Cole Custer and Jimmie Johnson Big Bargain Basement DFS Picks for Daytona 500
With the war of attrition very real at Daytona, finding basement bargains for NASCAR DFS is truly a choose your own adventure like experience. If anyone wants to argue with this fact, be my guest! The goal here is to see how low can we go for Sunday's Daytona 500.
Let us go down the rabbit hole and try to find those drivers who may survive until the finish line on Sunday evening. One can only hope here for obvious reasons.
Cole Custer - Haas Factory Team ($5,500 DraftKings, $4,200 FanDuel)
If Cole Custer can avoid damage at the end, he might just be okay. Custer qualified reasonably well for the Daytona 500 at 23rd. He is not too far back and might be able to sneak in some points come the end of Stage 1 and Stage 2.
Besides that, Custer probably regrets going three wide last year on the final lap. He likely would have finished inside the Top 5 or maybe even on the podium as they say. The Haas had some solid late drafting push and speed.
The key boils down to can Custer get in position towards the end. Quite a few things err incidents need to happen but it is possible. When one looks at how Chase Elliott won smartly in duel number two, Custer could learn a thing or two here.
Daytona always produces surprises and Custer could provide another one on Sunday.
Jimmie Johnson - Legacy Motor Club ($5,800 DraftKings, $4,000 FanDuel)
So, Jimmie Johnson played it safe during the second Duel race kind of as expected. Several drivers employed the same strategy as Duel 2 was noticeably more quiet compared to Duel 1. Johnson shocked everyone when he slid up to third at the end of the Daytona 500 last year. He got helped by that late wreck which claimed Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe.
However, Daytona is all about surviving when you are in the back of the field. Again, Johnson will start 31st this year which puts point differerntial in play.
The 42 makes a fuel only stop as the caution comes out. Jimmie Johnson locks up the brakes avoiding the wreck but flat spots his tires. https://t.co/CxYnGNQc0W
— LEGACY MOTOR CLUB (@LEGACYMotorClub) February 13, 2026
Johnson must avoid calamity and mishaps to be in position at the end. By not wrecking his car, he was able to take the provisional and ultimately will race Sunday. With that, he could be worth at least a look given the likely amount of cautions.
Riley Herbst - 23XI Racing ($4,900 DraftKings, $3,800 FanDuel)
With dollars becoming scarce in DFS depending on your dominator stackup, it gets harder and harder to find cheap drivers in a decent position. Riley Herbst starts 28th and has a chance to stay out of the fray and get to the end. Surviving usually means place differential heading in the positive direction.
People may not remember that Herbst was inside the Top 10 at the end of last year's race before Corey LaJoie forgot how to drive for a second. Herbst may an incredible save and was able to stay in the Top 20 (17th). It is that ability which has us encouraged.
Herbst can get up there and hopefully avoid the bad luck. At his cost, Herbst can help DFS roster makers stack another dominator or two into their lineups. Heck, they might even gain some points unexpectedly this time around.
