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After a thrilling race at Atlanta last week, resulting in victory for Christopher Bell, the NASCAR Cup Series will head to Circuit of the Americas for its first road course racing event of the year. It will be the fifth time the Cup Series will visit the famous road course down in Austin, Texas.
In previous years of NASCAR racing at COTA, the full course layout was used, but that will change for this year's race. The Cup Series will race on the new "National" course at COTA, which is one mile less and features three fewer overall corners. The lap count will also increase from 65 to 95 for the Cup race.
Below are my NASCAR DFS lineup picks for the Echopark Texas Grand Prix on DraftKings and FanDuel this week. This slate locks on 3/2/2025 at 3:47 p.m. EST. If you have further questions or want to discuss racing, you can find me on X at @SeanE247.
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Once you've read this article, be sure also to check out all of our other weekly NASCAR DFS articles to help you set your optimal DFS lineups. You should also check out our NASCAR DFS lineup tools for the ultimate combination of DFS resources to help you win big, including our Lineup Optimizer, DFS Cheat Sheet, Research Station, and more.
Shane Van Gisbergen
Starts 6th - DK: $9.8K, FD: $14K
For those who have watched road course races in NASCAR since 2023, Shane Van Gisbergen being listed as the first driver in this article should come as no surprise. SVG is a road course racing ace, having won at the Chicago Street Course in his Cup Series debut and winning three races last year in the Xfinity Series at road courses.
Van Gisbergen comes from a road racing background as a former Austrailian Supercar Series driver and has been a top performer at road courses in the Cup Series. Outside of races at Chicago, SVG has three top-10 finishes in four starts at the track type.
Last year's race at COTA was the only exception to that statistic, but that was because SVG exceeded track limits and was given a penalty on the race's final lap. The now Trackhouse Racing driver was initially set to earn a runner-up result.
Felt ok here today at COTA. @WeatherTech Camaro feels great and I think we should be competitive in the race tomorrow. Looking forward to it! pic.twitter.com/hT1wtaRvWE
— Shane van Gisbergen (@shanevg97) March 2, 2025
Considering how fast SVG was during practice this week, he will no doubt be one of the top favorites to compete for the win and should be one of the first drivers to add to DFS rosters for this week's race at COTA.
Christopher Bell
Starts 19th - DK: $9.2K, FD: $12.5K
Road course races generally feature lower lap counts than all other track types in the Cup Series. This means that fewer points are available for leading laps for DFS scoring purposes. As a result, tailoring DFS lineups for Place Differential will be crucial for this week's race.
Out of all the top-priced options, Christopher Bell easily presents the best pick for fantasy players who want to obtain positive PD. The No. 20 Toyota driver from Joe Gibbs Racing did obtain positive PD in two of his last three appearances at COTA.
Bell has been boom or bust at COTA in his Cup career, as he has two top-5 finishes in the last three races at the site. However, he did also fail to finish in two of the four races overall at the Texas road course due to accidents.
Atlanta winner Christopher Bell said the early win won't change his approach much as he heads into the first road-course race of the season at COTA. @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/nU6tgx4yA5
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) March 2, 2025
The biggest reason for using Bell outside of his upside is his incredible consistency at road courses. Bell currently has an active streak of eight consecutive top-15 finishes at road courses outside of Chicago, with six of those being top-10s. The No. 20 already displayed top-10 speeds during practice as well, making him one of the top DFS drivers to add for lineups this week.
Alex Bowman
Starts 21st - DK: $8.3K, FD: $9K
Hendrick Motorsports has arguably been the best overall team at COTA since the Cup Series first visited the road course in 2021. They are the only team with multiple wins at the site, winning in 2021 with Chase Elliott and last year with William Byron.
All four of their drivers present compelling cases to use them in DFS, with Elliott and Kyle Larson both showing race-winning speeds in practice, while Byron has enough upside from his starting position to be worth a roster spot while leading the most laps of all drivers at COTA in the past four years.
Alex Bowman, however, is the one driver from the team worth rostering the most, as he displayed speeds that are almost as fast as Elliott and Larson in practice while having even higher upside from his starting position than Byron. The cherry on top is that Bowman is the cheapest of the four Hendrick drivers by far.
.@Alex_Bowman and the #Ally48 team end the second practice session third in their group after focusing on race runs at @COTA. pic.twitter.com/f61ZU6n68k
— Ally Racing (@allyracing) March 1, 2025
If that was not enough to convince fantasy players that Bowman is one of the best choices for COTA, his past statistics point toward how this track is his best road course without a victory. Bowman is one of only three drivers in the field to place in the top 10 at every race at COTA in the Cup Series, with an average finish of 4.3.
Do not overlook the driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet this week and plug him into all DFS formats for this week's race at COTA.
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Austin Cindric
Starts 36th - DK: $8K, FD: $7.5K
Continuing the theme of drivers with massive upside, there is Team Penske's Austin Cindric. Cindric will start towards the rear of the field this week after having a poor qualifying showing for the first time in his Cup career at COTA.
Cindric's qualifying result is shocking, especially considering that he had one of the faster cars in practice and never started worse than 11th at the site previously. A Penske driver starting this deep in the field, however, should get plenty of attention for good reason, especially one as well-versed in road racing as Cindric.
The No. 2 Ford driver never placed worse than 25th and has two top-10 finishes in four starts at COTA. Considering the upside available this week, this call is a no-brainer. Roster Cindric in all formats.
Ryan Blaney
Starts 25th - DK: $7.8K, FD: $6.8K
During most weeks, Ryan Blaney is one of the top-priced options for DFS every week since he's one of the top favorites on most tracks. At COTA, however, we get the No. 12 Ford driver on a heavy discount, especially on FanDuel, as he's not considered one of the favorites to win.
That should not stop fantasy players from rostering Blaney into lineups this week, as he has been a strong DFS performer at COTA in recent years. Blaney may only have one top-10 finish at the Texas road course, but he did score major PD in the last two races at the site. In 2023, Blaney started 38th and finished 21st, while last year, he started 28th and finished 12th.
Blaney will start in the back half of the pack once again for 2025's race at COTA, offering highly favorable upside. The No. 12 car displayed speeds comparable to the top 10 fastest in practice, meaning he will move through the field and is worth adding to lineups this week.
Ryan Preece
Starts 28th - DK: $5.7K, FD: $3.5K
This pick may be a surprising one, but Ryan Preece is a driver who should be considered as one of the better value plays of the week. It is especially the case for Preece, who is now the teammate of one of the best road course drivers in the Cup Series at RFK Racing, Chris Buescher.
In three starts at COTA in the Cup Series, the driver of the No. 60 Ford's best finish is 15th, while he was driving for JTG Daugherty Racing in 2021. Preece also has two finishes with positive PD, including last year's race at COTA.
With Preece now driving for RFK Racing, he has better equipment than ever before, which should lead to better results compared to previous years at COTA. Combine that with his upside, and Preece is a driver worth rostering who can also save some cap flexibility.
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