NASCAR DFS Picks – Cook Out 400 Projections, Lineup & Strategy
By Phil Bobbitt in Racing
Published:
- DraftKings is offering $100,000 to first place on a $20 entry for the Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway
- Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney headline a double-dominator build with elite laps led and fastest lap projections
- Below, see our NASCAR DFS picks, projections, lineup, and strategy for the Cook Out 400
There’s a $20 contest on DraftKings this weekend with $100,000 to first.
That can buy a lot of hotdogs.
Like…a concerning amount of hotdogs.
The kind of money where you stop asking questions like “should I do this?” and start asking “how many can I physically carry?”
Cook Out 400 Expert DFS Lineup and Projections
DraftKings salaries as of race week. Build your Cook Out 400 NASCAR DFS lineup at the best daily fantasy sports apps before the green flag drops at Martinsville.
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Here’s something you may not know.
We rebuilt the patented SpeedwaySteve2 algorithm this week.
We’ve added some shiny new toys like projected fastest laps, laps led, z-scores, and starting position weights…all the things that make DFS players feel smart…and spreadsheets feel overworked.
We did this because we are now writing DFS content for the fine folks at SportsBettingDime, which means we needed actual, legitimate data to support our nonsense.
The mainstays at SpeedwaySteve2 headquarters were…less than thrilled.
There were grumbles. There were sighs.
There were multiple 72-hour work sessions that may or may not qualify as human rights violations.
Hopefully it helps you, dear reader…because we are rapidly running out of friends.
Cook Out 400 DFS Projections and Strategy
Anytime you can jam both Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney into a Martinsville lineup…you just do it.
No questions and no hesitation.
These two ranked 1a and 1b in our gambling model, and…shocking development…they also come in first and second in projected DFS points.
Hamlin starts on the pole and leads the slate with 60.0 projected laps led. Blaney is right behind at 39.5.
Flip it over to fastest laps, and Blaney takes the crown at 49.6, with Hamlin still elite at 45.9.
Both project to finish inside the top five and both should dominate large chunks of this race.
Will it be enough?
Absolutely not.
That’s why we get four more drivers. Math.
NASCAR DFS Picks: Mid-Field Value
Bubba Wallace and Chase Briscoe slot in as mid-tier plays with legitimate upside.
Wallace projects for 22 laps led and 21 fastest laps, which is exactly the kind of quiet dominator potential you need to win a GPP while everyone else is arguing about ownership percentages.
Briscoe rolls off 27th with a top-10 projection, which means place-differential upside and a path to being the guy everyone wishes they clicked.
Also worth noting: the Toyotas tend to find something extra at Martinsville.
We’re not asking questions. We’re just benefiting from it.
The Back Marker Blues
This is the part nobody enjoys.
This is where dreams go to die.
But you need salary relief, and that means embracing the uncomfortable.
Todd Gilliland checks in with a projection to gain 10+ positions, which in DFS terms translates to “we will absolutely convince ourselves this is sharp.”
And then there’s Ty Dillon. Look…he’s starting 36th. That’s the entire analysis.
There is no downside.
There is only survival.
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Final Thought on Cook Out 400 DFS Strategy
This Cook Out 400 lineup is built around two dominators up front, mid-field value that can quietly pile up points, and back markers who just need to survive and move forward. The green flag drops Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
And if it all works out, we’re buying hotdogs for everyone.
Want to bet the Cook Out 400 outright? Check out the best betting sites for the latest NASCAR odds and futures.
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Phil Bobbitt is a motorsports betting analyst and recurring guest on CBS Sports HQ, The Early Edge, and VSiN’s A Numbers Game. He and his pal Steve developed a racing algorithm that’s profited over 260 units and $1 million in DFS winnings since 2020.
