2024 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix

From the high stakes poker game that was tire wear last week at Bristol Motor Speedway, the stars of the NASCAR Cup Series are gearing up for a little Texas Hold ‘Em on one of it’s longest courses.

The twists and turns of Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, presents a whole new list of challenges and obstacles that only the most skilled will convert into success. Stars like Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott and Shane Van Gisbergen will be hot commodities this week from a fantasy aspect, as they always seem to be toward the front for races such as this one.

You’ll see a couple of those guys in my lineup this week, but we’ll get to that later.

COTA is a nearly 3.5-mile trek across 20 distinct left and right turns that will challenge the suspensions of the cars and the patience and finesse of each driver that takes it on. There will be high attrition, as drivers will have to survive restarts heading uphill into turn 1, despite NASCAR moving the restart zone back a few feet.

Tire management will not nearly be as much of a factor as it was last week, but accuracy on pit road will be a must to keep these drivers in contention over 68 long laps. Qualifying will be of high importance, as track position can be hard to come by if you don’t already have it when the green flag flies. It goes without saying that whoever can put it all together on Sunday, March 24, will find the most success.

Coverage of the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix begins at 3:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

Last week, I had a near-perfect week fantasy-wise, as every single driver in my lineup scored positive points. Each one of them walked away with a top-15 finish.

This week is a little tougher to predict, as road course racing can either have the usual suspects at the front or total surprise runs from dark horses. You’ll see that I’m leaning toward the regulars this week though.

Here’s a quick rules breakdown before we get into it:

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…