My projections, along with Stephen Young\u2019s from RotoGrinders, are available in our new\u00a0NASCAR DFS package<\/a>. You can read more about what the\u00a0package entails here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s not skip the best part \u2014 my\u00a0Perfect% metric \u2014 a metric that tells you how often certain racers appear in the optimal lineup when running 10,000 race simulations.<\/p>\n And don\u2019t forget about the\u00a0tools that FantasyLabs<\/a>\u00a0has to offer, like\u00a0our\u00a0Lineup Optimizer<\/a>\u00a0to effortlessly create up to 300 lineups or our\u00a0Lineup Builder<\/a>\u00a0if you like to hand-build your lineups.<\/p>\n So, without further ado, here\u2019s my strategy guide and NASCAR DFS picks for The Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen International.<\/p>\n Watkins Glen DFS Core Picks<\/p>\n Instead of calling them cash-game picks, I\u2019ll call them core picks, as these are picks I like in all formats. However, it\u2019s important to note that very often core picks tend to go over-rostered in tournaments, so while they should still be used plenty, it may be prudent to sometimes go underweight on these drivers if you think they\u2019ll be significantly over-rostered.<\/p>\n William Byron ($9500): Byron was top dog in practice on the long run, and he was also No. 1 in group-adjusted practice FLAGS. By starting just 10th, he has plenty of place-differential potential where a podium finish should put him in, or close to, the optimal lineup even if he doesn\u2019t dominate.<\/p>\n Justin Haley ($5700): Haley\u2019s cheap price tag combined with his blistering speed in the first practice group, where he topped the group in FLAGS, makes him a strong core play this weekend.<\/p>\n His 23rd-place qualifying effort wasn\u2019t ideal, but that is music to DFS players\u2019 ears to get a fast car starting that far back at a cheap price tag.<\/p>\n Chase Elliott ($9100): Elliott isn\u2019t going to show up at the top of the lap averages thanks to the group splits, but he was ninth in five-lap and 10-lap average. After adjusting for the fact that the second practice group, which he was a part of, fired off slower, he actually shines.<\/p>\n That\u2019s exactly what my practice FLAGS metric does, and by that metric, he was sixth overall in group-adjusted FLAGS.<\/p>\n Elliott starts 20th, so there\u2019s a ton of potential for him to move forward, especially when we consider that his teammate Alex Bowman, who was fifth in FLAGS, may be on a suboptimal strategy as the driver most likely to points-race.<\/p>\n Watkins Glen DFS Tournament Picks<\/p>\n One of Kyle Busch or Michael McDowell ($7700 \/ $8400): Two drivers who must win to get into the playoffs will start right next to each other in fifth (Busch) and sixth (McDowell).<\/p>\n We know both have fast cars from practice, both are successful road-course racers, and both will also be on the optimal strategy going for the win.<\/p>\n But by starting so far forward, there\u2019s likely only room for one of these two to end up in the optimal lineup.<\/p>\n That means you should build in some negative correlation between the two if you\u2019re using the lineup optimizer, because it\u2019s highly unlikely both end up optimal. But I think there\u2019s a solid chance one or the other could end up optimal.<\/p>\n Ty Gibbs ($8700): Gibbs is in a similar must-win situation as Busch and McDowell, but for DFS players, there\u2019s the luxury that Gibbs starts 14th, meaning he could finish inside the top five and end up optimal, which allows him to be paired with either McDowell or Busch.<\/p>\n Gibbs is also a strong road-course racer, posted solid practice times, and will be in win-or bust mode. That\u2019s the upside we look for in tournaments.<\/p>\n Todd Gilliland and\/or Cole Custer ($6700 \/ $5300): If you\u2019re looking for some cheap pivots off of Haley, Gilliland and Custer are wise choices that start in the bottom third of the field.<\/p>\n Both placed in the top half of the field in five-lap average in practice and have a solid chance at ending up optimal, especially if some of the big-dollar drivers take home the top few spots while also grabbing some dominator points.<\/p>\n Pictured:\u00a0William Byron<\/p>\n Photo credit: Ayrton Breckenridge, Imagn<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Watkins Glen International hosts the third-to-last race of the regular season. With only three opportunities left to a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":71804,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[425,99],"class_list":["post-71803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nascar","tag-nascar","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71803\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"This](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/NASCAR-ads-Dayton-1000x400-FantasyLabs.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n