Fantasy NASCAR DK Forecast: Shriners Children’s 500

Well, Las Vegas certainly didn’t disappoint from a fantasy aspect.

Last weekend, Kyle Larson picked up a dominant win for my squad, despite poor showings from Todd Gilliland and Christopher Bell. This is a whole new week though, and as a fantasy player, you should never rest on your laurels.

The ‘West Coast swing’ wraps up with the Shriners Children’s 500 from Phoenix Raceway. This D-shaped oval is located in the heart of the desert, with beautiful backdrops aplenty and intense short track/intermediate racing on its surface.

Its hybrid nature makes for a huge challenge on a crew chief to set a car up for 500 kilometers, and whoever figures out the perfect balance will see the most success on Sunday (March 10). Last season, William Byron and Ross Chastain won the spring and fall races, respectively, and Ryan Blaney rode out of the desert a champion.

There will be one practice session before qualifying takes place, which will give the teams an opportunity to get dialed in. Track position will be crucial as to who will produce the most from a fantasy perspective, as the short track elements of Phoenix Raceway make for tough passing late in a run.

Perhaps the most exciting thing about this track is the huge dogleg right before the start/finish line. Restarts get pretty wild, as it presents the best passing opportunity before the tires begin to go away. These drivers will be three-, four-, five- and even six-wide to the inside wall while trying to gain spots.

Coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. ET this Sunday on FOX.

Fantasy Forecast

Here’s the DraftKings scoring format:

Points will be awarded on DraftKings for finishing position, position differential, fastest laps and laps led. The driver who wins the race scores 45 fantasy points, while second gets 42 points, third gets 41 points and so on, at least through the top 10. The 11th-place finisher scores 32 points, 21st gets 21 points and 31st gets 10 points.

However many spots they lose or gain on the track is added to or subtracted from the score. Then, if the driver leads a lap, they will earn 0.25 points for each lap led and 0.45 points for each fastest lap.

DraftKings NASCAR Scoring Rules

Here’s my lineup for this week. I think you have to go with powerhouse names if you’re going to win; managing the salary cap will be of utmost importance.

Ryan Blaney ($11,200)

Stats that matter: three straight runner-up finishes at Phoenix, career average…