Welcome back race fans. Things are heating up as the Monster Energy Cup Series Playoffs have reached the final elimination race before the Championship finale at Homestead. With his win last week, Kevin Harvick joined Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. as the first three drivers to punch their tickets to Homestead. That now leaves five drivers who will battle for the one remaining spot as the series head to Phoenix this weekend for the Can-Am 500.

From a fantasy perspective, I will be weighing dominator points(laps led/fast laps) higher than place differential as qualifying went well this week with no real surprises. The other reason is due to the race trends which us that there have been at least three drivers to lead 50 or more laps in three straight races and at least seven drivers to record double-digit fast laps in four straight races. The new stage racing this season also ended a trend of only one driver leading 100 or more laps in a race as both Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch led 100 or more in the Spring race here. Let's now jump in and take a look at some of this week's top picks.

Daily Fantasy NASCAR: DraftKings DFS Lineup Picks - Can-Am 500

Chase Elliott($9,300)

This week I will be putting a lot of emphasis on the drivers who are fighting for that final ticket to Homestead and it starts with Chase Elliott. He is in a near must-win situation and has shown the speed needed to get to victory lane early in the weekend. He was fastest in opening practice and then went on to qualify fourth for the race. He returns to Phoenix with a decent track record having finished 12th, 9th, and 8th in his three career races. With a price tag in the low $9K range, he is safe in all formats provided he shows us top speed throughout the final two practices.

Denny Hamlin($8,900)

Hamlin sits in a little better spot than Elliott and is just 19 points behind Keselowski and could advance on points in the right scenario but I am looking for a win here. He was third fastest in opening practice and qualified third for the race and returns to Phoenix where he has enjoyed success over the years. He has one career win here(2012) and has finished inside the Top 10 in four straight and eight of his last 11 race here. What I like best here is the price which has dipped down into the $8K range this week.

Daniel Suarez($7,500)

One driver not in the playoff picture I will be looking at for value this week is Daniel Suarez in the #19 JGR car. He will be looking to finish his rookie season off in style and returns to Phoenix where he impressed in the Spring finishing seventh after starting back in the 27th position. In fact, he has been very good on the one-mile intermediate tracks this season finishing inside the Top 10 in all five races. He is also likely to be a bit lower owned qualifying 10th after posting the 21st fastest speed in opening practice.

Aric Almirola($6,100)

He will be moving to the #10 Stewart-Haas car next season but for now, he will be looking to close out his time in the #43 with a strong effort at one of his better tracks. I would have liked to see him qualify a bit farther back than his 22nd starting position but the good news is that he has finished inside the Top 20 in 10 of is last 11 races here. For $6,100 with that track history, he is a top value play in all formats this week.

NASCAR DFS Cheat Sheet

Don't have the time to search multiple sites looking for NASCAR stats and data?

Check out my DFS NASCAR cheatsheet which includes Track History(2-Year Trend & Career), Track Type History(2-Year Trend), Current Form, Practice/Qualifying Data, and a weighted system to get an overall rank for each driver each race. Check out it now while it's still in BETA mode and FREE to everyone. Also, be sure to check out the Race by Race Trends Sheet.

DFS & Fantasy NASCAR Chat Room

If you have any questions leading up to the race hit me up in the chat below!

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