RADIO
William Byron a DFS Diamond in the Rough at Daytona
It's going to be easy to overlook William Byron in DFS this weekend, but make sure you don't. On the driver list, Byron ($10.4K salary) is sandwiched between heavy-hitters, Ryan Blaney and Christopher Bell, which is going to lower Byron's ownership on the slate already. Add in the fact that Byron qualified 13th for this weekend's race at Daytona--which means he has somewhat limited Place Differential upside--and many DFS players are going to pass on the Hendrick Motorsports driver. However, let's not forget that Byron is a three-time Daytona winner and is also coming off of a 12th-place finish here in this season's Daytona 500 (after starting 39th). Willy B is an excellent large-field tournament option in DFS this weekend, as he should be flying under the radar for most daily fantasy players.
Source: Hendrick Motorsports
Source: Hendrick Motorsports
Christopher Bell the Chalk DFS Play at Daytona
Christopher Bell qualified 35th for this weekend's Coke Zero Sugar 400, which means he's going to be a prime target for many DFS managers on Saturday night. Place differential means everything for the daily fantasy contests at a track like Daytona, and Bell is in top-tier equipment while starting near the back of the field. As far as track history goes at Daytona, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has shown flashes of good here, with three third-place finishes in his last seven starts at the track. With that being said, Bell has also finished 31st or worse in five of his last 10 starts at Daytona. Quite the boom-or-bust scenario. In cash games on DraftKings, Christopher Bell ($10.2K salary) is a solid choice this weekend. In large-field tournaments, there's a strategy element to being underweight on him, as he has the tendency to wreck out at this track.
Source: Christopher Bell
Source: Christopher Bell
Joey Logano Hoping to Keep his Momentum at Daytona
Joey Logano's season continued on the up-and-up at New Hampshire last weekend, as the Team Penske driver posted his seventh straight top-15 finish with a 14th-place effort at "The Magic Mile." Logano has now climbed all the way up to ninth in the points standings as the Chase is set to start in one week. Can the Team Penske driver continue that momentum at Daytona this weekend, though? Logano is a previous Daytona winner (2015) and has led the second-most laps (413) among all active drivers at this track. For Saturday night's Coke Zero Sugar 400, the No 22 Ford will roll off the starting grid from ninth-place, which makes Logano a fascinating DFS option, as his Place Differential upside is relatively limited, but the race-winning potential is there. Joey started third and finished third here at Daytona back in February.
Source: PitByNumbers
Source: PitByNumbers
Can Denny Hamlin Return to Glory Under New Rules Package at Daytona?
Denny Hamlin used to be one of the most feared drivers on superspeedways, especially at Daytona International Speedway. He's a three-time Daytona 500 winner and has posted 11 top-five finishes in 41 career starts at this track. But ever since the introduction of the NextGen car, Hamlin seems to have lost his edge. Over the last nine races at Daytona, Hamlin has zero top-15 finishes and his best result is a 17th. In seven of those nine races, he has ended up outside of the top 20 entirely. Will that change this weekend, though? NASCAR has implemented some rules changes with this package in an attempt to improve the racing at Daytona. Nobody knows for sure how this will happen, but it could be a step in the right direction for Hamlin to return to his former glory. He qualified back in 30th-place for Saturday night's Coke Zero Sugar 400, which means Denny is a prime DFS target for Place Differential on DraftKings ($9.1K salary).
Source: Fox Sports
Source: Fox Sports
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Should Be a Popular Fantasy Pick at Daytona
It's Coke Zero Sugar 400 weekend at Daytona International Speedway, which means fantasy players and bettors alike will be targeting Ricky Stenhouse Jr. much more than usual. That should be the case this weekend as well, especially in DFS. Stenhouse qualified back in 32nd-place for this weekend's race, which gives him massive Place Differential upside at one of his best race tracks. Stenhouse is a two-time winner at Daytona and is also coming off of a second-place finish here in this season's Daytona 500. He tends to be boom or bust, though, as four of the last six Daytona races have ended with Stenhouse in 31st-place or worse. The upside is there, but so is the downside. Ricky should be a popular pick in DFS on Saturday night, especially at his $8.1K salary on DraftKings, but there is also a strategy element to going underweight on him in large-field tournaments in case he crashes again.
Source: Driver Averages
Source: Driver Averages
Shane van Gisbergen Qualifies Sixth As He Battles for Chase Berth
Saturday night's Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway is a big one for Shane van Gisbergen. Heading into the race, the Trackhouse Racing driver has a 31-point advantage over Ryan Preece for the final spot in this year's Chase, and with how unpredictable Daytona can be, nothing is guaranteed. SVG got off to a good start on Friday, though, as he qualified sixth for this weekend's big race--although Preece got off to a better start by qualifying fourth. As far as track history goes, Daytona has been a struggle for van Gisbergen thus far, as he has just one finish better than 30th in four career starts. That one result was a 16th-place finish in this race one year ago. It'll be fun to watch the battle for the Chase berth unfold at Daytona this weekend, but as far as DFS goes, it's probably best to stay away from Shane van Gisbergen ($6.2K on DraftKings), as his potential for negative Place Differential is super high.
Source: Motorsport
Source: Motorsport
Ross Chastain Wins Pole, Is an Easy Fade in DFS for Daytona
Ross Chastain won the pole for this weekend's Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, and for most race weekends, that would be a good thing in DFS. However, Daytona isn't like most races. The pole sitter at Daytona is actually at quite a major disadvantage in daily fantasy games, as the potential for massive negative Place Differential is sky-high. Although we have seen high-qualifiers score well in DFS at Daytona, the vast majority of the time, it's better to stay away from them. Chastain has made 16 career Cup Series starts at Daytona, and has yet to finish inside the top five. In fact, he has just two top-10 results to his credit thus far. He's an easy fade in DraftKings on Saturday night at his $7.5K salary.
Source: ESPN
Source: ESPN
Ryan Blaney Nabs his Third Victory of 2026 at New Hampshire
Team Penske's Ryan Blaney won the Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway after leading the most laps (115). Blaney started the race from the eighth position and ran well throughout the entire race. In the first stage, Blaney ran inside the top 10 throughout the whole stage and ended the stage in sixth, earning five stage points. In the second stage, Blaney's car was improved by his team, and he gained positions to run in the top five. Midway through the second stage, Blaney made it up to second and chased down Josh Berry, passing him on lap 148. The No. 12 Ford driver ran away with the lead and went on to win the second stage. Blaney lost the lead during pit stops in the stage break, and it was not until another set of pit stops after a lap 225 caution that he returned to the lead. The rest of the third stage consisted of Blaney maintaining a gap between him and Bubba Wallace, who made a charge in the later laps of the race. Although Wallace cut the gap down to 0.5 seconds, he did not have enough time to pass Blaney, and he held on to win at New Hampshire for the second year in a row. Blaney's third win of the 2026 season now puts him second in the Cup Series standings after 25 races.
Source: NASCAR.com
Source: NASCAR.com
Bubba Wallace Misses Out on Victory at New Hampshire
Bubba Wallace of 23XI Racing finished Sunday's Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway as the runner-up despite a late-race charge. Wallace faced an uphill battle from the beginning as he began the race from 23rd place. In the first stage, Wallace displayed plenty of speed early as he gained several positions during the stage. He ended the first stage in 11th, falling one position short of earning stage points. In the second stage, Wallace continued to move up through the field with his fast car. Wallace's execution of pit stops by his pit crew, combined with his gaining of track position, left him placing third by the end of the second stage, scoring eight stage points. In the final stage, Wallace competed with Josh Berry for the lead for several laps until he went to pit road during a caution on lap 225. Wallace came off of pit road in sixth after taking four tires behind drivers that took two tires. For the rest of the race, Wallace passed other drivers and made it up to second, where he spent the rest of the race chasing Ryan Blaney for the victory. Despite cutting Blaney's lead from over two seconds to 0.5 seconds, Wallace could not get past Blaney and settled for second place. With 25 races completed, Wallace is now 14th in the Cup Series standings.
Source: NASCAR.com
Source: NASCAR.com
Josh Berry Scores his Best Finish of 2026 at New Hampshire
Wood Brothers Racing driver Josh Berry was one of the top contenders to fight for the win during the Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Berry started the race from second and displayed plenty of speed early as he ran inside the top five throughout the first stage. The No. 21 Ford driver did contend for the lead directly on a few restarts, but fell back to fifth by the end of the first stage, earning six stage points. After falling a few positions during the stage break due to other drivers staying out, Berry had a faster car than most and moved up to the lead on lap 98. Berry held onto the lead outside of pit stops until lap 148, when Ryan Blaney passed him for what eventually was the second stage win. In the final stage, Berry kept trading the lead with Bubba Wallace until a lap 225 caution caused Berry to pit for four tires and fall further back in the pack. From there, Berry rallied all the way to the third position behind Wallace and Blaney to score his best finish of the 2026 season so far. After his fourth consecutive top-10 finish in the last four races, Berry moves up to 29th in the Cup Series standings after 25 races this year.
Source: NASCAR.com
Source: NASCAR.com
Kyle Larson Finishes Fifth at New Hampshire and Clinches A Chase Spot
Kyle Larson was the top-finishing driver from Chevrolet in Sunday's Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Larson started ninth in Sunday's race after qualifying, but showed plenty of speed early in the first stage. The No. 5 Chevrolet driver made up positions on track and through pit road, and on lap 57, he gained the lead and went on to win the first stage without much competition. During the stage break, Larson was the first driver off pit road among the drivers who pitted, but he lost the lead because other drivers stayed out. He spent the rest of the second stage trying to return to the lead, but only made it as high as fifth, earning six more stage points. In the final stage, Larson kept his car clean and ran in the top 10 through most of the stage. By the end of the race, Larson finished in fifth position and was the only Chevrolet driver to finish in the top 10. After 25 races this season, Larson is now seventh in the Cup Series standings and has clinched a spot in The Chase for 2026.
Source: NASCAR.com
Source: NASCAR.com
Denny Hamlin Clinches the No. 1 Seed in The Chase After New Hampshire
Denny Hamlin ended Sunday's Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with a top-10 finish. Hamlin began the race from the fourth position but quickly dealt with a positional setback on the first lap. Tyler Reddick spun his car in front of Hamlin, causing Hamlin to slow down to avoid crashing into him. Reddick's spin caused Hamlin to move to the back of the field and made him lose positions that he spent the rest of the first stage trying to recover. By the end of the first stage, Hamlin made it back to 20th, but failed to score stage points. In the final two stages, Hamlin marched through the field and made it back to the top 10 thanks to good pit stops and a fast enough car. Hamlin scored two stage points after finishing ninth at the end of the second stage and then went on to finish seventh by the end of the race. With his best finish since 2023 at New Hampshire of seventh, Hamlin now clinched the No. 1 Seed in The Chase and is seen as one of the top favorites to win this year's NASCAR Cup Series Championship.
Source: NASCAR.com
Source: NASCAR.com
Ryan Blaney the Favorite to Win at New Hampshire
Ryan Blaney won the Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway last season, and sportsbooks are thinking he will do it again this year. Blaney is the favorite among all major books to win this weekend's Dollar Tree 301, and for good reason: the No. 12 Ford was the best long-run car in practice on Saturday, and obviously Team Penske knows how to set up their race cars for short, flat tracks. Blaney ranked fastest in 15-, 20-, 25-, and 30-lap averages during practice and will start from the eighth position for Sunday's race. For daily fantasy lineups, Blaney is the perfect pick: he has a little bit of Place Differential upside, along with dominator and race-winning potential as well. He's expensive ($11.2K on DraftKings), but the upside is worth it. He should be one of, if not the highest-scoring driver on the slate.
Source: NASCAR.com
Source: NASCAR.com
Christopher Bell Should Contend for Another Win at New Hampshire
We're at a short, flat track this weekend, so that means Christopher Bell needs to be on your radar. Looking at his six starts here in the Cup Series, CBell has won twice already at this track and has another second-place finish on his resume as well. This weekend, he's looked strong from the start, as the No. 20 Toyota had the best 10-lap average during practice before qualifying sixth for Sunday's Dollar Tree 301. Looking at DFS strategy, Christopher Bell is an interesting pick. He comes in at a $500 discount (salary-wise) from race-favorite, Ryan Blaney, and he starts a couple of positions higher as well (sixth compared to eighth). Bell should be a contender on Sunday in New Hampshire, but the question remains: will he finally get the elusive first win of his 2026 season? Commenting about his race car, Bell stated, "I thought we had some strengths and weaknesses for sure, but really overall, I think the green Camry is gonna be in the game."
Source: Pit By Numbers
Source: Pit By Numbers
No Reason to Expect a Bad Race From Denny Hamlin
Penciling Denny Hamlin in for a single-digit finish is pretty easy these days. Through 24 races this season, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has posted 16 top-10 finishes, and 14 of those were also top-five results. He is currently on a four-race streak of top-fives, and there is no reason to think that he won't extend that to five here at New Hampshire on Sunday. Hamlin is a three-time Cup Series winner at this race track and owns the best average finish here (9.9) among active drivers with more than two starts under their belt. This weekend, Hamlin has had a pretty quiet one but also strong. The No. 11 Toyota ranked seventh-fastest in 30-lap average during practice and Denny ended up qualifying fourth for the race. Go ahead and pencil him in for a top-five finish on Sunday, as he gets closer to locking in the number one seed for the Chase.
Source: The Athletic
Source: The Athletic
