February 15, 2026
Joey Logano of Team Penske will start third for this year's Daytona 500, taking place at Daytona International Speedway. The No. 22 Ford driver earned his starting position by being the winner of the first America 250 Florida Duel race at Daytona. In 34 starts at the site, Logano has one win, an average finish of 18.7, and has 11 top-10 finishes. At drafting tracks last season, Logano has two top-20 finishes in six events at the track type. Despite leading in every Daytona Cup race dating back to 2018, Logano has a history of struggling to finish towards the front in most drafting track events. With his starting position being so close to the front, Logano is not recommended to be used in DFS this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: racing-reference.info
February 15, 2026
Team Penske's Ryan Blaney will be starting in the fifth position for this year's Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Blaney obtained his starting position for this week's race after finishing second in the first America 250 Florida Duel race at Daytona. In 21 starts at the site, Blaney has two wins, nine top-10 finishes, and an average finish of 18.2. At drafting tracks last season, Blaney has three top-10 finishes, including a win at the summer Daytona race. The No. 12 Ford driver from Penske does have great history at drafting tracks, but his starting position provides almost no upside, making him hard to recommend outside of tournaments for DFS. Although Blaney could be a contender for the win, especially since Penske brings some of the fastest cars on drafting tracks, it may be better to consider alternative picks for cash games.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: racing-reference.info
February 15, 2026
Chase Briscoe of Joe Gibbs Racing is starting on the outside of the front row in second for this year's Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Briscoe earned his starting position by setting the second-fastest overall single lap time in qualifying. He also participated in the second America 250 Florida Duel race at Daytona, where he led 38 laps, the most of all drivers in that race, until he faded back to a 20th-place finish. In 10 races at Daytona, Briscoe has three top-10 finishes with an average finish of 19.0. The No. 19 Toyota driver also finished in the top 15 in three of the last four Daytona Cup races. At drafting tracks last season, Briscoe has three top-15 finishes in six events at the track type. Although Briscoe's history at drafting tracks is decent, his starting position leaves almost no upside and makes him a huge risk to use in DFS. Fantasy players should consider other drivers with more upside than Briscoe, especially since he has one of the lowest score ceilings for DFS this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: racing-reference.info
February 15, 2026
Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott will start in the fourth position for this year's Daytona 500, taking place at Daytona International Speedway. Elliott was awarded his high starting position as a result of winning the second America 250 Florida Duel race at Daytona. In 20 races at the site, Elliott has six top-10 finishes, an average finish of 20.5, and has never won. He also finished in the top 15 in four of the last five Cup events at Daytona. At drafting tracks last season, the No. 9 Chevrolet driver finished in the top 20 in five of six events at the track type, including a win at Atlanta. Despite having solid history at drafting tracks, Elliott's starting position makes him one of the riskiest drivers to utilize in DFS this week. Elliott can only be considered for tournaments, and even then, there are better alternatives available for less salary and more upside.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: racing-reference.info
February 15, 2026
Austin Cindric will start 36th for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. The No. 2 Team Penske Ford driver obtained his starting position through a 17th-place finish in the second America 250 Florida Duel race. In nine races at Daytona, Cindric has one win and five top-20 finishes, including three inside the top 10. The Penske driver also finished eighth in last year's Daytona 500. At drafting tracks last season, Cindric had two top-10 finishes in six events, including a win in the spring Talladega race. Cindric should be one of the top drivers to consider rostering for this year's Daytona 500, especially since he is with one of the fastest teams at drafting tracks with extremely high upside.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: racing-reference.info
February 15, 2026
RFK Racing's Brad Keselowski will start ninth for this year's Daytona 500, taking place at Daytona International Speedway. The driver of the No. 6 Ford earned his starting position after starting 10th and finishing fourth in the first America 250 Florida Duel race at Daytona. In 33 starts at the site, Keselowski has one win and nine top-10 finishes, and he also led at least once in four of the last six Cup events there. Keselowski finished in the top 20 in each of his last three drafting track races dating back to last season. Despite having limited upside given his starting position, Keselowski has seven drafting track victories and has historically been one of the best at this track type. Fantasy players could utilize Keselowski in tournament lineups as a potential winner to target and a contrarian play, but should not consider him for cash games.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
February 15, 2026
23XI Racing driver Tyler Reddick will be starting in the 26th position for this year's Daytona 500, taking place at Daytona International Speedway. The No. 45 Toyota driver nabbed his starting position from finishing 12th in the second America 250 Florida Duel race at Daytona. In 13 starts at the site, Reddick has three top-five finishes, including a runner-up finish in last year's Daytona 500. At drafting tracks last season, Reddick finished 21st or better in all six events, including three top-10 finishes. Reddick has great upside based on his starting position and is trending upward in terms of favorable finishes at drafting tracks. He is a solid overall option to consider for all DFS formats on Sunday.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
February 15, 2026
Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports obtained a starting position of 21st for this year's Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. The No. 48 Chevrolet driver earned the starting position after placing 10th in the first America 250 Florida Duel race at Daytona. In 19 starts at the site, Bowman has 12 top-20 finishes, including seven inside the top 10. Two years ago, Bowman was the runner-up finisher in the Daytona 500 to his teammate William Byron, who won the last two 500s. Last year at drafting tracks, Bowman had three top-10 finishes in six events at the track type. Considering how Hendrick has some of the fastest cars at drafting tracks and Bowman's overall positive track history at Daytona, he is one of the more favorable mid-tier drivers to consider rostering this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
February 15, 2026
Trackhouse Racing's Ross Chastain is starting in the 37th position for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Chastain was awarded the starting position after finishing 21st and one lap down. In 15 Cup starts at Daytona, Chastain has eight top-20 finishes with three inside the top 10. At drafting tracks last season, Chastain scored four top-20 finishes in six races at the track type, including two top-15s in his last two. Chastain has incredibly high upside based on his starting position and is one of the better all-around DFS options to consider this week. Expect Chastain to be one of the top-scoring drivers in fantasy, capable of a top-20 finish.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
February 15, 2026
Justin Allgaier will start in the 40th position for this year's Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Allgaier originally made the race by setting one of the two fastest times by an open entry in qualifying and then eventually obtained his starting position after placing 21st in the second America 250 Florida Duel at Daytona. In five starts at Daytona, Allgaier has one top-10 finish, which he earned last year while driving for JR Motorsports. The O'Reilly Auto Parts Series regular for JRM also finished second in the O'Reilly race at the site earlier in the weekend. With extremely high upside from starting in the back of the pack, Allgaier is a driver worth rostering in all formats, especially as he is one of the safest picks in the field.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
February 15, 2026
If Christopher Bell isn't on your fantasy radar for this Sunday's Daytona 500, you may want to re-think who you're paying attention to. Since the start of 2023, Bell has finished third three times at Daytona, and in two of the other six races, he wrecked while he was running inside the top five. His average driver rating of 87.0 at Daytona since the start of 2023 ranks as third-best among active drivers, behind just Joey Logano and Chris Buescher. Looking at other drafting tracks, Bell grabbed a win at Atlanta last year and also finished eighth at Talladega last fall. As far as DFS goes this weekend, CBell is an interesting play because he doesn't have massive Place Differential upside, but he still has some room to move up from his 12th-place starting spot. Don't be afraid to mix in some Christopher Bell into your DraftKings lineups on Sunday, especially in tournament formats.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
February 15, 2026
William Byron will try to make history on Sunday, as the Hendrick Motorsports driver will be attempting to win an unprecedented third straight Daytona 500. Most drivers dream of getting just one win in "The Great American Race," and Byron has been lucky enough to grab victories in each of the last two years in this race. He will have some work to do to get to the front this weekend, though, as the No. 24 Chevrolet was involved in a wreck during the Duel race on Thursday night. Byron will now have to start back in 39th-place when the 2026 Daytona 500 goes green, his worst-ever starting spot at this track. Seasoned DFS players know that starting position doesn't mean anything at Daytona, though, and beginning that far back in the back actually makes Byron a prime DFS target due to his massive Place Differential upside on Sunday. Even with his $10,000 salary on DraftKings this weekend, Byron has some of the most potential on the slate to score big for DFS players.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: NASCAR.com
February 15, 2026
Kyle Larson is one of the most talented drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series garage, but he has yet to break through and find much success at Daytona International Speedway. Over 23 career starts at this 2.5-mile race track, Larson has never posted a top-five finish, and he has just six top-10 results to his credit (26%). On a positive note, Larson's career-best finish at Daytona came last summer, when he crossed the finish line in sixth after winning a Stage and leading 10 laps. "Yung Money" also finished sixth in the summer race at Daytona back in 2016. This weekend, the two-time Cup Series Champion will start from eighth-place when the Daytona 500 goes green. From a DFS perspective, it may be enticing to take a talent like Kyle Larson, but from a strategy perspective, it may be best to stay away due to his poor track record and limited Place Differential upside this weekend.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
February 15, 2026
Three-time Daytona 500 Champion, Denny Hamlin, understandably has quite the reputation at Daytona International Speedway. He has led the most laps (682) among all active drivers and has the third-best average finish (18.0) among drivers that have made more than six starts at this race track. But is Hamlin starting to lose his edge at this superspeedway track? Since the debut of the Next Gen car, something has been off with Denny Hamlin at Daytona--and it's showing in his finishes. Over the eight points-paying races in this car, Hamlin hasn't finished better than 17th, and six of the eight races ended with him in 24th-place or worse. Still, Hamlin remains one of the most popular picks at Daytona, especially in DFS contests. This weekend, he will sure to be popular yet again, as his 22nd-place starting spot on Sunday gives Denny some solid Place Differential upside. But with his very apparent struggles at Daytona as of late, it's not wrong to ask the question, is it finally time to fade Denny Hamlin at Daytona?
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
February 15, 2026
Thanks to a crash in the Duel race on Thursday night, Chris Buescher will now start from dead last (41st place) for Sunday's running of the 68th annual Daytona 500. Thankfully for Buescher and the No. 17 team, that isn't a major disadvantage, as any driver in the field, from any starting position, can go on to win this race. From a DFS perspective, Buescher suddenly becomes the safest play on the slate. With his last-place starting spot, he can't score negative fantasy points on DraftKings, and the sky is the limit when it comes to his place-differential upside. Although there is certainly strategy in going underweight on Buescher in tournaments, he's still one of the best fantasy plays on this slate. Since the start of 2023, Buescher has the second-best average driver rating (97.0) and the best average finish (8.3).
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
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