2026 Daytona 500 DFS Picks: FanDuel Value Plays & Sleepers to Build Your Lineup

• The 2026 Daytona 500 FanDuel DFS slate rewards drivers starting deep in the field
• Chris Buescher ($9,500) starts dead last with a 50% career top-10 rate at Daytona
• See below for our top Daytona 500 DFS value picks and sleepers on FanDuel

The Daytona 500 is one of the best DFS slates of the NASCAR season. Cars run in a tight pack at nearly 200 mph, which means any driver can end up at the front or caught up in a wreck at any moment.

That chaos is what makes fantasy scoring at Daytona all about place differential — how many spots a driver gains from where they started. A guy who starts 39th and finishes 10th will outscore the race winner who started on the front row.

This year’s slate is especially interesting because several big-name contenders are starting near the back after Duel race incidents. The green flag drops at 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX.

2026 Daytona 500 FanDuel DFS Salaries

Take one look at this slate, and the story jumps out. Byron at 39th, Cindric at 36th, Buescher at 41st, and Chastain at 37th are all expensive drivers starting near the back. That means huge place differential upside with protected floors.

A driver starting dead last can wreck on lap one and still sit around zero fantasy points. A front-runner who gets caught up from the top five? That can cost you 30-40 points. The math strongly favors the back of the grid.

*FanDuel DFS salaries as of Feb. 14, 2026. Lock in your lineups at the best DFS sites and apps before the green flag.

Daytona 500 FanDuel DFS Value Picks

Chris Buescher ($9,500) – Starting 41st

Buescher is my favorite play on this entire slate. Starting dead last at $9,500, there is no downside. He can only gain positions, and his Daytona track record says he will.

The RFK Ford has one win, five top-5s, and 10 top-10 finishes in 20 career starts at Daytona. That’s a 50% career top-10 rate at one of the most chaotic tracks on the schedule. He enters the 500 on a three-race Daytona top-10 streak after logging 10th and seventh-place finishes here last season.

Buescher will be the most popular play on the board, so if you’re running multiple tournament lineups, don’t put him in all of them. But in a single-entry or cash game, he’s about as close to a must-play as you’ll find at Daytona.

Erik Jones ($5,200) – Starting 26th

Jones flies under the radar every week, and that’s exactly why he’s so useful in DFS. The Legacy Motor Club veteran has finished in the top 20 in all five of his Daytona starts over the past two-plus seasons. That includes a fifth-place run from the 26th starting spot last fall.

He’s a former Daytona winner (2018), posts a 28% top-10 rate at the track, and has four top-10 finishes in his last five Duel races. Jones also carries a 44% top-10 rate at Talladega, which confirms his superspeedway ability is the real deal.

At $5,200, he frees up serious salary to pair with a premium name like Byron or Cindric while still giving your lineup a high floor.

AJ Allmendinger ($4,500) – Starting 35th

The Dinger is a Daytona DFS cheat code. In two of the last three Daytona 500s, he posted the second-highest fantasy score of the entire field. He scored 67.65 DK points in the 2023 running and 64.85 in 2025.

When he starts deep, he delivers. He started 28th and finished sixth in 2024. Started 29th and finished sixth in 2023. The one year he started toward the front (13th in 2025), he finished 41st. Starting 35th Sunday puts him right back in his sweet spot.

At $4,500, he’s one of the cheapest options on the slate with a real track record of top finishes from deep starting positions. One thing to keep an eye on: Allmendinger had his hand checked out after a Duel race incident and has a wrap on it. It shouldn’t be a major issue, but worth monitoring before you lock lineups.

Cody Ware ($3,500) – Starting 40th

If you’re building more than one lineup for a tournament, Ware needs to be in the mix. He’s the type of low-cost play that can separate a winning entry from the rest of the field.

His last six Daytona finishes: 20th, 25th, 4th, 14th, 6th, and 17th. That’s two top-10s in six starts from a $3,500 driver starting 40th. The floor is basically zero, and the ceiling is a top-five finish.

His team moved to Chevy with an RCR alliance this year, which should mean better speed and better drafting partners. At this price, you don’t need him to win the race. You just need him to survive and pick up 15-20 spots, and he’s done exactly that multiple times at Daytona.

Building Your Daytona 500 Lineup

You don’t need to spend your full salary at Daytona. Winning lineups here often leave significant money on the table, and that’s fine. Load up on drivers starting 25th or deeper, add one premium name like William Byron ($13,000 from 39th) or Austin Cindric ($12,500 from 36th) as your anchor, and fill around them with place differential plays.

Avoid stacking too many front-row starters. Logano ($14,000, 3rd), Blaney ($13,500, 5th), and Elliott ($12,000, 4th) are talented but expensive with capped ceilings and real risk of a negative score. One is fine as a dominator play. Two or three is a fast way to sink a lineup.

For a full expert lineup with projected finishes and a deeper breakdown on manufacturer correlation and cash vs. tournament construction, check out our Daytona 500 DFS strategy and expert lineup picks.

How to Watch the 2026 Daytona 500

The 2026 Daytona 500 airs live on FOX this Sunday, February 15, at 2:30 p.m. ET from Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL. Expect 77-degree temperatures with cloud cover and a rising rain chance after 7:00 p.m. ET.