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Welcome to RotoBaller's Tiered Rankings for the first race of the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season, the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. For those that are viewing these rankings for the first time, here is how the sheet works.
There are two sets of DFS tiered rankings featured below, with one set of rankings focused on DraftKings DFS contests while the other is focused on FanDuel. Every driver that will officially be starting in this week's race will be listed in a particular tier based on their salary for each site. The tiers feature drivers that have similar price ranges and are ranked based on their final outlook, which is determined by a combination of a driver's expected performance for this week's race as well as their salary.
These ranks will help you make tough lineup calls, telling you which drivers must be started over others in each tier. DFS players from any skill level can use these rankings in order to create a lineup that will cash out.
This week, the NASCAR Cup Series heads back to Daytona, but on the road course for the O'Reilly Auto Parts 253. Other than the Busch Clash last week, the Cup Series hosted one race at the site prior to this season. For Road Courses, DFS players must pick drivers that have performed well in prior races at the track type, as well as pinpointing place differential plays with high upside. Positions at road course events change often due to varying pit strategies that different drivers utilize and crashes that take out teams from contention. Due to the small number of Cup Series events held at the Daytona Road Course in history, other road course tracks provide just as much of an indication of which drivers must be chosen for lineups this week. Good luck RotoBallers!
Premium Tiered Rankings - NASCAR DFS
Normally, you can expect these rankings to be published on Thursdays or Fridays for every week that there is a Cup Series race, depending on the schedule of pre-race events. These rankings will also be updated as pre-race events progress throughout the week when applicable and also will include analysis of each tier of drivers at the conclusion of all pre-race events.
* = This driver will be starting from the rear in this week's race
DraftKings Rankings Analysis
DraftKings Tier 1: Leading off this tier are the only three drivers to have won all official road course races in the Cup Series since 2018, including Ryan Blaney, Martin Truex Jr., and Chase Elliott. In his last six starts at road courses, Blaney scored four top-5 finishes and picked up positive place differential five times. The driver of the No. 12 Ford also nearly won the Busch Clash at the Daytona Road Course and provides plenty of place differential upside from his starting position (27th). Truex is an accomplished road course racer who placed seventh or better in each of the last five road course races, including a finish of third in his only start at the Daytona Road Course. In last year’s race at the site, the driver of the No. 19 Toyota also ranked fourth in Laps in the Top 15 (53), third in Average Running Position (8.3), and second in Fastest Laps (16) in addition to Driver Rating (126.5). Truex does not offer as much PD upside as Blaney, but still is one of the top choices to anchor lineups around this week. Elliott has the most Cup Series road-course wins of active drivers (5) including each of the last four. The driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet also ranked first in last year’s race at Daytona in Laps Led (34), Fastest Laps (18), Laps in the Top 15 (64), Average Running Position (3.1), and Driver Rating (135.3). Elliott is ranked lower than Blaney and Truex since he presents no PD upside from his starting position (first), however, he will still lead plenty of laps while competing for the win because of his equipment and experience at road courses. A. J. Allmendinger is another experienced road course veteran to recommend, who provides the most PD upside of all drivers in this group from his starting position (34th). The last driver in this tier, Kyle Busch, has mixed history at road courses, and despite providing some PD upside from 14th, and noting he won the Busch Clash at Daytona, he is harder to endorse for lineups compared to the others in this tier.
DraftKings Tier 2: Out of all drivers in this tier, Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman is the top choice to lock in for lineups. The driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet provides the most PD upside from his starting position (36th) and is one of the more consistent drivers at road courses. In his last five starts at road courses, Bowman placed 14th or better and registered positive place differential three times. Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano are the other top choices to highly consider from this tier for this week’s race. Since 2016 at road courses, Hamlin has eight top-10 finishes and led laps seven times including last year’s DRC race. In last year’s race at the site, the driver of the No. 11 Toyota led the second-most laps (16) while ranking third in Fastest Laps (5) as well as Driver Rating (116.0), and was second in Laps in the Top 15 (62) and Average Running Position (5.0). Hamlin also placed sixth and led the most laps in this year’s Busch Clash (21). Logano is one of only four drivers to have placed in the Top 10 in each of the last three road course events, including a finish of ninth at the Daytona Road Course, where he also led a lap. The driver of the No. 22 Ford also finished third in the Busch Clash and will start 11th this week. Watch for Logano, based on equipment and recent road course results, to finish in the Top 10 and challenge for a Top-5 finish.
DraftKings Tier 3: Almost every driver is worth great consideration from this tier. Matt DiBenedetto and William Byron, in particular, are two of the top picks of the week from all tiers. In his last six starts at road courses, DiBenedetto placed in the Top 15 five times, including last year’s race at Daytona, and scored positive place differential four times. The driver of the No. 21 Ford also starts the lowest in the field (32nd) and provides the most PD upside of all drivers in this tier. Byron is one of only four drivers to have placed in the Top 10 in each of the last three road course races and led a combined 50 laps in that span. The driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet also had the fourth-best Driver Rating (102.3) of all drivers in last year’s Daytona Road Course race, and starts 22nd. Recent history and equipment point to a top-10 finish with a chance of a top-5 finish for Byron. He will also collect a solid amount of Place Differential points. Kurt Busch and Chase Briscoe are other adequate choices to start in lineups from this tier as well. Since 2013, Busch has finished every road course race except for one in the Top 15, including a finish of fourth in his last start at the track type. In last year’s race at the Daytona Road Course, the driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet ranked fourth in Average Running Position (8.9) and third in Laps in the Top 15 (59). Considering the starting position (17th) and overall experience, Busch is a driver that should certainly be considered for lineups this week. Briscoe is making his first Cup Series start at a road course this week, but has notably been strong at road courses in other series. In his only Xfinity Series start at the Daytona Road Course, Briscoe led the most laps (26) before wrecking. Look for the Cup Series rookie to finish in the Top 15 with a chance at a top-10 finish.
DraftKings Tier 4: Several drivers in this tier are worth high consideration for DFS lineups at the Daytona Road Course this week. Erik Jones, the driver of the No. 43 Chevrolet, starts the deepest in the field (37th) and provides the most PD upside of all drivers in this group. In 10 starts at road courses, Jones has six top-10 finishes and gained place differential seven times. Chris Buescher also starts far back in the field (30th) and placed in the Top 20 of every Cup Series road-course race since 2017. Buescher’s best career Cup series finish at a road course also was achieved in last year’s race at the Daytona Road Course (Fifth). Tyler Reddick placed 12th and picked up positive place differential in his last road course start. Reddick also led a lap and finished fourth in the Busch Clash. The driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet will start 24th and will finish in the Top 15 based on history and equipment. Michael McDowell is one of the top road course racers in NASCAR and placed in the Top 20 in five of his last six starts at road courses. McDowell scored his best career road course finish in his last start at the Daytona Road Course (10th) and will compete for a top-5 finish based on his experience and equipment. Aric Almirola and Ryan Newman are also worth consideration for DFS lineups as well, since they start far back in the field in 26th and 33rd, but their mixed history at road courses makes them less favorable picks than the previous four drivers mentioned. Cole Custer gained positive place differential in his only two road course starts and placed ninth in his last race at the track type. Custer, however, does not provide as much PD upside as other drivers in this tier and cannot be recommended as highly as other drivers in this group. Christopher Bell has never finished in the Top 20 in two Cup Series starts at road courses while Austin Dillon never picked up a top-15 finish throughout his whole career at road courses. Bell is the safer pick between the last two drivers, but both are not recommended for lineups this week.
DraftKings Tier 5: Daniel Suarez and Ty Dillon are two of the best bargain values and safest picks in the Cup Series field here. Suarez has six top-20 finishes in his career at road courses and recorded positive place differential in his last two starts at the track type. The driver of the No. 99 Chevrolet will start 35th and provide quality place differential production, as he should challenge for a top-25 position this week. Dillon starts 38th and has three top-20 finishes in his career at road courses. Based on his equipment, look for him to finish in the Top 30 with a chance of placing in the Top 25. Ricky Stenhouse Jr has finished 17th or better in each of his last four road course starts, and considering his starting position (16th) and equipment, he is a decent play to challenge for a top-15 finish. Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain are both risky plays due to their high starting positions (10th and ninth) and just cannot be considered as highly as the other drivers in this tier. Anthony Alfredo should be avoided altogether, having never experienced this track in his NASCAR career to date.
DraftKings Tier 6: DFS players must avoid rostering drivers from this tier as much as possible. Many of the drivers in this tier are start and park drivers that will not finish the race. Almost all of the drivers in this tier have equipment that is slower than the rest of the field and they tend to finish multiple laps behind. Justin Haley, Ryan Preece, and Corey LaJoie are the only drivers to remotely consider from this tier to start if you need the cap flexibility from starting multiple drivers in the first two tiers. Haley starts the furthest back of the three in 20th, but because of other drivers with better equipment and more experience starting further back, these three are expected to lose place differential.
FanDuel Rankings Analysis
FanDuel Tier 1: Similarly to DraftKings, the only three drivers to have won Cup Series road-course events are the top three drivers in this tier. In his last six starts at road courses, Ryan Blaney scored four top-5 finishes and picked up positive place differential five times. The driver of the No. 12 Ford also nearly won the Busch Clash at the Daytona Road Course and provides plenty of place differential upside from his starting position (27th). Martin Truex Jr. is an accomplished road course racer who placed seventh or better in each of the last five road course races, including a finish of third in his only start at the Daytona Road Course. In last year’s race at the site, the driver of the No. 19 Toyota also ranked fourth in Laps in the Top 15 (53), third in Average Running Position (8.3), and second in Fastest Laps (16) in addition to Driver Rating (126.5). Truex does not offer as much PD upside as Blaney, but still is one of the top choices to anchor lineups around this week. Chase Elliott has the most Cup Series road-course wins of active drivers (5), including each of the last four. The driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet also ranked first in last year’s race at Daytona in Laps Led (34), Fastest Laps (18), Laps in the Top 15 (64), Average Running Position (3.1), and Driver Rating (135.3). Elliott is ranked lower than Blaney and Truex since he presents no PD upside from his starting position (first), however, he will still lead plenty of laps while competing for the win because of his equipment and experience at road courses. The last driver in this tier, Kyle Busch, has mixed history at road courses and despite providing some PD upside while starting 14th, and noting he won the Busch Clash at Daytona, he is harder to endorse for lineups compared to the others in this tier.
FanDuel Tier 2: A. J. Allmendinger is the first driver to recommend from this tier. Allmendinger is an accomplished road course racer who starts deeper in the field compared to the others in this tier (34th). Allmendinger also scored his only career Cup Series victory at a road course and finished fourth in his only start at the Daytona Road Course in the Xfinity Series. Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano are the other top choices to highly consider from this tier. Since 2016 at road courses, Hamlin has eight top-10 finishes and led laps seven times, including last year’s DRC race. In last year’s race at the site, the driver of the No. 11 Toyota led the second-most laps (16) while ranking third in Fastest Laps (5) as well as Driver Rating (116.0), and was second in Laps in the Top 15 (62) and Average Running Position (5.0). Hamlin also placed sixth and led the most laps in this year’s Busch Clash (21). Logano is one of only four drivers to have placed in the Top 10 in each of the last three road course events, including a finish of ninth at the Daytona Road Course, where he also led a lap. The driver of the No. 22 Ford also finished third in the Busch Clash last week and will start 11th this week. Watch for Logano, based on equipment and recent road course results, to finish in the Top 10 and challenge for a top-5 finish.
FanDuel Tier 3: Just like on DraftKings, almost every driver is worth consideration here. Out of all drivers in this tier, Hendrick Motorsports' Alex Bowman is the top choice. The driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet provides the most PD upside from his starting position (36th) and is one of the more consistent drivers at road courses. In his last five starts at road courses, Bowman placed 14th or better and scored positive place differential three times. Matt DiBenedetto and William Byron are two more top picks of the week for DFS lineups. In his last six starts at road courses, DiBenedetto placed in the Top 15 five times, including last year’s race at Daytona, and scored positive place differential four times. The driver of the No. 21 Ford also starts the lowest in the field (32nd) and provides the most PD upside of all drivers in this tier. Byron is one of only four drivers to have placed in the Top 10 in each of the last three road course races, and led a combined 50 laps in that span. The driver of the No. 24 Chevrolet also had the fourth-best Driver Rating (102.3) in last year’s Daytona Road Course race, and starts 22nd. Recent history and equipment point to a top-10 finish with a chance of a top-5 finish for Byron. He will also collect a good amount of place differential points. Kurt Busch and Chase Briscoe are other adequate choices from this tier. Since 2013, Busch has finished every road course race except for one in the Top 15, including a finish of fourth in his last start at this track type. In last year’s race at the Daytona Road Course, the driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet ranked fourth in Average Running Position (8.9) and third in Laps in the Top 15 (59). Considering the starting position (17th) and overall experience, Busch should be considered for lineups this week. Briscoe is making his first Cup Series start at a road course this week, but has notably been strong at road courses in other series. In his only Xfinity Series start at the Daytona Road Course, Briscoe led the most laps (26) before wrecking. Look for the Cup Series rookie to finish in the Top 15 with a chance of a top-10 finish.
FanDuel Tier 4: This week much like on DraftKings, several drivers in this tier are worth high consideration for FanDuel lineups at the Daytona Road Course. Erik Jones, the driver of the No. 43 Chevrolet, starts the deepest in the field (37th) and provides the most PD upside of all drivers in this group. In 10 starts at road courses, Jones has six top-10 finishes and gained place differential seven times. Tyler Reddick placed 12th and picked up positive place differential in his last road course start. Reddick also led a lap and finished fourth in the Busch Clash. The driver of the No. 8 Chevrolet will start 24th and will be a good place differential play, as he will finish in the Top 15 based on history and equipment. Michael McDowell is one of the top road course racers in NASCAR and placed in the Top 20 in five of his last six starts at road courses. McDowell recorded his best career road course finish in his last start at the Daytona Road Course (10th) and will compete for a top-5 finish based on his experience and equipment. Aric Almirola is also worth consideration for DFS lineups, since he starts far back in the field in 26th, but a mixed history at road courses makes him a less favorable pick. Cole Custer gained positive place differential in his only two road course starts and placed ninth in his last race at this track type. Custer, however, does not provide as much PD upside as other drivers in this tier and cannot be recommended as highly as other drivers in this group. Christopher Bell has never finished in the Top 20 in two Cup Series starts so far at road courses and is the safer pick in comparison to the last two drivers, Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain. Wallace and Chastain are both risky due to their high starting positions (10th and ninth) and just cannot be considered as highly as the other drivers in this tier.
FanDuel Tier 5: Daniel Suarez and Chris Buescher are two of the best bargain values and safest picks in the Cup Series field here. Suarez has six top-20 finishes in his career at road courses and scored positive place differential in his last two starts at this track type. The driver of the No. 99 Chevrolet will start 35th and be good for place differential, as he should challenge for a top-25 position this week. Chris Buescher also starts far back in the field (30th) and placed in the Top 20 of every Cup Series road-course race since 2017. Buescher’s best career Cup series finish at a road course also was achieved in last year’s race at the Daytona Road Course (Fifth). Ryan Newman ranks third out of this group and has a more favorable salary in comparison to his DraftKings tag. Newman has mixed history at road courses but is a safer PD pick due to his starting position (33rd). Ricky Stenhouse Jr has finished 17th or better in each of his last four road course starts, and considering his starting position (16th) and equipment, is a decent play to challenge for a top-15 finish. Austin Dillon never picked up a top-15 finish throughout his whole career at road courses and is a huge risk due to his starting position (third). Anthony Alfredo should be avoided altogether, having never experienced this track in his entire NASCAR career to date.
FanDuel Tier 6: DFS players must avoid rostering drivers from this tier as much as possible. Many of the drivers in this tier are start and park drivers that will not finish the race. Almost all of the drivers in this tier have equipment that is slower than the rest of the field, and tend to finish multiple laps behind. If you need to start a driver from this group for cap flexibility due to picking multiple drivers from the first two tiers, Ty Dillon is the best choice and bargain. Dillon starts 38th and has three top-20 finishes in his career at road courses. Based on his equipment, look for him to finish in the Top 30 with a chance of placing in the Top 25. Justin Haley, Ryan Preece, and Corey LaJoie are the only other drivers to remotely consider from this tier to start. Haley is the safest pick since he starts the furthest back of the three in 20th, but all are expected to lose place differential.
