The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Daytona International Speedway this weekend for the 2026 Coke Zero Sugar 400, the final race of the regular season and one of the most unpredictable events on the schedule. This DraftKings lineup takes a balanced approach, combining three high-upside drivers with three mid-range options who can provide value in a superspeedway race where survival is often just as important as raw speed.
The lineup features Joey Logano, William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, Daniel Suárez, and Zane Smith, using the entire $50,000 salary cap. Daytona’s 2.5-mile superspeedway will host 160 laps, or 400 miles, under the lights Saturday night. The race also determines the final Chase field, adding even more pressure to an already chaotic event. (RG)
Here’s a breakdown of the six DraftKings selections and the strategy behind the lineup.
Joey Logano — $10,000
Joey Logano is an excellent anchor for this Daytona DFS lineup.
The Team Penske driver has a strong superspeedway résumé and finished third in the 2026 Daytona 500. He has also recorded three top-five finishes in his last seven Daytona races, although his results at the track have occasionally been boom-or-bust. (DraftKings Network)
That volatility actually makes Logano interesting for tournaments. At $10,000, he isn’t priced like the most expensive driver on the slate, but he has legitimate race-winning potential.
Logano can score through finishing position, place differential, laps led, and fastest laps. If Penske produces another strong Daytona package and Logano finds himself at the front during the closing laps, he has the ceiling necessary to anchor a winning DFS lineup.
William Byron — $10,400
William Byron is the most expensive driver in this lineup and brings significant upside to the roster.
Byron has been one of the strongest Daytona drivers in the Next Gen era, winning both the 2024 and 2025 Daytona 500s. That recent history makes him one of the most intriguing drivers on the board despite the inherent unpredictability of superspeedway racing. (DraftKings Network)
The biggest question with Byron is his starting position. Place differential can be extremely important at Daytona, so DFS players should always compare where drivers start with their expected finishing position before locking in a lineup.
Still, Byron’s proven ability to win at Daytona gives him enormous tournament upside. If he reaches the front and avoids the inevitable late-race chaos, he could easily become one of the highest-scoring drivers on the slate.
Denny Hamlin — $9,100
Denny Hamlin provides a significant discount compared with the top-priced drivers.
At $9,100, Hamlin has the kind of price that can make a lineup construction work without sacrificing too much upside. He is also one of the most experienced superspeedway racers in the field.
The key with Hamlin is that he doesn’t necessarily need to dominate the entire race. A strong finish combined with place-differential points can make him an excellent value at this salary.
For this lineup, Hamlin is essentially the bridge between the premium selections and the lower-priced drivers. If he finishes inside the top five or top 10, he can provide the type of score that keeps the lineup competitive without requiring him to win.
Ty Gibbs — $7,900
Ty Gibbs is one of the more intriguing mid-range selections in the lineup.
At $7,900, Gibbs offers enough salary relief to fit three strong drivers while still retaining legitimate upside. Daytona is also the type of track where a younger driver can outperform expectations because drafting, positioning, and avoiding trouble can matter more than traditional track-specific statistics.
The biggest concern with any superspeedway play is simply surviving.
Gibbs needs to avoid getting caught in one of the major incidents and remain in contention for the closing stages. If he can accomplish that, a top-15 or top-10 finish could provide excellent value at this salary.
Daniel Suárez — $6,700
Daniel Suárez is one of the most appealing value plays on this roster.
DraftKings pricing gives players a chance to roster Suárez for just $6,700, and his superspeedway record makes that price particularly interesting. DraftKings’ own preseason slate analysis highlighted Suárez’s strong top-15 rate across Gen-7 superspeedway races. (DraftKings Network)
Suárez doesn’t need to win for this pick to work. A clean race, solid finishing position, and some place-differential production could make him one of the better point-per-dollar plays.
At Daytona, avoiding trouble is an asset in itself. If several more expensive drivers get eliminated in an accident while Suárez continues moving forward, his value could increase dramatically.
Zane Smith — $5,900
Zane Smith is the salary-saving play that helps make the entire lineup possible.
At $5,900, Smith doesn’t need to produce a spectacular performance to justify his salary. He simply needs to finish substantially better than his DFS expectations.
Interestingly, Smith has been identified as a potential dark-horse DFS option for this year’s Coke Zero Sugar 400. DraftKings’ rankings also point to his Daytona results, noting a 67% top-15 finish rate at the track across six races. (RotoWire)
That makes Smith particularly attractive as a tournament value. If he can stay out of trouble and reach the top 15, he could provide a huge return on investment.
Overall DraftKings Strategy for Daytona
The most important thing to remember this week is that Daytona is not a normal NASCAR DFS race.
Traditional track statistics matter less than they do at intermediate tracks or short tracks. DraftKings players need to prioritize starting position, place differential, manufacturer and team strength, superspeedway history, and—perhaps most importantly—the ability to survive.
One popular strategy this week is to target drivers starting deeper in the field because they have more room to gain place-differential points. However, that doesn’t mean every driver starting near the front should automatically be avoided. Ryan Blaney, for example, is being highlighted as a contrarian option because his front-row starting position could create significant laps-led upside. (DraftKings Network)
This lineup takes a somewhat different approach. Byron and Logano provide the race-winning ceiling, Hamlin supplies veteran experience, while Gibbs, Suárez, and Smith provide salary efficiency.
The final piece of advice is to monitor qualifying and starting positions before locking in the lineup. With 41 cars entered and only 40 spots available, the final starting field can also affect value considerably. (Official Site Of NASCAR)
For tournaments, embracing some volatility is necessary. Daytona is capable of producing a completely different finishing order from what pre-race projections suggest. The ideal DraftKings lineup is one that combines potential dominators with drivers capable of gaining positions and surviving the chaos.
This lineup follows that formula with Logano, Byron, and Hamlin providing the ceiling, while Gibbs, Suárez, and Smith offer the value needed to make the roster competitive. At Daytona, staying out of the “Big One” could ultimately be the most important fantasy stat of all.