NASCAR DFS Trucks: Victoria's Voice Foundation 200

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Published on March 2, 2023

Victoria's Voice Foundation 200

Location: Las Vegas, Nev.
Course: Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Format: 1.5-mile oval
Laps: 134

Race Preview

The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series resumes action this week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway after taking last weekend off. Zane Smith won the opening round of the 2023 season two weeks ago at Daytona to get an early jump on the championship battle. However, this week Christian Eckes, who led a race-high 19 laps at Daytona, will look to rally back and challenge for his first win of the season. Last season's Las Vegas winner, Chandler Smith, has moved on to the Xfinity Series this year, so he won't be in the picture this time around. We expect Toyota drivers will look to once again exert their dominance as they did in finishing 1-2-3 in this event one year ago. New faces at the top for that stable could be Tyler Ankrum, Stewart Friesen and Corey Heim. This will be the 31st time that the Craftsman Trucks will have raced at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, so this division of NASCAR has a long and detailed history of racing here.

Key Stats at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Number of races: 30
Winners from pole: 9
Winners from top-5 starters: 19
Winners from top-10 starters: 23
Winners from 21st or lower starters: 1
Fastest race: 143.163 mph

Previous 10 Las Vegas Winners

2022 spring – Chandler Smith
2021 fall – Christian Eckes
2021 spring – John Hunter Nemechek
2020 fall – Austin Hill
2020 spring – Kyle Busch
2019 fall – Austin Hill
2019 spring – Kyle Busch
2018 fall – Grant Enfinger
2018 spring – Kyle Busch
2017 fall – Ben Rhodes

Chandler Smith extended Toyota's reign at Las Vegas last March, making it seven consecutive trips to Victory Lane at Vegas for that manufacturer. Toyota drivers have now won nine of the last 10 races there. Like most traditional 1.5-mile ovals, Las Vegas will favor drivers who start close to the front of the field. Nine of the last 10 Las Vegas winners have started 11th on the grid or better. Smith started third and won last spring, keeping this statistic relevant. Track position and restarts tend to be among the biggest factors in winning at the desert oval. Cautions throughout the race's 134 laps will shape pit strategy, and drivers lacking speed early will look for early trips to pit lane to make adjustments. Long green-flag runs can trap slower vehicles down a lap and give them little opportunity to move forward. Last year's race featured 10 caution periods, so the action was frequently slowed with only three green-flag stretches of 10 laps or more.

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NASCAR Projections

DraftKings Value Picks for the Victoria's Voice Foundation 200 (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)

DraftKings Tier 1 Values

Kyle Busch - $14,500
Ross Chastain - $12,000
Zane Smith - $11,500
John Hunter Nemechek - $10,700

DraftKings Tier 2 Values

Ben Rhodes - $9,700
Corey Heim - $9,500
Grant Enfinger - $9,200
Stewart Friesen - $9,000

DraftKings Tier 3 Values

Tyler Ankrum - $8,700
Christian Eckes - $8,600
Carson Hocevar - $8,400
Matt DiBenedetto - $8,200

DraftKings Long-Shot Values

Tanner Gray - $7,800
Chase Purdy - $7,700
Kaz Grala - $7,500
Colby Howard - $6,600

NASCAR DFS Picks for the Victoria's Voice Foundation 200

Our Picks (High Risk Lineup) ($50K Salary Cap)

Kyle Busch - $14,500
Christian Eckes - $8,600
Carson Hocevar - $8,400
Colby Howard - $6,600
Timmy Hill - $6,100
Kris Wright - $5,300

Our Picks (Lower Risk Lineup) ($50K Salary Cap)

Ross Chastain - $12,000
John Hunter Nemechek - $10,700
Christian Eckes - $8,600
Colby Howard - $6,600
Timmy Hill - $6,100
Dean Thompson - $5,900

Smith won this race last year in a pitched battle with Kyle Busch. He has moved on to the Xfinity Series in 2023, so he won't be present this weekend to defend his race crown of one year ago. In recent history, this has been a truck series event marked by NASCAR Cup Series mercenaries who make the jump into a truck for a one-off or as part of a part-time schedule of starts. The event is early in the schedule, it's a triple header weekend of racing at Las Vegas and everyone is fresh. Kyle Busch is one of the major noteworthy mercenaries this weekend and he'll be joined by the likes of Ross Chastain and John Hunter Nemechek in making the start outside their primary racing series. But this doesn't always result in a series "hopper" taking the win. If you examine the last 10 race winners at Las Vegas Motor Speedway (above), you'll see a good mix of truck series veteran, youngsters and mercenaries that make their way to victory lane here. It's always a good battle, and historical trends for this track are pretty important. The lineup illustrated above takes those current Las Vegas trends into account and mixes in some drivers who are off to a good start in 2023.

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