The final race of the early west coast swing for NASCAR is here and we are in Phoenix. The uniquely shaped 1-mile track which will host the 2020 championship weekend is really going to be an unknown this weekend. The reasoning behind that is the introduction of shorter spoilers on the cars which I’m sure will cause some set up issues for certain teams. However, it is a race track and much like all the others you somehow always see the same guys competing for the win come Sunday. So, here are six drivers who should perform solidly during tomorrow’s Fan Shield 500!

Drivers

• Denny Hamlin
• Ryan Blaney
• Chase Elliott
• Austin Dillon
• Tyler Reddick
• John Hunter Nemechek

Fan Shield 500 Big Money Drivers

The 2020 Daytona 500 winner, Denny Hamlin. He doesn’t have the best odds (6/1) rolling into tomorrow. However, I am taking a different approach this weekend’s race especially on DFS. His salary is a pretty high $10,200 but he did when the most recent race in the desert. Also in the previous four races here he has an average finish of around sixth which puts him behind only Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick in that department. Something else that I found interesting as well is that his 183 laps led in the previous four races put him leading around 15% of the total laps. That shows me this man knows how to get upfront.

The man is coming off the announcement of a contract extension and was your regular-season points leader going into last week’s race. Not to mention Ryan Blaney should’ve won that race last week, but a tire issue took that from him in the closing stage. Ryan in the previous four races here has an average finish of around 14th so he is consistent. He will cost you a whopping $9,900 on DFS and Vegas has him around 12/1 to win. I think it’s a little low, but after the way, he has been performing this season take those odds and win some money for me.

Mid Pack Drivers

The man with some fast practice times and not to mention the poll as well! Chase Elliott has a new sponsor this weekend on his car, and a ton of speed tuned into that Camaro. However, he has a horrible average finish here of around twentieth. So, that is probably why his odds are similar to Blaney’s at 12/1 with a DFS of $9,600 he is affordable if you play with your salary enough. This is what I tried to do this weekend instead of going with two big choices I wanted a few more consistent choices which is why he landed up in my lineup.

This next driver is a difficult choice for me, but Austin Dillon. Austin and really the whole RCR camp have really showed some solid speeds at times early on this year. Austin has horrible odds at 300/1 and a DFS salary of $7,500. Those are mid to bottom end odds and salaries. However Austin does have a better average finish (18^th) here than Chase Elliott, and as I mentioned in the opening part there is a new package rolling onto the track Sunday. I promise there are a lot worse things you could lose some money on this weekend Austin could surprise some especially with the new found speed in the Chevy camp as well.

Fan Shield 500 Rookies

So, I was kind of strapped for cash in my salary at this point so I had to go with a few rookies. Tyler Reddick has horrible odds against him at 500/1 but I don’t know much like Austin Dillon I like him as a small wager pick with tons of potential return. In his previous four Xfinity races here he averaged around a fifth-place finish. Yes, I know you can’t base this pick off those stats. His DFS salary of $6,900 is a low-end bargain, which could pay shocking benefits especially if the speed shows up again for the RCR camp that I’ve seen the last two weeks at times.

This choice was solely based on salary now. John Hunter Nemechek 2000/1 odds to win this race. I mean honestly that’s about right though. He is in underperforming equipment and is a rookie. However is three Xfinity starts here he does have an average finish of around seventh. So, maybe he knows how to get around this track enough to secure a top fifteen finish tomorrow. He is someone I would take the under on realistically this week. He could earn you a few dollars with a solid run.

Conclusion

Realistically I thought about stacking my lineup with Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick or Martin Truex. Which I mean you could take that approach but you will hurt yourself later on in your salary options for the Fan Shield 500.

I decided to take a little different approach this weekend for the final west coast race. It is a pretty Chevrolet stacked lineup I know, but the Chevy’s have found something it seems like to me Chase Elliott was right up there with Blaney last weekend and the week before.

I went with three guys within the top ten on salary costs and odds. Maybe it will pay off for me. Enough about me though, who do you got for tomorrow’s race? Anyone, you think I should’ve included let me know on Twitter or in the comments below! Heck or even go over to the main Belly Up Sports page and start a forum article calling me out! I love some good honest race discussion!