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If the annual race at Talladega Superspeedway is billed as the wild card race of the playoffs, the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL is a close second. After all, Sunday's race (Oct. 11) will be just the third NASCAR Cup Series race on the layout.
I forgot to mention, it's supposed to rain(!) on Sunday. That calls for a recipe for disaster, as not many Cup stars have ever raced in the rain. Plus, it's the cutoff race to see who advances into the Round of 8!
Over the past few years, the same drivers run up front at just about every road course track (ringers?) on the circuit, so you know they'll be on this DFS team. But the bigger question is, what utility, mid-pack drivers should fill out the remainder of your lineup? Let's look.
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My DFS Lineup - Bank of America ROVAL 400
Chase Elliott ($10,600)
Career at Charlotte ROVAL: 2 starts, 1 win, 35 laps led
Average finish at Charlotte ROVAL: 3.5
Though he's nearing the end of just his fifth full-time Cup season, Elliott is the best road course racer in the series. Period.
In two starts at the ROVAL, Elliott's earned finishes of first and sixth, respectively. And who can forget last year's performance where, he drove the No. 9 Chevrolet into the Turn 1 wall, only to drive through the field and win by over three seconds.
Since winning his first Cup race two years ago at Watkins Glen, Elliott has won four of the six races on road courses (two at WGI, one at the ROVAL, one at Daytona International Speedway road course), typically in dominating fashion. With a second-place starting position, expect the No. 9 to lead tons of laps -- possibly duplicating his performance from Daytona in August (leading 34 of 65 laps and putting up 69.5 DFS points). He's well worth the high price.
Martin Truex Jr. ($10,300)
Career at Charlotte ROVAL: 2 starts, 0 wins, 6 laps led
Average finish at Charlotte ROVAL: 10.5
Flashback to the inaugural race on the Charlotte ROVAL, Truex was in position to win until Jimmie Johnson (more on him in a minute) cleaned out the 2017 champion in the final corner. Unfortunately, Truex crossed the finish line in 14th.
Last year, Truex managed a seventh-place finish, leading just one lap. But on the positive side: If Elliott is the best road racer on the schedule, the New Jersey native is most definitely second with two consecutive victories at Sonoma Raceway, three straight top-two results at Watkins Glen and rounded out the podium in August at Daytona.
If you select Elliott and Truex for your lineup, it takes up over 40% of your total salary with four picks remaining. But with the No. 19 car starting seventh, it might be worth it, though he'll likely have to pass the No. 9 to take the lead.
Jimmie Johnson ($9,100)
Career at Charlotte ROVAL: 2 starts, 0 wins, 0 laps led
Average finish at Charlotte ROVAL: 8.5
Over the past handful of years, Johnson has put an emphasis on stepping up his road course game. In both races at the ROVAL, the No. 48 Chevrolet has been in contention, nearly winning in 2018, and running inside the top 10 for the majority of last year's race.
In fact, the last time Johnson was in real contention for a victory was at the ROVAL, two years ago. This weekend could quite possibly be his last, best shot at win No. 84, as his full-time career has just five races left, but don't quiver over the penultimate race of the season at Martinsville Speedway.
In the other lone road course race of the season at Daytona, Johnson ran inside the top five all race, finishing fourth and earned 47.5 DFS points. By starting 30th, Johnson is an attractive pick on Sunday, but again fairly pricey, meaning the back half of your lineup may suffer...
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Michael McDowel ($8,100)
Career at Charlotte ROVAL: 2 starts, 0 wins, 0 laps led
Average finish at Charlotte ROVAL: 15.0
... or will it?
McDowell is an experienced road racer coming from a karting background. More times than not, he wheels whatever car he's in to respectable finishes when the series is making left and right hand turns. Two months ago, he began the Daytona road course event in 30th and rounded out the top 10. There's no reason not to expect another top 10 from McDowell, who's in the midst of his best Cup season to date.
The No. 34 Ford will lineup 31st on Sunday, meaning there's a ton of room for improvement. Look for McDowell to play strategy in order to get near the front, should his car not have the outright speed to maneuver his way through the field. He began Daytona in a similar position (30th), and went onto score 54 DFS points.
Ryan Newman ($6,400)
Career at Charlotte ROVAL: 2 starts, 0 wins, 0 laps led
Average finish at Charlotte ROVAL: 21.5
Let's fact it, since NASCAR resumed its season in mid-May, it hasn't been the comeback Newman wanted after missing three races following his horrific crash on the final lap of the Daytona 500. But entering the ROVAL, he's coming off his best result of the season (sixth) last week at Talladega Superspeedway.
When it comes to road course racing, Newman is crafty, specifically at Sonoma with an average finish of 12.8. In two starts at the ROVAL, he's finished 11th and 32nd, with the latter coming last year when he was racing around the top 10 when he shot through the backstretch chicane toward the end of the event while racing with Aric Almirola. Unfortunately, he had to serve a penalty.
Via his solid performance at Talladega, Newman will roll off 15th on Sunday, ahead of his season-long average finishing position of 19.5. At the Daytona road course, the No. 6 placed 19th.
Ryan Preece ($5,400)
Career at Talladega: 0 starts, 0 wins, 0 laps led
Average finish at Talladega: 8.0
Remember the summer months when Preece could get nothing going his way? Now the No. 37 team has five consecutive top-20 finishes (Preece's career-best streak) with his second top-10 finish of the season coming last week at Talladega.
In his brief Cup career, Preece has an average finish north of 27th in four road course starts. In the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at the ROVAL, he did finish fourth while competing at Joe Gibbs Racing.
Look, this lineup went heavy at the beginning, so at some point it's going to have to pay the consequences. On the bright side, his JTG Daugherty Racing team has had success on road courses in the past with AJ Allmendinger.
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