DraftKings NASCAR DFS Picks for Chicagoland: Fantasy NASCAR Strategy and Picks for the eero 400

NASCAR returns to Chicagoland Speedway for the first time since 2019 for the eero 400.

Chicagoland is a 1.5-mile track and was expected to be an extremely abrasive surface as it was in its past, especially with no repave. Yet in practice the tire wear was comparable, and even slightly less than the tire wear in practice at Las Vegas and Kansas, two other 1.5-mile tracks the series has run this year.

So it’s tough to say how this race will play out, but I think we have to treat it like most of the other 1.5-mile tracks, especially the aforementioned Las Vegas and Kansas races, but also Charlotte (and less so Texas which has very low tire wear, but is still probably useful).

Either way, teams and drivers had a nice long practice session to get used to the new track, which gives us ample practice FLAGS data to work with.

As far as dominators, we can expect the usual 1-2 dominators with some percentage of the time it being a three-dominator race.

Along with FLAGS, be sure to check out my NASCAR projections in the NASCAR Models on FantasyLabs, complete with floor, ceiling, median, and ownership projections.

My projections, along with Stephen Young’s from RotoGrinders, are available in our NASCAR DFS package. You can read more about what the package entails here.

Let’s not skip the best part, my Perfect% metric, a metric that tells you how often certain racers appear in the optimal lineup when running 250,000 race simulations.

And don’t forget about the tools that FantasyLabs has to offer, like our Lineup Optimizer to effortlessly create up to 300 lineups or our Lineup Builder if you like to hand-build your lineups.

So, without further ado, here’s my strategy guide and NASCAR DFS picks for the eero 400 at Chicagoland Speedway.

eero 400 Cash Game Picks

Denny Hamlin ($11,000): The most dominant driver in the series starts on the pole and ranked inside the top three in practice FLAGS, when he’s not normally a guy that pops in practice.

Corey Heim ($7500): Heim grabbed his first career win in his most recent Cup Series race at Naval Base Coronado, and while that was a road course and this is an oval, he should still be one of the top plays.

23XI Racing looked awesome in practice, with Tyler Reddick, Bubba Wallace, and Heim all ranking inside the top eight in FLAGS. And the fourth 23XI driver, Riley Herbst, turned the single fastest practice lap.

Unfortunately for Heim, he qualified 28th, but fortunately for DFS players, that makes him an obvious cash-game play.

Michael McDowell ($6100): McDowell is an obvious cash-game play, since he starts dead last without having run a qualifying lap.

We’ll need some salary relief with Hamlin as a top play, as well as Kyle Larson and Tyler Reddick both at $10,500 and above in position to be top plays on the slate.

McDowell is the perfect salary antidote here.

eero 400 Tournament Picks

Dominators: Here are my top dominators by likelihood of dominating:

1. Denny Hamlin
2. Kyle Larson
   
   (gap to show tier)
   
3. Tyler Reddick
4. Christopher Bell
5. William Byron
6. Ty Gibbs
7. Chris Buescher
8. Bubba Wallace

Kyle Larson or Tyler Reddick ($10,500 or $10,700): There’s a chance both drivers can end up optimal, but given Hamlin’s likely dominance, this could become an either/or situation.

If Hamlin dominates, there’s likely only room for one of these two drivers to fit into the optimal lineup given their salary. In that case, it comes down to whether you think Larson is able to dominate some laps, because he’ll absolutely need to since he won’t have any place differential to lean on by starting second.

If he doesn’t, then Reddick is the main option since he starts 13th and could make the optimal lineup with fewer dominator points thanks to the place-differential potential of finishing inside the top three giving him 10 extra points.

But, if Larson somehow takes the lead from Hamlin at the start, then a Larson/Reddick line is absolutely in play.

Erik Jones ($7200): Jones had an issue in practice when he hit some debris, but thankfully the day between practice and qualifying helped them get in shape for the single-lap qualifying run.

And while it’s only a 22nd-place starting spot, you have to think Jones will move forward given that his teammate John Hunter Nemechek ranked 14th and 16th in the two overall FLAGS metrics and qualified 17th.

The two Legacy Motor Club cars have been very similar, especially as of late, and Jones should move forward on speed, and possibly through attrition.

This is also a great track type for him, as he finished 12th and 13th over the last two 1.5-mile races, and the Legacy Motor Club cars looked even better than that in the two most recent intermediate package races where Jones finished second and sixth at Michigan and Pocono, respectively.

Cole Custer ($5100): If we’re looking for severe salary relief on a slate where the top three salaried drivers are also likely the top-three drivers on the slate in terms of expected performance, then Custer might just have the best fit here.

Custer ranked 24th in rank-based practice FLAGS and 27th in speed-based practice FLAGS. That doesn’t sound great until you realize he starts 33rd, giving him a handful of place-differential spots available on speed, and maybe a few more from other drivers having issues.

He doesn’t need much, just enough at $5100 to help you fit in a couple of high-dollar guys.

Pictured: Denny Hamlin
Photo credit: Matthew O’Haren