DFS Picks for the 2022 Ruoff Mortgage 500 at Phoenix

My DFS lineup at Las Vegas wasn’t pretty. Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, and Austin Cindric had crashes, and Michael McDowell and Austin Dillon were non-factors. William Byron was my only successful pick, leading seven laps en route to a fifth-place finish.

Phoenix Raceway will be the site of this Sunday’s race. It should serve as a good test for championship teams, as the track will host the Championship 4 race.

Here is my top DFS lineup for the 2022 Ruoff Mortgage 500.

Denny Hamlin was one of my picks at Las Vegas, and he arguably had the best car. Unfortunately, he broke a gear late in the race, resulting in a 32nd-place finish. We should see Hamlin bounce back at Phoenix.

Over the last five Phoenix races, Hamlin has been one of the best drivers. Check out his finishes.

In 2019, Hamlin came to Phoenix in a must-win situation. He dominated the race, leading 143 of 312 laps to win his way into the Championship 4. He hasn’t been able to replicate that performance, but we’ve seen many strong performances.

Hamlin needs a good run to jumpstart his season. He is 30th in the standings, so a good run is a must at Phoenix.

Last week, it looked like Martin Truex Jr. had the car to beat late in the race. He couldn’t pass leader Kyle Busch and fell back to eighth on a late-race restart. Truex should be right back in contention at Phoenix.

Before last year, Truex didn’t have much success at Phoenix. He hadn’t led more than 11 laps at the track since 2012. Truex put that to rest with these Phoenix performances.

He captured his first Phoenix victory in the Spring race, but he returned in the Fall with a shot at the Championship. Truex was in a good spot before he lost the lead on the final pit stop.

Truex was so close to sweeping the Phoenix races. He should be in contention again this year.

Christopher Bell looked competitive last week, leading 32 laps from the pole, scoring a 10th-place finish. He was a step behind his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, but can he match their speed this week?

It’ll be interesting to see if that carries over to Phoenix. I’ve already gone over two of his teammates, and Kyle Busch is among my top picks for Phoenix. Hopefully, some of their success will carry over to Bell.

His starting position on Sunday could make him a more desirable option.

I don’t know how he has done it, but Aric Almirola is the only driver with three top 10 finishes this season. Almirola hasn’t had race-winning speed, but he finds a way to put himself in position to score a good finish. Can he do the same at Phoenix?

Almirola has been solid at Phoenix since joining Stewart-Haas Racing. He has two top-five finishes and five top 10 finishes in eight starts. I like his Phoenix numbers, but this selection is more about his success on short flat tracks in 2021.

He consistently outperformed his expectations. Almirola has been doing that all season, so who’s to say he won’t do the same at Phoenix.

Austin Cindric’s great start to his rookie season came to a halt last week. He had a mid-race spin, resulting in a 19th-place finish. It wasn’t going to be all sunshine and rainbows for Cindric, but I think we could see him bounce back at Phoenix.

Cindric hasn’t raced at Phoenix in the Cup Series, but the track brought him much success in the Xfinity Series. Check out his numbers in the last three Xfinity Series races at the track.

His victory in the 2020 race won him the Xfinity Series Championship. Cindric was in position to win last year, but Daniel Hemric passed him in the final corner to take the victory and Championship.

A solid top 10 finish would suffice for DFS players.

Ty Dillon is quietly off to a solid start. He has three top 20 finishes, including an 11th-place run in the Daytona 500. We don’t think of Dillon as a driver who consistently runs top 15 or 20, but his Phoenix numbers will surprise you.

Dillon has ten starts at the track. Check out his best finishes.

That’s four top 15 finishes at Phoenix for Dillon. I can’t imagine many people were aware of his success at the track. It’s nothing special, but for someone in this price range, you could do a lot worse.

This will be his first start at Phoenix for Petty GMS Motorsports. The team has shown speed with Erik Jones, so this is Dillon’s chance to score a good finish.

My DFS lineup for the 2022 Ruoff Mortgage 500 is very top-heavy. Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. should be among the top contenders for Sunday’s race. I doubt we’ll see the other drivers leading laps, but I’d like to see them finish in the top 10 or 15.

Hopefully, we’ll bounce back from a rough week at Las Vegas. If you aren’t feeling DFS, check out the top NASCAR sportsbooks for more betting opportunities.