This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
Drydene 200
Location: Dover, Del.
Course: Dover International Speedway
Format: 1.0-mile oval
Laps: 200
Race Preview
Justin Allgaier held off the field in an overtime restart to claim his second victory of the season last week at Darlington Raceway. That win gives him a head full of momentum as he returns this week to Dover International Speedway as the defending winner. Last season's altered NASCAR Xfinity Series schedule saw a double-header at the track where Allgaier and Chase Briscoe split victories over the weekend. Austin Cindric enters the weekend with the highest driver rating at the track, but he will start deep in the field in 16th position. Allagier will start on the outside of the front row with Daniel Hemric taking pole position. Dover has produced 50 different winners from 74 series races, but only eight of those races were won from pole.
Key Stats at Dover International Speedway
- Number of races: 74
- Winners from pole: 8
- Winners from top-5 starters: 43
- Winners from top-10 starters: 54
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 7
- Fastest race: 133.154 mph
Previous 10 Dover Winners
2020 II - Chase Briscoe
2020 I - Justin Allgaier
2019 fall - Cole Custer
2019 spring - Christopher Bell
2018 fall - Christopher Bell
2018 spring - Justin Allgaier
2017 fall - Ryan Blaney
2017 spring - Kyle Larson
2016 fall - Daniel Suarez
2016 spring - Erik Jones
Dover is 1.0-mile concrete surface that rewards patience and drivers who are able to find a rhythm. Track position is historically one of the most important factors, too. the short lap distance offers few chances for teams to go off strategy to make up ground, and remaining mistake-free on pit road is a must to keep from falling behind. There isn't a ton of room for passing at the track, and the preferred line is one that maximizes speed down the straights. Most passing will come at the end of the fast straights due to getting off of the prior turn faster than your opponent. Tire wear on the concrete surface can also become a concern, and failures at the track will put cars completely out of the race. Fantasy players should focus on drivers starting inside the top 10. No driver has won this race starting lower than eighth since Clint Bowyer's 2016 victory.
DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Ty Gibbs - $11,500
Austin Cindric - $11,000
AJ Allmendinger - $10,700
Justin Allgaier - $10,400
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Noah Gragson - $9,900
Brandon Jones - $9,700
Daniel Hemric - $9,400
Harrison Burton - $9,100
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Josh Berry - $8,900
Michael Annett - $8,700
Jeb Burton - $8,300
Zane Smith - $8,000
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Riley Herbst - $7,900
Ryan Sieg - $7,600
Myatt Snider - $7,400
Jeremy Clements - $7,000
MY PICKS THIS WEEK
Lower-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Justin Allgaier - $10,400
Noah Gragson - $9,900
Josh Berry - $8,900
Myatt Snider - $7,400
Jeremy Clements - $7,000
Joe Graf Jr. - $6,400
Fresh off of his second win of the season, Allgaier will try to go back-to-back and defend his Dover win from 2020. He has the second starting position and two career Dover victories. A successful appeal of an inspection failure last week restored Noah Gragson's Dash 4 Cash. He would sweep the program this weekend and he is the highest-placed eligible driver again this weekend. He is still looking for his first 2021 trip to Victory Lane and has four seventh-place or better Dover finishes from five tries. Josh Berry has his victory already this year, and is coming off of an impressive runner-up finish last week at Darlington. Berry will start sixth in his first series start at the track. Myatt Snider has been to Dover before. He has an average finish of 17.5 from the two 2020 races at the track and starts 15th this time. He has been a consistent top-12 finisher all season and should be poised to score his best Dover result. Jeremy Clements enters the weekend 10th in the standings. He added his fourth top-10 finish of the season to his totals last week and has been consistently finishing in the top 15 each week. Fantasy players should feel comfortable relying on his ability to continue that streak this week, too. The 36th-place starting position goes to Joe Graf Jr., who has shown the potential to grab a top-20 or two so far this season. This could be the week he adds another given his finishes of 18th and 21st in the two Dover races last season.
Higher-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Austin Cindric - $11,000
Daniel Hemric - $9,400
Harrison Burton - $9,100
Brett Moffitt - $7,200
Brandon Brown - $6,900
Colby Howard - $6,200
After a rough race last week at Darlington, Cindric is poised for a return to form this week in Dover. Fantasy players willing to take the chance, given Cindric's six Dover top-10s from six starts, should be rewarded with additional finish differential points given his 16th starting spot, too. Hemric's spot on pole sets him up nicely for the first stage, and he should earn additional points for laps led. He finished seventh or better in each of his last four Dover starts. Harrison Burton has been very reliable for fantasy rosters this season with just one finish worse than 12th so far. He finished fifth in this race last season and then backed it up with an 11th-place finish a day later in the double-header weekend. He will start fifth this weekend. Brett Moffitt has two series starts at Dover. He led 23 laps in the second race of last year's double-header and finished 10th. He will start 10th this week and should be capable of a top-10 finish. Nineteenth-place starter Brandon Brown has a best finish of 11th at this track, but he led four laps in this race last season. With two top-10 finishes in the last five races, he is also on the cusp of a spot in the playoff standings. Colby Howard finished 16th on the last 1.0-mile track the series raced on. He will start 25th this week and will be aiming for his third top-20 in six races.
