NASCAR DFS: BrakeBest Brake Pads 159 DraftKings Picks

The field is set for Friday evening’s road race at Daytona with Ben Rhodes and Ryan Truex on the front row. Let’s jump into the top NASCAR DFS picks on DraftKings for the BrakeBest Brake Pads 159.

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Same Song. New Verse.

With only 46 laps scheduled for Friday’s event, it puts us in a pickle for building lineups. There are only 20.7 fastest-lap points and 11.75 laps-led points available, so it makes it tough to justify rostering more than one dominator tomorrow. However, one look back at last year’s optimal lineup from the August Truck race shows two dominators. In fact, this lineup featured three drivers priced at $9,100 or above. That is a lineup-building scenario I would have steered anyone away from in a race with so few laps.

Thanks to the plethora of talented drivers starting in the 20s and 30s, I’m going to advise against chasing last year’s optimal NASCAR DFS lineup. As we know, every slate is unique in itself as drivers and starting grids change from week to week. The scenario around last year’s Sunoco 159 is pretty different compared to this year — especially as this is Race 2 of the 2021 season. Thus we look back to that race as a guide but not the be-all-end-all.

One more thing before we dive into the DFS plays for this Trucks race: The Trucks Series traditionally only has one road race per season. That is quite the contrast to what the Cup Series will see this season. Regardless, when we gauge drivers by past road-racing stats, we are looking through a hazy glass at an extremely small data set. Furthermore, the lone race the Trucks Series would traditionally see was at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park — a venue more akin to Watkins Glen than a “Roval.” We only have a few apples in our bushel to compare. Even then, the only thing those apples may have in common is their shape.

DraftKings NASCAR DFS Picks | BrakeBest Brake Pads 159

NASCAR DFS Tournament Picks

Beside, obviously placing an emphasis on rostering the top lap-leader(s), tournament lineups also need drivers with top-five or top-10 finishes. Below is a “dominator” option as well as a high-upside option that could bring their team a top-five finish.

Sheldon Creed, 5th ($10,400 DraftKings)

I know I just warned against chasing last year’s results for DFS, but it’s hard to get away from Creed as the top dominator pick for Friday evening. To begin with, thanks to @dfsNASCAR, the GMS team is on three-road-race win streak. They have obviously got something figured out strategy or setup-wise. Most notably, that last win for GMS came with Creed at Daytona last August.

In that race, Creed worked his way up from 13th, took the lead on lap 19, held it for seven laps, and then took it again on lap 35 for the final 12 laps. Statistically, he led everyone in whatever metric you look at: fastest laps, laps led, driver rating, top-15 % or DraftKings points. This year he starts further up, and his only real competition for early dominator points is John Hunter Nemechek, who has still yet to see this track from behind the wheel of a truck.

Austin Hill 20th ($10,700 DraftKings)

Hill isn’t exclusively for tournaments. However, I did place him in this section to highlight just how good he has been. In Hill’s short career in the Trucks Series, he has finishes of eighth and fifth at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park. He followed that up with another fifth-place finish at Daytona last Summer. While he’s not doing much in the laps-led or fastest-lap categories, he offers top-five upside with plenty of place differential to help offset that lack of dominator appeal.

Other tournament options; Brett Moffitt (21st), Zane Smith (11th), Raphael Lessard (12th)

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NASCAR DFS Cash Game Picks

Sam Mayer, 36th ($9,200 DraftKings)

If you’re a casual Trucks fan who knows drivers thanks to their DFS profitability, let me introduce you to a driver you will be getting acquainted with. Forget Hailee Deegan, the next big prospect who should be on your radar is Sam Mayer. If you played DFS when the Trucks raced at Bristol, you may already be acquainted with Mayer — that night’s winner at just 17 years old.

Last year in the ARCA-Menard’s Series, Mayer ran a partial schedule (13 of 20 races) and won five events. In the K&N East Series, they had a COVID-affected schedule, only running six races in total. Mayer won five of the six races and finished second in the event he didn’t win. The kid has amazing talent it appears, and he should be a threat for the majority of races he runs this season.

As for the Daytona Road Course, Mayer will be racing for Charlie Henderson (aka Parker Kligerman’s ride). This is traditionally a competitive ride for Kligerman, and that should continue with Mayer behind the wheel. Although Mayer didn’t race in the Daytona Road Course Trucks race last season, he did compete in the ARCA-Menard’s DRC race, finishing third that day.

I’m not expecting Mayer to compete for a win right away; it appears short-tracks may be his bread and butter currently. However, with his talent and equipment, we can’t rule out a top-15 finish. His DraftKings Sportsbook odds suggest this as well at +4000.

Norm Benning, 39th ($4,800 DraftKings)

Hear me out because this should startle you as much as it did to me. Mr. Benning appears to actually compete in these road races. In this race last year, he came across the finish line in 27th place. In his previous starts at the Canadian Tire Motor Park, his finishes went 24, 20, 18, 20, 21, 22 and 20. That’s eight total road racing starts with three lead-lap finishes and zero DNFs. In every single race during those eight races, he’s picked up positive place differential. Add in the fact that he starts dead last tonight, and it will be nine straight road races he’s improved his position from start to finish. The question tonight is, just how much?

It may feel disgusting to willingly roster Benning, but it makes sense in the grand scheme of tonight’s slate — especially with him being “free” at $4,800.

Other cash options; Steward Friesen (30th), Jeff Noland (35th)

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Author

Phillip Bennetzen

Phill Bennetzen is the creator of the RaceSheets; all-inclusive stats and data NASCAR DFS spreadsheets for the Trucks, Xfinity, and Cup Series. Phill and the RaceSheets can be found at racesheetsdfs.substack.com