March 8, 2026

Tyler Reddick spun his No. 45 Toyota in practice at Phoenix Raceway on Saturday afternoon, although it's important to note that the 23XI Racing driver didn't hit anything when doing so. Reddick was able to qualifying his race car later that day and will start from eighth-place for Sunday's Straight Talk Wireless 500. All eyes will be on Reddick as he looks to become the first-ever NASCAR driver to win the first four races of the season. Can it be done? Anything is possible, but Reddick has never truly been a standout performer at Phoenix Raceway. Still, he has three top-10 finishes in the last six races here and should be able to contend for another one this weekend. Before his spin in practice, Reddick ranked 12th-fastest in terms of 20-lap average.--Jordan McAbee
Source: NASCAR

March 8, 2026

Don't be surprised if William Byron is a contender in Sunday afternoon's Straight Talk Wireless 500, as the Hendrick Motorsports driver has been a constant threat at Phoenix Raceway in the Next Gen era. Looking at the last six races on this one-mile track, Willy B has one victory, four finishes of sixth or better, and has led 52 or more laps in four of those six races. This weekend, Byron will roll off the starting grid from ninth-place, which gives him some Place Differential upside in DFS contests as well as his race-winning potential. Byron wasn't a standout in practice this weekend, but his track history has to count for something here. Make sure you don't overlook William Byron ($10.7K on DraftKings) this weekend.--Jordan McAbee
Source: Driver Averages

March 8, 2026

Don't overlook Kyle Larson in this weekend's Straight Talk Wireless 500. The Hendrick Motorsports driver qualified on the outside pole for Sunday's race, and has finished fourth or better in five of the last six races at Phoenix Raceway. Now, Larson only has one win here: a victory back in the 2021 Championship race, but the No. 5 Chevrolet has been one of the strongest at this track on an annual basis. As far as DraftKings playability goes for this race, Larson is a very interesting tournament/leverage option, as he's likely to be overlooked by DFS players. However, with his strong track record and solid starting position, there's a good chance that Larson could dominate a portion of this race this weekend--and contend for the win. Make sure you have some Yung Money exposure this weekend.--Jordan McAbee
Source: Jayski

March 8, 2026

23XI Racing's Bubba Wallace is starting 28th after qualifying for the Straight Talk Wireless 500 at Phoenix Raceway. This will be Wallace's lowest starting position in a Phoenix Cup race since November 2024. In 16 races at the Arizona track, Wallace has eight top-20 finishes, with only three top-10s. The No. 23 Toyota driver has been great to start the 2026 season, as he placed 11th or better in the first three races of the year with two top-10s. In practice for Sunday's race, Wallace ranked 34th in overall lap averages, 17th in 15 consecutive lap averages, and 16th in 20 consecutive lap averages. Due to his underwhelming qualifying effort, Wallace will start deeper in the field with plenty of upside. Considering his equipment and practice speeds, fantasy players should consider Wallace playable in all DFS formats, but especially in cash games.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: DriverAverages.com

March 8, 2026

Anthony Alfredo will start 31st in this week's Straight Talk Wireless 500, taking place at Phoenix Raceway. Alfredo is filling in for Alex Bowman in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 48 Chevrolet, who will not be racing after being diagnosed with vertigo earlier in the week. This week, Alfredo is making his first Cup Series appearance at Phoenix since 2021, when he raced there with Front Row Motorsports as a rookie driver. In two Cup starts at Phoenix, Alfredo's best finish is 34th, but he also has two top-10 finishes at the site in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series, including a finish of 10th earlier in the weekend. In practice for Sunday's race, Alfredo displayed top-15 speeds in the 10-30 consecutive lap average categories, including fifth in 30 consecutive lap averages. Despite little Cup experience outside of drafting tracks, Alfredo will be in top-notch equipment and has already performed well in practice. Fantasy players should consider rostering Alfredo in DFS lineups this week, especially with his high upside offered by his starting position.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: DriverAverages.com

March 2, 2026

Ryan Blaney was one of the top contenders for the win throughout the DuraMAX Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Blaney began the race from the fourth position, but progressed to the front as the first stage progressed. The No. 12 Team Penske Ford driver then obtained the lead from Chase Briscoe on lap 9 and led the rest of the first stage until his first pit stop on lap 18. Blaney ended the first stage in 14th and did not earn any stage points, but he shuffled back to the lead at the beginning of the second stage. However, Blaney was quickly passed by Tyler Reddick for the lead, and then spent most of the stage trailing in second behind Reddick. Blaney went to pit again two laps before the end of the second stage, but was far enough ahead of the rest of the field to lose only a few positions. The No. 12 Ford driver ended the second stage in seventh and gained four stage points. In the final stage, Blaney cycled back to second and was chasing Reddick through most of the stage until a restart after a lap 75 caution for Ross Chastain losing a wheel. Blaney was then passed by Shane Van Gisbergen and settled into third until the closing laps, when Blaney lost grip in his tires and kept losing positions. He eventually finished the race in eighth place, earning his best finish at COTA since 2022.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

March 2, 2026

Ty Gibbs from Joe Gibbs Racing finished in fourth place after having a quiet, but productive points day in the DuraMAX Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Gibbs began the race in ninth, but was gaining positions through the first stage. The No. 54 Toyota driver avoided pit road through the first stage and made it to sixth by the end of it, scoring five stage points. In the second stage, Gibbs fell back due to pitting between stages, but regained positions through the stage. Eventually, other drivers decided to head to pit road before the end of the second stage, and Gibbs stayed away from the pits once again. This time, Gibbs won the second stage and gained 10 further stage points. In the final stage, Gibbs pitted again between stages and restarted in the middle of the pack. The JGR driver spent the rest of the stage keeping his car clean and picking off drivers one at a time. Gibbs then made his final pass on Ryan Blaney on lap 87 to capture fourth and finished there a few laps later. This was Gibbs' second career top-5 finish at COTA, and he now sits 19th in the points standings after three races in the 2026 season.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

March 2, 2026

Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing finished third after having an up-and-down day at Circuit of the Americas during the DuraMAX Grand Prix. Bell started the race from eighth place, and early on in the first stage, he made it up to the top five. The No. 20 Toyota driver then dropped to sixth before heading to pit road with four laps before the end of the stage. This left Bell to finish in 28th at the end of the first stage after many other drivers stayed out of pit road. Through the entire second stage, Bell was stuck in traffic and could barely make moves through the pack. He ended the second stage in 15th and failed to score stage points through the entire race. At one point in the final stage, Bell traded paint a few times with Kyle Larson, but was able to continue. The No. 20 team decided to split the stage into two pit stops in order to win the race with a unique pit strategy, first enacting the plan with a lap 62 pit stop. Bell took his second pit stop during a lap 75 caution, which put him a couple of positions back, but he regained them over the course of the final run and made it up to third. The JGR driver did not have the speed to advance past third and finished there, earning his third consecutive top-5 finish at COTA.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

March 2, 2026

Shane Van Gisbergen of Trackhouse Racing finished in second place in the DuraMAX Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. The No. 97 Chevrolet driver started the race in 13th place, but quickly made progress through the field in the first stage. SVG hit the top 10 in less than a lap and made it to third in 14 laps. By the end of the first stage, SVG placed second and earned stage points behind his teammate Ross Chastain. In the second stage, Van Gisbergen started back in the middle of the pack in 16th after pitting between stages, but quickly made it back to the top 10 in a lap. SVG made it up to the top five before heading to pit road two laps before the end of the stage. After returning to the track, SVG ended the second stage in 10th and added one more stage point. In the final stage, SVG was back inside the top five and slowly progressed to the front as the stage got closer to the end. SVG passed William Byron and Ryan Blaney before closing the gap to Tyler Reddick to compete for the win. Unfortunately for Van Gisbergen, he could not muster enough speed to get past Reddick, who made no mistakes, and left the Trackhouse driver finishing as the runner-up for the first time at COTA in the Cup Series, and also ending his streak of consecutive road course races at five wins.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

March 2, 2026

23XI Racing's Tyler Reddick made NASCAR history by winning the DuraMAX Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas, his third consecutive win to open the 2026 season. The No. 45 Toyota driver started the race in first after scoring the pole position in qualifying. In the first stage, Reddick focused on saving his tires and keeping the car in one piece, but this caused him to drop to the back half of the top 10. Although Reddick started to regain ground, he ended up pitting before the end of the first stage and dropped back to 18th, his final position at the end of the stage. In the second stage, Reddick shuffled back to the front after other drivers went to pit road for tires and fuel, taking the lead from Ryan Blaney. Reddick went on to dominate most of the stage until he pitted before the end of the second stage. Despite giving up the lead, Reddick maintained a large enough gap to the rest of the field outside of Ryan Blaney, who followed closely behind in the entire stage, to only fall to fifth, where he finished the stage. In the final stage, Reddick controlled the race once again from the lead after others went to pit road and never looked back. Despite Blaney and eventually Shane Van Gisbergen challenging Reddick for the win, the No. 45 driver could not be passed. No driver in modern NASCAR history has ever won the opening three races of the season until Reddick accomplished the feat this year, and also became the first driver to score two wins at COTA.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: NASCAR.com

March 1, 2026

Tyler Reddick is off to a blazing hot start this season, with back-to-back wins at Daytona and Atlanta to start the year, plus a pole win here at COTA this weekend. That is Reddick's second straight (and third overall) pole at the Austin, Texas track, and he used that to finish third in last year's race--his fourth-straight top-five at the track. So if you're asking yourself if Reddick can keep up the hot streak this weekend at COTA, the real question is, how doesn't he? The 23XI Racing driver is one of the best road course racers in the series, and he's starting with the best track position of all when the DURAMax Grand Prix goes green. On DraftKings ($9,500 salary), Reddick has dominator upside and should be able to contend for (at least) a top-five finish. He's a solid pick all around yet again this weekend, as he looks to become the first driver in NASCAR history to win the first three races of a season.--Jordan McAbee
Source: KXAN

March 1, 2026

All eyes will be on Shane van Gisbergen this weekend at COTA, as the Trackhouse Racing driver will be looking to win his sixth straight road course race in the Cup Series. He's going to have some work to do to accomplish that, though. In practice on Saturday, SVG struggled to put down a super-fast single lap, ranking 20th-fastest in the session. He then went on to qualify in 13th-place for Sunday's DURAMax Grand Prix, which puts him at a slight disadvantage to start the race. With that being said, van Gisbergen looked very strong on the long runs in practice--as we all expected--and that will pay dividends on race day. As far as DFS goes, SVG ranks as an elite pick for this weekend's race despite his sky-high salary ($13,000 on DraftKings). He has Place Differential upside, dominator potential, and race-winning prowess.--Jordan McAbee
Source: Action Network

March 1, 2026

Christopher Bell is the defending race winner at COTA, and should be a contender in this weekend's DURAMax Grand Prix as well. Over the last four races at this track, Bell has three podium finishes, including the aforementioned win in last year's race. This weekend, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver will roll off the starting grid from eighth-place when the race goes green, and makes for an interesting DFS tournament option on DraftKings ($9,800 salary). However, due to Bell's limited dominator upside, he may not be worth the higher salary. Still, if the road course ace ends up in victory lane, then the whole debate is moot, as Bell will definitely be in the optimal DFS lineup for COTA. He's not a must-have in daily fantasy on Sunday, but Christopher Bell is definitely one of those drivers to be overweight on in tournaments.--Jordan McAbee
Source: ifantasyrace

March 1, 2026

Despite AJ Allmendinger's poor track record at Circuit of the Americas (three finishes of 30th or worse over the last four races), he's actually one of the best here, and at road courses in general. In the two starts at COTA where he hasn't had issues, Allmendinger has walked away with sixth- and fifth-place finishes, so we know what he can do when the stars align. This weekend, Dinger had a solid practice session on Saturday and ranked seventh-fastest in 10-lap average. He also went out and qualified in seventh for Sunday's DURAMax Grand Prix race. On DraftKings, Allmendinger ($8,500 salary) makes for an interesting tournament play, because he's affordable, has race-winning upside, but his Place Differential upside is limited. Still, if the No. 16 Chevrolet doesn't have any issues on race day, you can expect AJ to compete for (at least) a top-10 finish.--Jordan McAbee
Source: ifantasyrace

March 1, 2026

NASCAR Cup Series rookie Connor Zilisch will be starting 25th in this week's DuraMAX Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. This is a lower starting position than his only other Cup Series start at the site last season (14th). In last year's race, Zilisch's only Cup start at COTA, Zilisch ran inside the top 15 and was gaining ground before being involved in a crash that relegated him to a finish of 37th. In practice for this week's race, Zilisch ranked fourth in five consecutive lap averages and fifth in overall lap averages among all drivers. Despite his inexperience with the Cup Series, Zilisch does come from a road racing background and is at his best at road courses. Although he is expensive to roster for DFS this week, his upside and equipment make him worth a lineup spot for fantasy players this week.--Sean Engel - RotoBaller
Source: DriverAverages.com