Let's get ready for some more NASCAR action! These daily fantasy NASCAR rankings for Sunday's Instacart 500 at Phoenix Raceway were determined by a combination of DraftKings and FanDuel prices, and the projected DFS points each driver is expected to earn in this week’s race.
Each week, we'll present you the weekly rankings, followed by some key analysis of those rankings.
Be sure to also check out all of our other weekly NASCAR DFS articles and analysis to help you set your optimal DFS lineups.
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Fantasy NASCAR Driver Rankings: Instacart 500
Driver Name | DraftKings Rank | FanDuel Rank |
Kevin Harvick | 1 | 1 |
Chase Elliott | 2 | 2 |
Brad Keselowski | 3 | 4 |
Joey Logano | 4 | 3 |
Kyle Busch | 5 | 6 |
Aric Almirola | 6 | 8 |
Ryan Blaney | 7 | 5 |
Martin Truex Jr. | 8 | 10 |
Denny Hamlin | 9 | 7 |
Kyle Larson | 10 | 11 |
Alex Bowman | 11 | 12 |
William Byron | 12 | 9 |
Matt DiBenedetto | 13 | 13 |
Cole Custer | 14 | 17 |
Chase Briscoe | 15 | 18 |
Christopher Bell | 16 | 16 |
Bubba Wallace | 17 | 14 |
Kurt Busch | 18 | 15 |
Ross Chastain | 19 | 20 |
Tyler Reddick | 20 | 19 |
Ryan Newman | 21 | 21 |
Erik Jones | 22 | 24 |
Austin Dillon | 23 | 23 |
Daniel Suarez | 24 | 22 |
Chris Buescher | 25 | 25 |
Anthony Alfredo | 26 | 27 |
Michael McDowell | 27 | 26 |
Ryan Preece | 28 | 28 |
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 29 | 29 |
Corey LaJoie | 30 | 30 |
Justin Haley | 31 | 31 |
J.J. Yeley | 32 | 33 |
James Davison | 33 | 32 |
B.J. McLeod | 34 | 34 |
Quin Houff | 35 | 35 |
Timmy Hill | 36 | 36 |
Josh Bilicki | 37 | 37 |
Cody Ware | 38 | 38 |
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NASCAR Rankings Analysis
As you can see from my rankings, I'm high on Kevin Harvick this week.
The driver of the No. 4 car is in an interesting position. Starting 18th gives him some nice place differential upside, plus he has nine -- yes, NINE -- wins at this track.
But ranking Harvick first is also me ignoring some bad signs for the veteran driver. He's won here a lot, but not since the first 2018 race. He hasn't led a lap in three of the last four Phoenix races, and he's been fine in 2021, leading 17 laps at Daytona. but then not leading a lap since and finishing a lap down at Vegas last week. Harvick's not as dominant as he was during the 2020 regular season, but he's still my top-ranked driver because this is Phoenix, and Harvick knows how to win at Phoenix. He's just not quite as safe a play as usual.
If you're looking for someone who can be a dominator this week, I look to Brad Keselowski. The downside is obvious as he starts from the pole, but he finished second here in the second race last year and led 82 laps in the first race. His career results at Phoenix have been middling, with just a 47.8 percent top-10 rate, but he's run better in the recent past and has the ability to lead laps early on.
Kyle Larson is interesting, as he could also jump out front early on, but I just don't trust him quite as much as I trust Brad K.
In terms of some lesser-hyped guys, I'm a big Chase Briscoe fan this week. Has the rookie's Cup career been good so far? No. But he starts 26th and has top 10s in all four of his Xfinity starts here, including leading 41 of 206 laps in the season finale last year. He was also fourth in his only Truck Series start at this track back in 2017. This is the week that Briscoe finally gets things moving with his first top 15 finish.
I don't love Kurt Busch in this one. 12th is a fine starting spot, but Busch has three finishes of 20th or worse here since 2017, and while he was sixth here last year, I just think his pricing makes him someone I won't go super heavy on.
Deep value guy this week? Anthony Alfredo is low in my rankings, but he's someone I could see myself being wrong on.
And as always, Corey LaJoie and back in the rankings are fades. Maybe you chaos play LaJoie. Maybe James Davison outlasts some people and gets points via his 38th place starting spot. But I don't really want to bet on those things. I think B.J. McLeod is driving a car that has some decent upside, but I'd need him starting 35th or worse to even start considering him. He starts 30th.
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