July 6, 2025
The NASCAR Cup Series is at a road course track this weekend (the Chicago Street Course), which means Chris Buescher should have a strong showing. Nobody has a better average finish than him at this track type since the start of the 2022 season. Over the last 18 races on road courses, Buescher has finished 11th or better 16 times, with the only exceptions being the Charlotte Roval last season (he ended up 17th) as well as last year's Chicago race (he finished 20th). Looking at practice and qualifying this weekend, the No. 17 Ford was solid. Buescher posted the eighth-fastest lap during practice on Saturday afternoon and then went out and qualified eighth for Sunday's race as well. With as strong and consistent as Buescher is on this track type, he makes for a reliable DFS option this weekend ($8,600 on DraftKings) despite limited Place Differential upside.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
July 6, 2025
Bubba Wallace is by no means a strong road course racer, but he's certainly not as bad as he used to be. In face, over the last 10 races on this track type, Bubba hasn't finished worse than 20th, and he even grabbed a 12th-place finish at Mexico City last month despite starting back in 25th-place. This weekend, Bubba will have to do more of the same, as he spun the No. 23 Toyota out during qualifying and will have to start from back in 37th for Sunday's race. With that being said, that makes Bubba a very attractive DFS option, as his Place Differential upside is massive this weekend. Additionally, Wallace posted the fastest lap during practice on Saturday, so we know there is speed in that race car. At just $6,400 on DraftKings this weekend, Bubba Wallace is a core driver to build DFS lineups around, especially due to his huge Place Differential potential.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Jayski
July 6, 2025
Expect Michael McDowell to be a factor in the Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course this weekend. The Spire Motorsports driver had a "solid" practice and qualifying at the track on Saturday and, like everyone else, will be trying to best Shane van Gisbergen for the win on Sunday. Chicago has been a very good track for McDowell thus far, as he has been able to walk away with seventh- and fifth-place finishes in two races on the street course thus far. McDowell will start from second for this weekend's Grant Park 165 race, and while this eliminates any Place Differential upside he may have, he's still an interesting DFS option at just $8,300 on DraftKings. If McDowell can lead some laps and grab a podium finish on Sunday, he could still end up making it into the optimal DFS lineup.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Michael McDowell's X Account
July 6, 2025
Will Brown will be behind the wheel of the No. 13 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing in this weekend's Grant Park 165, as the Australian Supercars driver will be making his second-ever Cup Series start on Sunday. Brown held his own during practice on Saturday, posting the 12th-fastest lap and ending up faster than his Kaulig Racing teammates, AJ Allmendinger and Ty Dillon. Brown's first Cup Series start came at Sonoma last season, where he drove the No. 33 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. He had equipment issues during that race and wound up finishing 31st, but showed promise before that. This weekend, Will Brown is a tournament option in DFS contests, as he's relatively expensive ($7,300 on DraftKings) but has the talent to challenge for a good finish--if his equipment holds up. If it does, Brown should be able to improve on his 19th-place starting spot.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Speedway Digest
July 5, 2025
One low-tier driver that could be flying under the radar for this weekend's Grant Park 165 is Justin Haley. The Spire Motorsports driver has struggled quite a bit this season, but road course venues can be a great equalizer, and Haley has been strong here at the Chicago Street Course over the last two years; in the inaugural event, he walked away with a second-place finish, and then last season, Haley was able to post a 16th-place result while driving for Rick Ware Racing--which has historically been awful (equipment-wise) at road course venues. This weekend, Haley has been unable to find much speed in Chicago despite the upgrade in equipment, as his No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet is an upgrade from what he had last season. Haley ranked 37th-fastest (out of 40 cars) in practice and then wound up 28th in qualifying. Due to his Place Differential upside and strong track history, you should probably have some exposure to Justin Haley in DFS (he's only $6,800 on DraftKings), but don't go too crazy.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
July 5, 2025
Keep an eye on Todd Gilliland in this weekend's Grant Park 165. The Front Row Motorsports driver walked away with a seventh-place finish in this race last season and has been consistently above-average at this track type since the start of 2024. During that time frame, Gilliland has posted three top-10 finishes and an average finish of 15.6 on the road courses. This weekend, the No. 34 Ford ranked 22nd-fastest in practice and then Gilliland went out and qualified 20th for Sunday's race. At $6,500 on DraftKings, you should consider him in tournament-style contests, as his Place Differential upside is a little bit limited after that mid-pack qualifying effort, but Gilliland will still pull off a high-value DFS score if he grabs another top-10 finish on Sunday.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
July 5, 2025
Last year at the Chicago Street Course, Ricky Stenhouse Jr walked away with a sixth-place finish--marking his second-ever top-10 result in (then) 40 career attempts on road course tracks. This finish was likely due to good strategy and rain becoming a factor, but the result still counts. In this year's Grant Park 165, he'll be looking to do the same thing. Stenhouse qualified back in 32nd-place for this weekend's race, which is just one spot better than his qualifying effort for this race last year. In practice, Stenhouse lacked the same amount of speed, as he wound up 32nd-fastest there as well (out of 40 cars to complete a lap). At $5,700 on DraftKings this weekend, you need to have some Ricky Stenhouse exposure due to his high Place Differential potential, but don't go overboard. Stenhouse has finished 18th or better in three of the last five road course races, including an 18th-place result at COTA back in March.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
July 5, 2025
There are some race tracks where Josh Berry can be considered a legitimate sleeper. Road course tracks are not one of those, though. Berry has struggled mightily in the Cup Series at the left-and-right-turn race tracks, and doesn't look to be showing any improvement this weekend at the Chicago Street Course. After posting the 38th-fastest lap (out of 40 cars) in practice, Berry went out and qualified 29th for Sunday afternoon's Grant Park 165. While that may seem like an improvement, keep in mind that four drivers either had issues or did not attempt a lap in qualifying, otherwise Berry likely would have ended up 33rd-fastest. When it comes to DFS this weekend, Josh Berry may be an intriguing option at $5,500 on DraftKings with his decently-high Place Differential, but it's best to stay away from the guy that has struggled mightily at this track type in his career. He has just one finish better than 25th on a road course in seven total attempts in the Cup Series.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
July 5, 2025
The No. 66 Ford for Garage 66 has been one of the slowest cars on every track this season, but that hasn't been the case at the Chicago Street Course this weekend. Josh Bilicki is behind the wheel of this race car for Sunday's Grant Park 165 and he showed some unexpected speed during practice and qualifying on Saturday. After posting the 36th-fastest lap (out of 41 drivers) in practice, Bilicki went out and qualified 31st for Sunday's race. While that is not mind-blowing speed by any means, that is significantly better than every other effort by the Garage 66 drivers this season. Now, with that being said, Bilicki is still in a back-marker car and that can't be overlooked. He finished 28th at the Chicago Street Course in this No. 66 Ford last season and also wound up 29th at the Charlotte Roval. Without major attrition in this weekend's race, that's about the ceiling you should expect from Bilicki on Sunday as well.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Jayski
July 5, 2025
Katherine Legge will be racing in this weekend's Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course, as the British 44-year-old put down a lap of 92.368 seconds in qualifying on Saturday afternoon. That was faster than several notable drivers, including Erik Jones, Cody Ware, Ty Dillon, and Bubba Wallace. That lap was also faster than Corey Heim's attempt, who did not qualify for the race after hitting the wall during his attempt. This will be Legge's third-ever start in the Cup Series. She finished 30th at Phoenix earlier this year and wound up 32nd at Mexico City while driving this No. 78 Chevrolet for Live Fast Motorsports. It will likely take plenty of attrition for Legge to move up any from her starting spot this weekend, and therefore it's not recommended to have much exposure to her in DFS (even with the super-cheap salary of $4,500 on DraftKings).
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Chicago Tribune
July
5,
2025
Corey
Heim's
birthday
didn't
go
as
planned.
The
Toyota
Racing
driver
was
poised
to
make
his
third
Cup
Series
start
of
the
season
this
weekend
at
the
Chicago
Street
Course,
but
after
the
No.
67
Toyota
made
contact
with
the
wall
read more...
July 1, 2025
Another domino in this year's NASCAR "Silly Season" has fallen. It was announced on Tuesday that Trackhouse Racing and Daniel Suarez will part ways at the conclusion of the 2025 season in a mutually agreed-upon situation. A few weeks ago in Mexico City, Suarez noted, "There [are] a lot of things in Trackhouse that are adjusting and changing. Performance-wise, we're not exactly where we want to be — not just in the 99 but in Trackhouse as a company, and we have to make sure that we fix that before we want to go any longer. This goes really both ways." Suarez currently ranks 29th in the points standings and will likely need a win to make the Playoffs this year.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: NASCAR.com
June
30,
2025
Alex
Bowman
of
Hendrick
Motorsports
was
one
of
the
top
contenders
of
the
Quaker
State
400
at
Atlanta
Motor
Speedway
for
the
win.
Bowman
started
the
race
from
the
ninth
position,
but
lost
ground
throughout
the
first
stage.
He
ended
stage
read more...
June 30, 2025
Legacy Motor Club's Erik Jones placed fifth at the end of Saturday's Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Jones started 26th at the beginning of the race, but remained in the back during the first stage, finishing in 31st and earning no stage points. Jones successfully avoided the race's biggest wreck on lap 69, and from there, he became more competitive as the race progressed. The No. 43 Toyota driver ended the second stage in fifth despite also making contact with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and sustaining damage. In the final stage, Jones kept quietly remaining in the top 10 until lap 196 when he spun around the track, but obtained little damage and was able to continue. After multiple pit stops, Jones ended up getting new tires and charged through the field to regain fifth place by the end of the race. Jones secured his second career top-5 finish at Atlanta, marking his second of the 2025 season.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
June
30,
2025
Tyler
Reddick
of
23XI
Racing
finished
Saturday
night's
Quaker
State
400
at
Atlanta
Motor
Speedway
in
the
fourth
position
after
being
one
of
the
top
competitors
for
the
win.
Reddick
began
the
race
from
the
23rd
position,
but
lost
ground
in
read more...
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