Fresh off an unforgettable finish at Kansas Speedway (that saw your friendly neighborhood columnist get a nice little payday), the NASCAR Cup Series switches gears this week for its final road course race of 2025.
In a season where the series first visited Mexico City and once again raced at the Chicago Street Course, the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL is still the most unique one on the schedule. It has produced some aggressive racing over the years and is a mainstay on the playoff schedule.
Of course, Shane Van Gisbergen is a given for your roster this week. Outside of the race at Circuit of the Americas in March, SVG is head of the class. If you don’t have him? There are always a few guys that can get you plenty of points, but if you want the win, bank on the Kiwi.
Of course, this is a playoff cut-off race, so expect big gambles by those under the cut line. If you pick a driver below there, just know it’s a gamble. It might be one worth taking, though.
Fantasy/Betting Breakdown: 2025 Hollywood Casino 400
That’s right: Chase Elliott got me paid yet again. That makes the third time NASCAR’s most popular driver has gotten me a good wad of cash in 2025, the most of any of my picks this season.
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
Shane Van Gisbergen ($12,500)
SVG is to road course racing what Dale Earnhardt was to superspeedway racing. You know he’s going to be up front, you know he’s going to win one or both stages, and you know he’s going to qualify well.
What’s more, he’s coming off a top-10 finish at an oval.
He’s dangerous enough turning left and right, but he’s got momentum. The field is going be chasing the back of that No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro all day Sunday.
Chase Elliott ($9,500)
I’m going to start calling Elliott “Chase Moneymaker” because all the guy does is make me money.
After his thrilling win at Kansas, driver No. 9 has all his chips in the Round of 8 table, meaning that usually conservative crew chief Alan Gustafson will likely be willing to take some chances and race for the win. Plus, Elliott will likely get a big shot of confidence from that win.
Also, who doesn’t want to see the man once known as the road course king go toe to toe with the guy that’s been whipping the series all year at them?
Chris Buescher ($8,700)
I find it so hard to believe that Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing is winless this year.
I don’t think that’ll change Sunday, but Chris Buescher is far and away the best road course ace on that team.
That has certainly translated at the ROVAL, as he has posted a career average finish of 10th in the Next Gen era here. I look for him to bring it home right around there, with the best-case scenario being a top five.
Austin Cindric ($7,400)
The No. 2 team has pretty well struggled in the Round of 12, and is in a must-win situation. However, Austin Cindric has been known to run pretty well at road courses.
He was particularly good at them in the NASCAR Xfinity Series when he was a regular there, posting five career wins. He also finished fourth in this race last year.
I look for them to bring their best stuff to advance and fall short, placing in the top 15.
Bubba Wallace ($6,700)
Bubba Wallace must’ve been absolutely shocked, horrified and surprised when his 23XI team co-owner Hamlin drove it in deep on him in the final turn at Kansas last week, costing him the chance to advance to the Round of 8.
Now, he has to win the ROVAL, which this team knows is a tall task. However, Wallace has been steadily improving on this track type over the years, and they are my dark horse pick to win.
He’s finished in the top q0 here twice in the last three years, and they’ve proven they’re willing to take risks to win.
Riley Herbst ($5,100)
I’ve been watching a Tik Tok content creator who reviews paint schemes each week, and he’s fond of saying that “this is your weekly reminder that Herbst exists.”
Well let this be your reminder that not only does he exist, but he can help your fantasy unit this week.
He never finished outside the top five in his Xfinity career at the ROVAL, and outside of Mexico City, he’s been respectable at the others on the schedule. I look for a sneaky top 20 from him this week.
Prop Bets and Locks
- ROVAL Winners Parlay: This fun parlay calls for Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell and AJ Allmendinger, all former winners at this track, to finish in the top five. I think the outlier here is Larson, interestingly enough, and he’s been kind of streaky on the left and right turns as of late. The odds on this one are favorable at +1349, so it’s a fun, low-risk, high-reward situation.
- The Forty Five Special: Tyler Reddick +1200 to win — Can Reddick win Sunday? Yes. Will it be an insanely high mountain to climb? Also yes. But Reddick has shown in the past that this race plays to his strengths when his back is against the wall. After all, he’s had a heroic drive here before to advance to the next round in the playoffs. This is another example of a very strong low-risk bet.
- Wallace +8000 to win: Given his recent improvement on this track style, I’m genuinely shocked that the oddsmakers think he’s this much of a long shot. Like I mentioned earlier, he’s also finished in the top ten twice in his last three starts on this track. Just imagine if he pulls this off: it would be a comeback for the ages, and you could profit off of it.
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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