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Dave's NASCAR DFS picks for DraftKings, FanDuel for the NASCAR All-Star Race at Dover Motor Speedway (2026). His top NASCAR daily fantasy lineup plays and DFS sleepers.
After another dominant road course victory by Shane van Gisbergen at Watkins Glen last weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series makes a stop at Dover Motor Speedway. However, this weekend's event is not your typical points race affair. This year, the Monster Mile hosts NASCAR's annual All-Star Race. There are no points up for grabs, and the results of this race will not impact the championship standings. Instead, up for grabs is a cool $1,000,000 first place prize. It's winner-take-all, and that element has made for some exciting racing at this event over the years.
With the All-Star Race switching from North Wilkesboro Speedway to Dover, the format for this year's race is also different. The race consists of 350 laps, which are broken down into several segments. The All-Star Open is gone, and instead, qualifying results will determine the full 26-car field. Once the racing begins, Segments 1 and 2 will basically be a 75-lap dash. Segment 3 will consist of 200 laps, a field inversion from the finish of Segment 2, and will consist of all Cup Series winners from 2026 and 2025, current full-time Cup Series champions, a fan vote winner, with the remaining drivers being based on the lowest combined finishing positions among Segments 1 and 2. If that made your head hurt, you're not alone. But the main thing we need to focus on for DFS purposes is identifying drivers who will be fast, can finish well, and score some positive place differential points in the process.
Dover is a unique 1-mile concrete oval. There are really no tracks on the Cup Series schedule that are similar to Dover. With that said, we'll be relying heavily on recent Dover success as well as drivers who've shown good speed this year to give you some solid DFS plays that could win you a few bucks. Below are my NASCAR DFS lineup picks for the NASCAR All-Star Race on DraftKings and FanDuel this week. Please note, this slate locks on 5/17/2026 at 1:00 p.m. EST.
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DFS Lineup Picks - DraftKings, FanDuel
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Disclaimer: All the drivers presented as picks for this week's race are meant to be some of my top DFS recommendations of the week. They are not originally intended to fit all into one lineup.
Denny Hamlin
Starts 1st - DK: $11K, FD: $14K
We're starting things off super chalky, but you can't ignore Hamlin's recent success at Dover.
2025 - 1st (67 laps led)
2024 - 1st (136 laps led)
2023 - 5th
2022 - 21st
2021 - 7th
2020 - 19th and 1st (115 laps led)
2019 - 21st and 5th (218 laps led)
That's good for three wins, five top fives, and six top 10s for an average finish of 9th place in the last nine Dover races.
DENNY HAMLIN WINS AT DOVER! pic.twitter.com/omr7lsyWI8
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) July 20, 2025
Hamlin's been about as good as you could be at the Monster Mile. The 2015 All-Star winner has started the 2025 season on a good note. He won earlier this year at Las Vegas and has led a series high 624 laps through the first 12 races.
DENNY HAMLIN OUTRUNS CHASE ELLIOTT TO WIN IN LAS VEGAS! pic.twitter.com/G4v2itJn2K
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 15, 2026
Even with the wonky system for this one-off race, gamers should consider Hamlin a fine anchor for DFS lineups. Starting on the pole, he's live for plenty of dominator points, has been fast so far in 2026, and his Dover results speak for themselves.
Chase Elliott
Starts 31st - DK: $10K, FD: $13K
Elliott started on the pole last year at Dover. Despite finishing sixth and scoring negative place differential points, he led 238 laps and accrued a bunch of dominator and fastest lap points. Elliott had the car to beat in that race, but things ultimately got away from the team.
The driver of the Hendrick Motorsports #9 Chevrolet will be looking for atonement this weekend. He’ll have a great chance to do so since Dover has been one of his best tracks. In 15 career Dover starts, Elliott has two wins, 10 top fives, 11 top tens, an average finish of 9.3, and has led 632 laps.
A poor pitstop cost Elliott a good starting spot. As unfortunate as that was, it does make him a great place differential play for this weekend. The 2020 All-Star winner is a nice alternative to Hamlin for gamers looking to save money and allocate those resources elsewhere in their lineups.
Tyler Reddick
Starts 14th - DK: $9.5K, FD: $11.5K
Dover hasn't been Reddick's best track throughout his Cup Series career. In seven career Dover starts, Reddick has only two top 10s to go along with an average finish of 14.1. However, Reddick is on fire and has won five of the first 12 races so far in 2026.
TYLER REDDICK GOES BACK-TO-BACK!! pic.twitter.com/7Z1EN3e3wK
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) February 23, 2026
TYLER REDDICK GETS BACK BY KYLE LARSON TO WIN AT KANSAS! What a finish. That's FIVE wins in 2026 for Michael Jordan's 23XI Racing. pic.twitter.com/iirLOSys2j
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 19, 2026
That means that even though Reddick's results at the Monster Mile are not great, we should probably take them with a grain of salt, considering how well he's run this year.
Reddick leads all drivers with a 105.8 driver rating in 2026 and is fifth in the series in laps led. You could make an argument that some of Reddick's wins have been luck-driven, but the reality is that he and the #45 23XI Toyota Camry have taken a major step forward this year.
Reddick has yet to score a victory in NASCAR's All-Star race, but given how hot he's been this season, it should not surprise anyone if he takes home the $1 million first-place prize.
Alex Bowman
Starts 12th - DK: $8.3K, FD: $9.5K
Bowman’s season got off to a rocky start with three straight finishes of 23rd or worse. He would then miss the next four races due to vertigo symptoms. However, he has recovered to post two top-five finishes in his last three races.
While Bowman is in a huge points hole to make “The Chase”, he has a great chance to keep the positive momentum going this weekend. Bowman has been very good at Dover over the last few years. He has six top-fives and seven top-10s in his last eight Dover starts. He even scored a victory at the track back in 2021.
Bowman’s history at Dover makes him worthy of a spot in DFS lineups. He’s a good mid-priced option who should secure a solid finish.
Kyle Busch
Starts 11th - DK: $7.3K, FD: $7.2K
We haven’t really seen the best version of Busch since he signed with Richard Childress Racing. Most of that can be chalked up to the subpar equipment at RCR, but it’s also fair to wonder if Busch has struggled to adapt to the Gen-7 car.
However, that's a discussion for another day. Busch is a three-time Dover winner, but he hasn’t won at the track since 2017. He did finish 11th here last year and picked up a fourth-place finish in 2024.
He’s also won the pole in two of the last three Dover races and has started inside the top 10 in every Dover points race since joining RCR. Busch didn't crack the top 10 this year in qualifying, but he’s had some speed the last few years at the Monster Mile and is hoping to build upon an eighth-place finish at Watkins Glen last week.
Busch is a bit of a wildcard anymore, but this is a pretty good price to take a stab at him this weekend. Target Busch as a cheaper option to offset the higher-priced drivers on the slate.
Bubba Wallace
Starts 7th - DK: $7.2K, FD: $7.5K
Wallace is enjoying a fine 2026 season. He currently sits 10th in the points standings and has finished inside the top 10 in half the races so far this year.
Dover hasn't been his best track as he has just one top 10 finish in 11 career Dover starts. However, he did score a seventh-place finish last year at the Monster Mile and had the best driver rating of his career at Dover (87.5 driver rating) that day. Wallace also scored that top 10 finish despite starting 22nd, and he's actually scored positive place differential points in three of five Dover races since joining 23XI Racing.
Wallace won't be in contention for the win, but he'll be live to score a nice finish.
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