This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
O'Reilly Auto Parts 300
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Course: Texas Motor Speedway
Format: 1.5-mile quad-oval
Laps: 200
Race Preview
Chase Briscoe's win last week in Kansas earned him the first spot among the Championship 4 in the season finale. It was his ninth win of the season. Justin Haley was the next highest placing playoff contender with a fourth-place finish. Austin Cindric and Noah Gragson's championship hopes took a hit, as the pair were involved in an incident that ended Gragson's day and left Cindric with a 29th-place finish. Justin Haley, Ross Chastain, Ryan Sieg and Noah Gragson currently sit below Cindric and behind the cutoff line.
This season's prior visit to Texas was won by Cindric, while Justin Allgaier won both of the opening stages of the race. Other important facts fantasy managers will want to know is that no Xfinity series driver has started lower than 10th and won at the track since Kyle Busch came from the 31st starting position to win in 2008. Additionally, Ford and Toyota have won 11 of the last 12 races at the track. This week is the first of two chances for playoff drivers to book their spots alongside Briscoe to race for the championship in Phoenix.
Key Stats at Texas Motor Speedway
- Number of races: 39
- Winners from pole: 6
- Winners from top-5 starters: 25
- Winners from top-10 starters: 33
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 2
- Fastest race: 151.707 mph
Previous 10 Texas Winners
2020 spring - Austin Cindric
2019 fall - Christopher Bell
2019 spring - Kyle Busch
2018 fall - Cole Custer
2018 spring - Ryan Blaney
2017 fall - Erik Jones
2017 spring - Erik Jones
2016 fall - Kyle Larson
2016 spring - Kyle Busch
2015 fall - Brad Keselowski
Like Kansas, Texas Motor Speedway is a 1.5-mile oval. While it's more similar to Charlotte and Atlanta, similar trends to last week's race will apply. The track rewards track position, and the high line will be the preference. Restarts are a good opportunity for drivers to make up positions, but rarely does anyone start from outside of the first five rows to win. Ford and Toyota have dominated here in recent seasons. Teams will want to pit under caution, and making up spots on pit road is the easiest way to move forward. Two-tire stops could be an option for that reason, especially toward the end of stages and the finish.
DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Austin Cindric - $11,400
Chase Briscoe - $11,100
Justin Allgaier - $10,800
Noah Gragson - $10,100
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Ross Chastain - $9,800
Anthony Alfredo - $9,600
Justin Haley - $9,400
Brandon Jones - $9,200
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Jeb Burton - $8,900
Michael Annett - $8,700
Ryan Sieg - $8,600
Timmy Hill - $8,400
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Brett Moffitt - $7,900
Brandon Brown - $7,400
Alex Labbe - $7,000
Jesse Iwuji - $6,000
MY PICKS THIS WEEK
Lower-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Austin Cindric - $11,400
Justin Haley - $9,400
Ryan Sieg - $8,600
Myatt Snider - $7,200
Josh Williams - $6,800
Jesse Little - $6,600
After a tough start to the latest round of eliminations, Austin Cindric will be looking to sweep the Texas races this season. He started from third and led 44 laps to win there in July and will start seventh this time. Justin Haley's fourth-place run last week put him within two points of the Championship 4. He finished eighth at Texas earlier this season, which was his second top-10 finish in three series starts at the circuit. A suspension failure knocked Ryan Sieg out of the Texas race in July, but he does have two top-10s there from the last three visits. Like Cindric, Myatt Snider was another driver thwarted by a crash last time out at this week's circuit. That was his first start at the track in the series, but he was 10th at Charlotte earlier this season. That similar configuration could foreshadow another good result from him this week. Josh Williams will start this week's race 13th. He has two top-15 finishes at Texas from five series starts and has two top-10s from the last three races heading into this week. Jesse Little rounds out the lower-risk lineup after finishing 14th in the July race after starting 20th. He will start 27th this week, which could earn fantasy players extra finish differential points.
Higher-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Chase Briscoe - $11,100
Brandon Jones - $9,200
Timmy Hill - $8,400
Brett Moffitt - $7,900
Brandon Brown - $7,400
Jesse Iwuji - $6,000
Chase Briscoe has been the dominant driver of the season. However, it is always tough to win back-to-back races in NASCAR. That is what Briscoe will be attempting to do this week. He finished second to Cindric there earlier this year, however. Brandon Jones scored three top-10s in his last four Texas starts, was seventh in July and will start third this week. Timmy Hill was 17th in that race. He should be capable of another top-20 finish this week, which would be a good return coming from his 25th-place starting position. Brett Moffitt should be an even better selection, though. He was 16th at Texas in July, starts 11th this week and consistently has been scoring top-15s and top-10s on 1.5-mile ovals this season. Brandon Brown grabbed his first Texas top-10 earlier this year. He started 19th then and will start 15th this weekend. He also finished in the top 15 in four of the five most recent races. This week will be Jesse Iwuji's third start in the series this season. He finished 26th and 27th in his two other starts after starting both of those races 35th. He will start 32nd this weekend, but also drove from 30th to 17th at the track in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series last year.
