The Brickyard doesn’t care about your favorite driver. It cares about aero push, clean air, and who survives 160 laps of single-file racing. That reality shapes every salary on this slate. Chalk plays exist, but so do value plays hiding in plain sight. Track position wins Sunday, and it should win your lineup too. Here’s where to spend your cap.
For NASCAR insight and quick DFS help, follow Pearce Dietrich (@Race4thePrize) on X.
Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NAS $250K Burnout [$50K to 1st] (Cup)
Top DraftKings Picks for the Brickyard 400
- Denny Hamlin ($11,000) — AP Style rules require that numbers one through nine be written as words. Integers are illegal. It’s first, not 1st. Integers are necessary to drive the point. Here’s Hamlin’s 2026 finishes in the intermediate-track package: 3rd, 1st, 1st, 1st, 3rd, 2nd, 4th and 1st.
- Kyle Larson ($10,500) — Indianapolis Motor Speedway is a special track. It’s very special for Yung Money. Misfortune has ruined two Indy 500 attempts. Larson exacted his revenge on the track in the NASCAR Cup Series — 2024 winner and 2025 runner-up.
- Ryan Blaney ($10,700) — Team Penske has won the last two races but those victories mean nothing. Blaney’s Atlanta victory is entirely irrelevant. The No. 12 Ford may not match the Toyotas, but Blaney knows his way around this two-mile square. He finished seventh last season and third in 2024.
- Christopher Bell ($9,500) — It’s Toyota world. The Brickyard is a manufacturer track. This isn’t IndyCar. NASCAR is not racy at Indy. Bell’s median finish in this package is 4.5. As long as he doesn’t flub qualifying, the No. 20 JGR should default to a top-5 finish.
- Ty Gibbs ($8,800) — Many Cup Series drivers can win this week. Much of stock car racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway comes down to track position. Gibbs has the second-best starting position in the intermediate package this season (eight races).
- Tyler Reddick ($10,200) — This racing package hasn’t fared well for the No. 45 Toyota of late. Reddick did run well at the race that matters the most. Pocono is the closest 2026 comp for Indy. The leader of 23XI Racing was the runner-up to his boss at the flat 2.5-mile track at Pocono.
- William Byron ($9,700) — This isn’t the year for the No. 24 Hendrick Chevy. That was the story for Joey Logano last week, and he dominated the field. Byron isn’t winning, but he’s been a top-5 driver in the intermediate-track package.
- Chris Buescher ($8,500) — Toyota gets all the attention, but the Chevrolets and Fords aren’t that far behind. Buescher can easily take a top-10 car to victory lane if the race plays out favorably.
- Chase Briscoe ($9,200) — Track position matters at Indianapolis. Briscoe is a top-5 qualifier in this package in 2026. The Hoosier won the Indy GP in the O’Reilly Series, but a Cup Series home track win on the oval would be the greatest moment of his career.
- Chase Elliott ($9,500) — This is today’s NASCAR. Elliott won at Texas. He won at Martinsville. Two different packages. Same result. Same strategy. The best car doesn’t win. The best driver doesn’t win. The car that is fast enough and pits at the right time wins.
- Bubba Wallace ($9,000) — This has always been a divisive driver. Does Bubba have talent or does he have a fast car? That doesn’t matter this week. Indianapolis heavily favors speed. Wallace won at the Brickyard in 2025 and earned a top-5 finish in 2024.
- Todd Gilliland ($5,900) — Who cares about the in-season challenge? The Toddfather does. Can he win it? Dave’s sons — Gilliland and Blaney — will race for $1 million on Sunday. Blaney is the favorite, but don’t sign the check yet. Gilly has finished sixth in the last two races at Indianapolis.
- Carson Hocevar ($8,300) — Separate the gimmicks from the game. Hocevar is hokey. He’s divisive. Is his routine good or bad for NASCAR? Is his style acceptable? It doesn’t matter in DFS. Results matter. He’s a top-10 driver this season, and he’s been a top-10 driver in his two runs at Indy.
- Daniel Suarez ($6,900) — Spire Motorsports is for real. It’s alleged that former JGR crew chief Chris Gabehart stole the secrets and brought them to Spire. Suarez is averaging a top-10 starting position in this package. This might not be good for Spire in court, but it looks good for Suarez.
- Riley Herbst ($6,500) — Enough with the nepo baby stuff. NASCAR is not blue collar. The drivers come from money or somebody. Deal with it. Get over it. Herbst has a fast Toyota and enough talent. He’s a top-15 driver in this package.
