Shane Van Gisbergen Must Add Pick in NASCAR DFS Lineups for Circuit of the Americas
The goal with mere hours before the start of the DuraMAX Texas Grand Prix powered by RelaDyne is to attempt and maximize DFS point opportunities. Sunday represents a departure as we head to a road course. The first two races were drafting tracks on superspeedways.
With Tyler Reddick gaining the pole for the event, he is on the way to history, right? Maybe. Anyway, there are some obvious targets here for the masses. Some are expensive and chalky but qualifying may have helped some things along. DraftKings concentrates on place differential along with fastest laps, and laps led.
If Shane Van Gisbergen gets on a roll like he did, yesterday, then one has to pay up immensely. Let's look below.
Shane Van Gisbergen -- ($13,000 DK, $15,000 FD)
Shane Van Gisbergen proved he can win at COTA. It was an emphatic victory and he starts 13th for the NASCAR race on Sunday. FanDuel also focuses on place differential but laps completed are included in scoring. That makes less difference on a road course. The race at COTA is only scheduled for 95 laps by the way.
Remember that Shane Van Gisbergen showed something yesterday. COTA is a little different compared to some of the other road courses. That nuance and ability to adapt helped immensely, The level in competition ramps up but the speed late in runs was clear.
As much as some want to hop on Connor Zilisch, there is more risk after yesterday's race. The idea of keeping options open is interesting.
Tyler Reddick -- ($9,500 DK, $11,500 FD)
The place differential risk is high here. However, let's roll the bones one more time. He was my pick for Atlanta and unbelievably it paid off. Tyler Reddick again has an average position finish of 4.6 at COTA. If things pan out, that is not much of a point drop for places and hopefully the laps led more than offset the loss.
Some storylines to watch today at COTA:
— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) March 1, 2026
-- Tyler Reddick trying to become the first driver in history to open the season with three straight wins. He starts from the pole.
-- Shane van Gisbergen looking to tie Jeff Gordon for most consecutive Cup Series road course wins (six)…
The feeling is one of the first two storylines play out. Road racing is a little different and passing at COTA just does not occur quite as often. It is more about pit strategy and getting the car right to run long and hard. Kyle Larson and potentially Chris Buescher are road race drivers who might be on the radar given their qualifying in the mid teens.
Kyle Busch -- ($8,000 DK, $7,800 FD)
Everyone wonders when Kyle Busch will win a race. That low FanDuel price is intriguing. Qualifying 30th for COTA makes things more challenging. However, Busch can drive on road courses and his 5.3 average finish the last three years is no fluke in Texas. Two Top 5 results and one Top 10 are on the portfolio here.
Busch is coming in very low on radars after the single digit point flop at Atlanta last week. Honestly, most would bypass him entirely even here. Then again, taking the plunge here might not be a bad idea. Again, his late-run ability to squeeze out extra speed could prove profitable during the final stage.
Finally There Are Our Lineup Combination Recommends
For DraftKings, get a combination of Buescher, Larson, and Van Gisbergen. The three only cost $30,500. That makes finding value of paramount importance for the other three drivers. Drivers like Bubba Wallace, Brad Keselowski, and Daniel Suarez are there.
After that, maybe looking into a Noah Gragson could work as he only qualified 35th. Front Row has always been pretty good on road courses.
FanDuel is a little different normally but with less laps here, I would consider running about the same combination. Good luck and enjoy the race!
