Stock car racing’s premier series makes it to one of the two road courses in the playoffs at the Watkins Glenn International. Make the most of the Go Bowling at The Glen with our NASCAR DFS picks and tiers.
We reveal our “Tire Tiers” and betting cards live every Thursday at 8:30 p.m. EST on our YouTube series, “The Backroad.” Be sure to tune in, enjoy the race, and reach out if you have any questions.
(DFS prices are courtesy of DraftKings)
2024 Go Bowling at The Glen: NASCAR DFS Picks, Tiers & Rankings
Driver As | The Elites
This A-Tier of our NASCAR DFS rankings includes the three drivers that are at the top of Ifantasyrace.com’s total speed rankings on road courses since 2022. Then, there is Kyle Larson ($10,500), who has shown some OK speed at road courses, but when they hit the setup, they are a win-contending team. The 2022 winner has shown top-10 speed each year and was on his way to back-to-back T3 finishes in 2023 until a speeding penalty and a last-lap wreck negated all of his speed.
Christopher Bell ($9,300) has the second-best average finish at “The Glen” in the two years with the third-fastest car on average. Bell took an awful Camry in 2022 and finished eighth after starting dead last. In 2023, Bell would start a bit better and showed consistent speed to finish third.
Driver Bs | Point-Getters
William Byron ($10,300) and Chase Elliott ($10,000), former winners at Watkins Glen, are priced too high this week given their potential and the possibility that they will not make it into the optimal lineup, even if they still finish T10. Both have one T5 finish and a finish outside of the top 20 at Watkins Glen in the two Next-Gen era races. Neither has shown consistent speed at road courses this year, with only one T5 finish out of the three road courses (including the Chicago Street Race).
Chris Buescher ($8,300), Michael McDowell ($8,500)ย and A.J. Allmendinger ($9,000) are my favorite NASCAR DFS plays this week. They are all under or at $9,000 and have shown the sneaky potential to finish in the top five and even win. They own three of the top-five fastest cars in the Next-Gen Watkins Glen total speed ranking.ย Two of the three have a T10 finish in both races. McDowell was on his way to a T10 last year until an engine blew with 27 laps to go, relegating him to a P36 finish.
Driver Cs | In the Mix
Shane van Gisbergen ($9,800) has the price tag of one of the elite road course racers, which he is, but he does not have any experience at Watkins Glen in the Cup Series. The Kiwi has experience in sports cars, as he ran an IMSA race in 2017 and finished fourth in his class. I would be more inclined to roster “SVG” if he could finish T5 or run some fast laps. His best finish is P20 in the other two Cup Series road course races he’s run this season. Granted, he was a top-three car in the Chicago Street Race until he got wrecked out by a spinning Chase Briscoe.
Meanwhile, Denny Hamlin ($8,100)ย andย Bubba Wallace ($6,600) are mispriced. While both have horrendous road course results overall, at “The Glen,” they both looked competitive in 2023. Hamlin finished runner-up, and Wallace finished P2. Each had top-10 speed and ran in the top 15 for 98% of the day. They could be priced this low because DraftKings expects both to have a bad day, but Hamlin needs an excellent result to advance into the next round of the playoffs. Wallace needs a good finish to keep his confidence and momentum up to finish the season strong.
Driver Ds | Could Do Worse
Daniel Suarez ($7,900) and Alex Bowman ($7,600) highlight the D-Tier of our NASCAR DFS rankings, as they are likely the best road course drivers left on the board. However, they have been inconsistent at times, spinning out or having pit road issues. Suarez and Bowman have the potential to score high. Both have a good floor with top-12 speed on road courses this season and upside โ winning at road courses previously.
Ryan Blaney ($7,400) could also show up this week. He has shown massive improvement in road-course racing, with recent finishes of P12, P7 and P10 at tracks he used to run in the teens and 20s. Blaney could qualify poorly or be a front-runner. Either way, just don’t overexpose yourself to the No. 12 car; he could run for stage points and sacrifice the final finish.
Driver Fs | The Junk Drawer
The elephant in the room is Juan Pablo Montoya ($8,000). While it is great to see him back in a car for the first time since 2014, his price tag is far too high. The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner could live up to the hype, but my projections have him only hitting 15th or worse. Play the veteran at your own risk.
Chase Briscoe ($7,100) is the second-most expensive driver in the F-Tier of our NASCAR DFS rankings, and given his track record of 35th and 25th-place finishes, he is a risky play at his salary. However, he is worth considering if he qualifies poorly and has decent speed to make it into the low 20s or high teens.
Zane Smith ($5,700), Ryan Preece ($5,400)ย and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ($6,000) are the best value options under $6K. All three have the potential to score over 18 DraftKings points and are prime place-differential plays. This trio has qualified 24th or worse at road courses this season and can likely finish between 16th and 25th.
Check out all of our content for the 2024 Go Bowling at The Glen:
- PropKings: 2024 Go Bowling at The Glen
- Between Bets: 2024 Go Bowling at The Glen Outrights
- NASCAR DFS Picks, Tiers & Rankings: 2024 Go Bowling at The Glen
Thanks for reading our NASCAR DFS picks and tiers for the 2024 Go Bowling at The Glen. Check out more of our racing content and other written work here at In-Between Media, or head over to ourย YouTube channel to get your fix via video.
For more fantasy NASCAR content, find me on Twitter @NASINF1Fantasy.
*Photo Credit: Jasen Vinlove โ USA TODAY Sports*
