We continue to get closer to the Daytona 500 to kick off the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series, so now is a good time for a look at the fantasy NASCAR driver profiles. Those of you signing up for fantasy NASCAR leagues or planning to play NASCAR DFS can also check out our overall primer to help you prepare for the season. And if podcasts are your thing, here is a great one from In-Between (IBT) Media on Fantrax.
I find it helpful to have a short overview of each driver to get behind the wheel this season. Last year, I did this by comparing NASCAR drivers to baseball teams, but I thought this season I would try a more straightforward approach.
The profiles are broken down by car model and then racing teams with a look at the driver’s best track types. If you missed the Chevrolet profiles, make sure to check those out, too. Here are the Fords and Toyotas.
Fantasy NASCAR Driver Profiles: Fords
Stewart-Haas Racing
Aric Almirola – #10 Ford
- 2022 Finish: 20th
- Best Race Type: 1-mile tracks
Almirola has three NASCAR Cup Series wins, and he has made it to the playoffs five times in his 12-year career racing at this level.
Chase Briscoe – #14 Ford
- 2022 Finish: 9th
- Best Race Type: Intermediate (2-mile) tracks
Briscoe picked up his sole 2022 win at Phoenix Raceway and survived the first knockout stage of the playoffs. He received the Rookie of the Year award in 2021.
Kevin Harvick – #4 Ford
- 2022 Finish: 15th
- Best Race Type: Intermediate tracks (2.5-mile, 2-mile, 1-mile)
Tied for most NASCAR Cup Series race wins among active drivers with 60. Two-time Cup Series champion in 2020 and 2014. Has won the Daytona 500, Southern 500, Coca-Cola 600, Bristol Night Race (2x), and Indianapolis Brickyard (3x). Had 17 finishes in the Top 10 and two wins in 2022. Will retire at the end of the 2023 season.
Ryan Preece – #41 Ford
- 2022 Finish: N/A
- Best Race Type: Superspeedways, Dirt Tracks
Promoted from reserve driver to full-time driver for 2023. Has 115 Cup Series starts to his credit and has had success at both the Xfinity and Truck Series levels.
Team Penske
Ryan Blaney – #12 Ford
- 2022 Finish: 8th
- Best Race Type: Dirt tracks, Superspeedways
Blaney was the lone driver to secure a spot in the 2022 playoffs without winning a qualifying race. He did win the All-Star race at the Texas Motor Speedway. In eight years, Blaney has won seven races, including twice at Talladega and once in Daytona.
Austin Cindric – #2 Ford
- 2022 Finish: 12th
- Best Race Type: Superspeedways
Cindric arrived on the scene driving full-time for Team Penske and promptly won the 2022 Daytona 500. Finished 2022 inconsistently and finished in the Top 10 only once in 10 playoff races. Will continue to play third fiddle to his teammates in the power rankings.
Joey Logano – #22 Ford
- 2022 Finish: 1st
- Best Race Type: Dirt Tracks and 2-mile Intermediate Tracks. (He averages 18th or higher in all races on the Cup Series schedule.)
Reigning Cup Series champion after four wins and 17 Top 10 finishes in 2022. Also won the championship in 2018. Has 31 Cup Series wins to his credit. He and his team demonstrated success with the Next Gen car, which should carry over into 2023. A solid (if expensive) choice in fantasy formats most weeks.
RFK Racing
Chris Buescher – #17 Ford
- 2022 Finish: 21st
- Best Race Type: Dirt Tracks, Road Courses
- Teammates: Brad Keselowski
Buescher picked up his second career NASCAR Cup Series win at Bristol in 2022 during the playoffs for which he had not qualified. He also won the 2015 Xfinity Series Championship.
Brad Keselowski – #6 Ford
- 2022 Finish: 24th
- Best Race Type: Dirt Tracks, Intermediate Tracks, Short Tracks
It is hard to find someone who had a worse season than Keselowski in his first year as a part-owner of RFK Racing. Only six Top 10 finishes in 2022. Dealt with a massive suspension/fine for modified parts. Has won Talladega six times in his career and has 35 Cup Series wins overall. Could be in line for a huge rebound or a continuation of struggles.
Wood Brothers Racing
Harrison Burton – #21 Ford
- 2022 Finish: 27th
- Best Race Type: Superspeedways
- Teammates:
Burton had one Top 5 finish in his first full year of racing in 2022.
Front Row Motorsports
Michael McDowell – #34 Ford
- 2022 Finish: 23rd
- Best Race Type: Road Courses, Superspeedways
Our second Road Ringer. Do not fade him on road courses. Won the Daytona 500 in 2021. Came away with 12 finishes in the Top 10 in 2022 but enters 2023 with a new crew chief. Is often an affordable lineup filler that won’t hurt you as much as some others.
Rick Ware Racing
Cody Ware – #51 Ford
- 2022 Finish: 32nd
- Best Race Type: Superspeedways, Dirt Tracks
Had his best Cup Series race finish ever when he ended sixth at the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in 2022. Faces an uphill battle to improve in 2023.
J.J. Yeley – #15 Ford
- 2022 Finish: N/A
- Best Race Type: Superspeedways
Veteran racer with an average finish of around 30th. Will always be one of the bottom three priced drivers to be deployed only out of desperation or in a top-heavy lineup.
Fantasy NASCAR Driver Profiles: Toyotas
Joe Gibbs Racing
Christopher Bell – #20 Toyota
- 2022 Finish: 3rd
- Best Race Type: Short tracks, 1-mile tracks
Bell finished 13 points out of the championship in 2022 and pulled some “cardiac kid” moments to stay alive in the playoffs. He won three races last season with 20 Top-10 finishes and 12 in the Top 5.
Ty Gibbs – #54 Toyota
- 2022 Finish: N/A
- Best Race Type: N/A
Filled in for Kurt Busch in 2022. Won the Xfinity Championship last year, which was his first on the circuit. Has exceptional talent, along with some controversial actions inside and outside the race track. Replacing Kyle Busch for Gibbs Racing, which is owned by his grandfather. Will show flashes of brilliance mixed in with some harsh growing pains while learning the Next Gen car and driving among the best regularly.
Denny Hamlin – #11 Toyota
- 2022 Finish: 5th
- Best Race Type: Short Tracks, Intermediate tracks (2.5-mile, 1-mile, 2-mile)
Struggled with the Next Gen cars for the first half of 2022 but righted the ship to finish fifth. Should be considered a Top-5 fantasy driver on all tracks with 48 career wins. Has six wins at Pocono; five at Martinsville; four at Richmond and Darlington; three at Daytona, Homestead, Kansas, New Hampshire, and Texas; two at Talladega, Phoenix, and Bristol; one win at six other tracks; and a partridge in a pear tree played by archnemesis Ross Chastain.
Martin Truex Jr. – #19 Toyota
- 2022 Finish: 17th
- Best Race Type: Intermediate (1-mile) Road Courses
Won the Cup Series Championship in 2017. Has 31 Cup Series career wins. Missed the playoffs with no wins but would have been in by points had there not been 15 individual winners and Ryan Blaney. Won the Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum to kick off 2023. Should be in line for a bounce-back season.
23XI Racing
Tyler Reddick – #45 Toyota
- 2022 Finish: 14th
- Best Race Type: Dirt Tracks, Road Courses
Won the Indianapolis Brickyard Road Race, Road America, and Texas while reaching the playoffs. Switched from Richard Childress Racing to 23XI Racing for this season. Won the Xfinity Series twice. Trajectory is up, which is where his salaries will be depending on race type.
Bubba Wallace – #23 Toyota
- 2022 Finish: 19th
- Best Race Type: Superspeedways
Has two career wins, Talladega and Kansas. Had 10 finishes in the Top 10 in 2022. Remains inconsistent from week to week but returns with the same crew chief and with a new teammate. Should be primarily used at Superspeedways for fantasy, though can be surprising at other tracks.
I hope you’ve found our Fantasy NASCAR driver profiles informative and can use them as a partial cheat sheet. Reminder to check out the other half of the field here. And check back closer to the weekend for all things regarding the Daytona 500.
Kelly Kirby covers fantasy NASCAR, fantasy hockey, and other random things at Fantrax. For more of her work, check out her archive and follow her on Twitter at @thewonkypenguin.