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Sean's NASCAR DFS picks for DraftKings, FanDuel for the Cook Out Southern 500 in Darlington Raceway (2025). His top NASCAR daily fantasy lineup plays and DFS sleepers.
It is finally time for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs to begin with the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Darlington is a 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval track known for its unique track layout, where each pair of turns is completely different from each other in terms of length and banking. Typically, drivers and their cars at Darlington tend to be great at one pair of corners and struggle at the other. It is also a track known for being tough on tires, with higher tire wear compared to most tracks. Overall, it is generally considered one of the toughest race tracks for drivers to maneuver through in the Cup Series.
As the opening race in the first round of the Playoffs, the Round of 16, this marks the first opportunity for any of the drivers in the playoffs to lock in a spot in the next round of the playoffs. Playoff drivers can do so by winning this race or the two other races in the round to automatically advance regardless of their points situation. For some drivers and teams, this race will be their best opportunity to compete for the win and advance to the next round of the playoffs, while others may focus on just trying to survive with a solid points day or finish.
Below are my NASCAR DFS lineup picks for the Cook Out Southern 500 on DraftKings and FanDuel this week. This slate locks on 8/31/2025 at 6:00 p.m. EST. If you have further questions or want to discuss racing, you can find me on X at @SeanE247.
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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.
Denny Hamlin
Starts 1st - DK: $11K, FD: $13.5K
There are certain tracks that drivers may consider their favorites for many reasons. For some drivers, they may enjoy racing there a lot because of the track itself, while for others, it may be because of the success they consistently achieve. For Denny Hamlin, Darlington is the track that fits both aspects of favoritism, and it would be wise to heavily consider that in DFS this week, especially with how well Hamlin is still running with a top team like Joe Gibbs Racing.
Hamlin has raced on Darlington 26 times in his Cup Series career so far, and he currently has five wins, which is the most of all active drivers, 19 top-10 finishes, which also leads all active drivers, 1,,010 laps led, which is second-most of all active drivers, and an absolutely incredible average finish of 7.9, which is the best of not just active drivers, but every Cup Series driver in history. That is not even mentioning how Hamlin is also the most recent winner at Darlington earlier this season, back in April.
The practice numbers for Hamlin are not that impressive, as he ranked 34th in overall lap averages and only ranked as high as 19th in 30 consecutive lap averages, but he was a part of the slower practice group, Group B. Still, Hamlin ended up qualifying on the pole and will start at the front, putting him in a fantastic position to lead laps early.
POLE for the #Southern500!!@dennyhamlin will start P1 tomorrow!#TeamToyota | @SportClips pic.twitter.com/i9iFhaSFXR
— Joe Gibbs Racing (@JoeGibbsRacing) August 30, 2025
He is the most expensive driver of the week on DraftKings, but it is for good reason, as Hamlin is one of the most experienced and successful drivers to consider for DFS this week at Darlington. This track also favors drivers who start closer to the front to dominate, lead laps, and compete for the win, and that is exactly where Hamlin starts this week.
William Byron
Starts 11th - DK: $10.7K, FD: $13K
Regular-season champion William Byron is a driver who has been one of the more consistent drivers in the Next-Gen era at Darlington. The No. 24 Chevrolet driver was also on one of the most dominant runs in the track's history earlier in April, leading 243 of 297 total laps before he lost the lead late. Although Byron came back to finish in the second position, his April race showed plenty of speed and continued a trend of strong runs at Darlington.
Darlington has become one of Byron's better tracks in the Cup Series since 2020 as he has notched eight finishes of 13th or better in the last 10 Cup events at the site. This includes seven top-10s with finishes of eighth or better in five of the last six Cup events and a victory in May 2023 at Darlington. Even Byron's worst finish since 2022 at Darlington was only due to being involved in a wreck that relegated him to a 30th-place finish, where he was initially running in the top 10 before scoring a DNF.
Bubba Wallace is the best playoff car on single-lap speed in practice.
Ross Chastain was best on 10-lap averages.
Ryan Blaney and William Byron were very sporty the longer the run went. #NASCAR
— Dustin Albino (@DustinAlbino) August 30, 2025
In practice, Byron ranked 22nd in overall lap averages while ranking 10th in 15 consecutive lap averages and ninth in 20 consecutive lap averages. Overall, Byron was one of the fastest drivers in Group B and has some upside as well. Considering how Darlington has become a track where Byron can compete for a great finish and maybe even the win, he is someone worth paying up for in this week's race at Darlington.
Ryan Blaney
Starts 12th - DK: $10.2K, FD: $12.5K
The next driver pick outlined here is a driver who has not seen much success at Darlington in his Cup career, Ryan Blaney. Blaney, however, has been hot in recent races with six straight top-10s in the last six races, including a win last week at Daytona. If circumstances had gone differently in the last race at the site in April, the potential to sweep at Darlington could have been a real conversation to be had this week.
Instead, Blaney ended up scoring his first top-5 finish at Darlington back in April, but took the lead late in that race before a late race crash by Kyle Larson, and the pit stop that followed caused him to lose enough positions to no longer be a factor for winning. Still, it was Blaney's best Darlington race and marked the fourth top-10 finish of his Cup career and his third in the past five races there.
In practice, Blaney ranked 32nd in overall lap averages, but he ranked 10th in both 20 and 25 consecutive lap averages and 11th in 30 consecutive lap averages. Blaney was the fastest of all Group B drivers in practice in 25 and 30 consecutive lap averages, meaning that he once again has a great car suited for longer runs, especially since Group A ran under faster conditions and he was faster than a couple of drivers from that group.
Looks like Blaney and Byron 1-2 again for 30-lap averages in Group 2.
— Ryan (@ifantasyrace) August 30, 2025
Blaney has some upside, and Darlington is a track where having a fast car on the longer run is likely to bring success. This means that Blaney is a driver who should not be overlooked for DFS this week, despite his history at Darlington not being as strong as other obvious favorites like Hamlin.
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Brad Keselowski
Starts 32nd - DK: $7.6K, FD: $8.5K
RFK Racing is a team to watch for this week's race at Darlington. The three-car Ford organization won at Darlington most recently in May 2024 with Brad Keselowski after Chris Buescher fought with Tyler Reddick for the win, but was taken out. Although Buescher is a solid option to consider for this week's race, especially for fantasy players who may be concerned that a deep starting position may not lead to success, Keselowski will be the main focus to spotlight as he presents to be the better overall option for DFS.
In 23 Cup Series starts in his career at Darlington, Keselowski has two wins and 19 top-20 finishes, including 12 top-10 finishes with an overall average finish of 12.0. Keselowski has also placed 14th or better in five of the last six Cup events at Darlington, which will allow him to easily pay for his DFS salary if he can even finish close to that position this week.
In practice, Keselowski ranked first in overall lap averages and ranked as high as seventh in 30 consecutive lap averages. The No. 6 Ford driver will start deep in the field this week, opening up plenty of upside, and he has the car that can move through the field at one of his better statistical tracks. There's a lot to like about Keselowski for this week's race, and fantasy players should heavily consider him for all formats.
Ty Gibbs
Starts 28th - DK: $6.9K, FD: $7.2K
It's not a weekly circumstance where fantasy players can snag a Joe Gibbs Racing driver for below $7K on DraftKings. However, that is the exact situation that fits Ty Gibbs this week, and although he is not as cheap on FanDuel, he is notable there, too.
In six Cup races at Darlington, Gibbs has never finished below 21st, and he has two top-10 finishes. His best Cup finish at the site was in May 2024, where he led 34 laps and finished as the runner-up to Keselowski. He also placed in the top 10 at the end of the first two stages in both of last year's Darlington races, and he finished seventh in the second stage of the April race earlier in the season.
Ty Gibbs is #1 for 25 and 30-lap averages in Group 1
— Ryan (@ifantasyrace) August 30, 2025
In practice, Gibbs ranked 14th in overall lap averages and ranked first in 25 and 30 consecutive lap averages. Gibbs has incredibly high upside with great equipment for this week's race, making him a no-brainer for this week.
Todd Gilliland
Starts 34th - DK: $5.6K, FD: $5.2K
Fantasy players looking for a deeper value option for Darlington should consider Front Row Motorsports driver Todd Gilliland. Gilliland may not be the flashiest driver to consider this week, as he has an average finish of 21.7 and 11 top-20s this season so far, but Darlington is a track where Gilliland has performed as a driver who should be priced around $6.5 to $7K rather than $5.6K on DraftKings and $5.2K on FanDuel.
In seven races at Darlington in the Cup Series, Gilliland has never finished worse than 28th and has five top-20 finishes. He also collected positive Place Differential in all seven of his Cup starts and has an active streak of three finishes of 17th or better in the last three at Darlington. This includes a finish of 14th earlier in the year at the site in April.
In practice, Gilliland ranked eighth in overall lap averages but displayed top-10 speeds in all eligible categories. Gilliland starts deep in the field, offering high upside with a track where he's scored plenty of positive results before. The cap flexibility, performance, and upside all make Gilliland a worthy option for any lineup this week.
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