Daily Fantasy NASCAR DraftKings Forecast: 2025 Goodyear 400

Ladies and gentlemen, I won a bet last week! I’ve finally broken out of my slump just in time for throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway.

Darlington is one of my favorite tracks on the schedule with its mix of old-school vibes and the modern-day mastery it takes to be good here.

This place is certainly a driver’s track and whoever has the skill level necessary to conquer The Lady In Black will likely come from the top tier of the series. Drivers like Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch will likely be toward the front of this field, so expect them in your lineups.

As far as betting goes, dark horses winning here isn’t unheard of, but those occur more in the Labor Day Southern 500. My advice would be to save those bets for that race and pick a more predictable line that you can hit on more easily.

Like I said, I’m out of my slump big time this week. I won my fantasy group and hit on a wager for the first time during the 2025 season. My selection for Toyota to win the race at Martinsville Speedway netted me a cool $110 to play with this weekend. Check out the breakdown below to see just how good your favorite fantasy racing writer had it last week:

Fantasy/Betting Breakdown: 2025 Cook Out 400

Right on the Money	Lick Your Wounds
Toyota win, $50 bet, $60 profit	Austin Dillon, 25.5 points earned
Chase Elliott, 75.5 points earned	Chase Elliott (+650) to win, finished fourth, led 42 laps
Ryan Blaney, 55.7 points earned	Chase Briscoe (+150) to finish top five, finished ninth

I had more hits than misses last week, though I smartly didn’t put much money on Chase Elliott or Chase Briscoe. I’ve got a solid record at Darlington, and I think I can keep it rolling.

DraftKings Rules of the Road

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 place 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 and 31st gets 10.

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

Fantasy Forecast

1. Denny Hamlin, $10,100

Like an unattended Martinsville hot dog, I could not help but go with driver No. 11 this week. He put on an absolute master class last Sunday (March 30), but a deeper dive shows that this isn’t your dad’s version of Hamlin.

Hamlin’s pit crew laid down some incredible sub-nine-second stops and crew chief Chris Gayle and his driver were on the same page. It truly is No. 11 against the world, and if this squad keeps up the good work, that elusive championship is coming.

Hamlin’s record here alone is impressive enough, but Gayle has also won here before with Erik Jones. When all is said and done, they’ll be hoisting the trophy for the second straight week.

2. Chase Briscoe, $9,100

This pick may surprise some of you, but honestly, it shouldn’t. There is the obvious reason, which is that Briscoe is the defending Southern 500 winner and that he’s always had some good runs here, dating back to his legendary battle with Busch in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race in 2020.

Once again, this pick is all about James Small. The longtime crew chief always put Martin Truex Jr. in a good spot here, and this week will be no different with Briscoe.

This is a deadly combination, and they are going to win soon. I don’t think it’ll be here, but a solid top-five result is probable.

3. Ross Chastain, $8,600

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve picked Ross Chastain, but it feels right this week.

Chastain was right in the thick of things at Martinsville, angering a cadre of drivers, including Joey Logano. That reminded me of how much his style fits a place like Darlington.

Aggression and a willingness to push your car and other drivers to the limit will be key to running well in this race and there’s nobody better at that than this guy. Expect a solid top-10 finish this week.

4. Brad Keselowski, $8,000

My goodness, Brad Keselowski has been abysmal to start this season. He has zero top-10 finishes and only two top-15 finishes.

However, he won this race last season, and that would normally be enough to justify the pick. Keselowski needs to perform well this weekend, and this is the best opportunity he has to do so.

Darlington is one of Keselowski’s best tracks, and if RFK Racing can just give him a halfway decent car, he’ll do something with it. Expect a top-10/15 finish for Keselowski on Sunday.

5. Erik Jones, $7,500

Without a doubt, Jones arrives at his best track with a load of confidence.

His two Southern 500 wins speak for themselves, but he’s also coming in with two top-20 finishes in his last three starts.

Legacy Motor Club has also shown flashes of improvement this year. Remember, John Hunter Nemechek had an impressive stretch to start his season. It has to be Jones’ turn right?

I personally think Jones gets his best finish of 2025, which won’t be a win, but a sneaky top 10.

6. Zane Smith, $6,100

Don’t look now, but this former NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series champion is on a tear.

Zane Smith hasn’t finished worse than 23rd in his last three starts and ran well at a big intermediate track when he finished ninth at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

He also has recorded two top-10 finishes here in the Truck Series, but the real reason I like this pick is what he showed at Martinsville.

Smith was aggressive and showed a good long-run pace, which will be a factor at a place known for him. He will get a good top 15-20 result and critical points.

Prop Bets and Locks

1. Chris Buescher (+700) top finishing Ford: I forgot the dust-up between Buescher and Tyler Reddick that cost the former a win last season. Buescher has performed much better than his team owner, and the guy who won this race last season, (Keselowski), and I predict he will outperform all the Fords this week. This is the wager I feel most confident.
2. Hamlin (+650) to win: There’s just so many good things going on for him recently, and I don’t think it stops now. This week he becomes the second Joe Gibbs Racing driver to win consecutive races this season and solidifies himself as a championship threat, and you should cash in on that.
3. Ty Gibbs (+120) vs. Busch (-160): The most interesting H2H I’ve seen in some time. We all know how Busch couldn’t find sponsors at JGR, how Gibbs is seen as his nepotism replacement and so on. But what’s interesting to me is that I don’t know how to pick it. Both are severely inconsistent and quite frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if one finished 34th and the other 35th. I’m gonna take the odds on Gibbs, based solely on my gut, but KFB nearly won here last fall. Choose wisely.