FanDuel NASCAR DFS Picks for the Grant Park 165 in Chicago

If you are looking for an action-packed way to consume sports on the weekend, NASCAR may be a great avenue to explore. Far from just driving in circles, some of the world's best compete nearly every weekend from February to November on tracks across America.

NASCAR drivers are scored ultimately based on how they finish in the race, how many spots they advance from their starting position, and how many laps they finish and lead. Avoiding drivers who crash out of the race is a must, though!

FanDuel Research is always your home for fantasy NASCAR advice. In addition to this helper, Jim Sannes has put forth his Grant Park 165 best bets earlier this week.

With all of this in mind, let's preview this weekend's Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course from the perspective of playing daily fantasy NASCAR on FanDuel.

Best NASCAR DFS Plays for the Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course

Potential Lap-Leaders

Shane Van Gisbergen ($14,000)

Things are starting to look grim for the rest of the field in "The Windy City" this weekend. Shane Van Gisbergen won the inaugural street course race here in 2023 to springboard a NASCAR career, and he was almost half a second faster than anyone else in qualifying on Saturday.

TNT's Dale Earnhardt Jr. said in Mexico City, where SVG also just won on a road course, that Van Gisbergen's ability to manage the clutch is one-of-a-kind, and he should win most road course races where the car and strategy cooperate.

There's a reason he's a ridiculous +135 favorite to win Sunday's race, per FanDuel's NASCAR odds.

Ty Gibbs ($12,500)

Ty Gibbs was the closest to Van Gisbergen in Mexico, and he's apparently one of the top contenders this weekend.

Gibbs was second on the 5-lap and 10-lap average charts in practice, and he led 17 laps before a third-place finish in last year's running. The youthful Joe Gibbs Racing driver has two key sources of motivation this weekend, seeking his first Cup Series win and looking to advance toward a realistic chance to win NASCAR's In-Season Tournament.

Starting ninth, Gibbs has a bit of place-differential upside if he can work his way to the podium in this event.

Mid-Range Threats

Chase Elliott ($11,500)

Teammates Chase Elliott and William Byron ($11,000) had nearly identical Saturdays at the course.

Both posted top-three single-lap speeds in practice before driver errors results in damage to the car and an inability to qualify. Setting the grid on points, Byron will roll off 38th, and Elliott (39th) will be close behind.

I trust Chase's long-term form at road courses quite a bit more. Elliott finished 3rd here in 2023 before a mistake led to a 21st-place effort last season. It's worth mentioning that both of NASCAR's trips to these streets have been mired by rain, so we may not have seen the best the seven-time road course winner has to offer in "normal" conditions.

Elliott has tapered off at left-and-right-handers a bit in the past few seasons but still has recorded four top-five finishes in his last six tries.

A.J. Allmendinger ($10,000)

California's A.J. Allmendinger is arguably NASCAR's most notable road course ringer as a whole in the 2020s, recording three career wins on these layouts.

Allmendinger battles Gibbs in what seems to be the most competitive In-Season Tournament matchup this weekend, and he definitely can win it. Dinger just hasn't shown the same speed in practice with the 17th-best time on a single-lap basis, and he was 18th over a 5-lap average.

This is a challenging mid-range tier where a lot of "other" contenders, like Chris Buescher ($9,500) and Michael McDowell ($9,000), are starting in the top eight. If SVG dominates Sunday's race, they don't have many fantasy points to score beyond a good finish.

From 16th on the grid, Allmendinger can pass his way into the top 10.

Others to Consider

• William Byron ($11,000)
• Chris Buescher ($9,500)
• Michael McDowell ($9,000)

Value Plays

Will Brown ($7,500)

A former Australian Supercars ace hops in his first start at the Chicago Street Course and shows his talents to win. It happened once here with Van Gisbergen; can Will Brown do it again?

Brown was a sporty 12th in Saturday's practice session, tumbling a bit (23rd) over a 5-lap average. His practice session was a bit chaotic with incidents, so I don't want to chalk that up as fact when he should, in theory, improve with the rhythm of a run from his background.

Running a third, part-time entry as a teammate to Allmendinger for Kaulig Racing, there is some risk that his equipment and/or crew aren't up to snuff. However, starting 19th, I think he's got potential to finish in the top 10 for a team that does generally excel on these sorts of layouts.

Bubba Wallace ($4,500)

This looked like a breakout weekend for Bubba Wallace until time trials.

Wallace has just 3 career top-10 finishes in 34 starts on road courses, and most of those came in races with a high incident rate. However, on speed, Wallace topped the single-lap charts in practice with solid rankings in the 5-lap (4th) and 10-lap (3rd) average times, too.

Then, Wallace backed it into the barrier in qualifying, but he wasn't alone. At least eight known cars hit the fence at some point on Saturday.

Heavy attrition rates in both Chicago races to this point -- and seemingly trending for a third -- is why Wallace's starting spot (37th) is pretty valuable with his fast car. He might crash again, but any driver in the field could. I couldn't blame anyone for taking a "stack the back" approach behind Van Gisbergen with such mayhem potentially on deck.

Others to Consider

• Daniel Suarez ($8,000)
• Austin Cindric ($6,800)
• Denny Hamlin ($6,500)
• Erik Jones ($3,500)

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.