After a thriller at Gateway, the NASCAR Cup Series heads west to California for this weekend’s Toyota/SaveMart 350 at Sonoma. It’s the second road course race of the year, and we’ve got several ringers in the field. Two Australian Supercar drivers, Cam Waters and Will Brown, will look to do what Shane Van Gisbergen did last year by winning in their first Cup Series starts. Without further ado, let’s dive into our top NASCAR DFS picks for the 2024 Toyota/SaveMart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, including Chris Buescher.
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NASCAR DFS Picks: Top Drivers for the 2024 Toyota/SaveMart 350 at Sonoma
Will Brown | 2024 Toyota/SaveMart 350 NASCAR DFS Picks | Sonoma
This article was written before our NASCAR DFS projections run. Check back on Sunday morning for Stokastic’s industry-leading NASCAR DFS projections, including our top drivers tool!
It’s risky to take a driver who hasn’t made a start in the Cup Series, let alone any division of NASCAR, but that’s what we’re doing with Will Brown ($7,200 at DraftKings) on Sunday. I’m writing this article after Friday’s practice session but before Saturday’s qualifying session, so I have no idea where Brown will start. Still, the $7,200 is likely too little for him.
Brown is a hyper-talented 26-year-old driver from Queensland. He can win in anything he drives. He won his first-ever start in Australian Formula 4 and won its championship the next year. He did so while also competing (and winning) in the Australian Toyota Racing Series. He also won the Australian Touring Car Series title in 2019.
He made his full-time Supercars debut in 2021 at 22, and he scored his first win in his rookie season before finishing eighth in points. After a winless 2022, he won three times in 2023 and finished fifth. He has already won three times in 10 races this season (with nine podiums) and leads the points.
Brown recorded the third-fastest single lap time in Friday’s practice session in the No. 33 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. Although Childress has struggled with the NextGen car, Kyle Busch reeled off three top-3s and four top-10s at road courses last year, and Tyler Reddick scored two wins and five top-10s at these tracks in 2022.
Although his lack of Cup Series experience is a disadvantage, it’s not a big deal this weekend. We’re on a freshly repaved Sonoma at which 23 drivers broke the track record in Friday’s practice session.
Chris Buescher
After throwing a dart, I’ll make a more sensible pick next. I also recommend backing Chris Buescher ($8,600 at DraftKings) because of his high floor. Since I’m writing this before qualifying, it’s possible that he scores a great starting position that would hurt us, but his middle-of-the-pack practice performance has me hopeful that we can get him outside the top 10.
Buescher has been incredibly consistent on road courses. Since February 2021, he owns the second-best average finishing position on these tracks (9.9) behind only Chase Elliott. He may have zero wins through that sample, but scoring 12 top-10s in 20 starts (counting Chicago Street) — and 11 top-10s in his 13 road course starts in the NextGen Era — is downright dominant.
Buescher’s worst finish in that sample, a 21st at Circuit of the Americas, came in the first-ever NextGen event on a road course. I can forgive him for that. He makes a great NASCAR DFS pick for Sonoma and is a great bet to score a top-10 if you’re getting odds of -150 or better.
