Overview
The Cup Series driers get their chance to run Watkins Glen International Sunday in Watkins Glen, New York. “The Glen” is an 11-turn, 3.40-mile road course made of asphalt and concrete. Road courses are their own animal as it may be easier to identify track similarities simply by looking at other road courses and the histories that drivers have at them. However, each road course has its own identity making it a true test of maneuvering a car from any direction. There are 90 laps to be run so, as was mentioned yesterday, dominator points will be scarce. Instead, we’ll be looking for drivers that can drive through the field and score place differential points while also finding some drivers that we can expect to finish near the front. With how far some of these drivers have improved on road courses over the years these races have truly become anyone’s guess as to who will have a chance to win.
Most comparable tracks: Any road course
*Note: all pricing is DraftKings focused
Dominators
These are the drivers that we can typically expect to, you guessed it, dominate the race. When we think dominator we are looking for guys that will be in a position to lead a hefty amount of laps as well as be able to turn over fastest laps.
Michael McDowell ($9,600), Starting 3rd
McDowell is fresh off a road course win last week in a race that he led 54 laps. He started fourth in that triumph and was clearly towards the front all day. Despite not having a great career run at The Glen, McDowell did finish sixth here last years leading 14 laps in the process.
Denny Hamlin ($9,000), Starting on the Pole
Hamlin is looking to avenge a disappointing effort last week in which he finished 19th after three consecutive top-three finishes. Hamlin has been good at The Glen overall with one win and five top-five finishes. Hamlin is definitely a dark horse to dominate this race but one that won’t be popular.
Kyle Larson ($10,800), Starting 5th
Larson finished eighth last week and won this race last season. He now has four wins on road courses in his career and specifically at The Glen he has two wins (back to back) in eight tries with three top-fives and five top-10’s. Larson has finished in the top-10 here in each of his last four races.
Also consider: Tyler Reddick ($10,300), William Byron ($8,800)
Place Differential Targets
The drivers that are starting farther back in the field than where they could be expected to finish. A lot of times due to a variety of qualifying situations some top drivers could start farther back in the field and make their way up through the field in a short period of time.
Chase Elliott ($11,000), Starting 15th
Despite being the highest-priced driver, Elliott has a ton of upside here. Elliott has seven career road course victories with 17 top-fives and an average finish position of eighth. He’s won twice at The Glen in six tries and has an average finish of sixth. It wouldn’t shock me if Elliott picked up his P.D. points early and went on to dominate this races. He’s just that good on road courses.
Martin Truex Jr. ($10,500), Starting 19th
Starting 19th, Truex should be looked at as a target if paying up for P.D. At The Glen Truex has a win, seven top-fives, and an average finish of 10th. In five of his last six races here he’s finished in the top-10 and in four of those races he’s finished in the top-three.
Kevin Harvick ($7,600), Starting 33rd
If you’re looking to lock in a safe, dependable cash play with some upside look at Harvick who will be popular at $7,600. He’ll start 33rd so picking up P.D. points is all but a forgone conclusion. He finished 12th here last year and had three top-10’s consecutively prior to that. Harvick has won here and has an average finish of 12th for his career.
Chase Briscoe ($7,300), Starting 26th
I love Briscoe this week and on road courses in general. He was a stud on road courses at the XFINITY level and although it hasn’t translated as quickly to the Cup Series, he’s show speed and flashes of running up front at these tracks.
Erik Jones ($6,500), Starting 31st
Despite having issues with his car last week, Jones was having a great run and lines up as a great P.D. play once again from the value tier. Jones’ best road course runs have come at The Glen with four career top-10’s and two top-five’swith an average finish of 11th.
Also consider: Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. ($5,900), Ty Dillon ($4,900), Cole Custer ($5,400), Ryan Blaney ($7,500)
GOOD LUCK!!!