Daily Fantasy Nascar Picks
Citizen Soldier 400

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Citizen Soldier 400

Dover International Speedway - Dover, DE
Track - 1.0 Mile Oval Short Track
24° Banking in the Corners

The first elimination race of the 2016 NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup is here. The bottom four drivers of the 16 qualified will be eliminated following this weekends race and following Kevin Harvick's win at New Hampshire both he and Martin Truex Jr. have received automatic advancement into the next round. Sitting at the bottom of the standings in the worst positions going into Sunday race are:

16th - Chris Buescher - 2027 pts
15th - Tony Stewart - 2046 pts
14th - Austin Dillon - 2052 pts
13th - Jamie McMurray - 2052 pts

and sitting just above the cutline are:

12th - Kyle Larson - 2057 pts
11th - Kurt Busch - 2067 pts
10th - Carl Edwards - 2068 pts
9th - Chase Elliott - 2068 pts

So as you can see, things are going to be very tense once again here at Dover. No driver without a win should feel safe as one mistake could lead to an exit from the playoffs. Just ask Jimmie Johnson who had mechanical problems here last year which ended up costing him a shot into the second round.

Dover International Speedway is a one mile oval short track with 24°of banking. I have often thought of it as a bigger Bristol as it has steep banking but is twice the size. Track position isn't as important this week drivers can use pit strategy and passing to get through the field and to the front of the pack. In each of the last three races here at least seven drivers have from outside the Top 10 at the start of the race to finish inside the Top 10. I will be looking very closely at practice/qualifying differential value on the cheatsheet and will have the final update for you on Saturday following Final Practice.

The following is the initial schedule for the weekend:

• First Practice - Friday @ 10:00 a.m. ET
• Qualifying - Friday @ 3:40 p.m. ET
• Second Practice - Saturday @ 10:30 a.m. ET
• Final Practice - Saturday @ 1:30 p.m. ET
• Race - Sunday @ 2:00 .pm. ET

Are looking to get better as fantasy NASCAR but don't have the time to conduct all the research necessary? Check out my DFS NASCAR Cheatsheet which will give you the edge to cash more consistently on DraftKings. The cheatsheet includes driver salaries, current form(Last 5 races), Track History(Last 5 Years), Loop Data, weekly salary trends,  and practice and qualifying ranks. I have also created a weighting system which changes weekly and takes in to account all of the things listed previously. I update the practice and qualifying as they happen which changes the overall rankings through the weekend. The cheatsheet will also be final shortly after the final practice. If you purchase the cheatsheet prior to final practice you will receive an email when the final lineup has been set.

If you have any questions about the cheatsheet throw me an email(jagerbombs99@gmail.com) or hit me up on Twitter(@jager_bombs9).

Upper Tier Targets ($9,000+)

Jimmie Johnson 
DraftKings - $9,300
Practice #1 - 5th
Qualified - 8th
Practice #2 - 19th

The price for the six time NASCAR Sprint Cup champion continues to sit in the 7th - 10th rank in salary following a disappointing end to the summer. He is starting to trend in the right direction as the Chase approaches his favorite track. He finished 12th in Chicago and 8th last week at New Hampshire. He now gets another crack at Dover after last years mechanical issues derailed his Chase aspirations. He has dominated the track over the years with 10 wins, 15 Top 5 and 20 Top 10 finishes to go along with a 9.62 average finish and whopping 3,003 laps led. He showed top 5 speed in first practice and will start 8th after qualifying was rained out. At his current price he is safe in all formats.

Matt Kenseth
DraftKings - $9,700
Practice #1 - 3rd
Qualified - 4th
Practice #2 - 12th

I am sticking with the value under $10K in the #2 slot this week. Kenseth comes in as the 6th in salary has been very consistent to start the Chase with a 9th at Chicago and 2nd at New Hampshire. He no comes back to Dover where he has been red hot over the last 10 races with a win, five Top 5's and seven Top 10 finishes. He unloaded fast with the 3rd fastest speed in the opening practice and will start the race on the outside of the second row. He will also be safe in all formats this week.

Kyle Larson
DraftKings - $9,900
Practice #1 - 1st
Qualified - 12th
Practice #2 - 7th

Larson's price has once again reached a season high which I am hoping pushes the ownership down a bit more. Even if he does happen to come in around 25-30% again this weekend I think he is an excellent GPP play with winning upside. It's his best track with two Top 5's and four Top 10 finishes in five career races. He enters the elimination race on the positive side of the cut line but by just seven points over Jamie McMurray. He unloaded off the truck with a the fastest car in the opening practice and due to a rain out will start 12th which gives him a possible 11 place differential bonus points.

Also Consider - Martin Truex Jr.

Middle Tier Targets ($7,000-$9,000)

Chase Elliott
DraftKings - $8,900
Practice #1 - 6th
Qualified - 9th
Practice #2 - 14th

In his first Dover race earlier this year he came from the 13th position to finish 3rd. This time around he will be starting 9th due to the rain out and showed top 10 speed in the first practice ranking 6th. He sits in a somewhat favorable position in 9th in the Chase standings, 16 points ahead of the cut line. One more strong finish and the rookie will be off to the second round. You are paying a premium price just under $9K for a rookie driver but he has scored the 4th most DraftKings points per race over the last five races. He is an excellent tournament play this weekend.

Kasey Kahne
DraftKings - $7,600
Practice #1 - 18th
Qualified - 17th
Practice #2 - 4th

I am sticking with Kasey Kahne in this spot once again despite a lack of speed in the first practice as he finished 18th and will start the race in the 17th position. He has been terrific lately with four straight Top 10 finishes and while I won't bank on him winning anytime soon, I can see the #5 team finding some speed through the weekend and putting together another Top 10 finish.

Also Consider - Jamie McMurray

Low End Targets ($6,900 and Below)

Aric Almirola 
DraftKings - $6,300
Practice #1 - 29th
Qualified - 27th
Practice #2 - 29th

I like the value with Almirola in the low $6K range this week as he has had some nice success here at Dover. He had no luck back in May when he was caught up in a wreck, finishing 31st but finished 5th here in both races in 2015 and has a career 16.2 average finish. I would like to see him find some more speed through practices but a Top 25 will do just fine at these prices for GPP's.

Also Consider - Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Post Practice & Qualifying Update

Qualifying Top 10

1. #2 Brad Keselowski
2. #78 Martin Truex Jr.
3. #18 Kyle Busch
4. #20 Matt Kenseth
5. #22 Joey Logano
6. #4 Kevin Harvick
7. #11 Denny Hamlin
8. #48 Jimmie Johnson
9. #24 Chase Elliott
10. #19 Carl Edwards

If you have any questions on lineups or drivers prior to lineup lock scroll down to the comment section and join the conversation.

Good Luck everyone!

Want to see how more analysis and information on building lineups for the Citizen Soldier 400? Chris is selling his cheatsheet & targets for only $5. Just scroll to the bottom of the picks. This is a separate service than our traditional monthly membership. Or Purchase through PayPal here.