NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: DuraMAX Drydene 400 at Dover

Dover Motor Speedway is my home track and I'm curious how the Next Gen will run here. With cooler temperatures this weekend, I expect we're going to see some impressive speed. Like was the case in Richmond, I don't think the new car will change the racing characteristics here, but I wouldn't be surprised if we have a driver who hasn't won yet this season in Victory Lane or a first- time Cup winner.

This Week's Pick Strategy:
Umm. While you won't be going out on a limb to pick Hendrick Motorsports drivers this week, make sure you have your eye on drivers like Daniel Suarez and Tyler Reddick, who have been oh so close many times this season.

 

Drivers with Most Top 10s 

Last 9 Races (2017 to 2021):

Kevin Harvick - 8
Martin Truex Jr.- 7

All with 6 - Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and Chase Elliott
All with 5 -  Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, and Daniel Suarez

Recent Pole Winners:
2021 Martin Truex Jr. (Set by Metric Qualifying)

2020 (August 23; Set by Metric Qualifying)
2020 (August 24) Matt DiBenedetto (Top 20 finishers from the August 23rd race were inverted.)
2019 Chase Elliott

 

Last Year's Race Winner: Alex Bowman

The Likely Suspects: My Dover elites include Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, and Kyle Busch.

My 2 Cents: This week's no-brainer pick is Chase Elliott. My next picks are Kevin Harvick, William Byron, Alex Bowman, Bubba Wallace, and Joey Logano. I will complete my roster with Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones.

Second-look driver: This week's sleeper pick is Daniel Suarez, who has been fast all year. Dover Motor Speedway is arguably Daniel's best track on the circuit with a 13.2 average finish.

My Final Four: Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, Joey Logano, and Daniel Suarez

Points to Ponder:

• The second-place starting position is the most prolific starting position in the field, producing more winners (20) than any other starting position at Dover International Speedway – the most recent was Denny Hamlin’s win on August 22, 2020.
• Hendrick Motorsports has the most wins at Dover in the NASCAR Cup Series with 21 victories among seven drivers.
• Kyle Busch leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in runner-up finishes at Dover with four and in Top 5 finishes at Dover with 13 Top 5s.
• Kevin Harvick leads all active series drivers in Top 10 finishes at Dover with 22 and in laps led at Dover with 1,666 in 41 races.
• Kyle Larson (13 starts) leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Dover with a 7.4. 

Remember, if you're playing Driver Group Game, make your initial picks by 8 a.m. ET on Saturday, April 30th and your final picks by 3 p.m. ET on race day Sunday, May 1st.

Enjoy the race!

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Carol D'Agostino has been playing Fantasy NASCAR for 16 years. She launched  NASCAR Fantasy Fusion for Skirts & Scuffs in October 2011. Each week, Carol pores through statistics and combs through her personal notebooks to arm fans with analysis and picking strategies that will leave their friends wondering how they got so smart. Carol also does race coverage for Skirts & Scuffs at Richmond Raceway and occasionally at her home track, Dover International Speedway. She is also part of the distinguished NASCAR Expert Picks panel at frcs.pro. formerly called Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet.

When she isn’t wielding her fantasy-racing superpowers, you’ll find Carol hammering out a news release or creating a marketing strategy at a small niche public relations firm she founded called Purple Cat or executing downtown revitalization projects for a small town on Maryland’s Eastern Shore