July 27, 2025
Denny Hamlin easily had one of, if not the best cars in the field at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Saturday...until he didn't. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver was the fastest in practice and looked great on the stopwatch, and then looked as though he was going to easily win the pole in qualifying until the No. 11 Toyota got loose off of turn two and Hamlin went head-on into the inside wall, destroying the race car. The team will have to bring the backup car to the track on Sunday and Hamlin will start dead last (in 39th-place). As far as DFS goes, this makes Hamlin one of the most obvious choices on the slate. If he didn't wreck in qualifying, we'd be talking about him dominating this race on Sunday. Now he has sky-high Place Differential upside in DFS contests. Don't overthink this one. Denny Hamlin is the safest pick on DraftKings this weekend and you should have plenty of him.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Yahoo! Sports
July 27, 2025
Kyle Larson is the defending winner of the Brickyard 400, and many people (and sportsbooks) agree that he is the guy to beat for this season's running of the crown jewel race. Larson qualified 13th on Saturday afternoon, so he'll have a little work to do once the race goes green at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. As far as speed goes this weekend, Larson was respectable in practice on Saturday afternoon, ranking 13th-fastest out of 39 cars. As he has a tendency to get better as the race goes on, though, it wouldn't be surprising for Larson and the No. 5 team to find more speed once we get going on Sunday. Pocono is the most comparable track to Indianapolis, and Larson qualified 24th and finished ninth there last month. At $10,500 on DraftKings this week, Kyle Larson is a strong option to potentially win the race and grab some dominator points along the way. He's not an automatic pick in DFS, but he's a good one.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
July 27, 2025
Chase Briscoe is on fire right now, as the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has a win and two second-place finishes to his credit over the last five weeks in Cup Series action. Now, he's going to be leading the field to the green for this weekend's Brickyard 400, as the No. 19 Toyota posted the fastest time (49.136 seconds) in qualifying on Sunday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Now the big question is, can Chase Briscoe stay out front? We saw him dominate and win at Pocono last month, which is the most comparable track to Indianapolis, so it's certainly possible. With that being said, Briscoe has just one Cup Series start under his belt at this track, and it ended in a 24th-place result last year. When it comes to DFS this weekend, Chase is a risky option at $9,300, but he's also the most likely to lead a bunch of laps considering he qualified on the pole.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
July 27, 2025
One driver that was surprisingly low on the practice chart at Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend was Ryan Blaney, who wound up 32nd-fastest out of 39 cars in the session. It was clear that the No. 12 team just missed the setup, but it didn't improve a ton in qualifying either, as Blaney will roll off the starting grid from 24th-place for this weekend's Brickyard 400. After practice was over, Blaney noted that the team learned a lot in practice, saying "Hopefully we can take it and apply it to find a little speed." The No. 12 Ford was one of the best in this race one year ago, and Blaney finished third at Pocono a month ago, which is the most similar track to Indianapolis on the schedule. In DFS, Blaney makes an interesting option this weekend, because he could go under-owned with many other players likely gravitating toward Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson in that price range. For that reason, consider Blaney in tournaments, as he still has significant Place Differential upside on Sunday.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: PRN
July 27, 2025
Look for Brad Keselowski to have a strong run in the Brickyard 400 on Sunday afternoon. Keselowski is a previous Indianapolis Motor Speedway winner and was in position to challenge for the win in this race last year before running out of fuel on a late restart. Additionally, the No. 6 Ford has been fast this weekend, and Keselowski was notably happy with the race car after practice on Saturday. He was third-fastest out of 39 cars in that session. As far as qualifying goes, Keselowski didn't have the best run there and will start from 14th-place for this year's running of the Brickyard. That's not awful, though, as Keselowski started in that same spot for the Pocono race last month and had one of the best cars in that race, finishing ninth despite some blunders on pit road. At $8,400 on DraftKings, Brad Keselowski is a very strong DFS play for Indianapolis, as he has both race-winning upside and room to grab Place Differential points.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Jayski
July 27, 2025
Bubba Wallace is currently in the thick of the Playoffs hunt, as the 23XI Racing driver has a 16-point advantage over the cut line with five races to go in the regular season. As we all know, though, a win could cement Bubba's spot in this year's Playoffs, and that could possibly happen. Indianapolis Motor Speedway is one of, if not the best track on the schedule for Bubba Wallace. In four career starts here, he has one bad finish (a 38th in 2018 after wrecking) along with results of third, ninth, and (most recently) fifth. This weekend, Bubba posted his best-ever qualifying effort at The Brickyard, ending up second-fastest on Saturday to his Toyota teammate, Chase Briscoe. The No. 23 Toyota has speed this weekend, now the team needs perfect strategy to put Bubba in position to potentially grab a win. At $7,700 on DraftKings this weekend and with very little Place Differential upside, Bubba Wallace is a tournament play in DFS if you're using the alternate-dominator strategy to build your lineup.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Action Network
July 27, 2025
Make sure you don't overlook Ryan Preece ($7,300 on DraftKings) when building your DFS lineups for the Brickyard 400 this weekend. The Roush-Fenway Keselowski Racing driver qualified back in 23rd for this weekend's race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and just last month, Preece was able to walk away from Pocono with an eighth-place finish. Pocono is the best comparable track to Indianapolis on the schedule. In this race last season, Preece was running ninth at the start of the final overtime, but ultimately brought out the last caution and ended up with a 26th-place finish. Although his practice speeds weren't quite the best this weekend, we can still reasonably expect Ryan Preece to have speed at Indianapolis on Sunday. In addition to his eighth-place finish at Pocono last month, he also ended up ninth at Michigan, which is another high-horsepower track like Indianapolis.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
July 27, 2025
Heading into the Brickyard 400 race weekend, many people had their eye on John Hunter Nemechek, as the Legacy Motor Club driver just had his best race of the season one month ago at Pocono, qualifying fourth and finishing sixth when it was all said and done. Pocono is a very similar track to Indianapolis, and at the start of the weekend, it looked like Nemechek would have similar speed for the Brickyard 400 on Sunday, as the No. 42 Toyota was second-fastest in practice. Things to a turn for the worse in qualifying, though, as Nemechek hit the wall and ended up 36th-fastest out of 39 cars. The team will have to repair the car (or go to a backup), but that just made Nemechek be an easy decision for DFS players this weekend. At just $6,200 on DraftKings and with such high Place Differential upside, John Hunter Nemechek is one of the best low-dollar options on the DFS slate this weekend. Nemechek had legitimate top-10 speed in this race last season and finished 15th here in 2020 with Front Row Motorsports.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Jayski
July 27, 2025
Ricky Stenhouse Jr has been one of the most valuable low-dollar options in DFS this season due to his high positive Place Differential count, and that could definitely be the case again at Indianapolis this weekend, as the Hyak Motorsports driver qualified 32nd for this weekend's Brickyard 400. And when you consider the fact that Stenhouse wound up finishing 11th in this race last season, it looks like an absolute steal of a daily fantasy pick. However, be cautioned: this isn't a great track for Ricky. In nine career starts at The Brickyard, Stenhouse has finished 31st or worse five times, and he's only ended up better than 24th twice: his 11th-place run last season and a 12th-place finish back in 2016. The No. 47 Chevrolet did end up 16th-fastest in practice this weekend, though, so there is some upside there, but don't think Stenhouse is an automatic Place Differential pick in DFS on Sunday just because of his starting position.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
July 27, 2025
Todd Gilliland had a great result in last year's Brickyard 400, and the Front Row Motorsports driver is hoping to replicate that finish this weekend as well. During media availability earlier this week, Gilliland stated, "Dover was disappointing, but the good thing about this sport is there's another opportunity every week. I had a solid run at the Brickyard last season, so I'm hoping I can replicate that this weekend." Last season, Gilliland ended up finishing sixth after starting 24th, which ended up being the best result of his 2024 campaign. So far this season, Gilliland's best finish has been 10th. It's hard to predict how the No. 34 Ford will perform at Indianapolis on Sunday, as this Front Row Motorsports team has struggled mightily to find speed as of late. However, Gilliland was 11th-fastest in practice on Saturday, so there is some hope there. At $5,300 on DraftKings, Gilliland is worth playing in some large-field tournaments, but don't go overboard.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Speedway Digest
July 27, 2025
Jesse Love is back in Cup Series action this weekend, as the 20-year-old driver will be behind the wheel of the No. 62 Chevrolet for Beard Motorsports in the Brickyard 400. This will be the first-ever start at Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the organization and the driver, as Love as only made three Cup Series starts in his young career thus far. Those races have not ended well, though, as he has posted results of 31st at Bristol, 31st at Texas, and 29th at Kansas. This weekend, it's likely to be a similar outcome for Jesse Love at Indianapolis, unless their is some mass attrition that happens during the race. The No. 62 Chevrolet was 1.499 seconds off the pace in practice and Love ended up qualifying 35th out of 39 cars. In DFS this weekend, Jesse Love ($5,200 on DraftKings) should be used sparingly, if at all, due to his very limited upside.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Speedway Media
July 27, 2025
Katherine Legge is back behind the wheel of the No. 78 Chevrolet this weekend for the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This car itself doesn't have much speed in it no mater who's behind the wheel, and that was showcased again this weekend, as Legge was over four seconds off the pace in practice on Saturday afternoon. In qualifying, it got worse, as Legge ended up nearly eight seconds slower than pole-sitter, Chase Briscoe, and was the slowest of all drivers to complete a lap (at 157.997 mph). As has been the case for many races this season, attrition is going to be Legge's best friend at Indianapolis on Sunday. She has finished 30th or worse in three of her four starts this season and she will likely add to that number this weekend.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Jayski
July 27, 2025
After losing the semifinal round of the In-Season Challenge to Ty Gibbs last week, Reddick is now more free to take risks to fight for wins than he was before being eliminated from the tournament. Although he hasn't won a race to lock himself in the playoffs yet and has contended for wins a lot less than usual, the Brickyard 400 may provide him one of his best shots at a win this year particularly because the Toyotas swept the top five spots in qualifying with Reddick himself finishing fourth and surrounded by four other drivers Chase Briscoe, Bubba Wallace, Erik Jones, and Gibbs who don't compete for wins often. Given Toyota's apparent speed and since Reddick is usually faster than those drivers (last week notwithstanding), he stands poised to lead a lot today and is probably one of the best DFS options despite his strong starting position, particularly after finishing second last year.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
July 27, 2025
As usual, Ross Chastain qualified poorly for today's Brickyard 400, where he starts 33rd while both his teammates, the lame duck Daniel Suárez and rookie Shane van Gisbergen surprisingly outqualified him. Since Chastain's racecraft has improved and he crashes much less than he used to, he's definitely a strong choice for DFS Place Differential points. He has gained 12 or more positions in his last three starts here, and his 17th place finish in 2020 for a Spire Motorsports that was far slower than it is today was very impressive. The issue is that several other drivers like Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, and Ryan Blaney also qualified poorly and all of them are likelier better options, but if you want to save some money to spend on the rest of your team, Chastain might be a solid second-tier option even though he has not had a top ten at Indianapolis yet.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
July 27, 2025
After years of tending to qualify poorly and moving up through the field as other drivers made mistakes, Buescher has substantially improved in qualifying this year but it seems to have come at the expense of his race speed. Buescher usually tends to outqualify his teammates Ryan Preece and Brad Keselowski, but Preece is typically faster in races and Keselowski often is too. Buescher's big breakout came during the years when the Brickyard 400 was replaced with a race on the Indianapolis road course and he'd probably be better off if they were still racing there. In the Brickyard 400, he had an extremely mediocre run last year, finishing 22nd with a 31st place average running position. Overall, he has never finished better than ninth at the track and he is starting seventh today, so he is almost guaranteed to lose positions and a weaker DFS choice than he seems.
--Sean Wrona - RotoBallerSource: Racing Reference
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