DraftKings NASCAR DFS Picks for Watkins Glen: Fantasy NASCAR DFS Strategy and Picks for the Go Bowling at The Glen

Watkins Glen plays host to the second race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.

Goodyear has introduced a new tire compound, resulting in tire falloff of 2.7 seconds after just 15 laps in practice, with a prediction of at least three seconds over the course of a fuel run in the race.

That makes practice incredibly important so we can assess how drivers fare on the long run, while knowing it’s a huge advantage to have fresh tires.

That’s where I’ll look when making my NASCAR DFS Watkins Glen picks.

Before we jump into my picks, don’t forget all my NASCAR projections can be found in the NASCAR Models on FantasyLabs, complete with floor, ceiling, median, and ownership projections.

Let’s not skip the best part — my Perfect% metric — a metric that tells you how often certain racers appear in the optimal lineup when running 10,000 race simulations.

And don’t forget about the tools that FantasyLabs has to offer, like our Lineup Optimizer to effortlessly create up to 300 lineups, or our Lineup Builder if you like to hand-build your lineups.

Here are my NASCAR DFS picks for the Go Bowling at The Glen race at Watkins Glen.

Go Bowling at The Glen DraftKings DFS Cash Game Strategy

For this race, we’re just going to have to go with drivers we believe have good race cars who will combine for the best combination of place differential and finishing position.

The first and foremost cash-game play is Chris Buescher ($8300), who starts 24th but had a solid practice session. It may not look it thanks to the fact that practice actually ran in two groups, with each group getting two separate sessions, but Buescher was right up there with some of the top drivers from Group A in the group’s second — and arguably more important — practice session. Buescher has finished 11th or better in every single road-course race outside of Chicago in the Next Gen era.

Kyle Larson ($10,500): Larson, like Buescher, was incredibly fast in the second Group A practice session, posting times right up there with Michael McDowell, who ended up setting the fastest 15-lap average among all four of the practice sessions. Hendrick Motorsports has won the last five Watkins Glen races, and Larson should be a safe-but-effective threat come Sunday as he tries to avoid problems to protect his playoff points position.

I’ve never done this in a cash game, but fading Tyler Reddick ($9500) is an interesting option that may be more suitable for tournaments, but I like it in cash games too. Reddick posted the best five and 10-lap average times, but a lot of that was because it came in the first Group A session, which had the fastest times on a fresh track. In his own group, Reddick was slower than six other cars from laps 8-12 in the first session, and he trailed behind a gaggle of cars in the same group in the second session. He didn’t sound all too confident in his TV interview, but he should be highly owned thanks to his reputation, short-run speed on a clean track, and having tested at this track.

Go Bowling at The Glen DraftKings DFS Tournament Strategy and Picks

This race is all over the place, so like at the top, I suggest we focus on the combination of finishing position, place differential, and salary.

To me, the best values on the slate are Michael McDowell ($8500) and Daniel Suarez ($7900). McDowell had one of the best long-run cars in Group A, while Suarez looked class of the field in Group B in both sessions. Both cars get you place-differential potential as well, starting 10th (McDowell) and eighth (Suarez).

Chase Elliott ($10,000) is another driver I like a lot, knowing people will be all over Reddick, Martin Truex Jr., and others starting behind him. Elliott was in that same group of cars that posted great long-run speed in the second Group A session along with McDowell, Larson, and Buescher, but he seems to be sneaking under the radar. I’ll happily back the underowned road-course ace.

I have to do it. I have to pick Juan Pablo Montoya ($8000) for tournaments. He’ll probably be overowned as a one-off driver who’s know for being a road-course ace. But his practice times were deceptively good!

In session 1, Montoya had the third-best average from laps 8-12. In the second session, he hung out just behind the lead group. Starting 34th, he’s only going to move forward. Barring problems, I expect him to end up in the optimal lineup, which means I like going way too far overweight on him, almost to the detriment of my own health.