These are my final thoughts and strategies to consider for today’s I Live New York 355 at Watkins Glen International, as well as projected DraftKings FPTS for each driver. The chart below is explained but if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Give me a follow on Twitter: @FanRacingOnline
- There are only 90 laps scheduled for today’s race, which is an incredibly low amount compared to other weeks. There will only be 22.25 FPTS awarded for laps led with probably ~35 FPTS for fastest laps up for grabs.
- Because of the incredibly short race, it’ll be best to not even think about dominator points this weekend. Finish and place differential points will win you money today.
- Just how important is qualifying here at Watkins Glen? Well, six of the last seven winners have started 6th or better. The only exception was Joey Logano two years ago, who qualified 16th.
- The Stage cautions are going to play a big role today, just like we saw at Sonoma earlier this year.
- Speaking of Sonoma, that’s a good race to go back and review, as that is the other road course track on the schedule. With that being said, Watkins Glen is a much different track, and some drivers are much better here than they are at Sonoma (and vice versa).
Projected Base FPTS at Watkins Glen
The following chart takes into account the very basics: the starting position and the projected finish of each driver. The projected finishes are averaged from five different ranking systems, using both mathematical equations as well as personal rankings. This chart also includes the average projected base + laps led DraftKings FPTS as well as the dollar per FPT. I don’t try to project fastest laps–that’s up to you. You can click the headers below to sort the chart by that attribute. By default it is sorted by average projected FPTS.
| Driver | DraftKings Salary | Starting Position | Avg. Projected Finish | Proj Laps Led | Avg Proj Base + Laps Led FPTS | Dollar Per FPT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Harvick | $10,000 | 20 | 05.3 | 5 | 55.1 | $186 |
| Brad Keselowski | $9,800 | 8 | 02.5 | 12 | 50.6 | $206 |
| Kyle Busch | $10,300 | 1 | 02.5 | 28 | 48.0 | $251 |
| Kurt Busch | $9,600 | 18 | 10.3 | 4 | 43.0 | $229 |
| Clint Bowyer | $9,500 | 12 | 07.8 | 1 | 41.5 | $231 |
| Joey Logano | $8,600 | 13 | 08.5 | 3 | 41.0 | $214 |
| Martin Truex Jr | $10,500 | 3 | 04.8 | 12 | 40.2 | $282 |
| AJ Allmendinger | $8,800 | 7 | 07.2 | 6 | 38.1 | $240 |
| Ryan Blaney | $8,200 | 16 | 12.7 | 0 | 36.4 | $225 |
| Matt Kenseth | $7,900 | 15 | 11.5 | 0 | 35.8 | $221 |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr | $8,000 | 28 | 19.8 | 0 | 34.8 | $230 |
| Ryan Newman | $7,500 | 23 | 17.2 | 0 | 34.6 | $217 |
| Denny Hamlin | $9,200 | 11 | 10.3 | 1 | 33.7 | $275 |
| Trevor Bayne | $6,100 | 30 | 20.8 | 0 | 33.6 | $182 |
| Danica Patrick | $5,900 | 25 | 17.8 | 0 | 33.3 | $177 |
| Paul Menard | $7,000 | 21 | 17.3 | 0 | 31.4 | $223 |
| Jamie McMurray | $8,400 | 9 | 12.0 | 2 | 29.9 | $286 |
| Chase Elliott | $8,100 | 4 | 09.0 | 4 | 29.8 | $281 |
| Kyle Larson | $9,000 | 2 | 08.7 | 10 | 29.3 | $336 |
| Austin Dillon | $6,700 | 27 | 22.3 | 0 | 28.2 | $238 |
| Jimmie Johnson | $9,300 | 10 | 13.3 | 1 | 27.9 | $337 |
| Michael McDowell | $7,100 | 14 | 15.7 | 0 | 26.8 | $265 |
| Matt DiBenedetto | $5,400 | 37 | 28.2 | 0 | 26.2 | $206 |
| Aric Almirola | $6,200 | 29 | 24.5 | 0 | 25.8 | $240 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr | $6,000 | 22 | 20.3 | 0 | 25.6 | $234 |
| Boris Said | $5,700 | 35 | 28.3 | 0 | 23.4 | $244 |
| Daniel Suarez | $7,300 | 5 | 13.3 | 1 | 23.3 | $317 |
| Ty Dillon | $6,300 | 24 | 24.0 | 0 | 21.6 | $292 |
| Cole Whitt | $5,000 | 26 | 26.0 | 0 | 21.6 | $231 |
| Kasey Kahne | $7,700 | 19 | 21.7 | 0 | 21.0 | $367 |
| David Ragan | $4,900 | 31 | 27.8 | 0 | 20.2 | $243 |
| Landon Cassill | $5,200 | 32 | 29.2 | 0 | 19.2 | $271 |
| Corey Lajoie | $5,500 | 36 | 31.2 | 0 | 18.8 | $293 |
| Chris Buescher | $6,900 | 17 | 22.2 | 0 | 17.0 | $406 |
| Gary Klutt | $4,800 | 34 | 32.0 | 0 | 15.6 | $308 |
| Erik Jones | $6,500 | 6 | 19.2 | 0 | 11.2 | $580 |
| Corey Lajoie | $4,500 | 34 | 34.3 | 0 | 08.8 | $511 |
