Stockcar racing’s premiere series changes it up this weekend with the inaugural running of the Chicago Street Race. Make the most of the 2023 Grant Park 220 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 Grant Park 220 (Chicago Street Race)
Driver As | Fast Thoughts
Tyler Reddick and A.J. Allmendinger are the consensus top picks to run up front at the Chicago Street Race. Reddick has won a trio of road course races in the Next Gen car. While Allmendinger, a road course ace who has previous street course experience, is running better than he has all season of late. But don’t ignore Chris Buescher, who has the best average finish on road courses over the last two seasons.
Driver Bs | Fast Thoughts
A driver like Michael McDowell doesn’t have many chances to win, and he and his team know it. Expect them to bring a great car at the Chicago Street Race for one of the series’ better road course performers. Although at $8,700, he’s not as much of a value play as I’d like him to be. Alex Bowman sneakily has the seventh-best average finish on road courses in the Next Gen car and provides more value than a Hendrick car normally would at $7,800.
Driver Cs | Fast Thoughts
There is a ton of great and talented drivers in this tier, but they’re here for a reason. The underlying numbers just aren’t there for Denny Hamlin, Ryan Blaney or Joey Logano to run as well as they would on a traditional oval. But value can be had with Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in the midst of perhaps his career year. He’s consistently run or finished near the top 15 on road courses. He is arguably a DFS NASCAR for the Chicago Street Race steal at just $6,600.
Driver Ds | Fast Thoughts
There’s a ton of hype around Bubba Wallace for the Chicago Street Race, but his road course stats just don’t show it. He’s near the bottom of the barrel in both average finish and driver rating at road courses, behind low-tier drivers such as Ryan Preece, Todd Gilliland and even Ty Dillon. For Austin Cindric, he’s got the raw talent on road courses but can’t get the monkey off his back to show it in 2023. Shane van Gisbergen is a great story in the Project 91 car, but road course ringers no longer have the mystique they once did.
Driver Fs | Fast Thoughts
Corey LaJoie is often an attractive low-budget NASCAR DFS pickup and may be tempting at $5,700, but road courses are nearly always hands-off for him and Spire Motorsports. Jenson Button is a road course ace, but as I said, ringers don’t have the same leg up anymore. Unlike his Australian counterpart, he’s not in great equipment, even if it is a Stewart-Haas prepared car like it was at Circuit of the Americas (COTA).
Thanks for reading our NASCAR DFS picks and tiers for the 2023 Grant Park 220 (Chicago Street Race). 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.