This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
Lucas Oil 150
Location: Avondale, Ariz.
Course: Phoenix Raceway
Format: 1.0-mile oval
Laps: 150
Race Preview
Sheldon Creed, Grant Enfinger, Brett Moffitt and Zane Smith will battle it out Friday for the 2020 NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series title. Creed and Enfinger have each won four races this season, while Smith won twice and Moffitt won once. Just one more victory for any of these drivers would give him the title. Last year's race at Phoenix was won by Stewart Friesen. He won from second on the grid and led 44 laps. Moffitt is the only driver in the Championship 4 to have a previous win at the circuit. He took the checkered flag two years ago from the fifth starting position, leading 19 laps. The championship contenders will fill out the first two starting rows with Enfinger and Smith starting alongside one another at the front.
Key Stats at Phoenix Raceway
- Number of races: 29
- Winners from pole: 6
- Winners from top-5 starters: 21
- Winners from top-10 starters: 27
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 0
- Fastest race: 108.014 mph
Previous 10 Phoenix Winners
2019 - Stewart Friesen
2018 - Brett Moffitt
2017 - Johnny Sauter
2016 - Daniel Suarez
2015 - Timothy Peters
2014 - Erik Jones
2013 - Erik Jones
2012 - Brian Scott
2011 - Kyle Busch
2010 - Clint Bowyer
Phoenix Raceway is a uniquely shaped one-mile oval. Its flat turns make the racing similar to a road course in that chassis setups will need to be a compromise between different sectors of the circuit. NASCAR does not impose a yellow-line rule at the track, and the flat banking allows for drivers to try many different lines to pick up speed on the competition. Like any flat track, track position is an important factor. Winning or losing at the track can easily com down to restarts and pit strategy. Teams will have to stay on top of adjustments throughout the race while also optimizing being short- and long-runs. This race has only been won by a driver starting lower than 11th once in its 29-race history, and that was the Trucks debut at the track in 1995 when Mike Skinner drove to Victory Lane.
DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Sheldon Creed - $11,000
Brett Moffitt - $10,700
Chandler Smith - $10,400
Sam Mayer - $10,000
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Zane Smith - $9,800
Austin Hill - $9,600
Grant Enfinger - $9,200
Matt Crafton - $9,000
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Christian Eckes - $8,800
Stewart Friesen - $8,600
Tyler Ankrum - $8,400
Ben Rhodes - $8,000
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Johnny Sauter - $7,800
Derek Kraus - $7,500
Tanner Gray - $7,100
Raphael Lessard - $6,800
My Picks
Sheldon Creed - $11,000
Zane Smith - $9,800
Grant Enfinger - $9,200
Ben Rhodes - $8,000
Raphael Lessard - $6,800
Akinori Ogata - $5,200
Our choices this week include three of the Championship 4. Sheldon Creed leads the selections after a very strong season that includes four wins. He has three top-two finishes in the last five races and was eighth last week at Martinsville. Creed led 16 laps last season at Phoenix before finishing 12th. He was 10th in 2018. Zane Smith is also a championship contender. He finished third in the last two races. He will start on the front row this week. This will be his first trip to Phoenix in the Trucks Series, but he finished fifth in the Xfinity Series at the track last season. The third championship contender in this lineup is Grant Enfinger. He, like Sheldon Creed, has four wins this season including last week's race at Martinsville. He has three series starts at Phoenix with two top-five finishes. Ben Rhodes will start this week's race sixth. He has five series starts at the track with two top-five finishes, including last year when he finished fourth and led 47 laps. Raphael Lessard earned two top-five finishes in the last five races including his win at Talladega. He will start 13th on Friday. This will be his first series start at the track. Rounding off the lineup is Akinori Ogata. Ogata has one series start this season. He started and finished 25th in that effort at Texas and will start 29th at Phoenix this week.
