The end of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Regular Season is upon us, and as always, tensions are high.
For some huge names and young guns, it’s their last chance to make their season meaningful and leapfrog into contention for a championship. When the weight of one race is so incredibly high, it typically makes for some wild Hail Mary-style moves that can be nearly impossible to anticipate.
That goes especially for a place like Daytona International Speedway, where just one big crash can dash the dreams of playoff hopefuls and ruin your fantasy racing weekend.
I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: you can’t really have a strategy for superspeedway racing when it comes to making bets and setting lineups. It’s just too unpredictable.
I usually lean on the trusty statistics and pay attention to the spring race at Talladega Superspeedway. Those who managed to save fuel the best and make their way to the front in that race will be viable options here.
I wouldn’t exactly look past the Daytona 500 from earlier this year, but much has changed since then within the series, and very few drivers have managed to sweep both dates at Daytona.
So, with a colossal grain of salt, utilize the options below, but know there are no guarantees in a race like this.
Fantasy/Betting Breakdown: 2025 Cook Out 400 at Richmond Raceway
| Right On The Money | Lick Your Wounds |
| Austin Dillon: 92.6 points scored | Ryan Preece: 1.9 points scored |
| Austin Dillon +4000 to win | AJ Allmendinger: 5.5 points scored |
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 points for each fastest lap.
Fantasy Forecast
Ryan Blaney $10,200
After finding the podium at Richmond Raceway last week, I can confidently say Ryan Blaney is ready for the playoffs. I can also confidently say that even though I like this pick, I don’t love it.
He is the pole-sitter, and passing is pretty hard here now. What’s more is that Penske cars are noticeably better with fuel mileage than most other teams.
However, this team has been allergic to closing out wins at times this year, and that’s why I don’t love this pick.
Blaney’s track record at Daytona, though, absolutely warrants this pick, and he can be a top-five driver easily Saturday night.
Chase Elliott $9,900
After 24 weeks of not finishing worse than 20th this year, the No. 9 team has put together back-to-back absolutely abysmal runs coming to Daytona.
However, Chase Elliott did win at Atlanta Motor Speedway last month, and he’s also my pick to win the race. The pace just disappeared on this No. 9 as of late, and I don’t think he’ll take any risks where he’s already in the playoffs.
He’s also a two-time winner at Talladega and Atlanta, but has never won at Daytona in a Cup car. He’s due this week, and Alan Gustafson can redeem himself and get NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver some sorely needed playoff points.
Kyle Busch $8,800
Kyle Busch was more like KF bowling ball last week at Richmond while his teammate brought home an upset win. If you aren’t familiar with how he used to be, you know there’s a part of this legendary wheelman that is completely annoyed by that.
That’s why you’d better have him on your team this week. You know that he’s going to drive his tail off to put himself in position to win this week.
Remember, he almost did a year ago, and I think it’d be a sweet redemption story. Look for him to be up in the top 10 points at the very least.
Chase Briscoe $7,500
If there’s one thing that has been a surprise this season, it’s been the raw speed of the No. 19 Toyota Camry.
Chase Briscoe won six pole awards this season, most coming at big, fast tracks where horsepower matters. One of those poles was for the Daytona 500, and while it didn’t result in a win, it led to some laps led, which is a big points boost in tight leagues.
While he didn’t win the pole for this Daytona race, I still expect Briscoe to accrue plenty of intangible points to get you over the top.
Carson Hocevar $7,200
”Hurricane” Carson Hocevar has one more shot to be the Cinderella story of 2025 and make the playoffs, and I’m telling you, this is the dark horse I’d ride.
He ran very well at Atlanta, getting top 10s in both races. He also finished sixth at Talladega. If he doesn’t cause a 38-car crash, he’s got the best shot to win this thing outside the big three teams of Joe Gibbs Racing, Hendrick Motorsports and Team Penske.
At the very least, he may well finish in the top 15, bringing you some solid points from 16th on the grid.
John Hunter Nemechek $6,200
This has been a huge regular season for the progeny of “Front Row” Joe Nemechek to be sure.
John Hunter Nemechek had a career high in top-10 finishes, had some really decent runs and he finished ninth in the Daytona 500.
In a race that literally anyone with a steering wheel has a shot to win, I’m rocking with JHN because he may get me a good bucket of points by simply surviving.
Prop Bets and Locks
- Kyle Busch +1400 to win: Last week, I did it for Dale and took the DraftKings special for Austin Dillon to win and I got a nice lump sum bump to my wallet. This weekend’s special has KFB grabbing the win. I don’t know how this one plays out, but he’s shown a pretty good amount of drafting track speed with Richard Childress Racing since signing there. I like this bet, and it low risk high reward, just the way I like it.
- Hocevar to win +2200: That win will come for Hocevar, but I don’t know if his Spire Motorsports team can handle the job of closing one out for him. I love the odds here, though, and crazier things have happened. Could this be the week? If it is, then you should take this wager and cash in while you can.
- Cody Ware +15000 to win: I saw a few posts on social media this week about how up in arms everyone would be if Ware stole a win here and got to race for a championship for the next 10 weeks. It is absolutely not going to happen, but even putting one dollar on this absolute bombshell of a bet would get you rich quick and have you laughing all the way to the bank. I won’t do it though, but man it’d be kind of fun to see it hit for somebody.
Garrett joined Frontstretch as a news writer in 2023, and became a fantasy racing and betting writer in 2024. Hailing from the heart of coal country in southern West Virginia, he's a married father of three and currently enrolled in the Physical Therapy Assistant Program at New River Community Technical College in Beaver, WV.
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