The DFS NASCAR rankings below are based on a mixture of expected output and DraftKings Fantasy NASCAR salaries. The order is not based on the highest projected fantasy totals, but rather by the DFS value of each driver.
Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NAS $350K Engineer [$100K to 1st] (Cup)
1. Kyle Larson ($11,600) — He dominated the 2021 Nashville race (175 DKFP). Concrete is a unique racing surface. Some drivers are better on concrete. Larson’s gift is his ability to drive on any surface — and walk on water. Larson has won at Nashville, Dover and Bristol.
2. William Byron ($10,100) — Dover is a steeply banked track unlike Nashville. Dover is concrete like Nashville. Previous Nashville winners were Dover winners. Byron led the most laps at Dover earlier this season.
3. Denny Hamlin ($10,700) — Hendrick and Larson get a lot of attention but Hamlin has been more consistent. His average lap times ranked inside the top 5 at Fontana, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Martinsville, Dover, Kansas and Gateway.
4. Kyle Busch ($11,200) — The last oval race was several weeks ago. Here’s a refresher, Busch led 121 of the 243 laps at Gateway and won. RCR is the real deal.
5. Martin Truex Jr ($10,900) — The JGR Toyotas have speed. They’re fast at ovals (Truex won at Dover) and road courses (he won at Sonoma, too). The Dover win is the most interesting. There could be parallels between Nashville and Dover. The concrete racing surface seems to be more significant than the banking and dimensions of the tracks.
For NASCAR insight and quick DFS help, follow Pearce Dietrich (@Race4thePrize) on Twitter.
6. Chase Elliott ($10,400) — The King of Concrete — he was the winner at Dover and Nashville in 2022 — is looking to turn his season around. Elliott has plenty of talent and a great car. There’s no reason for the winless drought to continue.
7. Ryan Blaney ($9,900) — Dover is a high-banked concrete track. Gateway is flat. Nashville is a concrete intermediate track with not much banking. Blaney had the best average lap time at Dover and second quickest at Gateway.
8. Ross Chastain ($9,600) — In 2021, Chastain — with the aid of newer tires on the final run — finished second at Nashville. He finished fifth at Nashville last season. Nashville is an important race for Trackhouse Racing. Much of their sponsorship comes out of Nashville (Tootsie’s and Kid Rock).
9. Tyler Reddick ($9,100) — There is hope that Reddick turns things around this week. His results have been mixed in his first season with 23XI Racing, but he could bounce back at Nashville. The Toyotas have plenty of speed and last season, Kurt Busch and Bubba Wallace ($8,400) finished inside the top 10 in fantasy points at Nashville.
10. Christopher Bell ($9,400) — His first Cup Series intermediate-track win has been elusive. Bell piled up plenty of wins in the Xfinity Series against inferior competition. At least he’s piling up top-10 finishes. Bell has two top-10 finishes at Nashville.
11. Kevin Harvick ($8,800) — The SHR Fords are a step behind the JGR Toyotas and the Hendrick Chevys. Harvick is not in a position to lead laps or win races, but he’s been a solid top-10 driver. In the last five races, his best finish was second (Darlington) and his worst finish was 11th (Kansas, Charlotte and Sonoma).
12. Chris Buescher ($7,500) — His fourth-place finish at the road course in Sonoma doesn’t mean much for Sunday’s oval race. However, it cannot be completely ignored. RFK is building fast race cars. Over the last eight races, Buescher’s average finish is 9.6.
13. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ($7,300) — His average finish this season is 15th. That’s impressive for Stenhouse and JTG Daugherty Racing. Throw out two DNFs in the last 10 races, and his average finish is 11th in those eight races. Stenhouse had the third-highest driver rating in the 2021 Nashville race.
14. Ty Gibbs ($7,800) — The JGR Toyotas nailed the setup at Nashville last season. Three JGR drivers combined to score 134 hog points (fast-laps and laps-led points). Over the last 12 races, Gibbs is averaging a top-15 driver rating.
15. J.J. Yeley ($4,500) — This is as cheap as a driver gets. Yeley does not deserve this disrespectful discount. He has earned a top-25 finish in each of his last three races (Kansas, Charlotte and Gateway).
Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NAS $350K Engineer [$100K to 1st] (Cup)
Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is greenflagradio2) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
