The NASCAR season is revving up and DraftKings is shifting into high gear with an assortment of fantasy NASCAR contests. Dive into the best fantasy racing picks for the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington.
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Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NAS $400K Engineer [$100K to 1st] (Cup)
1. Kyle Larson ($10,500) — Most tracks are every driver’s track, but Darlington is an exception. “The Lady in Black” is a difficult dance that few have mastered. Larson is Fred Astaire. He’s earned the top driver rating in two of the last three Darlington races. Every track is a Larson track.
2. Tyler Reddick ($10,200) — Speed is found along the wall at Darlington. The closer a driver gets to the wall, the faster they go. No one gets closer to the wall than Reddick. He’s known for his mastery at Darlington and Homestead, another rim-riding track. Reddick was an optimal DFS NASCAR pick last spring at Darlington despite losing 31 place differential points, because he earned 77 hog points (fast-lap and lap-led points).
3. Denny Hamlin ($10,100) — Larson and Reddick are celebrated for their daring Darlington driving. Hamlin doesn’t get the same attention. He doesn’t put on a show running lap after lap against the wall. That’s dangerous. Hamlin has found the balance between speed and safety with four wins and 13 top-five finishes at Darlington.
4. William Byron ($9,900) — There are the dirt track rim-riders and Hamlin. Byron deserves to be in the conversation as well. Byron won the 2023 race, and he should have won the 2022 race. He knows how to get around Darlington in the Gen-7 car.
5. Christopher Bell ($9,500) — Dirt track racers love the rim-riding tracks. Bell differs. He doesn’t prefer Darlington and Homestead. Most drivers don’t love these tracks. They’re fun but challenging. Even the best DNF. Bell has gotten better at Darlington. He dominated the fall Xfinity Series race and earned the third-best driver rating in the Southern 500.
6. Chase Briscoe ($9,100) — Stewart-Haas Racing was shutting down last fall. Their Fords weren’t competitive. That didn’t stop Briscoe. A late-race caution allowed Briscoe to steal the win. The theft from Larson wasn’t larceny. Briscoe was on his heels all race.
7. Bubba Wallace ($8,500) — Don’t sleep on Bubba. His driver rating has improved at Darlington in each of the last six races. Bubba doesn’t have the pedigree of Larson or Reddick. He doesn’t get the hype, but he should.
8. Chris Buescher ($8,100) — The RFK Fords have been lackluster this season. They need to find speed. Darlington is a great track for a treasure hunt. Buescher and his teammate have run well at Darlington in the Gen-7 car.
9. Alex Bowman ($8,300) — His “Showman” nickname wasn’t intended to be ironic. It was just easy wordplay. The reality is that Bowman isn’t showy. He’s as under-the-radar as it gets. He’s always overlooked and dismissed. His skill at high-tire-wear tracks will go overlooked this weekend at Darlington.
10. Justin Haley ($6,200) — The Darlington discount driver is Haley. He’s been an optimal NASCAR DFS pick in three of his last four races. He was an optimal pick driving a Rick Ware car. He was an optimal pick in the 2025 Homestead race.
11. Ryan Preece ($7,200) — Heading into Homestead, it was clear practice is overrated at some tracks. Practice and racing are different, and the difference is exacerbated at specific tracks. Homestead and Darlington have unique racing lines. Preece will be slow in practice, but he knows how to race at Darlington.
12. Austin Dillon ($6,300) — Homestead speed is the best indicator this weekend. Dillon wasn’t great in practice and started 30th. Homestead practice, like Darlington practice, doesn’t mean too much. Dillon ran inside the top-15 for three-quarters of the race and finished 13th at Homestead.
13. Todd Gilliland ($6,100) — Gilly scored a top-20 finish in both Darlington races in 2024. His new crew chief, actually his former crew chief from the Craftsman Truck Series, earned a top-10 finish in a Rick Ware car at Darlington in the spring race.
14. Kyle Busch ($8,800) — The old guys are looking old. No one outruns Father Time. It might be time for Rowdy fans to shift their loyalty to his son, B-Rex. Busch failed to earn a top-20 finish in the two intermediate-track races this season. He finished second at Darlington in 2024.
15. Ryan Blaney ($9,700) — Darlington is not a Blaney track. The 2025 season has not been a Blaney season. Things will turn around, but not this weekend. The competition is too strong.
