NASCAR Fantasy Rankings: Top DraftKings Picks for the 2026 Cook Out 400 at Martinsville

Martinsville rewards one thing above everything else — the ability to keep a car underneath you when the tires are gone. Four hundred laps on a half-mile paperclip with the lowest-downforce package of the season means every driver in the field will be hanging on by the end of a run. The drivers ranked highest this week are the ones who have proven they can do that here, and the ones who proved it again at Darlington last Sunday.

For NASCAR insight and quick DFS help, follow Pearce Dietrich (@Race4thePrize) on X.

Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NAS $350K Burnout [$100K to 1st] (Cup)

Top DraftKings Picks for the 2026 Cook Out 400

1. Ryan Blaney ($10,700) — Nobody has been better at Martinsville in the Gen 7 era than the No. 12 car. He has two wins and the best average finish of any active driver at this track since 2022, and he was one of the fastest cars at Darlington last week despite pit crew miscues that buried him twice in the field. He drove back both times. When the car and the track align for Blaney, the results follow.

2. William Byron ($10,000) — The best case for Byron starts and ends with what he has actually done here. Three wins, over 650 laps led, and a 2025 fall performance where he led 304 laps and won going away. He ran quietly at Darlington — seventh to tenth all day, finished eighth, kept everything clean — which is exactly the profile you want heading into a high-wear short track.

3. Kyle Larson ($10,500) — Late at Darlington, Larson hit the wall on his own and turned a potential top-five into a 32nd. That was a mistake, not a pattern. At Martinsville his record is exceptional — six top-fives in eight Gen 7 starts, a win in 2023, and the kind of consistent lap-time management that this track demands. When he has his car dialed in here, he is very hard to beat.

4. Chase Elliott ($9,700) — Martinsville brings out a different version of Elliott than most tracks do. He has led over 550 laps here in the Gen 7 era and has finished third or better in four of his last five starts at this track. Hendrick hasn’t been dominant in 2026, but Martinsville tends to reward the driver and this organization.

5. Denny Hamlin ($11,000) — Won here a year ago, led 274 laps that day, and has four top-five finishes in eight Gen 7 Martinsville starts. He finished 11th at Darlington after getting caught in late contact, which had nothing to do with his car’s ability. His Martinsville profile is too strong to slide him much further down the board.

6. Joey Logano ($9,000) — The underrated Martinsville performer of the Gen 7 era, Logano has finished in the top-eight in six of his last seven starts here. His Darlington was a disaster — 33rd, three laps down, never in the picture — and the market will punish him for it. His track record at Martinsville is a separate argument entirely.

7. Christopher Bell ($10,200) — The JGR star finished 19th at Darlington, but Bell has never felt comfortable running the wall in Cup Series races. His Martinsville history is uneven — a win in 2022, a second in 2024, and a handful of ugly finishes in between. The ability is obviously there, but back-to-back disappointing performances put him outside the top-five.

8. Chase Briscoe ($9,200) — He was running toward a solid Darlington finish before a late incident with Riley Herbst knocked him back to 12th. His Martinsville record shows real tire management ability — a top five in 2023 when he led over 100 laps — and the JGR cars clearly have speed in the 750-horsepower package. His trajectory entering this week points up.

9. Brad Keselowski ($7,800) — The RFK owner/racer is coming off the best race of his recent career at Darlington, where he led 142 laps and won both stages. His Martinsville history in the Gen 7 era is spotty, but a driver this confident and physically recovered from a serious offseason injury deserves the momentum bump.

10. Bubba Wallace ($8,300) — Darlington was going well until getting collected in the Hamlin-Jones incident, which ended a day that looked like a legitimate top-five. At Martinsville he has two top-five finishes in the Gen 7 era. The 23XI cars are among the best in the field right now.

11. Ryan Preece ($8,100) — Post-race podcast specifically flagged him as historically strong at Martinsville. The Dale Jr. Downloaded cited Preece as the sleeper pick of the week. His last four starts at this track include three finishes of ninth or better. The No. 60 RFK Ford had speed at Darlington, and RFK is running well as an organization.

12. Ty Gibbs ($8,500) — His recovery drive at Darlington from 28th to sixth showed genuine racecraft and tire management ability. His Martinsville history is thin and unremarkable, but the car has been consistently fast at high-wear tracks this season.

13. Austin Cindric ($6,900) — A fifth-place finish at Darlington in a clean, complete race keeps him in the conversation. His best Martinsville result is a second place in 2022. At a track that punishes mistakes more than it rewards raw speed, his composure matters.

14. Chris Buescher ($8,000) — His Martinsville record is weak, but no driver in the field enters this week with more confidence than the one who was in position to win Darlington before a pit road incident stole his moment. RFK is fast right now and that counts for something.

15. Carson Hocevar ($7,200) — He led the Chevrolet contingent at Darlington and finished fourth in a smart, clean performance from the back of the field. His Martinsville history is poor, but this is a different team and a better car than what produced those results, and he is learning fast.