We have finally arrived at the final race of the 2024 NASCAR season. Phoenix Raceway once again hosts championship weekend for all three NASCAR series. Martinsville certainly did not disappoint as we had drama leading all the way up to the checkered flag. But the championship field is set. Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Tyler Reddick, and William Byron will race for NASCAR’s ultimate prize. We had practice on Sunday. Then qualifying followed on Saturday. We’re locked in and ready to dominate the last slate of the season. Let’s examine the top NASCAR DFS Cup Series Championship picks for tomorrow’s action!
Cup Series Championship Picks: The Top 10
- Martin Truex Jr. (#19 Joe Gibbs Racing)
- Joey Logano (#22 Team Penske)
- Ross Chastain (#1 Trackhouse Racing)
- Kyle Larson (#5 Hendrick Motorsports)
- Chase Elliott (#9 Hendrick Motorsports)
- Ty Gibbs (#54 Joe Gibbs Racing)
- Christopher Bell (#20 Joe Gibbs Racing)
- William Byron (#24 Hendrick Motorsports)
- Harrison Burton (#21 Wood Brothers Racing)
- Tyler Reddick (#45 23XI Racing)
What a way for Martin Truex Jr. to wrap up his racing career. He wins the pole for his final race as a full-time driver. From a DFS perspective, we can be skeptical. He hasn’t been too reliable for DraftKings or FanDuel. But it’s a nice sendoff for MTJ to start first. But I highly suggest brushing up on this week’s Cup Series Championship Preview. It’s interesting that Ross Chastain qualified P3. That gives him a great track position and he won this race a year ago. For the second straight year, he’s not eligible for the championship. The only championship driver not starting in the top 10 is Ryan Blaney. I wouldn’t fret over the P17 starting spot. His car was incredibly fast in practice Friday afternoon. Targeting two drivers from this range isn’t a bad way to start constructing lineups when analyzing the Cup Series Championship picks.
Which Value-Priced Cup Series Championship Picks Got A Points Movement Bump?
DraftKings
- Bubba Wallace – $7,800; Starting P29
- Josh Berry – $7,400; Starting P39
- Daniel Suarez – $7,200; Starting P34
- Austin Dillon – $7,000; Starting P36
- Ryan Preece – $6,900; Starting P33
- Michael McDowell – $6,400; Starting P35
FanDuel
- Brad Keselowski – $8,500; Starting P27
- Chris Buescher – $8,200; Starting P24
- Kyle Busch – $7,800; Starting P25
- Bubba Wallace – $7,500; Starting P29
- Josh Berry – $7,000; Starting P39
- Michael McDowell – $6,800; Starting P35
- Daniel Suarez – $6,200; Starting P34
- Austin Dillon – $6,000; Starting P36
- Ryan Preece – $5,500; Starting P33
Thanks to FanDuel’s soft pricing, we have plenty of value options to consider for our Cup Series Championship picks. Plenty of these drivers will be popular for Sunday. Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez, and Josh Berry were all mentioned in this week’s preview. And qualifying certainly gave us some good drivers in decent equipment starting deep in the field. At least we have plenty of drivers to consider. If it was just two, three, or maybe even four then we’d have some consolidated chalk in this value tier. My favorites to consider in this range are Berry, Suarez, Preece, and Buescher. I believe those four have the best speed and talent to move into the top 20, and possibly the top 15. It’s the final race for Stewart-Haas Racing. Don’t forget all four of their drivers finished in the top 16 at Martinsville last week.
Which Higher-Priced Drivers Got A Similar Bump?
- Ryan Blaney – Starting P17
- Brad Keselowski – Starting P27 (DraftKings)
- Chris Buescher – Starting P24 (DraftKings)
- Kyle Busch – Starting P25 (DraftKings)
Blaney doesn’t offer a ton of position differential. However, he’s the only driver to start outside the top 10 that’s eligible for this year’s championship. He wasn’t pleased with the qualifying effort but overall he flashed great speed in practice. A year ago, he started P15 and finished second which was enough to clinch the 2023 championship. Keselowski, Buescher, and Busch are values on FanDuel. But on DraftKings, for our Cup Series Championship picks, they’re mid-range plays for our NASCAR DFS lineups. Like I said, DraftKings doesn’t offer many expensive PD options. And that’s fine. We can spend up for potential dominators and mid-range plays with top 10 upside.
Cup Series Championship Picks
DraftKings
- Ryan Blaney – $11,200; Starting P17
- Martin Truex Jr. – $9,000; Starting P1
- Chris Buescher – $8,200; Starting P24
- Josh Berry – $7,400; Starting P39
- Daniel Suarez – $7,200; Starting P34
- Ryan Preece – $6,900; Starting P33
This lineup is fairly chalky. In fact, it’ll likely be duplicated in cash game contests and tournaments. We target some early dominator points with Martin Truex Jr. And I get it. He’s been frustrating to play. But this is the last possible time to play him. There are no other Joe Gibbs Racing drivers running for the championship. He also has some speed in that Toyota, potentially top-five long-run speed. So if he can lead early on and lock in a top 10 finish that could be enough to be in the optimal lineup. And we have plenty of win equity with Blaney as the defending champion. From there, we’re simply targeting PD with the remaining drivers. Will they be popular? It’s very likely. But again, there are enough drivers starting deep in the field so exposure should be rather balanced.
FanDuel
- Ryan Blaney – $14,000; Starting P17
- William Byron – $13,500; Starting P8
- Chris Buescher – $8,200; Starting P24
- Josh Berry – $7,000; Starting P39
- Michael McDowell – $6,800; Starting P35
We have a few of our Cup Series Championship picks transferring from the DraftKings lineup to this FanDuel build. But they also make for great FanDuel plays as well. FanDuel doesn’t reward for fastest laps and laps led are just a tenth of a point. So we mostly want position differential and drivers to score well. We manage to fit two championship drivers in this build. And we go back to the well with Ryan Blaney. We also add William Byron to this lineup. Buescher and Berry once again make this build. Buescher could easily finish top 10 while Berry crushes value with a top 15 finish. We also get some exposure to Michael McDowell who should be able to move up into the top 20.
White Flag Thoughts Before You Go
As we close out the 2024 season with the Cup Series Championship picks, I can’t thank you all enough for following along for another season. The NASCAR season is an absolute grind that spans about nine months so if you stuck with it to the end, then I commend you for that. As you build your lineups, always be mindful of the scoring differences between DraftKings and FanDuel. Don’t be afraid to take some risks and possibly some strong stands. Going significantly underweight on some of the value chalk could set your lineups apart from the field. Best of luck for the final race of the season!