The NASCAR DFS circuit rolls into Bristol, Tennessee this Sunday. DraftKings is celebrating the return of concrete in the spring by rewarding the winner of the featured fantasy NASCAR contest with a $100K grand prize. Check out the DFS NASCAR rankings below and make your fantasy racing picks for the Food City 500 at Bristol.
Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NAS $400K Engineer [$100K to 1st] (Cup)
1. Kyle Larson ($11,500) — Bristol is one of Larson’s favorite tracks. Everyone loves The Last Great Colosseum, but not everyone runs well at the steeply banked, concrete short track. Larson does. He won at Bristol in 2021, and he has led 870 laps in 15 races (five top-5 finishes and 10 top-10 finishes).
2. Denny Hamlin ($11,200) — The short-track package will not be deployed at Bristol. The same intermediate-track package from 2023 will be implemented. The same package in the Bristol race that Hamlin won. He didn’t just win. He pulled the rare feat of passing cars inside the top 10 to get the win.
3. Christopher Bell ($11,000) — Kyle Larson’s reign may be over. Is this the Christopher Bell era? Bell wowed the NASCAR DFS community last week. He’s been wowing at Bristol since his first Truck Series race in 2016 (101 laps led). A Cup Series win in the bullring — on concrete — has escaped him so far, but not for long. Bell led 143 laps in the 2022 race and 187 in 2023.
4. Chris Buescher ($9,800) — Put some respect on his name. Buescher is elite. He was always good at Bristol in average equipment. With Brad Keseslowki’s arrival at Roush, the equipment has progressively gotten better. This was apparent when Buescher won the 2022 Bristol race. He earned a top-5 finish last season.
5. Brad Keselowski ($9,200) — The RFK Fords are fast at Bristol. Buescher has been exceptional in the last two Bristol races. Keselowski doesn’t have an RFK win, but his skills and car are just as strong. Keselowski was the only driver able to drive through the field last fall at Bristol.
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6. Ty Gibbs ($8,000) — He has arrived. It’s time for the Cup Series to take note. Daytona and Atlanta are meaningless. Las Vegas and Phoenix matter. Gibbs scored a top-5 driver rating in both races. He finished fifth at Bristol last fall.
7. Tyler Reddick ($9,000) — The 2023 Bristol race was decided by pit sequencing. The pivotal moment was the Stage 2 break. Reddick’s team chose to pit. Others stayed out. His top-5 finish became a top-15 finish. The 23XI Toyotas had speed at Bristol in 2023, and they have speed this season. Reddick scored the second-best driver rating at Las Vegas and Phoenix.
8. Chase Elliott ($8,300) — Here we go again. Will this be the week that Elliott turns it around? That question was asked every week in 2023. The answer was always no. The answer was always no at his strong tracks. Elliott has been exceptional on concrete tracks. This is a great opportunity for him to break through. We ask the question again — is this the week?
9. William Byron ($10,700) — It’s just a matter of time. Byron’s Bristol driver ratings have ranked inside the top 10 in each of the last three races. Last week, he struggled in practice but dialed the No. 24 Hendrick Chevy in during the race. He’ll have 500 laps on Sunday to adjust the dial.
10. Ryan Blaney ($10,500) — It’s been all or nothing for Blaney at Bristol. In the last eight Bristol races, Blaney has three times earned a spot in the optimal DraftKings NASCAR DFS lineup. In three other contests, he finished outside of the top 25 in fantasy NASCAR points.
11. Kyle Busch ($10,200) — This is practically an emeritus ranking. Busch is one of the greatest Bristol drivers ever (eight wins). He still knows how to speed around The World’s Fastest Half-Mile, but does his RCR Chevy have the speed?
12. Ross Chastain ($8,500) — Bristol hasn’t been kind to Ross Chastain. Thunder Valley isn’t kind to anyone. Chastain finished sixth at Bristol in 2022 behind the likes of Larson, Bell, Buescher and Byron. Chastain has to get better, and he must beat his betters.
13. Michael McDowell ($6,800) — Front Row Motorsports is allied with the RFK Fords. Bristol is one of RFK’s best tracks. This short track has been good to McDowell. In average equipment, he earned top-15 finishes. As the Front Row Fords improved, so have his results. McDowell finished 11th in 2022 and sixth in 2023.
14. Carson Hocevar ($5,800) — Spire Motorsports is for real. Hocevar is the real deal. Love him or hate him, the kid has talent. In a part-time ride last season, Hocevar jumped in a Legacy Motor Club ride and finished 11th at Bristol. He has only gotten better since.
15. Ricky Stenhouse Jr ($6,600) — Practically any driver could be ranked this week. The field is fierce. Stenhouse may not have the best car, but he has plenty of experience and success at Bristol. His cold streak at Bristol came to an end last season with a top-10 finish.
Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NAS $400K Engineer [$100K to 1st] (Cup)
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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.
