Pearce Dietrich gives his picks and ranks his top drivers for Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series USA Today 301 at New Hampshire.

The NASCAR season is revving up and DraftKings is shifting into high gear with an assortment of fantasy NASCAR contests. Dive into the best fantasy racing picks for the NASCAR Cup Series USA Today 301 at New Hampshire.

For NASCAR insight and quick DFS help, follow Pearce Dietrich (@Race4thePrize) on Twitter.

Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NAS $150K New Hampshire Drive [$50K to 1st] (Cup)

Fantasy NASCAR Driver Rankings: USA Today 301 at New Hampshire

1. Christopher Bell ($11,200) — He is the Lobster King. Bell won the 2024 and 2022 races at New Hampshire and was the runner-up in 2021. All four of his Xfinity Series starts at Loudon resulted in wins.

2. Ryan Blaney ($10,500) — A fourth consecutive NASCAR Cup Series championship for Team Penske looks like a real possibility. Blaney has earned a top-10 finish in eight of the last nine races.

3. Denny Hamlin ($11,000) — New Hampshire is a race Hamlin doesn’t mind losing. His struggles on the wet track during stage three of the 2024 race weren’t the worst thing. Winning would have been. Hamlin has ostraconophobia — he fears lobsters, which happen to be the race trophy.

4. Chase Briscoe ($10,700) — His runner-up finish at New Hampshire last year was inflated. The dirt racer benefited from the wet track. This season, he benefits from driving the No. 19 JGR Toyota — a car Martin Truex Jr. always had dialed in on the New England flat track.

5. Kyle Larson ($10,200) — The 2024 New Hampshire race was not a typical cruise around the one-mile flat track in Loudon. Weather forced the use of wet-weather tires, turning it into a slick oval. Dirt trackers had a major advantage, according to Larson.

6. Bubba Wallace ($8,500) — The 2024 New Hampshire race didn’t work out for many drivers. In 2023, Wallace finished eighth, and in 2022 he earned a podium. Over the last eight races in 2025, Wallace has six top-10 finishes.

7. Tyler Reddick ($8,700) — After Reddick’s runner-up run at Darlington, he faded in the final two races of the first round. His turnaround didn’t last long. The No. 45 23XI Toyota returned to the disappointing form that made his regular season forgettable.

8. William Byron ($9,500) — The strong starter suffered his seasonal slump in the summer. The diverse tracks do not play into Byron’s wheelhouse. The playoffs suit him better, but that doesn’t always matter. Byron’s slumps aren’t skill-related — they’re simply bad luck. He’s always a top-10 rated driver, but he often struggles to finish where he should.

9. Brad Keselowski ($7,600) — Forget the 2024 New Hampshire race, or at least give it less weight in projections. Before the wet and wild event, Keselowski had five consecutive top-10 finishes. In his last 20 New Hampshire starts, he has 15 top-10 finishes and two wins.

10. Chris Buescher ($7,700) — Had Buescher qualified for the playoffs, RFK would have poured all of their resources into his car. He didn’t, so the team remains spread across three rides. Buescher doesn’t have the extra speed necessary to win. He finished 10th, 9th, and 11th in the three Round One playoff races.

11. Chase Elliott ($9,200) — Nothing has changed for Elliott. He’s not dominant, he’s just good. His current run feels like Matt Kenseth’s winless championship season that altered the arc of NASCAR. A top-10 finish on Sunday seems likely, but a win does not. At this price, DFS requires dominance.

12. Joey Logano ($10,000) — Pit strategy shuffled Logano from third to 12th to begin the final stage of last year’s New Hampshire race. Running in the pack, he got wrecked early in stage three. In the four races prior, Logano earned three top-5 finishes.

13. Ross Chastain ($8,300) — His championship hopes are alive, but barely. Chastain has just one top-10 finish in the last 10 races (10th at Watkins Glen). He isn’t scoring finishing-position points, let alone fastest-lap or laps-led points.

14. John H. Nemechek ($6,200) — Front Row Joe’s son has never been given the “nepobaby” treatment. JHN earned his place, grinding his way to the top of the Truck and Xfinity Series. After a rough 2024 debut with Legacy Motor Club, Nemechek is developing into a playoff-caliber driver. He’s heating up and could get hotter — he earned a top-10 at New Hampshire last season.

15. Michael McDowell ($5,900) — This is a cheap salary for a top-15 driver. McDowell has settled in with his new team. With his former team, he finished inside the top 15 at New Hampshire in both 2023 and 2024.