Daily Fantasy NASCAR DraftKings Forecast: 2025 Grant Park 165

Well folks, I’m back yet again with fantasy/betting knowledge aplenty to share.

Of course, I hope you’re all having a safe and happy Fourth of July weekend.

Nothing says “Fourth of July” like the roar of stock car engines at the Chicago Street Course. This is the third time that the NASCAR Cup Series is running this event, so there’s a little bit of a statistical notebook.

However, this race always has a wild and unpredictable flair to it. Rain has been a huge factor in both races. The course itself is difficult with even the painted lines and natural divots in the active roadway playing havoc on the handling of these racecars.

This place has also been known to get narrow in a hurry, so there’s a great chance that you’ll see a huge traffic-jam-like crash again this season.

The strategy for making your picks, though, that’s pretty simple. Pick Shane van Gisbergen, then use the race at Mexico City a few weeks ago for the rest. Nobody is beating SVG this week. Had he not had a mechanical problem last season, he probably would be the only guy to ever win at Chicago.

There’s no recap for this week, so let’s get right into the rules.

2025 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, any 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

Shane van Gisbergen ($12,000)

This was as easy as picking Kyle Larson at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

SVG absolutely dominated at Mexico City, toying with the field late in the race and winning by the most substantial margin since 2009.

That would be enough on its own for me to justify this pick. Then you add in that he’s the winner of the inaugural race here, and the course just suits his style that has been built throughout the course of his racing career.

SVG is your undisputed winner this week.

Chase Elliott ($9,500)

The Dawsonville Pool Room si-reen came to life again for the first time in 44 races last weekend, and the massive fan base that stands behind driver No. 9 let out a collective sigh of relief.

Yes, Elliott still has it, and he’s likely one of the only people in the field who stands a chance of beating SVG this Sunday, July 6. I don’t think he will, unless something happens to the latter though.

He’ll still be in hot contention, close to the front and likely walk away with a top-five finish at the very least.

Alex Bowman ($8,800)

You might be wondering why I have Bowman so high up in the order this week, but hear me out.

Not only is he the defending winner of this race, but who could forget his heroic drive out in Mexico? A sore-and-battered Bowman wheeled his car to a fourth-place run that day, and I expect more of the same in Chicago, except he’ll be feeling a lot better.

Plus, he was the key to Elliott’s victory at EchoPark Speedway last weekend, grabbing a podium finish.

Momentum is with this team, and I expect a top 10.

Ryan Blaney ($7,500)

First and foremost, big congratulations to Blaney for announcing he’s going to be a dad in the near future.

He’s not known as a road course ace by any means, but people have forgotten that he won at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL back in 2018.

He’s also somewhat respectable when the Cup Series makes left and right turns. He ran well at Mexico City, and I think he’ll be pretty OK again this weekend.

Blaney will grab a top 15 for sure and get you points at a discount.

Ryan Preece ($6,600)

Again, here’s another guy who’s historically struggled on road courses. But this season, he’s shown flashes of brilliance on these challenging tracks.

He was running pretty well in Mexico City before missing a corner late. He recovered well, though, and grabbed a 15th-place finish.

I think Preece will have similar success this week, and here in this fifth roster spot, that’s all you really need.

Riley Herbst ($5,100)

Welcome back to the list, Mr. Herbst!

I went with a similar strategy with Cole Custer back during the week of the race in Mexico City, which DraftKings must’ve caught onto, because he’s too expensive this week.

So I decided to go with Herbst this week instead. He’s had a pretty bad season thus far, especially considering the equipment he’s in, so I don’t expect much.

He didn’t finish well in Mexico, but he did have a good 17th-place effort at Circuit of the Americas earlier this season. He’s cheap enough to take a flyer on, and most of your points should come from the top two picks on this list.

This is a fun inconsequential pick.

Prop Bets & Locks

1. Christopher Bell (+210) to finish top three: Bell is one of the most underrated drivers in the field when it comes to road course racing, and it shows. I know he doesn’t have the answers when it comes to solving the SVG equation, but he’s already finished runner-up to him once this season and beat him at COTA. Much like Elliott, I think he stands a good shot at it, and a podium is definitely possible.
   
2. Ford (+550) to win: The Blue Oval has not had a nice time on road courses historically, with their last road course win coming at Watkins Glen International nearly a year ago with Chris Buescher. Buescher is certainly capable of doing it, but outside of him, they really don’t have a threat to win. I still like the bet though, because strategy can get you a win. Just ask Bowman.
3. AJ Allmendinger (+2200) to win: The Dinger has to be licking his chops with these road courses coming up. He’s one of the most decorated road racers in the bunch after all. He’s still a long shot here. After all, it was this car that SVG was driving last year when he had an issue while leading. If the equipment is there and AJ plays his hand right, he could sneak his way into the postseason as well as put some huge cash into your pocket.