NASCAR: First Lap
That’s right kids, it’s time for some NASCAR. Call me bored with baseball, call me desperate to get back into the Top 100 RotoGrinders Rankings by increasing my diversity factor, call it whatever you’d like. No matter the case, it’s time to get the engines’ a revving! The already no-rake 25 man league had just 21 enter for NASCAR tonight…there’s some money to be had on FSL right now if you understand NASCAR. The problem is, that I currently do not.
So, I thought it would be an entertaining experience to allow my fellow Grinders watch me crash and burn. As I try to get a hold of the wheel, if you think I’m hitting the turns too hard, or burning too much rubber…please, call me in for a pit stop by placing your thoughts in the comment box below. I’m talking specifically to those of you who might have some inside information based on your geographic location.
Until then, I’m going to post my initial NASCAR methods out in the open for all to comment and nitpick on. As we head into the STP 400 on Saturday, here is what I tried, what worked, what didn’t and what I learned involving the world of Daily Fantasy NASCAR.
Under the Hood
How Daily Fantasy NASCAR Works – On FSL they offer Daily Fantasy NASCAR on a regular basis, and have been doing so for a while now. Here’s how it works: Every NASCAR event (usually weekly) has two events, Nationwide and Sprint Cup (ah, the suffocation of marketing is inescapable). Nationwide is kind of like the AA of baseball, while Sprint is the Majors. However, since Nationwide is on Friday night and Sprint is on Saturday, the same driver can participate in both. On FSL, your roster consists of 4 Nationwide drivers and 5 Sprint Cup drivers (you can have the same person on your roster twice). Since the Sprint cup is the ‘big leagues’, the points for your finish are weighted more heavily. You get 100 Points for 1st in the Nationwide, but 150 for Sprint. In addition, you get 2 points for every lap your driver leads with a cap of 25 points, and negative points for every lap they don’t finish. Spots 1-20 award points in Nationwide and spots 1-25 award points in Sprint.
Jockeying For Pole Position
Being my first time participating in Daily Fantasy NASCAR, I mulled over my options for strategy. I could pick the most familiar names from SportsCenter…but then I saw Danica Patrick was the cheapest option available, and I knew that strategy wasn’t going to be viable. So, I decided to use what resources I was familiar with…the SportsBook! I figured the best way to approach selecting random names (in any sport) would be to apply some value to the selections based on their cost and their odds in the book. Using the FSL cost, their book odds, and the max potential points you could earn, here is my first guess at how to project a driver’s projected points:
Lineup
Using the projections above, I plugged players in and out to arrive at the lineup below which I figured would be the most optimal based on odds and cost. Here’s what I wound up with when all was said and done:
| Race | Driver |
|---|---|
| Nationwide Racer | C. Edwards |
| Nationwide Racer | D. Patrick |
| Nationwide Racer | K. Harvick |
| Nationwide Racer | B. Keselowski |
| Sprint Racer | G. Biffle |
| Sprint Racer | B. Vickers |
| Sprint Racer | J. Logano |
| Sprint Racer | R. Smith |
| Sprint Racer | T. Stewart |
Note: I think the odds explain themselves except for Danica. I chose her over the rest, because a) entertainment experience if I decided to watch and b) I know she’s capable of leading a lap.
Heading Into the 400
To be perfectly honest, I was pretty proud of my selections at first, but heading into Saturday AM…not so much. After the STP 300 here’s where we stand:
- My Standing: 20th of 21
- Four-way tie for 1st place (Carl Edwards, E. Sadler, A. Almirola, and R. Stenhouse Jr.). Seeing as I’ve never heard of two of these guys before…I’m starting to think I’m in bad shape, but I’m keeping the pedal to the metal moving forward.
- Warning sign #1 – I’m used to seeing PrimeTime420 or Kaiseroll in 1st place…who the F$&# is ‘WOODS RACING’ and ‘Team Speed’ tied for 1st?! If I were made aware that there were Daily Fantasy NASCAR specialists, I may not have entered.
- I guess I didn’t get the memo on Harvick being unable to drive an automobile: Four of us selected him in the 300, but book-wise he seemed like one of the strongest picks. I must’ve missed a RotoWorld update on his day-to-day strain in between the big piggy and the middle one…
- Keselowski – He got -26 points. ‘Nuff Said? Sportscenter said his engine exploded. I’ll chalk this one up as the equivalent of an OchoCinco hamstring pull
- Biffle – Mr. Biffle was the obvious value pick based on numbers alone. The vast majority has him going into Saturday as well.
Bottom-line: My money is in the hands of Regan Smith and B. Vickers moving forward, and despite me having no clue as to who each helmet actually is, I am excited to watch cars drive in circles this Saturday. Call it a middle-school crush, but I actually like NASCAR! For now, I’m hoping this love sticks.
Cameron MacMillan
RotoGrinders.com Fantasy Content Manager