NASCAR is going street racing in Chicago. The inaugural event in 2023 was an event to say the least. Buckle up for chaos and the possible novice taking down the $100K DraftKings featured fantasy NASCAR contest. Check out the DFS NASCAR rankings below and make your fantasy racing picks for the Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Race.
Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NAS $350K Engineer [$100K to 1st] (Cup)
1. Shane Van Gisbergen ($10,000) — The Kiwi Super Cars Champ returns to the Windy City to win again at the Chicago Street Circuit. The win wasn’t a fluke in a race fraught with carnage. SVG ran the most laps inside the top 5 (79%).
2. Kyle Larson ($10,5000) — A couple of regular Cup Series drivers looked like they knew what they were doing on the Chicago Street Circuit. Unsurprisingly, Larson was one of the few drivers that was able to make passes.
3. Christopher Bell ($10,200) — Before hitting the tire wall on lap 55 of 78, Bell was in 11th place. Bell turned 47 laps inside the top 5 (third-most). That’s an 85% top-5 rate before the wreck.
4. Tyler Reddick ($9,800) — The 23XI No. 45 Toyota driver was in fourth place before hitting the tire wall on lap 57 of 78. Reddick turned 48 laps inside the top 5 (second-most). That’s an 84% top-5 rate before the wreck.
5. Denny Hamlin ($8,000) — Give Hamlin credit, he won the pole in the 2023 Chicago Street Race. One lap is not 100 laps. A lot will go down on Sunday, but that affects every driver. At the very least, Hamlin is expected to be fast again.
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6. Ross Chastain ($8,200) — Trackhouse Racing builds great road course cars. Chastain is one of the best road racers in the Cup Series. He’s also one of the most aggressive drivers in the series. That’s dangerous in Chicago. The tire barriers are calling his name.
7. Martin Truex Jr ($9,200) — The 2023 Grant Park 165 was shortened due to sundown. Truex chose to pit from inside the top 10 on lap 46. He was never able to recover in the shortened race.
8. Michael McDowell ($8,600) — Front Row Motorsports has improved their cars allowing McDowell to demonstrate his road-racing talents. McDowell was one of the few drivers able to pass in the 2023 Chicago Street Race.
9. A.J. Allmendinger ($9,000) — The ringers are rolling in this weekend, but The Dinger —the resident road racer — still has an edge. Allmendinger finished sixth in the two road course races this season (COTA and Sonoma) and won the 2023 Cup Series race at the Roval in Charlotte.
10. Alex Bowman ($7,300) — Is this racing or survival? Only one driver wins. The rest of the top 10 survive. They make fewer mistakes — execution and strategy. Bowman finished outside the top 15 in four of his 13 road course races in the Gen-7 car. That’s a top-5 survival rate.
11. Chris Buescher ($8,800) — Look out for NASCAR’s most underrated road course driver. He’s the blue-collar road racer. He navigates the road like a seasoned delivery driver. The flashy names will garner ownership. Buescher could go overlooked.
12. Chase Elliott ($9,600) — It was a long weekend in Chicago last season. Elliott struggled in practice and qualifying. The No. 9 Hendrick Chevy played pit strategy and stayed out during the lap 46 caution. Elliott cycled from 25th to third and held his position for the final 22 laps.
13. Daniel Suarez ($8,100) — He started the Chicago Street Race fifth and proceeded to linger inside the top 10 until the pivotal lap 46 caution. Suarez got on the wrong side of strategy and never recovered his position.
14. Joey Hand ($6,900) — RFK’s tertiary road course Ford will be driven by the veteran road racer. His best finish at a Cup Series road course is 20th. Those seven races were with Rick Ware Racing. It’s been a decade since Hand has experienced road course success, but RFK wouldn’t bring him in if they didn’t believe he could deliver.
15. Austin Cindric ($7,500) — His rookie season went well on the road courses. The second season was a slump. The slump has continued — 18th at COTA and 22nd at Sonoma. The skill is there. He needs luck. He had it in Chicago last season — a sixth-place finish.
Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NAS $350K 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.
