Stock car racing’s premiere series settles at World Wide Technology (WWT) Raceway, aka Gateway, this weekend. Make the most of the 2024 Enjoy Illinois 300 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: 2024 Enjoy Illinois 300
Driver As | The Elites
We’re splitting hairs at the top of the board, but Kyle Larson is still a well-deserved 1.01 this week. He was arguably one of the most-improved drivers at Gateway, finishing fourth and having the second-best total speed ranking over the last quarter of the race, courtesy of ifantasyrace.com. With the Indianapolis 500 behind him and averaging 50 DraftKings points per race, Larson could lead 100+ laps on Sunday.
While Denny Hamlin did win at our comp track of Richmond, I actually prefer his Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) teammate Martin Truex Jr. for NASCAR DFS and betting purposes this week. The driver of the No. 19 car has an average finish of 5.5 at Gateway and is No. 1 in the 2024 short-flat track total speed rankings. Truex Jr. dominated at Richmond, leading 228 laps and scoring 119 DraftKings points. His fourth-highest Draftkings salary ($10,500) make him an auto smash on the platform. I’ll also have the New Jersey native in Fantrax lineups for the price of $26.35.
Driver Bs | Point-Getters
Joey Logano is two for two at scoring T3s at Gateway. He also just dominated the NASCAR All-Star Race, leading 199 laps at North Wilkesboro, and finished second earlier this year at Richmond. He’s fairly priced at DraftKings ($9,300) but is arguably the best value on the board at Fantrax ($19.11).
Kyle Busch deserves a head nod and potential play this week too. The recent form makes it risky, but “Rowdy” has had the No. 1 total speed ranking in back-to-back Gateway races, leading 187 combined laps. If he qualifies in the top 10, I’ll seriously be considering him for all NASCAR DFS lineups this week at $9,800 on DraftKings and $20.28 on Fantrax.
Chase Elliott missed last year’s race at Gateway and finished P21 in 2022, but NASCAR’s most popular driver has five T5s and six T10s in his last eight races. Speaking of T5s, Brad Keselowski has four in his last six races coming in. He doesn’t have the best performances at Gateway, but he dropped a cylinder early in stage No. 1 last year. His Roush Fenway Keselowski (RFK) Racing teammate, Chris Buescher, doesn’t have the finishes of late but has had just about the same speed as the boss man. Both are well worth rostering in DFS lineups.
Driver Cs | In the Mix
The C-Tier is a thick one this week. Unusual suspects include Michael McDowell, who finished P9 here last season and led 34 laps in 2022. At just $6,500 on DraftKings and $15.17 on Fantrax, he’ll be in most of my NASCAR DFS lineups this week if he qualifies inside the front half of the field. Daniel Suarez has been in rough form lately and nowhere near the C-Tier, but he is No. 7 in the Gateway Next-Gen total speed rankings.
Chase Briscoe put it on the pole in the first Cup Series running at Gateway and finished P8 this season at the comp track of Phoenix. Still, he has yet to finish better than P24 at Gateway. A lot will be on the mind of him and his teammates after Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) announced it’ll close after this year. However, Noah Gragson is worth considering after P12 finishes at both Phoenix and Richmond earlier this season.
Driver Ds | Could Do Worse
P11 at Richmond, also be aware of SHR driver Josh Berry. However, keep in mind he has no starts here in any NASCAR series. Austin Cindric does, though. He has an average starting position of 6.0 and an average finish of 12.0 at Gateway. He also won a stage in 2022. I don’t recommend playing the driver of the No. 2 car often, but he’s worth a look in NASCAR DFS circles at $6,200 on DraftKings and $14.65 on Fantax.
Justin Haley continues to be a rockstar in his Rick Ware Racing (RWR) No. 51 car for DFS purposes. He has finishes of P16 and P14 at Gateway and is my favorite sub-$6,000 play on DraftKings.
Driver Fs | The Junk Drawer
If you’re looking for leverage, Erik Jones might be it. I’m still not convinced he’s fully healthy from the back injury, but he has back-to-back P19 finishes in points-paying races since returning and finished P7 while leading four laps at Gateway in 2022.
The only other driver of note is Carson Hocevar, who finished P4 at Gateway in the Truck Series last year and also raced here in Cup the same weekend.
Check out all of our content for the 2024 Enjoy Illinois 300:
- PropKings: 2024 Enjoy Illinois 300
- Between Bets: 2024 Enjoy Illinois 300 Outrights
- NASCAR DFS Picks, Tiers & Rankings: 2024 Enjoy Illinois 300
Thanks for reading our NASCAR DFS picks and tiers for the 2024 Enjoy Illinois 300. 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.
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*Photo Credit: Jim Dedmon – USA TODAY Sports*