RADIO
Is Christopher Bell Worth Rostering for Chicagoland Lineups?
Joe Gibbs Racing's Christopher Bell is starting sixth after qualifying for the Eero 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. This will be Bell's first Cup Series race at Chicagoland, although he does have two O'Reilly Series starts at the site with a best finish of 12th. In 18 races completed this season, Bell has seven top-10 finishes with an average finish of 17.7. During practice for this week's race, Bell ranked as high as 10th in 20 consecutive lap averages. Bell has stated to media members that despite making gains in his recovery, he is not fully healed from his wrist injury after a few weeks. The injury status, as well as Bell's low upside and inconsistency this season, makes him a driver only worth DFS consideration for tournaments.
Source: DriverAverages.com
Source: DriverAverages.com
Is Chase Briscoe Worth Rostering for DFS at Chicagoland?
Chase Briscoe of Joe Gibbs Racing will start in seventh for this week's Eero 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Briscoe matches the starting position that he also had in last week's race at Sonoma Raceway. The No. 19 Toyota driver has never raced at Chicagoland in the Cup Series, but he did have two starts at the site in the O'Reilly Series, with two top-15 finishes. In 18 races so far this year, Briscoe has eight top-10 finishes and an average finish of 16.0. In practice for this week's race, Briscoe ranked ninth in 10 consecutive lap averages and sixth in both 15 and 20 consecutive lap averages. With top-notch equipment and practice speeds, Briscoe is a driver who fantasy players can rely on for DFS this week.
Source: DriverAverages.com
Source: DriverAverages.com
William Byron Is an Underrated DFS Option for Chicagoland Lineups
Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron will start in the 10th position for this week's Eero 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. This will be the second time in Byron's Cup career that he will start inside the top 10 at Chicagoland. In two previous races at the site, Byron has a best finish of eighth from his last appearance there in 2019. Through 18 races this year, Byron has eight top-10 finishes, including at all four races at 1.5-mile Intermediate tracks. In practice for this week's race, Byron ranked fourth in 10 and 20 consecutive lap averages and third in 15 consecutive lap averages. Byron is one of the more underrated DFS options for this week's race due to his top-5 caliber practice speeds and overall consistency at Intermediate ovals this year.
Source: DriverAverages.com
Source: DriverAverages.com
Should Fantasy Managers Consider Chase Elliott for Chicagoland DFS Lineups?
Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports will start ninth for this week's Eero 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Elliott also competed in the O'Reilly Series race at the site earlier in the weekend, where he went on to finish in second. In four previous races at Chicagoland, Elliott has had two top-5 finishes and an average finish of 8.8. With 18 races completed this season, Elliott has two wins, eight top-10 finishes, and an average finish of 13.2. The No. 9 Chevrolet driver also has three top-10 finishes at 1.5-mile Intermediate oval tracks like Chicagoland this season, including a win at Texas. In practice for this week's race, Elliott ranked among the top 15 fastest in 5- 20 consecutive-lap averages. Considering his past history and overall consistency at Intermediate oval tracks, Elliott is a driver to consider rostering for DFS, especially in tournaments, as he can be a potentially sneaky option.
Source: DriverAverages.com
Source: DriverAverages.com
Could Carson Hocevar be A Top-10 Contender at Chicagoland?
Spire Motorsports driver Carson Hocevar is starting in the 15th position for this week's Eero 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. This will be Hocevar's first time participating in a Cup race at Chicagoland in his career. After 18 races this season so far, Hocevar has one win, seven top-10 finishes, and an average finish of 14.6. Hocevar also has two top-15 finishes at 1.5-mile Intermediate tracks, including Kansas and Texas. In practice for Sunday's race, Hocevar ranked eighth in five consecutive lap averages while displaying top-15 speeds in all other categories. Due to his equipment and practice speeds, Hocevar is a driver who is capable of competing for a top-10 finish and is one of the more favorable DFS options to consider for all formats.
Source: DriverAverages.com
Source: DriverAverages.com
Bubba Wallace May Have a Strong Performance at Chicagoland
Bubba Wallace of 23XI Racing will start in eighth for the Eero 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Wallace will start inside the top 10 at the site for the first time in his first race there with 23XI. In two previous races at Chicagoland, with Richard Petty Motorsports, Wallace's best finish is 23rd. Through 18 races so far this season, Wallace has eight top-10 finishes with an average finish of 17.0. At 1.5-mile Intermediate tracks this year, Wallace has three top-10 finishes, including a fifth-place finish at Kansas. In practice for this week's race, Wallace displayed top-5 speeds in the five-, 10-, and 15-consecutive-lap average categories in practice. Although Wallace's high starting position leaves little Place Differential upside, he does have a fast enough car to place in the top five and be a great DFS option for tournaments.
Source: DriverAverages.com
Source: DriverAverages.com
Joey Logano Qualifies Outside of the Top 30 at Chicagoland
Team Penske's Joey Logano is starting 31st for this week's Eero 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Compared to his past races from 2019 on back, this is the lowest starting position of Logano's Cup career at Chicagoland. In 11 races at the site, Logano has six top-10 finishes, all of which came in his last six Cup events. After 18 races so far this season, Logano has 10 top-20 finishes, including two at 1.5-mile Intermediate oval tracks with an overall average finish of 20.8. In practice for this week's race, Logano ranked 29th in 10 consecutive lap averages, 22nd in 15 consecutive lap averages, 13th in 20 consecutive lap averages, and fifth in 25 consecutive lap averages. Although Logano has struggled at times on Intermediate ovals, Logano's practice speeds indicate that he still has the equipment to compete for a top-20 finish. Due to his upside, Logano is best suited as a cash game play for DFS.
Source: DriverAverages.com
Source: DriverAverages.com
Is Alex Bowman Worth Consideration for Tournament DFS Lineups at Chicagoland?
Alex Bowman will start in the 12th position for this week's Eero 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. Bowman is the track's most recent winner as he won at the site in 2019. In five prior races at Chicagoland, Bowman has three top-10 finishes and an average finish of 18.6. With 14 races completed in the 2026 season, Bowman has three top-10 finishes with an average finish of 22.6. One of Bowman's top-10 finishes this year came at Texas, another track of a similar type to Chicagoland. In practice for this week's race, Bowman ranked as high as 16th in 15 consecutive lap averages. The No. 48 Chevrolet driver does start high enough to be a potential Place Differential risk, as his practice speeds indicate that he will finish in the top 20. However, with Bowman still aligned with one of the best teams in the field, he is worth consideration for tournament DFS lineups.
Source: DriverAverages.com
Source: DriverAverages.com
Ty Gibbs Could Contend at Chicagoland
Don't be surprised if Ty Gibbs contends for the win at Chicagoland Speedway on Sunday evening. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver has been stout at the intermediate tracks this season, posting finishes of fifth at Las Vegas, sixth at Darlington, ninth at Kansas, and sixth at Charlotte. For the eero 400 on Sunday evening in the Windy City, Gibbs qualified fifth and also posted the fifth-fastest lap in practice. As far as track history goes, Gibbs has never raced at Chicagoland Speedway in the major NASCAR series, but the Cup Series hasn't raced at this track since 2019, so there are quite a few drivers that do not have much experience. As far as DFS goes this weekend, Gibbs is a tournament play at $9.0K on DraftKings, as he has some dominator upside but not much Place Differential potential. Still, he's in a Toyota, and those cars have all the speed right now.
Source: ifantasyrace
Source: ifantasyrace
Chris Buescher Qualifies Third at Chicagoland
The Roush-Fenway Keselowski Racing Fords brought some good speed to Chicagoland Speedway this weekend, and it was apparent in qualifying, with Chris Buescher leading the way with a third-place effort. His teammate and team owner, Brad Keselowski, was fourth-fastest, so that was a good run for that team as well. As far as race expectations, there's no reason to think that Buescher won't be able to compete for a top-10 finish in the eero 400 on Sunday. The No. 17 Ford has been stout on this track type this season, with finishes of sixth at Las Vegas, ninth at Darlington, 10th at Kansas, and fifth at Texas. Buescher also had the eighth-best 10-lap average during practice on Friday, showing that the No. 17 Ford has good long-run speed for the race on Sunday night.
Source: Jayski
Source: Jayski
Brad Keselowski Has Best Qualifying Result of Season at Chicagoland
Brad Keselowski typically doesn't qualify very well, and that has been quite apparent this season. His average starting position thus far in 2026 is a worse-than-average 22.1. That's why it was a bit surprising to see Keselowski's name near the top of the qualifying results at Chicagoland this weekend, as the No. 6 Ford ended up fourth-fastest in the session. This will be Keselowski's first start better than 12th since Darlington back in March, a race that he nearly won. So what should we expect out of Keselowski on Sunday? Although a race-winning effort may be out of the question, a top-10 finish (and possible top-five) probably isn't. The No. 6 Ford has posted solid finishes on intermediate tracks this season, with a 10th at Las Vegas, a second at Darlington, a sixth at Kansas, a 13th at Texas, and a 15th at Charlotte. When it comes to DFS, Keselowski is strictly a tournament play, as he offers no Place Differential upside, but if he sneaks in and leads a bunch of laps, it wouldn't take a lot for him to hit value at his $8.0K salary on DraftKings.
Source: Autoweek
Source: Autoweek
Corey Heim an Easy DFS Play at Chicagoland
After winning at the San Diego Naval Base Coronado a couple of weeks ago, Corey Heim is back in Cup Series action for 23XI Racing this weekend at Chicagoland Speedway--and the young driver picked up right where he left off. Heim posted the sixth-fastest lap in practice on Friday evening, and was third-best when it came to 10-lap average, showing that the No. 67 Toyota had good long-run speed for the race. Then qualifying happened, and because of his early draw, Heim ended up with the 28th-best lap. That's good news for DFS players, though, as Heim is now a great Place Differential play in daily fantasy games. And at just a $7,500 driver salary on DraftKings, he's affordable as well. Heim has a 15th-place finish at Kansas this season as well as a 19th-place result at Charlotte, both of which are somewhat comparable to Chicagoland.
Source: Jayski
Source: Jayski
Shane Van Gisbergen Holds on for his Second Cup Series Sonoma Win
Shane Van Gisbergen was the top favorite to win the Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway even before the race began. Van Gisbergen started the race from sixth and quickly made his way towards the front in the first stage. However, he did not have enough speed to get past Ty Gibbs in the first stage. Instead, SVG went to pit road just before the end of the stage, while Gibbs stayed out of pit road to win the first stage. Van Gisbergen did move through the field far enough to end the first stage in seventh and score four stage points. He cycled to the lead in the second stage and dominated it without much competition until he headed to pit road before the end of the stage. Similarly to the first stage, SVG was far enough to move back into seventh before the end of the second stage and earn four more stage points. In the final stage, Van Gisbergen cycled back to the lead and never looked back, outside of a green flag pit stop in the middle of the stage. Chase Briscoe emerged as a contender against SVG in the closing laps as Van Gisbergen was struggling with lap traffic and the handling of his car. However, Briscoe did not have enough time to get past Van Gisbergen before the checkered flag, meaning that Van Gisbergen would win over Briscoe at Sonoma for the second year in a row. With his second victory of the 2026 season, Van Gisbergen moves up to 14th in the regular season standings after 18 races.
Source: NASCAR.com
Source: NASCAR.com
Chase Briscoe Falls Short of Victory at Sonoma
Chase Briscoe of Joe Gibbs Racing ended up becoming one of the main contenders for the race win in this weekend's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway. Briscoe started the race from seventh, but made up a few positions during the first stage to reach the top five until his first pit stop on lap 23. Considering that his first pit stop was before the end of the stage, he fell back a couple of positions and just missed out on stage points, as he placed 11th at the end of stage one. In the second stage, Briscoe shuffled back up to the front and ran inside the top three through most of the stage until his second pit stop on lap 53. This pit stop was also just before the end of the stage, but Briscoe rallied back to place ninth before the stage ended, giving him two stage points. In the final stage, Briscoe once again moved back to the top three after the stage break, with others hitting pit road. On what would be the final restart of the day, Briscoe moved up to second and spent the rest of the race chasing down Shane Van Gisbergen. Van Gisbergen struggled with his car's handling in the closing laps, and Briscoe mounted a charge to take the win from him. However, Briscoe could not make a move in time as SVG held on to win, and Briscoe settled for second. This marked the second year in a row in which Briscoe finished as the runner-up to Van Gisbergen at Sonoma. After 18 races this year, Briscoe is now 11th in the regular-season standings after 18 races.
Source: NASCAR.com
Source: NASCAR.com
Ty Gibbs Sweeps First Two Stages, Earns First Top-Five Finish at Sonoma
Ty Gibbs had plenty of speed in Sunday's Toyota/Save Mart 350 at Sonoma Raceway, leading to a new career-best finish at the site in the Cup Series. As the polesitter for the race, Gibbs began the race from first and showed plenty of speed early. The No. 54 Toyota driver went on to lead every lap in the first stage and win it, earning 10 stage points. In the second stage, Gibbs pitted during the stage break and fell back to the middle of the pack. He spent the entire stage regaining positions, but cycled back to the lead on lap 53 as others went to pit road before the end of the stage. Gibbs then went on to win the second stage and earn 10 further stage points. In the final stage, Ty Gibbs went to pit road during the stage break, was shuffled back into the field, and spent most of the stage moving back to the front. After a clean green flag pit stop, Gibbs went from the back half of the top 10 and up to third at the end of the race, but was too far behind Shane Van Gisbergen and Chase Briscoe to compete for the win. This was Gibbs' first career top-5 finish in the Cup Series at Sonoma, and he now moves to fourth in the regular-season Cup standings after 18 races.
Source: NASCAR.com
Source: NASCAR.com
