NASCAR DFS & Betting Preview: Busch Light Clash Odds & Pricing
Hey everyone, welcome to the RotoGrinders daily fantasy NASCAR and betting recap/preview article. This is a new series for the 2022 season.
I’ve been asked a lot for early in the week content, so I’ll be providing an early look and preview at the upcoming race, plus a recap of the previous race. As the season gets moving, I’m hoping this article will become more helpful with the new Next Gen car.
Race Preview
For the first time ever, NASCAR is holding the Busch Light Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. NASCAR has built a quarter-mile racetrack inside the LA Coliseum. On Saturday, there will be three timed practice sessions for groups 1, 2, and 3. Saturday night, there will be single vehicle qualifying. Each car will get three laps, and after their run, NASCAR will impound the cars. Teams won’t be allowed to work on the cars from qualifying till the heat races on Sunday afternoon. Qualifying will set the field for the heat races. The heat races start at 3pm EST and should take 15 to 20 minutes each. Assuming the last chance races take 20 to 30 minutes each, we should know the official starting lineup around 5pm EST. With 150 laps in the main, teams won’t need to pit for fuel.
DraftKings NASCAR Fantasy Preview
It’s back! DraftKings has a $200,000, $50,000 to first place tournament posted for the Clash. Let’s start with the most important thing for this weekend, bankroll management. There is no track history, there is no telling what to expect, and there isn’t a lot of edge. Sure, there is practice, but it’s eight minutes long per car and teams can’t make a lot of adjustments after practice before qualifying. The heat races are the most valuable fantasy and betting tell this weekend. Those races will tell us a lot about passing and how valuable track position is.
With only 150 laps, there is a potential for 67.5 fastest lap points and 37.5 laps led points on DraftKings. Assuming FanDuel post contest, there will be a potential of 15 laps led points and 15 laps completed points. With only 23 cars, there seems to be a lot of value in place differential and running up front. How much value in place differential will be seen from the heat races. If we see no passing on this quarter-mile track, finishing position might be more important than place differential. The drivers starting towards the back will have a high floor because scoring will be based on 40 cars, so the driver starting 23rd can’t score less than 19 DK points. The driver starting on the pole could technically score -3 DK points.
Busch Light Clash Betting Odds
As of Monday (when I’m writing this), there are five sportsbooks currently offering some type of betting odds for the Busch Light Clash.
With so many unknowns, I don’t want to recommend jumping on anyone early in the week. I have a lot more interest in top ten and top five racing props this week than an outright winner on the race. Right now BetRivers, Sugar House and UNIBET are the only sites offering odds for top-ten finishes.
I like William Byron -134 and Kurt Busch +110 to finish inside the top ten. I think both of those bets have some early week value. I’ll be looking at top five, top ten, and matchups after the heat races.
Fantasy and Betting Recap
This is normally the section that will recap the previous race. Once we get to Auto Club on the 27th, this section will recap the Daytona 500 from a fantasy and betting perspective. I will include optimal lineups from DraftKings and FanDuel in this section. I’ll also look into dominators and how the race played out in general.