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Sean Engel's NASCAR Cup Series DFS picks for the All-Star Race. Check out his DFS sleepers and top plays on DraftKings and FanDuel for the All-Star Race (2025).
One week before the longest race of the season, the Coca-Cola 600, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to North Wilkesboro Speedway for its yearly stop with the All-Star Race. The All-Star race is a unique event where a limited pool of drivers compete at this classic short track to walk away with a one-million-dollar prize and bragging rights to defeat the competition. There are no points in this race, and there are no implications on the playoffs, no matter what happens in this race, as it is one of NASCAR's few exhibition events in the Cup Series.
This is the Cup Series's third time hosting the All-Star race at North Wilkesboro. In 2023, Kyle Larson dominated most of the race, leading 145 of 200 total laps after he passed Daniel Suarez. In 2024, Joey Logano had an even more dominant performance and won, leading 199 of the event's 200 laps with Brad Keselowski leading one single circuit. Logano would win the championship in the Cup Series later in the year, becoming the first driver to do so with the Next-Gen car.
Below are my NASCAR DFS lineup picks for the All-Star Race on DraftKings and FanDuel this week. This slate locks on 5/18/2025 at 8:12 p.m. EST. If you have further questions or want to discuss racing, you can find me on X at @SeanE247.
DFS Lineup Picks - DraftKings, FanDuel
Once you've read this article, be sure also to check out all of our other weekly NASCAR DFS articles to help you set your optimal DFS lineups. You should also check out our NASCAR DFS lineup tools for the ultimate combination of DFS resources to help you win big, including our Lineup Optimizer, DFS Cheat Sheet, Research Station, and more.
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.
Kyle Larson
Starts 19th - DK: $10.5K, FD: $13.5K
Larson has not been on track at any point this weekend for North Wilkesboro because he has been busy with practice and qualifying for the Indianapolis 500. As a result, Xfinity Series regular and champion Justin Allgaier worked with Larson's team and practiced the car on Saturday.
Despite his lack of track time this weekend, Larson will still be worth rostering in all DFS formats for Sunday's All-Star race. As previously mentioned, he won the event back in 2023, and in 2024, he also missed pre-race events since he was participating in the Indy 500 that year as well. Larson participated in last year's All-Star race from the 12th position and finished fourth.
Short tracks have been great for Larson and the No. 5 team this season, as he most recently dominated Bristol, winning and leading over 80% of the entire race. Also, it's not every week that you have a top driver like Larson, who consistently is a contender starting all the way at the rear of the field. For cash game lineups, Larson offers too much upside to ignore and is a must-play this week.
Christopher Bell
Starts 2nd - DK: $9.8K, FD: $10.5K
Previous races at North Wilkesboro have shown that having a starting position in the front row pays off. Joey Logano proved it last year by leading almost every single lap, as did Ty Gibbs during last year's All-Star Open by leading every single lap. The heat races earlier this weekend also continue a trend of drivers starting towards the front dominating the entire race. Brad Keselowski dominated the first heat race by leading all but one lap, and then in the second, Christopher Bell led 69 of 75 laps and won while also pulling away from the field on two tires.
Bell's track record of finishes in the All-Star race at North Wilkesboro have not been the strongest as he lost Place Differential in both the 2023 and 2024 events. That being said he already displayed plenty of speed this weekend and has been improving on short tracks since the last year.
There is a pretty solid chance that Bell could take the lead in the All-Star race and never look back. If there ends up being another dominator in the All-Star race itself, fantasy players will not be able to cash out, so Bell should be strongly considered as a favorite to win and lead plenty of laps from the beginning.
Tyler Reddick
Starts 13th - DK: $8.8K, FD: $10K
Short track racing has never been the strongest suit for 23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick. That being said, he is in a position to be a solid DFS performer for the All-Star race.
Reddick previously finished third in the 2023 All-Star race while gaining positive PD after starting all the way back in 20th. Reddick does not start as far back this year as he did in 2023, but he still has plenty of upside.
In the first heat race, Reddick looked like one of the few drivers who could realistically challenge Brad Keselowski for winning before fading back later in the event. This, however, gives him solid upside, as he'll start in the back half of the pack.
There are limited options for this DFS slate, and Reddick represents an option that is not the most expensive, carries upside, and has finished well at North Wilkesboro before. Consider rostering the driver of the No. 45 Toyota this week.
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Josh Berry
Starts 11th - DK: $7.5K, FD: $6.0K
This will be Josh Berry's second time in the All-Star race this year, but the track type itself, of North Wilkesboro, being a short track, plays into his driving style. Berry's racing background comes from short-track racing and he has displayed great speed during previous short track events in the Cup Series.
Berry tried racing his way into last year's All-Star race via the Open, but he fell short of making it to the main event after starting seventh and finishing third. During the first heat race, Berry started seventh and finished sixth, which awarded him a starting position around the middle of the pack.
The No. 21 Ford driver has decent upside from his starting position and is a solid DFS option for all formats. Do not overlook him this week.
Brad Keselowski
Starts 1st - DK: $6.9K, FD: $6.5K
Keselowski is going through perhaps the worst season of his Cup Series career to date. If anyone has watched Keselowski so far during this weekend's pre-race events, there is a good chance that would not seem to be the case as he scored the pole for qualifying and dominated the first heat race by leading all but one lap.
Historically, Keselowski has not been great over the past two All-Star races, as he failed to finish in the top 15 in both of them, but he did lead the one single lap Logano failed to lead during last year's All-Star race.
Starting right at the front, Keselowski could end up dominating and be the top DFS scorer of the week, or he may fade back and become a disappointing afterthought once again. The risk is there, but for the salary and considering how there are limited options for lineups this week, taking a chance on the No. 6 Ford driver could pay big Sunday night.
Any Driver Who Gets In Through The Open
Starts 21st-23rd
Instead of naming a specific driver for the last spot of this article, it will be whoever can get through in the All-Star Open. There are three spots for drivers to make it into the All-Star race through the open, which are taken by the Open's top-2 finishers and whoever wins the Fan Vote out of the remaining drivers outside of the top two in the Open.
These drivers will start 21st through 23rd at the very back of the field. For DFS purposes, this makes them some of the safest places of the entire field as they will have plenty of upside. On top of that, by racing in the open, the drivers who make it here will have a better idea of how the track conditions are during the actual All-Star race and thus could have a speed and handling advantage right from the start by having a better car setup compared to the rest of the field.
History backs up using the open drivers for the All-Star race this week. Be sure to check out how well the Open drivers did during the last two seasons below:
2023:
Open Winner: Josh Berry - Started: 22nd/Finished: 15th
Open Runner-Up: Ty Gibbs - Started: 23rd/Finished: Ninth
Fan Vote Winner: Noah Gragson - Started: 24th/Finished: 23rd
2024:
Open Winner: Ty Gibbs - Started: 18th/Finished: 13th
Open Runner-Up: Bubba Wallace - Started: 19th/Finished: Sixth
Fan Vote Winner: Noah Gragson - Started: 20th/Finished: 11th
There will be some DFS players who will just set their lineups up early and forget to adjust before the All-Star race itself starts. Don't be one of those players, and be sure to pay attention to who gets in through the open and who also gets in through the fan vote.
The top-5 in the fan vote currently stand as: Shane Van Gisbergen, Noah Gragson, Carson Hocevar, Ryan Preece, and Bubba Wallace. One of these five will be getting into the All-Star race after the conclusion of the Open. Gragson won the last two fan votes and is one of the favorites to win it again, but Hocevar and Wallace do have pretty substantial fan followings and could also win the fan vote if they don't race their way in.
Either way, the open drivers will have high upside and could be difference-makers for the DFS slate for the All-Star race.
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