The rankings below are based on a mixture of expected output and DraftKings’ NASCAR salaries for that day. The ordering is not based on the highest projected fantasy totals, but rather by the value of each driver.
The DraftKings Rackley Roofing 200 slate locks at 8:00 p.m. ET on Friday.
Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NTS $50K Octane [$10K to 1st] (Trucks)
1. John H. Nemechek ($10,800) — The competition is strong this week, but not strong enough. If Chase Elliott couldn’t beat Nemechek last week, then no one in this field is going to beat John Hunter Neme-Champ.
2. Ross Chastain ($10,200) — Anything can happen in the Truck Series. Crazy restarts, wrecks or penalties can result in surprise winners. Nemechek is the favorite on Friday night, but Chastain only needs a small break to sneak away with the win.
3. Chandler Smith ($8,100) — At Charlotte, the KBM prospect was able to run a couple laps in practice and he finished 6th. In his next race at Texas, Smith earned another 6th place finish. With a couple more laps of practice at Nashville, he could earn a top 5 finish.
5. Austin Hill ($10,000) — Hattori racing and Austin Hill haven’t declined. They’re just as fast as they were last season, but John Hunter Nemechek wasn’t in a KBM truck last season. This is a track that suits Hill’s style, but he has not demonstrated that he is capable of defeating Nemechek.
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6. Grant Enfinger ($9,400) — When he races for ThorSport, he’s a top 5 trucker, but he’s not elite. The same thing can be said for his teammates Matt Crafton and Ben Rhodes. They live inside the top 10, but they need the stars to align in order to get wins.
7. William Byron ($9,800) — The Rackley W.A.R. truck has been decent this season and last week Josh Berry finished 11th in their primary truck. Rackley has enough money to sponsor this race and enough money to hire William Byron for this race, so they must have enough money to build a top 5 truck.
8. Todd Gilliland ($8,600) — There is a hard ceiling for Gilliland. He is a much better driver than he was during his Kyle Busch Motorsports days, but his equipment is not good enough to regularly compete for wins. He can battle inside the top 10, but he’s not going to win at ovals.
9. Ben Rhodes ($9,200) — Not enough credit is given to Ben Rhodes. He has nine top 10 finishes with an average finish of 5th in those nine races. The Truck Series features quality drivers in quality equipment. Sustained success should be celebrated.
10. Zane Smith ($9,600) — At Texas, Zane Smith showed signs of life. He was supposed to be a championship contender this season, but he has mostly been absent. Last week, Smith earned the third-most fast laps points behind John Hunter Nemecheck and Chase Elliott.
Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NTS $60K Piston [$10K to 1st] (Trucks)
11. Matt Crafton ($8,800) — The season began with five top 15 finishes with an average finish of 10th for Crafton. That’s slightly below his standards, but he’s been well below his standards in the last six races. His average finish over the last six races is 19th.
12. Stewart Friesen ($8,400) — The top 20 is stout this week. There is no guarantee that Friesen will walk away with a top 10 at Nashville. Ironically, when a lot of talented truckers race, there are more wrecks. It’s not a matter of skill, but an issue of aggression.
13. Josh Berry ($8,300) — The roofing and shocks business must be booming because the Rackley W.A.R team is making big moves. They fired Timothy Peters and hired Josh Berry. In his first start, he finished 11th. Berry will get a ton of reps in the Truck and Xfinity Series practices on Friday.
14. Johnny Sauter ($7,700) — He is a shell of his former self, but at least he is a shell. Last season Sauter was unrecognizable. He has six top 15 finishes this season, and three of his worst performances were at tracks that are useless for evaluation (Daytona, Bristol Dirt, and COTA).
15. Ty Majeski ($7,100) — Josh Berry and Ty Majeski have similar career paths. They are both great iRacers and late model racers, but both have struggled to get consistent opportunities in NASCAR. Berry finally got his chance and he looks like a future Xfinity Series champ. Majeksi finished 7th at Charlotte. If he earns another top 10 finish, then this might be the beginning of something big.
16. Tyler Ankrum ($7,300) — Among the top tier teams (GMS, ThorSport, and KBM), Ankrum is on the bottom of the totem pole. He has a great truck, but he has the least amount of talent. Normally, he’s an easy fade, but with this week’s price tag, Ankrum is appealing. He is averaging a 12th place finish over his last six races.
17. Tanner Gray ($6,700) — The 2021 season has not worked out as planned, but Gray might be getting back on track (10th place finish at Texas). This DGR-Crosley truck has typically been a 10th to 15th place truck over the last couple of seasons. At this price, a 15th place finish is acceptable.
18. Derek Kraus ($6,800) — Last season, Kraus was regularly an $8,000 driver. His talent has not disappeared and Bill McAnally is still building fast trucks, but the competition is fierce. Due to the strength of the field, Kraus receives a generous price discount. He’ll need some breaks to go his way, but nothing earth shattering.
19. Ryan Preece ($9,000) — He’s rarely ranked in the Cup Series because his talent and equipment do not match up favorably with the competition. This might be a different story, but it could be more of the same. The Truck Series regulars are talented and their equipment is fast. Practice should answer most of the questions surrounding Ryan Preece.
20. Drew Dollar ($7,500) — The No. 51 KBM truck is a great truck, but Drew Dollar might be the worst KBM driver ever. His season began with a wreck at Daytona, but that happens. He wrecked in practice at Charlotte and he wrecked in the race. Last week at Texas, he wrecked again. Will he make it a perfect 4-for-4 this week?
Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NTS $60K Piston [$10K to 1st] (Trucks)
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