NASCAR DFS Picks – Pennzoil 400 Projections, Lineup & Strategy

• DraftKings is offering $100,000 to first place on a $20 entry for the Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway
• Kyle Larson headlines an expert lineup built around Hendrick Motorsports dominator upside and back-of-the-grid place differential
• Below, see our NASCAR DFS picks, projections, lineup, and strategy for the Pennzoil 400

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After four weeks of chaos, the NASCAR schedule finally hands us something familiar.

We’ve already seen superspeedway roulette at Daytona and Atlanta, short-track tire strategy at Phoenix, and the technical rhythm of a road course at COTA.

Now the Cup Series rolls into Las Vegas Motor Speedway for the Pennzoil 400, a 1.5-mile intermediate track where long-run speed, tire management, and clean air still decide most of the story.

Vegas features 20 degrees of banking in the corners and 267 laps scheduled, which means there are plenty of opportunities for drivers to stack laps led and fastest laps, the two categories that tend to decide NASCAR DFS contests.

Around NASCAR circles, the phrase “cookie cutter track” is usually delivered like an insult.

Around SpeedwaySteve2 headquarters, it feels more like a warm hug.

And with a $20 DraftKings contest paying $100,000 to first, there are worse reasons to spend Sunday afternoon staring at spreadsheets.

Joey Logano also happens to be carrying the Pennzoil logo on the hood, which feels like the kind of information conspiracy theorists enjoy.

One quick note before we get into the DFS strategy: when this column says “we,” it’s referring to the SpeedwaySteve2 model and analysis Steve and I use to handicap these races. The lawyers would like everyone to know we are not speaking on behalf of SportsBettingDime.

Pennzoil 400 Expert DFS Lineup and Projections

DraftKings salaries as of race week. Build your Pennzoil 400 NASCAR DFS lineup at the top daily fantasy sports sites before the green flag drops in Las Vegas.

Pennzoil 400 DFS Strategy: Hendrick Domination

The DFS model loves Hendrick Motorsports this weekend, and honestly…who wouldn’t?

The Hendrick cars went on sale a bit after a fairly average qualifying session, while the Toyotas grabbed the headlines by locking out the first two rows of the grid. That opens the door for our NASCAR DFS picks, and we’re more than happy to take advantage.

Toyota takes the top-two rows for Sunday. 💪 pic.twitter.com/h3w24EuznG

— NASCAR (@NASCAR) March 14, 2026

Dominator Play: Kyle Larson

We’ll start with Kyle Larson, who will be our primary dominator candidate. Larson rolls off fifth, which is about the perfect launching pad for DFS. It leaves room to move forward early while still offering the kind of clean-air upside that leads to fastest laps and laps led.

His Las Vegas metrics over the last six races are borderline ridiculous: 39.8 fastest laps per race, 94.7 laps led, a 5.4 average running position, and a 4.3 average finish. All of those rank first, and it isn’t particularly close. Larson also won Saturday’s Xfinity race and now gets the opportunity to complete the double dip at a track that has basically turned into his personal playground.

Hendrick Upside: Chase Elliott and Justin Allgaier

We’ll also lean into Chase Elliott, who starts 15th and provides the type of upward mobility we’re always looking for on intermediate tracks. Elliott’s long-run speed showed up in practice as well, where our model ranked his session third overall, reinforcing the idea that the No. 9 has the pace to move forward once the race settles in.

Vegas lights, victory sights!@KyleLarsonRacin wins at @LVMotorSpeedway. pic.twitter.com/NxFNPn9z6y

— NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts (@NASCAROReillyAP) March 15, 2026

We’ll round out the Hendrick exposure with Justin Allgaier, who steps into Alex Bowman’s No. 48 this weekend while Bowman recovers from vertigo. Allgaier already logged a full day of track time in Saturday’s Xfinity race, finishing fourth after winning the first two stages. He also impressed in practice, where our rankings placed him fourth overall, and starting 22nd in Hendrick equipment creates a very straightforward path to positive place differential if he keeps the car clean.

Place Differential Targets

The remainder of the lineup leans heavily into place-differential upside.

Kyle Busch posted the 10th-best practice session and rolls off 24th, giving him a very straightforward path to climb forward while piling up differential points. Josh Berry showed similar speed, ranking 12th in practice, and starting 32nd provides one of the most attractive place-differential profiles in the field if he simply moves toward the mid-pack.

Austin Cindric also graded out well in practice, tied with Busch for 10th-best, and starts 31st, creating another obvious differential opportunity in equipment that should have the pace to move forward throughout the race.

Final Thought on Pennzoil 400 DFS Strategy

Intermediate tracks reward structure, and this Pennzoil 400 lineup is built with a clear plan: let Larson chase dominator points up front while the rest of the roster quietly stacks place-differential value from the back half of the grid.

The Hendrick cars have the speed to justify the exposure, and the qualifying results created just enough value to make this build work within the salary cap. The green flag drops Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, so make sure your lineup is locked before the engines fire.

And if Larson wins the double…well, we’ll try to act surprised.

Want to bet the Pennzoil 400 outright? Browse the best betting sites for the latest NASCAR odds and futures.