The NASCAR Cup Series makes its annual return to New Hampshire Motor Speedway and we have the Crayon 301 picks for your NASCAR DFS contests. As has been tradition in the 2023 NASCAR season, weather isn’t exactly cooperating. The forecast around Loudon, New Hampshire looks ugly for Sunday so it’s entirely realistic that this race is run on Monday instead. Regardless, they will get this race in and it’s a great race for daily fantasy NASCAR on DraftKings and FanDuel. Practice and qualifying proved to be eventful and my favorite plays from the Crayon 301 Preview are shaping up to be great plays for this race. Let’s take a look at how practice played out and examine the top Crayton 301 picks for our NASCAR DFS lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Crayon 301 Picks: The Top Ten
- Christopher Bell (#20 Joe Gibbs Racing)
- Martin Truex Jr. (#19 Joe Gibbs Racing)
- Aric Almirola (#10 Stewart-Haas Racing)
- Joey Logano (#22 Team Penske)
- Ryan Blaney (#12 Team Penske)
- Tyler Reddick (#45 23XI Racing)
- William Byron (#24 Hendrick Motorsports)
- Bubba Wallace (#23 23XI Racing)
- Brad Keselowski (#6 RFK Racing)
- Kyle Busch (#8 Richard Childress Racing)
The top ten is a little misleading because while Kyle Busch will be scored from the tenth spot on the grid, he’s likely going to start dead last and have to work his way up through the field. But as we discussed in the Crayon 301 Preview, my three favorite dominators for this race are still Christopher Bell, Martin Truex Jr., and William Byron. Bell and Truex will likely be the two most popular dominators for this track given Joe Gibbs Racing’s dominance at comparable tracks and Bell’s own success here throughout his career. But Martin Truex Jr. is seeing a renaissance to his career and may come in with less ownership. Building tournament lineups with both drivers works on DraftKings because there are enough laps available for both to be optimal since we haven’t seen many solo-dominator performances in the NextGen car.
Which Value-Priced Crayon 301 Picks Got A Points Movement Bump?
DraftKings:
- Ty Gibbs – P36, $7,600
- Chris Buescher – P26, $7,300
- Corey LaJoie – P24, $5,400
FanDuel:
- Ty Gibbs – P36, $7,000
- Chris Buescher – P26, $6,500
- Ryan Preece – P21, $6,200
- Corey LaJoie – P24, $4,000
This is such an interesting tier this week because you don’t need to force many of these drivers into your lineups. Ty Gibbs is going to be a lock in cash and tournament builds. He’s in Joe Gibbs Racing equipment and starting dead last. He can easily hit value on DraftKings if he finishes top 20. But there are concerns with Ryan Preece starting so high, but this track type suits his strengths. Chris Buescher has top 15 upside as RFK Racing has looked much better this year. And Corey LaJoie should be able to run in the top 20 if he stays clean. He’s put up at least 29 fantasy points on DraftKings 11 times this year.
Which Higher-Priced Picks Got A Similar Bump?
- Denny Hamlin – P20
- Kyle Larson – P15
- Chase Elliott – P18
- Ross Chastain – P31
Ross Chastain figured to be a lock in cash games alongside Ty Gibbs. But in tournaments, you need to decide if you are going to pay up for multiple dominators in Bell/MTJ or if you play just one of them and mix in Denny Hamlin or Kyle Larson. Both drivers should move up and contend, but with some many laps to lead, simply moving up and finishing well doesn’t mean they can break the DFS slate if they don’t score dominator points. Chase Elliott is a tough read this week. He hasn’t been competitive this year in general. Additionally, the speed he showcased in practice and qualifying doesn’t give us much confidence.
Crayon 301 Picks
DraftKings:
- Martin Truex Jr., $11,000
- William Byron, $9,900
- Ross Chastain, $8,800
- Ty Gibbs, $7,600
- Chris Buescher, $7,300
- Corey LaJoie, $5,400
While this build doesn’t include New Hampshire GOAT, Christopher Bell, it still fits two contenders in Truex and Byron. Additionally, we also have some position differential targets we previously touched on. I will be playing this lineup in Sunday/Monday’s race and think it’s viable in cash games as well.
FanDuel:
- Denny Hamlin, $13,500
- Christopher Bell, $13,000
- Ross Chastain, $10,000
- Ty Gibbs, $7,000
- Chris Buescher, $6,500
It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if this was the chalk cash lineup on FanDuel this week. You get win equity and laps led with Christopher Bell and four other drivers that should move up through the field. All five drivers may find their share of rostership so there isn’t much leverage. But there are certainly plenty of spots to make a pivot.
White Flag Thoughts Before You Go
We finally have a race where we don’t need to dial back the bankroll. New Hampshire is a tough track to pass at, but it’s a long race. There are plenty of laps to be run. Even if they happen to postpone until Monday this is a great week to play some 20-max contests on DraftKings and FanDuel.
While the two lineups I listed above do build around some popular DFS plays, you can certainly use them and find your own pivots. If you don’t want to split the big money in a tournament contest, you’ll need to get creative. There is a lot of “chalk” for Sunday’s race. That applies to dominators and position differential plays. Don’t be afraid to get bold with some of your lineup construction.
Also keep in mind that the short track package has been rough to watch this year. And this is a track where a car in the wall or a spin brings out a quick caution. We haven’t seen good racing at short tracks, but we’re hoping there are improvements. We are expecting Joe Gibbs Racing to be the class of the field this week. But we can’t count out drivers like William Byron, Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, or Ross Chastain. Best of luck in building your winning NASCAR DFS lineups for the Crayon 301!