Stockcar racing’s premiere series returns to Las Vegas for the seventh race of the playoffs. Make the most of the 2023 South Point 400 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 South Point 400
Driver As | Fast Thoughts
I’m comfortable eating the chalk this week in my NASCAR DFS lineup. Kyle Larson is a +450 favorite this weekend for a reason. In 2021, he won both the seventh playoff race (Texas) and the Las Vegas playoff race. He has the best career driver rating in the field at Las Vegas (98.3) and is No. 3 all-time in starting position here (8.1). All of his advanced metrics from the spring race, like total speed ranking (courtesy of ifantasyrace.com) (1.8), average position (2.2) and laps led% (23.3%), were second to only Hendrick Motorsports (HMS) teammate William Byron.
Denny Hamlin has been the best at the comp tracks this season in the total speed rankings, winning Kansas I and letting Kansas II slip away on a late-race caution. The No. 24 and No. 5 cars might’ve dominated the spring race, but Alex Bowman‘s No. 48 was by far the third-best car. He paced third in total sped rankings (3.8), late-run speed average position (6.2) and driver rating (110.5).
Driver Bs | Fast Thoughts
Chase Elliott isn’t a world-beater at Las Vegas, but his 42% track T10 rate and 47.2 NASCAR DFS points average over his last five races will do. Ryan Blaney is an intriguing leverage play after winning comp track Charlotte and being the sixth-fastest fourth-segment speed here in the spring.
They’re not as enticing plays as they’ve been lately, but Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) teammates Brad Keselowski and Chris Buescher are interesting upper mid-tier plays. Keselowski has a career 60% T10 rate at Las Vegas and was 11th in the total speed rankings here earlier this season. Buescher hasn’t been great at the 1.5-mile track this season but had the third-best total speed ranking at comp track Texas last month.
Driver Cs | Fast Thoughts
Tyler Reddick has the fourth-best average total speed ranking across all comp tracks, but his erratic point totals make him hard to trust at $10,300 on DraftKings and $23.77 on Fantrax. It’ll be one of the most chalky plays again this week, but you can put Carson Hocevar right back into your NASCAR DFS lineup at $6,5000 on DraftKings and the $5.00 minimum on Fantrax.
Driver Ds | Fast Thoughts
Ty Gibbs isn’t the most exciting option, placing 22nd in both of his Las Vegas Cup Series starts. However, he’s had a lot of track time since then and has had three spike performances of 49+ NASCAR DFS points in his last five races. Justin Haley finished eighth in the spring Las Vegas race and 14th in last year’s playoff Las Vegas race. I’ll pay to play at $5,900 on DraftKings and $15.14 on Fantrax.
Driver Fs | Fast Thoughts
I’m trying to avoid the F-Tier as much as possible this week. If I have to dip down, it’s for Chase Briscoe, who finished fourth in this race last season and has averaged a respectable 26.4 NASCAR DFS points in his last five races.
Thanks for reading our NASCAR DFS picks and tiers for the 2023 South Point 400. 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.
*Photo Credit: Matthew O’Haren – USA TODAY Sports*