The NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Martinsville is on Sunday, and DraftKings is offering a new way to play fantasy NASCAR. The game is simple. Build a “Pick Set” (2+ drivers) and decide if they will outperform their stat projections. Here is some advice to help build your DraftKings Pick6 Pick Sets for the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Martinsville.
Ryan Blaney | 56.5 Fantasy Points
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Blaney owns this racetrack in a way that goes beyond wins and average finishes. He wins here differently than everyone else — where most drivers diamond the corners and try to conserve the car, he wraps the bottom and lets it rotate, a technique that keeps his car settled through traffic when everyone else is fighting theirs. Two wins, six top-five finishes, and the best average finish of any active driver at this track in the Gen 7 era. The history is not a coincidence.
The pit crew is the one legitimate argument against him, and it is a real one — the 12 car has lost track position all season on pit road and nothing about that has changed. At Martinsville, though, the short green flag cycles and frequency of cautions reduce how much damage a slow stop can do. The track is more forgiving of crew mistakes than an intermediate, and Blaney’s style fits this place like nothing else in the field. The number reflects the crew concern more than the track history, and the track history is the stronger argument.
Denny Hamlin | 84.5 Fantasy Points
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Nobody in this field has led more laps at Martinsville in the Gen 7 era than Hamlin. He won here a year ago, has four top-five finishes in eight starts at this track, and arrives this week having won at Las Vegas with the best composite practice numbers in the session — 67 laps on one set of tires and a long-run average that held steady throughout. The case for him starts with the track record and the current form, and neither needs much explaining.
The one thing working against him is a 35th-place finish here last fall that came from contact rather than pace, which will inflate his average finish for anyone not looking closely. His Martinsville history without that result is about as clean as any driver in the field. At +500, he is tied with Blaney as the co-favorite despite owning the deepest lap-led total at this track among active drivers. That price is fair, and the track history makes it worth playing.
Joey Logano | 45.5 Fantasy Points
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Six top-eight finishes in eight Gen 7 Martinsville starts without a win, which tells you almost everything about what kind of Martinsville driver he is. He doesn’t lead laps and doesn’t dominate stages — he just finishes quietly in the top eight while louder cars wreck each other or burn tires trying to get to the front. At a track this chaotic over 400 laps, that profile is worth more than people price it at.
His Darlington was ugly — 33rd, three laps down, never a factor. The market will hold that against him this week and push his ownership down. But Martinsville and Darlington ask completely different things from a car, and his practice numbers here were solid on the long run. When the checkered flag drops Sunday, the question won’t be who led the most laps — it’ll be who was still running clean at the end, and Logano has answered that question correctly six times in eight tries at this track.
For NASCAR insight and quick DFS help, follow Pearce Dietrich (@Race4thePrize) on Twitter.
What is DraftKings Pick6?
Pick6 is a peer-to-peer fantasy variant where you build a lineup (your “Pick Set”) of 2+ players and select whether you believe each will outperform their listed stat projection. Enter your Pick Set in Pick6 contests to compete against other users. Get enough picks correct and win a share of cash prizes.
How to Play
Create a Pick Set
Create a Pick Set by choosing 2+ players from the same sport and Pick Group (a set of picks available from a group of set competitions). For each player, simply select if you think they’ll have more or less than their listed stat projection. In each Pick Set, you can not pick the same player twice and you must pick players from at least two different teams.
Enter an Amount
Once you finalize your Pick Set, choose your entry fee amount. Your entries will be automatically distributed into available contests, subject to your confirmation.
Sweat Your Picks
When the games go live, use the My Picks tab to follow your picks in real time to track how your players are performing against their projections and how they stack up against other users.
Compete for Prizes
Make enough correct picks and win a share of the contests’ guaranteed prizes. Any prizes won will be credited to your DraftKings account after contests are finalized.
