Kansas Trucks

I've come to really enjoy the Truck Series races under the lights and they're all the more entertaining with DraftKings running Truck contests this year.  As always, much is dependent on qualifying, but there are some targets that stand out to me for this race:

• At the top, I think we'll see Johnny Sauter and Brett Moffitt fight it out again.  Neither is likely to be a bad choice and both have a good shot at leading laps and running fastest laps.  I used both last week and that worked out because we had some really good value plays.  That strategy might be available this week as well depending on qualifying.
• In the mid-tier, I really like Grant Enfinger and think he's ridiculously under priced at $8,600.  He had the third most fastest laps at Dover right behind Sauter and Moffit.  He already has two Top 5 finishes at 1.5 mile tracks this year and he is with a strong team in ThorSport.  (I like Enfinger much better then a guy like Ross Chastain at $9,100.  Ross has been very solid posting Top 10s in all six races so far.  And that's what he is -- solid.  He's not going to lead laps or hit fastest laps whereas Enfinger has the potential to do that in addition to bringing home a Top 10 finish.)
• The four Kyle Busch Motorsports drivers in the $8,100 - $8,800 range will also be targets and popular choices.  Of the four, I think the safest is probably Harrison Burton.  He has two Top 5 finishes and was up there challenging for the lead at times in Dover.  Todd Gilliland's best finish is 7th and he has only two Top 10 finishes in six races -- which is clear under performance since he's in top notch equipment.  He was doing pretty well at Dover until getting caught up in an accident that was no fault of his towards the end of the race though.  I'm worried about Brandon Jones.  That group seemed pretty far off at Dover.  Would still consider him as an option though depending on practice speed and qualifying.  I'd be OK using the 4th driver Riley Herbst this week if the situation makes sense.  This is his first Truck race this year, but he ran several races last year and did OK.  Don't expect a Top 5, but a Top 10-12 is realistic.
• Austin Hill is $8k.  His performance has been up and down this year -- he won Daytona, but also has 30th place and 27th place finishes.  He's not going to lead laps or hit many fastest laps, so unless he's starting way back, I'm probably out because I like a few guys in the $7k range just as much.
• Sheldon Creed at $7,600 is so tempting.  He always seems to have speed, but he's always getting into trouble too.  At Dover, he lost the truck and finished 27th after leading 59 laps.  The speed means he qualifies well and that makes him a huge risk for cash games since he's starting in the Top 5, but has no Top 5 finishes and four finishes (in only six races) of 17th or worse.  Very strong tournament play because if he does ever finish a race error free, he may very well end up in Victory Lane with a bunch of laps led.
• Tyler Ankrum at $7,100 is very interesting.  He'll be in the lead DGR-Crosley truck (#17) and this has been a good mid-tier team so far this year.  This truck has finished in the Top 20 in all six races with three Top 10 finishes.  Ankrum has been in the truck the last three weeks and finished 6th at Texas and 9th at Dover.    
• Tyler Dippel and Gus Dean are basically the same guy.  They're teammates in like equipment and they should be OK and finish in the 15-20 range.  They are decent options if starting further back, but Tyler Ankrum is likely to be the top and safest choice in this $7k range.
• On the low end, I'm interested in Natalie Decker at $5,900.  She's running in the second truck for DGR-Crosley which I mentioned above.  This truck (#54) hasn't fared as well as the #17 with only three Top 20 runs.  But two of those Top 20 runs are in the last four races with Decker behind the wheel.  At Vegas (another 1.5 mile track), Decker started 12th and finished 13th.  At Dover, she started 20th and finished 17th.  For her salary, any decent finish will do as long as she doesn't qualify too high.
• Jennifer Jo Cobb tends to finish 2-3 spots ahead of where she starts.  It's something and may be playable at her salary of $5,800.  If, for example, Decker starts in the Top 10, you might find that too much of a risk to take and prefer someone like Cobb who certainly will not get you negative points because she's going to qualify very near the tail of the field.
• Avoid Norm Benning and Josh Reaume. They were the first two trucks out at Dover because they failed to maintain minimum speed.