The NASCAR Cup Series Grant Park 165 at The Chicago Street Circuit 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 Grant Park 165 at Chicago.
Shane van Gisbergen: Fastest Laps – 11.5
Pick6 Play: More
Rain is in the forecast, and the Windy City will be wet. The Kiwi won’t mind, as long as others mind their own business—a big “if.” SVG was in contention to win his second Cup Series Second City race in 2024, but that dream went out the window when Chase Briscoe slammed into the Supercars star, sending the Trackhouse Racing Chevy into the wall. It’s madness in the rain.
Picking finishing positions is tricky. Rain and restarts don’t mix. The truth is, Chicago’s streets and stock cars are a bad combo. The Gen-7 car performs decently on road courses, but this isn’t a typical road course—it’s racing down Columbus Drive. It’s a great spectacle, but a spectacle nonetheless. The fans know it, and worse yet, the drivers know it. It’s YOLO. With rain and yellow flags, it’s extreme YOLO. Finishing position picks are essentially coin flips.
The SVG fastest-laps pick feels better than a coin flip. Starting on pole, he’s in the safest position to navigate the minefield. The Chicago Street Circuit race has a Mario Kart reputation, and the hope is that van Gisbergen racks up fast laps before the red turtle shells start flying or the dreaded lightning bolt hits. SVG earned his third Chicago Street Circuit win on Saturday, leading 27 laps and recording 12 fastest laps in The Loop 110 (a 50-lap race).
William Byron: Finishing Position – 8.5
Pick6 Play: Worse
Regardless of starting position, locking any driver in for a top-10 finish is a reach. Face the facts: driving a regular car at regular speeds on the streets of Chicago is tough. Racing there? Ridiculous. This isn’t theoretical—this is the third Chicago Street Circuit event, and the first two were a mess. This one will, without a doubt, be a mess too.
Being a good road racer is one thing, and Byron is. Being experienced in wet weather conditions is another, and he’s not. Then there’s navigating a street circuit that dries unevenly. Add in the chaos of some drivers on wet tires and others on slicks, and it’s pure pandemonium. It is every year. Chicago doesn’t celebrate the Fourth with fireworks—it celebrates by slamming stock cars into street barriers.
Byron has to carve through the field on Sunday. He has to get there. Even with talent, does he have the luck? He’s jumping out of the foxhole, storming across no man’s land, figuratively traversing barbed wire and landmines while dodging bullets. He’s got to stay lucky for 75 laps. One misstep, and he’s not cracking the top 10.
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 at least two players and select whether or not 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 DraftKings Pick6
Create a Pick Set
Create a Pick Set by choosing at least two 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.
Play at DraftKings Pick6 or by downloading the DraftKings Pick6 app on Apple or Google!
