GOAT’s 2023 Coke Zero Sugar 400 DraftKings Plays

NASCAR Coke Zero Sugar 400
Daytona International Speedway
Saturday 08/26/23 7:00 PM
2.5 mile, Paved

Superspeedway.  This is a 160-lap event.  Anyone’s game and all about strategy here.  Let me warn you now, the last few laps everything will change, so make sure you are strapped in for the end of the race.  LET’S GOOOOOOOAAAAAATTTTTT!!!!

“The Big One” – A wreck that takes out a large number of drivers.  This is due to the high speed and how close the cars run at superspeedway……Get ready, it will happen.  Not a question of if……but when.  If your drivers can avoid it, you could be in good shape, if not…………….Sorry!  This wreck typically happens at the end of the race as drivers get more aggressive.  

Strategy for the Superspeedways.  Talladega and Daytona.  Pick one or two drivers to win it, then fill the rest of your lineup with drivers from the back.  Salary doesn’t matter at these tracks……………..let me repeat myself………….SALARY DOES NOT MATTER AT THE SUPERSPEEDWAYS AND YOU CAN LEAVE ANY AMOUNT ON THE TABLE!

Alright……..let’s do this!!

Last Race Notables: Stenhouse won.  Kes led 42 laps, Buescher led 32 laps, Bell led 20 laps, Almirola led 16 laps, Bowman and Logano led 12 laps, Truex led 13 laps, Stenhouse led 10 laps. Start/Finish:  Stenhouse 31/1, Allmendinger 29/6, Suarez 24/7, Chastain 23/9, Ware 35/14, Busch 36/19.

Process:

Let me give you guys a better idea of what we are doing here for Nascar.  We put out an early article with some track stats and what drivers I will have my eyes on based on some numbers.  Things can change once qualifying and practice are over, so then we put out an update with drivers who seem to be fast or have had a good or bad qualifying run.  I put out a total of 12 drivers I like and a few who I am off.  The guys I am off are typically guys who don’t run that well here and have qualified in a decent position.

I am trying to narrow things down for you.  Too much information can just be confusing.  If you need more information, you can look at the projections tab.

Take a look at the scoring to better understand why I do it this way:

Point Scoring:

Drivers will accumulate points as follows:

DraftKings Scoring:

• Place Differential = +/- 1 PTs (Where they start vs. where they finish….start 20th, finish 10th = 10 pts)
• Fastest Laps = +0.5 PTs
• Laps Led = +0.25 PTs
• Finishing Position Scoring (winner: 46 pts, 2nd: 42 pts, 3rd: 41 pts, 4th: 40, 39, 38, 37, etc…)

FanDuel Scoring:

• 0.1 PTs for each lap completed.
• Place Differential = +/- 0.5 PTs (Where they start vs. where they finish….start 20th, finish 10th = 10 pts)
• Fastest Laps = +0.5 PTs
• Laps Led = +0.1 PTs
• Finishing Position Scoring (winner: 43 pts, 2nd: 40 pts, 3rd: 38 pts, 4th: 37, 36, 35, 34, etc…)

Track Stats:

Picks (DK pricing shown)

Note:  I will be going with many lineups that have the strategy of picking two drivers that can win, and a bunch of guys starting in the back who will avoid the “big one” and finish well because of it.  Leaving money on the table here is not a big deal at all……any amount!

Top Tier:

• Denny Hamlin ($10,200) – Starting 19th.  
• Chase Elliott ($10,500) – Starting 23rd.  
• Joey Logano ($9,800) – Starting 14th.  
• William Byron ($9,500) – Starting 27th. 

Mid Tier:

• Alex Bowman ($7,600) – Starting 31st.  
• Ricky Stenhouse($8,500) – Starting 32nd.  
• Austin Dillon ($7,500) – Starting 21st.   
• Michael McDowell ($7,800) – Starting 39th. 

Sleepers:

• Cam Smith ( $5,400) – Starting 36th.  
• Todd Gilliland ($5,900) – Starting 35th.  
• Josh Berry($5,700) – Starting 29th.  
• Ty Dillon($5,000) – Starting 30th. 
• Low end teams starting in back tend to finish well due to missing the wreck:  Line ’em right up 30th – 40th.

As usual, if you have any questions, hit me up on Twitter, @trmp31, or GOAT in Discord.