Daily Fantasy NASCAR DraftKings Forecast: 2024 Coke Zero 400

The window to make the playoffs continues to narrow in the NASCAR Cup Series — and as it does, so too do your wallets if you’ve been betting all season.

However, you do not want to miss this week. The series returns to the historic high banks of Daytona International Speedway, which provides one last realistic chance for a Cinderella to win and get in before the regular season ends at Darlington Raceway next week.

Desperation will be high, which means you have to choose your lineups and bets wisely. But don’t count anyone out. You could truly hit it big both fantasy and betting wise if you pick a dark horse and they pull it off.

Let’s take a look at how last week at Michigan International Speedway turned out for me before we get into this one.

RIGHT ON THE MONEY	LICK YOUR WOUNDS
Chris Buescher (56 points earned)	Chase Elliott +1,400 to win (was leading with 50 to go, finished 15th)
Justin Haley (39 points earned)	Kyle Larson (-10 points earned)
Martin Truex, Jr. (37 points earned, 28 laps led)	Austin Dillon (19 points earned)

Not a bad week by any means, but certainly have had better. I’m excited for Daytona; it’s been pretty good to me in the past, and hopefully it will be for you, too.

Here’s a quick rules breakdown:

Drivers will be awarded points based on their finishing position, position differential, fastest laps and laps led. The driver who wins the race scores 45 fantasy points, while second gets 42 points, third gets 41 points and so on, at least through the top 10. The 11th-place finisher scores 32 points, 21st gets 21 points and 31st gets 10 points.

However many spots they lose or gain on the track are added to or subtracted from their score. Then, if the driver leads a lap, they will earn 0.25 points for each lap led and 0.45 points for each fastest lap.

DraftKings NASCAR Scoring Rules

Fantasy Forecast

1. Chase Elliott ($9,600)

Elliott looked to have the best car in the field at certain points last week in Michigan but somehow found himself finishing way back in 15th.

I saw an interesting take on X (formerly Twitter) earlier this week about how this season for Elliott is comparable to Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s 2009 season. I believe the take was that somehow he always finishes in like 14th just like Earnhardt did in ’09.

In the spirit of that take and the Pied Piper, as Earnhardt was known as on superspeedways throughout his career, I’m picking the No. 9 first this week.

He’s only won a Gatorade Duel there in his Cup career but has a NASCAR Xfinity Series victory and very nearly won the race a year ago. Elliott also has a chance to lock up his second regular-season championship. His salary is decent and leaves you room to shore up the middle part of your lineup.

2. Bubba Wallace ($9,000)

It seems like every single time I pick Wallace, it’s on a drafting track — and for good reason. He has a win at Talladega Superspeedway under his belt and just always seems to be in the mix until his luck runs out and he gets caught up in something.

You can’t be as good as he is at this style of racing and not wind up with a good finish at some point. 23XI Racing was plenty fast at Michigan, and after Tyler Reddick’s win, it has huge momentum going into this race.

Look for the No. 23 to have a game-seven moment much like one of its owners this week and inch closer to a playoff berth.

3. Chris Buescher ($8,900)

The defending winner of this event, Buescher had a wild race last week but rallied to another solid finish. He left the Irish Hills 16 points to the good on the cut line, which also gives him momentum.

Momentum is the name of the game at Daytona, and if you have it, it can put you in a great position. Ford also has shown plenty of raw speed on these big tracks for years now, and RFK Racing is no exception.

He’s a great pick at his salary and will find his way to some solid points this week, too.

4. Michael McDowell ($7,700)

Say hello to the pole sitter here at No. 4. McDowell hasn’t had a great swan song season with Front Row Motorsports; what better way to go out than with a win and playoff berth?

I don’t know if a win is in the cards, but he is the 2021 Daytona 500 champion, so he knows how to get it done. It remains to be seen if the team can put together a solid race this season, but it’s never a good idea to bet against the fastest car.

5. Todd Gilliland ($6,800)

I picked the polesitter, so I may as well pick the guy starting second too, right?

Gilliland has also shown great speed on drafting tracks this season, even if he doesn’t have the finishes to show for it. He’s currently 151 points out of the playoffs but sits a solid 20th in points.

This team and its driver have improved so much over the past year and isn’t the darkest horse I’m picking, but he’s probably more likely to win than the next entry on this list.

You could really cash in on this pick with fast laps, at least.

6. Noah Gragson ($6,900)

You want playoff chaos? Look no further than Gragson. The No. 10 has been pretty solid on drafting tracks this season, so the stats support this pick as well.

He finished ninth in the Daytona 500 and a career-best third at Talladega in the spring.

I don’t think any of the Stewart-Haas Racing cars will make the playoffs in their final season at this juncture, but if any of them will bring you home some solid points, it’s this one.

Prop Bets and Locks

1. William Byron (+1,600) to win: This season’s Daytona 500 winner should be a no-brainer pick for this week. He has momentum after finishing second at Michigan after a short summer slump. Byron could really score you a wad of cash, but buyer beware: no one has swept the Daytona 500 and 400-mile race at the track since Jimmie Johnson in 2013.
2. John Hunter Nemechek (+900) to finish in the top five: Nemechek has really shown some speed in recent weeks, making some sporadic appearances toward the front at both Michigan and Richmond Raceway. At these drafting tracks, anybody can run well, and he could really make a splash here this weekend.
3. Ryan Preece (+5,500) to win: Wouldn’t this be quite the story? Preece has not had the best year by any measure, and it could be said that his struggles really started to worsen after his violent wreck in this race last season. If, and this is frankly a big if, he can get the job done, not only will he possibly finally lock up a ride next season, you will also walk away with a big payday with not much of an investment.