Chase went out there and put down a lap that was four tenths faster than the rest of the field. He also had the best ten-lap average during that session. Then, during Happy Hour, Elliott was 2nd-fastest on the overall leaderboard and ranked 5th in terms of ten-lap average. When you look at the races that the Cup cars have ran the ultra low downforce package, the #24 Chevrolet has consistently one of the best; if you take out the fuel mileage Kentucky race last season, Elliott has an average finish of 3.0 in the ultra low downforce races and an average driver rating of 121.7. He could very easily be the top scoring DraftKings driver on Sunday.
Mid-Range DraftKings Drivers to Target at Las Vegas (between $7,500 and $9,000)
Ryan Newman ($7,800) – The good news for Richard Childress Racing is that this race is only 400 miles so their batteries will only have to last that long compared to the 500 miles they failed to make last weekend. Hopefully that problem got resolved by the RCR guys because I’m putting a lot of faith in Ryan Newman this weekend. He qualified back in 21st for Sunday’s Kobalt 400, and if the #31 Chevrolet is even somewhat close to as strong on Sunday as it has been on the intermediate tracks lately, DraftKings owners are looking at a pretty good day from “The Rocketman.” With my base FPTS projections, Newman is 2nd in terms of point-per-dollar this weekend behind Kevin Harvick. Newman is finished 13th or better in five of the last six races here at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and four of those races ended with him inside the top 7.
Kyle Larson ($8,800) – There’s going to be a nice fade opportunity with Larson this weekend, but at the same time, how can you go against this kid? Looking at the last three overall Cup races (and going back to 2016), he was in position to win each of them at the end. Eventually all of the stars are going to line up and the #42 Chevrolet will be back in victory lane. Will it be this weekend? Larson has been one of the best fantasy option with this low downforce package, and he showed a bunch of speed during the two practice sessions on Saturday. During Happy Hour, he was 6th on the overall speed chart and ranked 4th in ten-lap average. Larson has never posted a top 5 finish here at Las Vegas but that is probably going to change this weekend. Don’t be surprised if he leads 40+ laps, either.
Low-Dollar DraftKings Drivers to Target at Las Vegas (under $7,500)
Ryan Blaney ($7,400) – It’s Las Vegas, so we might as well make a risky play, eh? Ryan Blaney qualified 3rd for Sunday’s Kobalt 400, and for someone like him, that typically means you need to absolutely stay away in DraftKings. However, you can’t ignore the speed that the #21 Ford has this weekend, and if Ryan’s able to go out there and lead some laps on Sunday, it’s going to be well worth the risk. Don’t forget that last year’s Las Vegas race was one of Blaney’s best, as he ended up 6th when it was all said and done. In Happy Hour on Saturday, Ryan had the best ten-lap average and was 8th-fastest on the overall speed chart. In Practice #2 earlier that day, he was 6th-best. Could this finally be the race that Ryan Blaney breaks out and shows that he can run alongside the other young guns?
David Ragan ($5,800) – Don’t under-estimate early season strength out of these under-funded teams. We’re two weeks in to the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup season and Cole Whitt ($5,100) has finishes of 18th and 20th under his belt. And that 20th-place finish at Atlanta last weekend was damn impressive because it was a legitimate run by this #72 team, not a fluke. But while Whitt is going to get a lot of attention in DraftKings this weekend, David Ragan is going to be overlooked. However, there’s plenty to like about Ragan this weekend. He starts back in 32nd, and if this #38 team can replicate their 23rd-place run they had at Atlanta last week, DraftKings owners are looking at a solid day out of him. Looking at the other low downforce races we have ran, Ragan owns an average finish of 24.0 while Cole Whitt’s is 25.5. Neither looked good in practice this weekend, but you didn’t really expect them to, did you?
Ty Dillon ($6,500) – Ty Dillon is one of those drivers that goes out there, doesn’t make any mistakes, and before you know it he’s inside the top 15 with a handful of laps to go. We saw it last weekend at Atlanta and it’s probably going to happen here at Las Vegas, too. And while Ty’s salary did get a pretty big bump this week, he’s still one of the top point-per-dollar drivers in DraftKings. The younger Dillon brother has never made a Cup start here in Sin City but that’s not too concerning, as success in this race is going to be more on the crew chief than the talent of the driver. The #13 Chevrolet was 17th-fastest in Happy Hour on Saturday and could very well run up there during the race as well. Ty qualified 24th for Sunday’s Kobalt 400 but should be able to move up from there during the race.
