NASCAR DFS Fr8 208 Playbook & Top Picks

The Craftsman Truck Series keeps the season rolling as they head North to Atlanta Motor Speedway. Nicholas Sanchez claimed his first career win in the Truck Series last week at Daytona. In his rookie season in 2023, he routinely showed up with speed but failed to deliver on the results at the end of the day. It’s definitely a good sign to see him lay claim to victory in the first race of the year and lock himself into the playoffs. Along with Sanchez, Austin Hill claimed another Daytona win in the Xfinity Series. He is the class of that field on superspeedways and any type of drafting track. And William Byron earned his first Daytona 500 win after failing to finish the first handful of 500’s he previously ran. But either way, we have a similar drafting race to preview this weekend so let’s kick it off with the first of TWO NASCAR DFS Playbooks with the top lineup picks and strategies for DraftKings.

Prior to the 2022 season, Atlanta Motor Speedway underwent a massive reconfiguration. The banking was increased from 24-to-28 degrees and the track was actually narrowed by 14 feet. This was done in an effort to create more drafting. Track officials wanted to bring action similar to Daytona and Talladega, to an intermediate track. This hasn’t been my favorite style of racing, but it’s still an opportunity to make some coin and build our bankroll.

So it’s a drafting race. Fade the front and stack the back, right? Not necessarily. We have to consider a few things. This isn’t a complete copy of Daytona or Talladega. We’ll see more laps than last week’s action so with more laps, we’ll see more dominator points. With 135 laps we could see anywhere from 85-90 dominator points depending on cautions. The polesitter for the two Truck Series races hasn’t been as vital as they have been for the Xfinity or Cup Series. But the Truck Series has only raced here twice with the new configuration. Fastest laps have been relatively spread out. But in each race we’ve seen three drivers lead at least 20 laps. Last year’s race saw nine drivers gain double-digit spots in position differential, while the 2022 race saw the same number with a couple other drives coming close as well. But nailing the right drivers on the right pit strategy will be key as well. Depending on when teams and manufacturers take tires, or whenever there may be a caution, we could see massive shifts in the running order. Track position will be key here.

Another thing to note, this is a very shallow field for Saturday afternoon’s race. We only have 32 trucks in the field. So that raises the floor slightly for whoever starts last, but there are also fewer spots to gain. I’m personally not excited to leave as much salary on the table as last week by targeting multiple drivers starting deep in the field. I think the best equipment still finds its way to the front. So let’s take a look at the top plays for the Fr8 208!

Fr8 208 NASCAR DFS Core Driver Picks

Top Price Core Plays

Corey Heim ($10,000; Starting P19)

Kyle Busch is certainly in play at $12,000 starting P7. But let’s keep in mind, he’s not in his usual Kyle Busch Motorsports equipment after he sold his team to Spire Motorsports. So while I’ll certainly have some shares, it’s pretty clear Corey Heim is my preferred play for $2,000 less. Heim wrecked in this race a year ago but won here at Atlanta in 2022. And guess where he started for that race? That’s right, P19! Heim finished second last week at Daytona and even last Fall at Talladega he grabbed a top five finish. He’s looking to get his first win of the year out of the way and it could easily be at a track he’s previously won at.

Ben Rhodes ($9,500; Starting P14)

Rhodes hasn’t won here yet, but in the two races we’ve seen for the Truck Series he’s finished fifth (2023) and third (2022). The dominator points have been few and far between, but we know there’s win equity here. He went on a tear once he was able to change crew chiefs in 2023 and he laid claim to his second championship in three years. He does have a win at Daytona from back in 2021 and he’s finished second in the last two races at Talladega. And if you need a little narrative street, he turned 27 on Wednesday and he would love to celebrate his birthday with a win after wrecking at Daytona last week. He offers PD, has top five equity, and he’s a driver that can get out in front and log dominator points.

Nicholas Sanchez ($8,800; Starting P18)

Sanchez’s price tag might qualify him more for the mid-range, but he’s the seventh-most expensive driver on the slate and I don’t really think I need to go in depth on Kyle Busch. You can play KB on any slate. But Sanchez scored his first Truck Series win last week at Daytona. The price tag and starting spot give him plenty of appeal and don’t get me wrong, each of the four drivers I’ve written up or mentioned in this tier will be popular. Sanchez finished second in this race last year after starting P20 and he also led 11 laps. If you wanted to possibly go underweight because of the win last week and the presumed popularity surrounding him, I wouldn’t fault you. This would be a tremendous leverage spot in Tournaments. 

Mid-Price Core Plays

Stewart Friesen ($7,900; Starting P16)

Friesen is a fine play. He might be safer than Ty Dillon while offering a discount when the two start in the same section of the field. Friesen started on the front row (P2) for this race two years ago and led 49 laps before ultimately finishing sixth. Last year was a forgettable race starting P14 and finishing 22^nd. Friesen runs in decent equipment, but he disappointed overall last year. It’s quite likely that he finishes 12^th and maybe finishes with 33-38 fantasy points. That’s decent, but we’ll need some chaos to see this play pay off bigger dividends. In eight career races at Daytona, he has just one top 10 finish while just two in seven races at Talladega. But there’s a decent floor here so long as he keeps the ride clean.

Taylor Gray ($7,700; Starting P31)

You have to play the leverage game in NASCAR DFS. One thing I’ve picked up on in PGA DFS is that if there’s ever chalk in the mid-range, it’s best to find leverage elsewhere. And I’m not saying this is a full fade either. I’m running 20 lineups and I’m sure he’ll make three. That still gives me exposure but also gives me an edge in case he wrecks. Gray was actually running second on the final lap of last week’s race, but was involved in the big wreck that ultimately led to Sanchez getting the win. But Gray was up there and in contention. Again, the result doesn’t do his performance justice. He doesn’t have a ton of drafting experience, but he offers a ton of PD starting deep in the field. Is he a lock for Cash games? Probably, but I want leverage on the field and for Tournaments, so I will be underweight.

Tanner Gray ($7,600; Starting P22)

If there’s a Gray brother I want to target in Tournaments, it’s the elder brother, Tanner. Like his younger brother, he was also caught up in the wreck at the end of last week’s race. But he at least provides more experience in this type of race. Prior to last week’s wreck at Daytona, Gray finished second and fourth between the two races at the World Center of Racing in 2022 and 2023. And he has a top 10 under his belt on Atlanta’s new configuration. The logic is simple with these two for Saturday’s race. I’ll take Taylor in Cash games, but Tanner in Tournaments. 

Value Price Core Plays

Bayley Currey ($7,200; Starting P20)

Currey broke the slate last year for this race after he started P30 and finished fourth. That speaks to the heavy dose of cautions we may see in this race, but also does give him some credit as a solid drafter. Despite the fact he wasn’t an appealing DFS option last week starting P9, he finished 13^th and was running well for most of the race. This week he starts P20 in a range that’s offering some good value overall. He possesses top 10-15 upside once again for this race. You will need some of the other chalky options starting just in front of him to wreck in order for Currey to really make some noise.

Bret Holmes ($5,900; Starting P24)

Holmes has a knack for not finishing races, but his best performances to tend to come in races that require drafting. He’s only raced Atlanta’s new layout once (last year) but he started P33 and finished 13^th. He started P19 last week at Daytona, led 13 laps, and finished fourth. And even last Fall at Talladega he finished in the top 10 in the first two stages before ultimately finishing 16^th. So he knows how to draft and certainly has upside from this starting position. I love this play in Cash games and Tournaments. You just pray he doesn’t lose the magic this week.

Timmy Hill ($5,500; Starting P27)

Back to the well with Timmy Hill since he came through in a drafting race last week. Hill started P33 at Daytona and grabbed a top 10 finish for 61 fantasy points at a salary of just $6,200. Surprisingly, DraftKings dropped his price $700. Realistically, the mid-$5,000 range is where he should be priced. It’s not fair to expect a similar ceiling to last week’s race. However, Hill did start P18 in this race last year and he finished eighth for another solid score. He loves these drafting-style races and should move up, but I would say a top 15 is more reasonable than a top 10 this week.

Spencer Boyd ($5,200; Starting P33)

As mentioned in the body of this article, Boyd is the driver starting dead last. Fewer PD points available? Sure, but he is at least used to starting around P30 even when there are drivers starting behind him. For this race, his floor is eight fantasy points if he just starts and finishes 33^rd. He can’t lose you any of those points, that’s already his floor. From there he can only go up. So if there are wrecks, and if the previous two races are proof, there will be drivers that don’t finish. And he can safely gain spots by others not finishing this race. But my concern with Boyd isn’t so much him wrecking out. It’s his ride having some mechanical issue that forces him to park it. But overall, there’s an elevated floor with eight points and he’ll get you 25 fantasy points if he can crack the top 25.

Fr8 208 NASCAR DFS Lineup Picks