Written by @joejets19

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Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 🏁

Happy 4th of July everyone! It was a blah weekend at Pocono but I am hoping to see some fireworks on Sunday when NASCAR travels to Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis, IN for the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400. Indy is a 2.5 mile flat, rectangular oval with almost no tire wear. There will not be any Cup practices again this week but I am seeing a lot of reports that the races at Pocono will serve as a good gauge on how to set up the cars on Sunday. As of right now, weather does not appear to be an issue for this race, but lets be serious, this season is cursed.

On to Indy!

Scoring Breakdown

At this point, we know how the DK scoring system works, so let's see how many points are available this week:

Laps Led Points =0.25 points per lap led. This week, 160 laps will be run this and 40 points will be awarded (plus any overtime laps).

Place Differential Points = 1 point per position gained or -1 point per position lost.

Fastest Lap Points = 0.5 points per lap not run under caution (roughly 120 laps should run under the green flag for a total of 60 possible points).

Finishing Position Points: The 40th place driver receives 4 points, and for each position gained, another point is awarded (39th=5, 38th=6…) and the winner gets 46 points.

Lineup Construction 🏁

There are a ton of similarities between Pocono and Indy, including how to attack them from a DFS perspective. We will be focusing again on finishing position then considering dominator points and finally place differential. As we saw in the first Pocono race, this aero package gives an almost unfair advantage to the car with clean air and Indy has seen a good number of one dominator races that I am fairly confident that we will see another one on Sunday. There is also a possibility that this will turn into a strategy race (like we saw on Sunday at Pocono) where there was no major dominator and the perfect lineup consisted of five drivers finishing in the top 10 and a punt. When there has been a dominator, it generally is the driver starting on the pole, so I would focus on the front row for my one dominator lineups but fade the front row in my place differential lineups.

Finishing position is the name of the game again this weekend. In the last four races at Indy, no driver in any perfect lineup has finished worse than 14th. Not every driver has to make a massive move to land in the perfect lineup, but we will want to roster at least four and as many as five drivers that can finish in the top 10 and then one or two drivers that we think can at least sneak into the top 15.

We are going to have to be very selective again in the bargain basement. This is a giant track so cars will need some speed to keep up with the pack, and even when we roster drivers in this price range, they need top 15 potential. We should try to keep our lineups balanced and not include too many cheap drivers in our player pool.

Stage 1: 50 laps, Stage 2: 50 laps, Stage 3: 60 Laps

Lineup Foundation Targets

Clint Bowyer ($9,000 DK, $9,500 FD)

Bowyer had two of his best races of the year last weekend and is looking to keep his momentum rolling into Sunday. Starting 22nd, he brings top 10 potential to your lineup with top 5 upside. Bowyer is coming off of two consecutive 5th place finishes at Indy and may actually go a bit overlooked because everyone's favorite (apparently) Erik Jones is starting one spot behind him and is $900 cheaper. For cash, I prefer Bowyer due to his safety, but I can't argue against Jones in GPPs, unless you want to avoid his ownership.

Christopher Bell ($11,500 DK, $8,400 FD)

Bell is the highest priced driver on DK for the second time in three slates and I was actually very surprised about how it killed his ownership on Saturday. For this race, he is starting one place further forward and is slightly more expensive, but I think he is a solid piece to build a cash game team around. We are looking for drivers that can finish in the top 15 and Bell has that type of upside despite his 35th place starting position. I wouldn't pencil him in for a top 5 finish like last week, but I do think he has enough speed and skill to provide a solid foundation for any lineup and has GPP winning upside.

Tournament Targets

Joey Logano ($9,200 DK, $12,500 FD)

We are going to have to take some stabs at dominators this weekend and Logano is my top choice. Each of the last three drivers that led 87 or more laps at Indy have come from the pole and I think this aero package is an added bonus. Logano was fast last weekend but ran into trouble in both races, so he didn't finish as well as he raced. He is also very good at this track, with a top 8 finish in six of his last seven races here. We saw last weekend what creative pit strategies can do to a dominator's potential, so that does worry me some. But overall, I think Logano is the most likely driver to lead 80 or more laps and finish in the top 10.

Matt Kenseth ($7,900 DK, $7,400 FD)

I think Kenseth has finally gotten his feet under him after two consecutive top 12 finishes at Pocono. He is showing some actual speed in his car and some comfort with his crew. Kenseth starts 21st on Sunday and has five top 7 finishes in his last six races in Indy. I don't expect a top 5 this weekend but I think this is the race he might be able to sneak into the top 10.

Ryan Newman ($5,900 DK, $7,300 FD)

Newman is cheap but he is starting way further forward than I am comfortable with, so he landed in the risky pick of the week spot. Newman is starting 14th on Sunday and generally finishes in the teens at most tracks, but there is something about Indy that brings out the best in him. Newman has seven top 11 finishes in his last eight races here, including a win and a 3rd place finish. He is incredibly consistent at Indy and he will only need to pick up a handful of spots to land in the perfect lineup.

Bargain Basement

Michael McDowell ($5,700 DK, $5,500 FD)

It is almost getting ridiculous how McDowell is constantly under-priced and outproducing many drivers in the $6,000-$7,000 range. I am not complaining, however, because we get him at a great discount at another track that he can put up a solid score. McDowell's last three finishes at Indy are 17,17, 18 and coming from his starting position of 27th, I would lock that in any day.

Other Drivers To Consider

Here are 3 more drivers I like at the Indy that have a chance to make some noise, in no particular order:

Erik Jones ($8,100 DK, $10,600 FD)

Chris Buescher ($6,500 DK, $7,500 FD)

Bubba Wallace ($7,000 DK, $7,000 FD)

Top Driver to Avoid

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ($7,200 DK, $6,800 FD)

I actually think Stenhouse is going to garner some ownership from his 24th place starting position due to his price, but his track history is pitiful. He has one finish better than 31st in his last five races here, and one finish better than 24th ever. Naturally, that means he is going to finish in the top 5 on Sunday, but I am still going to avoid him like the 'rona.

Thanks for reading and good luck this weekend! Be sure to join me in the LineStar NASCAR chat! 

Be sure to download the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Cheatsheet and find me on Twitter. Good Luck!

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