DraftKings Fantasy NASCAR picks: Watkins Glen

I’m playing DraftKings this season and will be posting my picks here each week. Disclosure: If you want to play and sign up using this link, DraftKings will give my website a commission.

Last race’s results: Played $4 Brake Pad contest and finished 285th out of 2,900. Won $8.

Season results: $68 wagered, $80 won in 17 contests.

This week’s contest: $4 Brake Pad game (single entry).

Watkins Glen picks:

— Kevin Harvick ($10,000): He starts 20th at a place where his average finish is 13.2. Place differential is EVERYTHING today, so that’s where you need to look.

— Kurt Busch ($9,600): This beast on road courses starts 18th today, which provides a good opportunity for picking up some positions. Yeah, he’s expensive, but you can probably afford it because you won’t be spending all of your salary cap anyway.

— Dale Earnhardt Jr. ($8,000): The No. 88 team has been off all weekend and Earnhardt has been glum about it. But surely Earnhardt can improve from starting 28th, right? So you can hope Greg Ives throws some pit strategy into the mix and Earnhardt stays out of trouble in the meantime.

Michael McDowell ($7,100): DraftKings caught on to McDowell’s potential this weekend and made him more expensive than most weeks. But he’s still worth it, especially after he didn’t have the best qualifying run and will start 14th (I would have passed on him if he started in the top 10). He could win the race if everything goes right.

— Chris Buescher ($6,900): He’s been decently fast this weekend, which offers opportunities to move up from the 17th starting spot. Maybe he’s learned something from teammate AJ Allmendinger and will get a good finish for your team.

— Danica Patrick ($5,900): She should finish better than 25th, which is where she qualified. It’s a pretty cheap option to a possible 10- or 15-spot gain in place differential.

NOTE: I’m leaving $2,500 on the table in terms of salary cap this week, but I feel like these are the best options to get me good finishes in relation to their starting spot, which is why I went this route.

Other tempting options: Trevor Bayne (starts 30th), Austin Dillon (starts 27th), Ryan Newman (starts 23rd).