This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
Bank of America ROVAL 400
Location: Charlotte, North Carolina
Course: Road Course at Charlotte Motor Speedway
Format: 2.28-mile road course
Laps: 109
NASCAR Bank of America ROVAL 400 Race Preview
Chase Elliott overcame Ryan Blaney and a host of other drivers on the last lap of last weekend's YellaWood 500 at Talladega to capture a playoff-advancing win and his second-career victory at the track. This week the playoffs head to the Charlotte ROVAL for a tough road racing event on the challenging circuit at Charlotte Motor Speedway. This will be the sixth race in the Chase for the Cup and the cut-race to make it into the Round of 8. The competition should reach a fevered pitch as playoff drivers looking to advance will be scuffling for that valuable win. The NASCAR Cup Series only competes on this circuit once a season, and it's embedded in the playoff schedule, so stakes will be high and familiarity low. There have only been four races to this point on the Roval of Charlotte, so experience is thin with all drivers whether they be veterans or youngsters. The good news is that we have five prior road course events in the 2022 calendar that have pretty well established who is good right now in this form of racing. That combined with the data from the four previous Roval races will make the backbone of our analysis and DFS lineup procedure this week.
Key Stats at the Charlotte ROVAL
- Number of races: 4
- Winners from pole: 0
- Winners from top-5 starters: 1
- Winners from top-10 starters: 3
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 0
- Fastest race: 82.125 mph
Previous 4 Charlotte ROVAL Winners
2021 – Kyle Larson
2020 – Chase Elliott
2019 – Chase Elliott
2018 – Ryan Blaney
Elliott is a two-time Roval winner and is coming to North Carolina this weekend with a huge amount of momentum from his Talladega victory last Sunday. The pressure is off to advance into the Round of 8, and a loose/relaxed Elliott likely spells bad news for the field in the Bank of America ROVAL 400. Our look back at this event one year ago shows that Elliott is not completely invincible on this road course as his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Kyle Larson, outwitted and out-dueled him and a host of other drivers to capture his first win on the Charlotte road circuit. He would hold off this season's road racing ace, Tyler Reddick, who would finish runner-up to Larson in last season's playoff thriller. Reddick has been dialed-in on these tracks in 2022 and already has two wins and four top 10s to boast in this style of racing. Although the Richard Childress Racing youngster has been eliminated from the playoffs, he'd love to be a spoiler and grab the win Sunday at the Charlotte Roval.
RotoWire NASCAR DFS Tools
DraftKings Value Picks for the Bank of America ROVAL 400 (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Chase Elliott - $10,600
Tyler Reddick - $10,500
Kyle Larson - $10,300
Denny Hamlin - $10,100
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Ryan Blaney - $9,700
Joey Logano - $9,600
AJ Allmendinger - $9,400
Ross Chastain - $9,000
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Austin Cindric - $8,600
Daniel Suarez - $8,500
Chase Briscoe - $8,300
Kyle Busch - $8,100
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Chris Buescher - $7,800
Erik Jones - $7,400
Michael McDowell - $7,300
Cole Custer - $6,700
NASCAR DFS Picks for the Bank of America ROVAL 400
Lower-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Chase Elliott - $10,600
Ryan Blaney - $9,700
Austin Cindric - $8,600
Erik Jones - $7,400
Michael McDowell - $7,300
Ty Dillon - $5,400
Coming off the big win at Talladega last week, Elliott (DK $10,600, FD $14,000) appears to be in great position to race with very little pressure and have fun. That will easily make him the top contender to win this road course race, and weld him solidly into daily fantasy lineups. Blaney (DK $9,700, FD $9,500) was his runner-up finisher at Talladega last week and should be in the mix for the win again at the Charlotte Roval. He's won at this track before and is always a top performer when the Cup Series visits here. Penske Racing rookie, Austin Cindric (DK $8,600, FD $9,800) comes at a great price tag and he's been one of the more consistent performers on road circuits in 2022 with two top-5 and four top-10 finishes in the five events thus far. Erik Jones (DK $7,400, FD $6,500) is finishing this season on a hot streak for sure with one win and four top-10 finishes in his last seven races entering Charlotte. His last start on a road course netted a strong 10th-place finish at Watkins Glen a few weeks ago. Michael McDowell (DK $7,300, FD $7,000) gets very little respect in the salary area, but make no mistake, he's a skilled road course performer and finishing the year strong. McDowell has four top 10's on road circuits this season for a stellar 7.6 average finish and he's coming off his 12th top 10 of the season last week at Talladega. For this lower risk lineup, we need one bargain-priced driver to round out the salary cap, and Ty Dillon (DK $5,400, FD $4,000) is about as good a lottery ticket as you can choose. The Petty GMS Motorsports veteran has been a top-25 finisher in all but one road course race this season and most recently he was a respectable 16th-place at Watkins Glen.
Higher-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Chase Elliott - $10,600
Tyler Reddick - $10,500
Kyle Larson - $10,300
Michael McDowell - $7,300
Cole Custer - $6,700
Josh Williams - $4,600
Once again we're top loading the higher risk lineup this week with big salaries and high expectations. It paid off at Talladega last week and could do so again on the challenging Charlotte Roval. Again, Elliott (DK $10,600, FD $14,000) is a cornerstone piece of the DFS lineup puzzle, despite his likely high ownership, the returns will be too good to ignore. For the higher risk lineup, we slot Reddick (DK $10,500, FD $13,500) into the mix as he's been a two-time winner on these style tracks in 2022. Additionally, his 58 laps led on these circuits and four top 10s rank him among the elite performers in this style of racing this season. Larson (DK $10,300, FD $13,000) is the real X-factor that must pan out. We're encouraged by the fact that he won this Charlotte Roval event one year ago, and he's our most recent road course winner with his victory at Watkins Glen a few weeks ago. Much like the lower risk lineup, McDowell (DK $7,300, FD $7,000) comes in at too good a price point to ignore. His performance potential vs. price tag make him one of the better values in the game this week. Due to the higher price tags of this lineup, we have to get bargain basement on our final two drivers. This is where Cole Custer (DK $6,700, FD $6,000) and Josh Williams (DK $4,600, FD $2,500) come into the picture. Custer has finished 15th-, ninth- and 11th-place in his last three road racing events and brings that kind of potential to the Roval this Sunday. Williams is making just his second road course start of the season this weekend for the No. 78 team of Live Fast Motorsports. The young driver is a lottery ticket to be sure, but he did pilot this same car to a top-25 finish in the mid-summer at the very challenging Indianapolis GP circuit.
