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NASCAR Fantasy Rankings: DFS Picks on DraftKings for NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Martinsville

Pearce Dietrich gives his picks and ranks his top drivers for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Martinsville.

AUTO: JUN 25 NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400 Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

NASCAR is short-track racing for the second week in a row. DraftKings is rewarding the winner of the featured Cup Series Martinsville fantasy NASCAR contest with a $100K grand prize. Check out the DFS NASCAR rankings below and make your fantasy racing picks for the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville.

Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NAS $400K Engineer [$100K to 1st] (Cup)


1. Martin Truex ($10,800) — Pit road hasn’t been kind to Truex. Truex had the speed to win at Phoenix, but he didn’t pit with the leaders on the final stop. He did pit at Richmond and lost the lead on pit road. Either way, the No. 19 JGR Toyota is fast in the new short-track package.

2. Christopher Bell ($10,200) — A poor qualifying effort didn’t hurt the No. 20 JGR Toyota at Richmond. Bell quickly drove to the front. And he did it again after a speeding penalty. He was one of the few drivers that could pass at Phoenix. Bell has a hot rod.

3. Chase Elliott ($8,800) — Hendrick Motorsports is closing in on the JGR Toyotas. Elliott is the driver to close the gap. Over the last eight Martinsville races, Elliott’s average driver rating is the best in the NASCAR Cup Series.

4. William Byron ($9,800) — The JGR Toyotas have been elite in the new short-track package. The Hendrick Chevys have been top-5 cars. Byron may not be better than JGR this Sunday, but with track position, he could score top-5 DFS NASCAR points.

5. Denny Hamlin ($11,500) — It’s been a while since Hamlin won at Martinsville (2015). Wins are overrated in NASCAR DFS. Hamlin earned a top-3 Fantasy NASCAR score in the last three Martinsville races and a top-5 score in five of the last seven.

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


6. Ryan Blaney ($10,500) — It’s redundant and repetitive but worth repeating. The JGR Toyotas have the speed. Team Penske and Hendrick Motorsports aren’t far off. Martinsville might be Blaney’s best track. He won at Martinsville last fall. He’s on the shortlist of contenders this weekend.

7. Alex Bowman ($7,900) — The benefit of being the weakest driver in the Hendrick stable is a cheap NASCAR DFS salary. The benefit of racing for Hendrick is that Martinsville is a special track for the team. The team nearly shut down 40 years ago. A Martinsville win saved the team. Nearly every Hendrick driver — including Bowman — has won at the Paperclip in Southside Virginia since that legendary win.

8. Kyle Larson ($11,200) — Is the No. 5 Chevy the best Hendrick car or was his Richmond performance the result of track position? Clean air makes every car great, but Larson earned it. He won the pole. Another solid qualifying session will go a long way at Martinsville.

9. Chase Briscoe ($7,500) — The NextGen car changed Briscoe’s career arc. He struggled in his first season in the Cup Series. The new low-horsepower car was implemented at the short tracks during his sophomore season. Briscoe immediately became elite at the short, flat tracks.

10. Brad Keselowski ($9,200) — Following the Phoenix race, Keselowski was happy but unsatisfied. He echoed that sentiment after the Richmond race. The RFK Fords are fast, but they do not have race-winning cars.

11. Joey Logano ($9,500) — Richmond is one of Logano’s best tracks and he’s been pretty good at Richmond under the lights. He snapped out of his slump last week. Martinsville is one of Logano’s best tracks. This could be another step forward for the No. 22 Penske Ford.

12. Ty Gibbs ($9,000) — It was bound to happen. Gibbs was due for a poor finish. There is no reason to overreact. Gibbs rebounded after struggling with the wet tires and again after a speeding penalty. He had a borderline top-10 car but closed the race with a poor overtime restart.

13. Josh Berry ($7,400) — This is the track that saved Berry’s career. The legendary late-model racer has plenty of Martinsville success. He took a part-time Jr Motorsports ride to victory lane in the Xfinity Series. He knows short, flat tracks as demonstrated last week at Richmond. He recorded the sixth-best driver rating.

14. Todd Gilliland ($6,200) — Martinsville is Gilly’s best track. He won the 2019 fall Truck Series race at Martinsville and should have won again in 2021. In the Cup Series, the Front Row Motorsports driver has two top-15 finishes in four races.

15. Noah Gragson ($7,100) — The Stewart-Haas Racing Fords have been strong at the short, flat tracks over the last several seasons. The No. 10 SHR Ford (Aric Almirola) finished in the optimal lineup in both 2023 Martinsville races. Almirola was also an optimal DFS NASCAR pick at Martinsville in 2021 and 2020.

Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NAS $400K Engineer [$100K 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.