Stockcar racing’s premiere series travels to New Hampshire this weekend. Make the most of the 2023 Crayon 301 with our NASCAR DFS picks and tiers.
We reveal our “Tire Tiers” and betting cards live every Thursday at 8:30 p.m. EST on our YouTube series, “The Backroad.” Be sure to tune in, enjoy the race and reach out if you have any questions.
(DFS prices are courtesy of DraftKings and Fantrax)
NASCAR DFS Picks, Tiers & Rankings: 2023 Crayon 301
Driver As | Fast Thoughts
The top tier is loaded this week. Brad Keselowski finished seventh here last season and had a top-10 total speed ranking (courtesy of ifantasyrace.com) at both comp tracks of Phoenix and Richmond. I like pairing him with Kevin Harvick, whose a bargain at $9,600 on DraftKings and $22.58 on Fantrax. Harvick is the shorter flats king, and I expect that to continue in the Crayon 301.
William Byron has been great on this style of track all season but has never scored a T10 at New Hampshire. Martin Truex Jr. has the opposite problem; he hasn’t been very good on shorter flats this season but has a great history here. Denny Hamlin is in the middle, showing consistency throughout. Christopher Bell is overpriced this week across NASCAR DFS platforms. He might have won here last season, but the only elite advanced metric I could find was late-run speed. That’s hard to replicate.
Driver Bs | Fast Thoughts
Chase Elliott finished second here last season, but he hasn’t raced any of the three shorter flat tracks this season due to injuries and suspension. Kyle Busch also feels a bit sketchy after some questionable performance on shorter flats but always finds a way to stay in the mix.
Instead, I prefer the Trachouse Racing duo of Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez in this tier. Suarez finished ninth at New Hampshire in 2022. Meanwhile, Chastain finished eighth here last season. The No. 1 car also finished third at Richmond and qualified top 10 at both Phoenix and Gateway this season. Averaging 38.6 NASCAR DFS points per race, Chastain is a value at $8,800.
Driver Cs | Fast Thoughts
I’m lower than the consensus on the 23XI Racing cars for the Crayon 301. Tyler Reddick has just not been worth the price to play in NASCAR DFS lineups. Bubba Wallace finished fourth at New Hampshire last year. Yet, his runs on shorter flats this season make that feel like an outlier. Chris Buescher isn’t the best here but has an average finish of 9.7 over his last seven races. That’s tolerable at the price tag of $7,300 on DraftKings and $21.62 at Fantrax.
Driver Ds | Fast Thoughts
Michael McDowell is an insane value on DraftKings at $5,900. He’s finished T10 in four of the last five races and is better at New Hampshire than discussed. Justin Haley continues to be a valuable NASCAR DFS leverage play, averaging 31.2 points per contest.
Driver Fs | Fast Thoughts
Ryan Newman is back in the No. 15 car. He has three career wins at New Hampshire. I’m cool with rocking him or his newly-aligned Rick Ware Racing (RWR) teammate Cole Custer for the minimum $5 on Fantrax. Todd Gilliland also deserves some love. He’s averaging 27.8 NASCAR DFS points per race and is only $4,800 on DraftKings.
Thanks for reading our NASCAR DFS picks and tiers for the 2023 Crayon 301. Check out more of our racing content and other written work here at In-Between Media, or head over to our YouTube channel to get your fix via video.