The DFS NASCAR rankings below are based on a mixture of expected output and DraftKings Fantasy NASCAR salaries. The order is not based on the highest projected fantasy totals, but rather by the DFS value of each driver.
Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NAS $200K Engineer [$50K to 1st] (Cup)
1. Kyle Larson ($11,500) — It’s playoff time. The No. 5 Hendrick Chevy team has stepped their game up. Larson has scored the most fantasy points in each of the last two races. Bristol is one of his best tracks. He could make it three in row on Saturday night.
2. Denny Hamlin ($11,200) — Kyle Larson is hot, but Hamlin might be hotter. Hamlin has earned a top-5 DFS NASCAR score in seven of the last nine races.
3. Christopher Bell ($10,800) — In four Xfinity Series races at Bristol, Bell has a win and a runner-up finish. The Cup Series has not been as kind, but it’s been good. He has finished fourth and ninth in four races. Last fall, he led 143 laps in the Bristol Night Race.
4. William Byron ($10,200) — Kansas was tough on several playoff drivers. Byron spun out on lap 64, but he rebounded and finished 15th. Byron is safe to advance to the next round, but he needs to safely earn points at Bristol.
5. Kevin Harvick ($9,500) — The 2020 season was a long time ago, but Harvick’s Bristol Night Race win cannot be dismissed. In the 2021 night race, Harvick led 71 laps and finished second. SHR may no longer be a top team, but their short-track program is still elite.
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6. Chris Buescher ($9,300) — Last season, Buescher and RFK racing became bona fide when Buescher won the Bristol Night Race. Since then, Buescher has wins at Pocono, Daytona and the short track in Richmond.
7. Ross Chastain ($8,500) — If Chase Elliott is the King of Concrete, then Chastain might be the Prince. Chastain won earlier this season at Trackhouse Racing’s home track in Nashville (concrete). He’s led over 85 laps in each of the last two Dover races. Last fall, Chastain had a top-5 driver rating in the Bristol Night Race.
8. Martin Truex Jr ($8,700) — Just like that, a favorite to win the championship is sitting outside of the playoff cut line. Truex finished 18th at Darlington and dead last at Kansas. Making matters worse is that Truex has never won at Bristol and he has two top-10 finishes in the last 15 Bristol races.
9. Tyler Reddick ($8,300) — He punched his ticket to the next round with his win at Kansas. Reddick still needs to be conscious of points, but he has the opportunity to be more aggressive on Saturday night. He’s never won a Cup Series race at Bristol, but he has a win and a runner-up finish at Bristol in the Xfinity Series.
10. Chase Elliott ($10,000) — The King of Concrete doesn’t need points. He needs wins. The high-banked concrete short track in Bristol might be Elliott’s best chance to win in 2023.
11. Brad Keselowski ($9,800) — Once a dark horse, always a dark horse. No one thought Keselowski could win a championship, but he did. No one believes he has a chance this season, but he has a top-10 finish in both of the playoff races so far, and RFK Racing won the Bristol Night race last season.
12. Kyle Busch ($10,500) — His RCR Chevy wasn’t as fast as he would have liked last weekend at Kansas. If crew chief Randall Burnett fails to unload a fast car this weekend, there will be cause for concern. On the other hand, Bristol is a wild race with 500 laps to adjust setups. Speed in practice isn’t everything.
13. Ryan Blaney ($8,800) — Team Penske has not been great this season, but they’re getting by. After Blaney’s Coca-Cola 600 win, the No. 12 Ford has been mediocre. He has never won at Bristol, but he’s led over 100 laps at Bristol three times.
14. Joey Logano ($9,000) — After a top-5 finish at Kansas (one of his best tracks), Logano is above the cut line. Unfortunately, it’s only by 12 points. Logano might need to win this weekend. He does have two wins at Bristol, but he has not earned a top-10 finish at Bristol in the last five races.
15. Ryan Preece ($6,300) — In 2018, Preece put himself on the map by winning the Bristol Xfinity Series race for JGR. In his five Bristol Cup Series races with JTG-Daugherty Racing, his worst finish is 25th and his best finish is ninth. His average Bristol finish is 16.2.
Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NAS $200K Engineer [$50K to 1st] (Cup)
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is greenflagradio2) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.