Stock car racing’s premiere series heads north to New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Make the most of the 2024 USA TODAY 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: 2024 USA TODAY 301
Driver As | The Elites
With three Xfinity Series wins and one Cup Series win at New Hampshire, Christopher Bell vaults to the No. 1 spot in our NASCAR DFs rankings this week. Bell is also No. 1 in the 2024 short-flat tracks total speed rankings, courtesy of ifantasyrace.com. Sometimes, he can throw you for a loop – like last year when he finished 29th at Loudon. Still, the risk might be the reward this week, even on DraftKings at the highest-priced salary of $11,000.
Ryan Blaney is fresh off a win and scoring 118 DraftKings points at Iowa last week. He doesn’t have quite the pedigree as some of the other drivers in this field at New Hamshire, but he’s still No. 2 in the short-flat track total speed rankings this season, behind only Bell. Chase Elliott owns the all-time best average starting position at New Hamshire (9.0), and he also leads the Cup Series in average finish this season (9.1), making him as safe as they get, especially for $9,200 on DraftKings and $25.83 on Fantrax.
Also, don’t overlook Joey Logano, who is No. 2 in the New Hamshire Next-Gen total speed rankings and has finished sixth or better in the past two short-flats on the circuit.
Driver Bs | Point-Getters
The last time Brad Keselowski finished outside the T10 at New Hampshire was in 2018. Another start on a short flat, the driver of the No. 6 car warrants the $9,000 price tag on DraftKings and $22.82 on Fatnrax.
For once, I see a ton of value in Tyler Reddick, who won’t be super chalky after a dud (eight DraftKings points) last week at Iowa. Reddick started and finished sixth last year at Loudon and ranks sixth in the short-flat track total speed rankings this season. I also don’t mind stacking his 23XI Racing teammate Bubba Wallace for an additional $7,500 on DraftKings and $20.00 on Fantrax; he has finishes of P8 and P3 at New Hamshire the past two seasons, respectively.
In addition, keep an eye out for Josh Berry, who almost ran away with the win last week at Iowa and now ranks 10th in the short-flat track total speed rankings this season. Crew chief Rodney Childers and Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) know how to set up a car here. I’ll be backing them and Berry in just about every lineup at the affordable price of $8,000 on DraftKings and $14.00 on Fantrax.
Driver Cs | In the Mix
Given their talent and equipment, it feels strange to rank William Byron and Ty Gibbs in the C-Tier of our NASCAR DFS. However, Byron has never finsihed inside the T10 at Loudon, while Gibbs has a lone Xfinity finish of P21 and a Cup Series finish of P27 here. They’re severely overpriced for those performances.
Nobody will be playing Chase Briscoe this week after he’s had back-to-back negative DraftKings-points performances. Yet, that could be a mistake, as he’s finished P10 and P15 in his past two trips up north.
Driver Ds | Could Do Worse
After all the media coverage he’s gotten this past week, it’s hard to think Justin Haley will offer any leverage this week. Still, at the price of $6,100 on DraftKings and $11.91 on Fantrax, it’s hard to pass up on a driver with an average finish of 17.3 in the past six races. While the secret is out of the bag on Haley, it might not be on Todd Gilliland, who finsihed 12th last week at Iowa and hasn’t finished worse than P17 in the last six races.
Daniel Suarez had a pop-up P9 finish last week at Iowa. Yet, I’d rather pay down $600 on DraftKings to back the consistency of Cup Series rookie Carson Hocevar, who has an average finish of 15.0 the past month and has been a NASCAR DFS darling nearly all season.
Driver Fs | The Junk Drawer
It’s hard to trust Richard Childress Racing (RCR) as a whole right now, but Austin Dillon finished ninth at New Hampshire last year and scored a staggering 42 DraftKings points at Iowa last week. The veteran will likely offer some leverage again this week at $6,200 on DraftKings and $12.09 on Fantrax.
Other than that, you can take a shot on Daniel Hemric, who still scored negative DraftKings points in just one race this season, coming all the way back at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) on March 24.
Check out all of our content for the 2024 USA TODAY 301:
- PropKings: 2024 USA TODAY 301
- Between Bets: 2024 USA TODAY 301 Outrights
- NASCAR DFS Picks, Tiers & Rankings: 2024 USA TODAY 301
Thanks for reading our NASCAR DFS picks and tiers for the 2024 USA TODAY 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.
For more fantasy sports and sports betting content, you can find me on Twitter @Between_SethFF.
*Photo Credit: Gary A. Vasquez – USA TODAY Sports*
