NASCAR DFS Picks for the Rackley Roofing 200 on June 18, 2021

As we head into Nashville Race Week, we will have to look at drivers’ stats and history from other courses as we build our lineup this week. Another great part about this weekend is we are back to practice and qualifying. This week we are going to focus on finding value by looking at previous top contenders at this speedway. There are quite a few value drivers that you can insert into your lineup. Let’s now take a deep dive into who I think you can insert into your lineup for the Rackley Roofing 200 at Nashville Superspeedway.

Past Winners/Track Knowledge

This will be the first race NASCAR Truck Series in Middle Tennessee in over 10 years. This is going to be a 200-mile race where the drivers will be tasked with completing 150 laps around the Superspeedway. Nashville Superspeedway is a 1.33-mile oval, with a concrete surface. There are varying degrees of banking in each section of the superspeedway. The turns have 14-degree banking, nine degrees in the front straightaway, and six degrees in the back straightaway. As stage points are becoming more coveted as the year goes on and racers, must win stages to get those oh so valuable stage points, racers will have three stages to try and get points. Stage one is 45 laps, stage two is 50 laps, and stage three is 55 laps. With no real data on who has done well on this track in the past, with the large gap in competition we are going to have to look at how drivers have fared at other similar tracks. This is the longest oval, concrete track that will be raced on this year. 

Below is a lineup that we believe can provide the best value for the Rackley Roofing 200 atNashville Superspeedway on 06/18/2021 (DraftKings Values)

A-List Drivers

William Byron ($9,800)

Here is a driver who is coming at a huge discount this week. William Byron dominated I 2017 when he was part of the Xfinity Series. This will be his first Xfinity race since 2017 where he had four wins, 12 top five, and 22 top 10 finishes. Byron is also one of the few winners in the Cup Series this year. Byron had a quiet start to the year at Daytona where he had an average finish of 29.5. He has turned that around the over the year, especially after his win at Miami-Homestead. After winning at Miami, Byron followed up with finishing top 10 in 11 straight races and top 10 in 12 of 16 races. Byron is becoming one of the elite drivers in the cup series. To me, he is extremely cheap this week for the Xfinity race and I think should be a favorite to win. 

Zane Smith ($9,600)

Statistically, I would say that Zane Smith is having a rather irregular 2021 season. So far in 2021, Smith has seven top 10 finishes while also leading 25 laps. He has been a little below his 2020 numbers where he had two wins, seven top five finishes, 13 top 10 finishes, and led 376 laps. It should only be a matter of time until Smith is able to break the top five and even potentially get his first win of the year. Smith hot one of his two wins last year at Dover. Dover just happens to be owned by the same company as Nashville Superspeedway. I think Smith will be able to get into the top 10 come race end, no matter where he starts. I think there is value here as an A-List driver this week. 

Strategy at Nashville Superspeedway

Going into this race, I think what we are going to have to do it trust our gut. I am going to be picking drivers who have raced well this year and not so much factor in how they have fared at similar tracks. With that being said, I think the best option this week is to look at two A-List drivers and they build your lineup around them. This race will likely race similar Talladega (2.66-Mile Tri-Oval), Las Vegas (1.54-Mile Tri-Oval), Kansas (1.52-Mile Tri-Oval), or Daytona (2.50-Mile Tri-Oval). If you want to base your picks on any of these tracks, I think you have the right idea. There are a few drivers that excel on the so-called Superspeedways and that is where I will be spending my money this weekend. 

B-List Drivers

Todd Gilliland ($8,600)

In his fourth season full-time with the NASCAR Truck Series, Todd Gilliland has been off to a good start, currently in fourth place. In 11 races he has finished 31st, fourth, 13th, 17th, fourth, sixth, sixth, 15th, first at Circuit of Americas, fifth, and seventh. It was exciting to see Gilliland get his second career win earlier this year. Gilliland has been good as of late, as you can see by his now three straight top 10 finishes. Overall, not bad. Gilliland has consistently the last two years raced to many top 15 performances. He has been constantly getting better and could be just around the corner from getting his third win of his career. In 2020 Gilliland finished with four top-five finishes, 10 top 10 finishes, and 98 laps led. A downgrade from his 2019 production but we all know 2020 was a difficult season for many reasons. Gilliland will look to add another top 10 finish to further bolster his claim to being a top five driver in the Truck Series.

Stuart Friesen ($8,400)

Coming into Nashville race weekend the driver of the number 52 Halmar Friesen Racing Toyota Stewart Friesen to add another top 10 finish to his 2021 resume. Friesen has yet to find victory lane this year but does have two top five finishes and three top 10 finishes. Friesen has not won since Phoenix in 2019, I think he puts in a good bid this week. Friesen is near the middle of the pack in fantasy points per race with an average of 23.9. If Friesen can start near the back or even in the middle, he has what it takes to add another 25 fantasy points this weekend. This is really good value. 

Johnny Sauter ($7,700)

2021 has been a very up and down year for Johnny Sauter so far. It seems like every other race he is racing well. Now with saying that Sauter put together three straight top 10 finishes at Richmond, Kansas, and Darlington a couple of weeks ago. His win at Charlotte is his last win in the Truck Series. Of course, Sauter has not been able to return to the success he had from 2016-2018 where he had 13 wins, 39 top-five finishes, 55 top 10 finishes, and led 1,170 laps in 69 races. In that three year stretch he was good, and well he still is. Sauter is still the sole owner of fifth place in Truck Series wins with 24. From a DFS perspective Sauter provides some good value with his price point. With Sauter’s average of 23.2 points per race this year he provides good value for his dollar value. 

C-List Drivers

Austin Wayne-Self ($5,900)

Austin Wayne Self was finally able to put it all together at Darlington where he had his best finish of the year of ninth place. This was Self’s second top 10 of the year after he finished in 10th at the Bristol Dirt Track. Wayne Self put together another good performance at the Circuit of Americas where he turned a 29th place start into a 16th place finish. Wayne Self is likely to start in the back of the pack again this week which will put him in line to rack up point differential points if he can work his way into a top 15 or better finish, something he has done four times already this year. Self has also finished top 20 in all but two races. 

Winning Alternative

Matt Crafton ($8,800)

As one of the series’ steady veterans you can always count on Matt Crafton to race his heart out. As I mentioned earlier the Truck Series has not raced at Nashville in a very long time. With that being said, Crafton is one of a few drivers who has raced on the Superspeedway in the past. Crafton comes with a lot of experience at the track. Crafton has raced at Nashville 11 times in his career where he has an average finishing position of 11^th place. That comes along with one top five finish and six top 10 finishes. I think the experience pays off this week. In 11 races this year Crafton has yet to find victory lane but does have two top five finishes, four top 10 finishes and had finished top 15 seven races. 

Now go win your matchup and let us know how you did. Or if I picked every driver that will be in that lap 123 crash, I encourage you to let me hear it. Either way come find us on Twitter (@FantasyDFSX).