Welcome back, race fans. This week, the NASCAR Cup series will go road racing with a trip to Watkins Glen International. It is the second road course race of the season and the eighth since the start of the 2025 season.
In this article, I’ll preview the track from a fantasy perspective, highlight key NextGen trends, and break down some of my favorite drivers heading into practice and qualifying this weekend.
NASCAR DFS: Go Bowling at the Glen
Track Preview & Fantasy Angle
Watkins Glen is a 2.45-mile road course with seven turns and is one of four road courses on the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series schedule. With just 90 laps in the race, we see much less reliance on dominator points when constructing our lineups. There were two drivers to lead 30-40 laps in last year’s race, one driver to lead 50+ in both 2024 and 2023, and no driver led 30 in the 2022 race. Instead, we will concentrate on track position for the elite drivers and top road course racers, then focus on place differential for some value plays.
Top Pre-Qualifying Targets for DraftKings
Shane van Gisbergen ($13,500)
SVG has finished 1st and 2nd in his first two races here at Watkins Glen. While he has improved at other track types and become a more well-rounded driver, he is still the best road course racer in NASCAR. Over the last seven road races, going back to the start of last year, SVG has five wins, six top 5’s, and a ridiculous 1.9 average finish. Even at his price, he is worth building this week. The best-case scenario would be a start in the front row.
Christopher Bell ($10,000)
Bell is looking to snap out of a slump, and getting back to some road racing may be just what he needs right now. He has not only finished top 3 in two of his last three trips to Watkins Glen, but he is also tied with SVG with six top 5’s in his last seven road races and is second to him in average finish (5.7).
Chris Buescher ($8,800)
Buescher is #1 in my pre-qualifying model this week, as he checks all the boxes, starting with his track history. He won here in 2024 and is the only driver in the field to finish top 10 in all four races at Watkins Glen in the NextGen era. He is a plus road racer overall (6th in average finish since start of 2025) and comes in with two top 5’s and three top 10’s in his last five races overall.
Michael McDowell ($8,000)
McDowell is another driver looking to break out of a slump at Watkins Glen this weekend. The track history has been volatile, but he has shown upside with two top 10’s in the four NextGen era races here. He is also third to SVG and Bell with four top 5 finishes in the last seven road races. He was 5th at COTA earlier this year, and I am expecting at least a top 10 here at the Glen.
Zane Smith ($6,200)
He has raced here twice in the Cup series and both times made it in the optimal lineup with finishes of 17th and 5th. He has also provided some nice PTS/$ value recently, finishing 22nd or better in three of his last four races, including a top 5 at Talladega.
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