We’re going to share tips for playing daily fantasy NASCAR. Plenty of fans love playing daily fantasy sports (DFS) when it comes to stick and ball sports. There seems to be a growing interest in playing DFS NASCAR. Why not? The NASCAR Cup Series is the premier racing league in the country and has grown in popularity around the globe.
The sport of auto racing lends itself perfectly to DFS play. That means this is the perfect time for tips for playing daily fantasy NASCAR. The best way to start is to understand that NASCAR can also be a team sport.
Understand NASCAR Teams
The fun thing about DFS is that we can cherry-pick our lineups out of players from multiple teams. However, our selected players still have to perform with the help of other players. For example, you can select a great wide receiver for your DFS football lineup. But, if the team’s QB is injured, your wide receiver selection may not get as many passes his way as when the starting QB is in the lineup.
Keep this in mind when it comes to the NASCAR Cup Series. Yes, each driver is out to win. A team owner may have two, three or even four drivers on his “team”, but each driver works independently from the others. That being said, each driver is out to win – even if they are driving for the same owner, so they won’t have an issue with beating a teammate. Drivers on the same team often block for each other. More on this below.
Don’t Stick to the Big Names, Spread Things Out
There is a single truth when it comes to DFS with any sport and old-time sayings; don’t put your eggs all in one basket. Budget often takes care of this, but regardless, it’s always important to remember that one big-name driver will command a bunch of your dollars. That means you can never stick to only picking big-name drivers.
Select your main pick and then build a team selection with some of the other top-rated drivers available. Remember, that selection will change from week to week and from track to track. Also consider the option of making two lineups or more and don’t focus only on the main races on the schedule like the Daytona 500 or Talladega. This is one of the most important tips for playing daily fantasy NASCAR.
Avoid Struggling Drivers and Research Performance
This should be a given whenever you are putting together your DFS NASCAR lineups. Fade on the back marker teams unless they have a hook for a certain race or track. Every season there are five to ten teams that field cars for every race that either have little or no chance to win or rotate drivers during the year.
The goal of many of these teams is simply to compete and get better for next season. Their goal for a race may not be winning, but finishing inside the top twenty or on the lead lap. Of course, there is always a driver for one of these teams can win by being in the right place at the right time, but this mostly is considered a possibility on larger superspeedways. A quick check of the records shows this rarely happens.
However, sometimes teams bring in “ringers” to fit a particular type of track – especially when it comes to road and street courses. Shane van Gisbergen is a perfect example. He came over from New Zealand and had never raced in a Cup Series car before winning the 2023 Chicago Street race. Always do some research to look for possible hidden gems that don’t command much to add to your team, but that could pay off big. Following big storylines is one of the best tips for playing daily fantasy NASCAR, as not everyone does the research.
Don’t Ignore Recent History
Let’s say you are a big fan of a fake driver named Jimmy Wheelman. Over the years, Wheelman has won several races and often finished inside the top 15 and top 10. There is a good chance that you’ll probably lean on Jimmy again, but don’t ignore recent history. Let’s say that suddenly Wheelman has hit a streak of 20 races without a win and only one finish of 15th or better. Don’t ignore the recent results. It may be time to fade on your favorite driver and push Wheelman to the side.
That being said, keep an eye on trends. That one finish inside the top 15 this year that Wheelman had came on the high banks of Talladega. And let’s say two of his career wins have come at that track. This is the perfect time to consider adding such a driver back to your DFS team. It is always a good idea to research history and trends from past seasons along with recent performance. Track performance is important. This is one of the best tips for playing daily fantasy NASCAR.
Keep Up To Date with NASCAR Cup Series News
Every track and every race during the NASCAR Cup Series season is different. Races during the year may take place on a track twice a year for many venues, but things change. The weather can be different, the race could be longer or shorter as in the Daytona races. The start of the season kicks off with the Daytona 500, but the summer race is only 400 miles.
There could also be news of driver changes, injuries, changes to pit crews, replaced crew chiefs and more. All of this can have an impact on how drivers perform. NASCAR often tweaks specifications to the cars if an issue comes up.
You should also keep track of prerace activity. How did your selections do during qualifying? Did a driver wreck a car or have a mechanical issue that put them in the backup car? Always keep tabs on teams that get hit with penalties or have to drop to the back after making changes.
Know Your Platform Rules and Point System
It should go without saying that you should understand the rules and how points are awarded for the platforms that you choose. This could simply be a means of avoiding confusion down the road. Each platform will be similar, but each will have different opportunities. For instance, one provider may allow changes to a lineup just before the green flag drops while others may have a shorter window.
Also, the rules vary between platforms on what role a “Garage” driver pick plays. For the most part, a “Garage” driver is considered your bench player. You can make a driver swap during a race, but the time frame when you can do so may vary between platforms. These are small things, but worth keeping in mind and understanding before you play DFS NASCAR. Trust me, it’s a sinking feeling realizing you missed the opportunity to make a driver swap until the deadline for that race has passed.
Uses These Tips For Playing Daily Fantasy NASCAR
Every driver, every team, every car, track and race is different. That’s what makes DFS NASCAR so much fun. The key to your success depends on the amount of time and research you put into assembling your team. Hopefully, these tips for playing daily fantasy NASCAR will help. Remember, there are no guarantees when it comes to DFS NASCAR or any form of fantasy sports or wagering.
Any information you can gain, any trends you can lean on and any statistics you can use to help manage your picks could improve your chances. Plus, it will add to your enjoyment. Follow these tips for playing daily fantasy NASCAR and you’ll have a great shot at winning.
Check out our NASCAR stats guide next.