By admin 
After Christopher Bell finally broke his season-long seal in NASCAR’s playoff opener at Darlington, we’ll head to another short track this weekend.
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World Wide Technology Raceway, located near the Gateway Arch in Madison, Illinois, is a 1.25-mile completely flat oval with asymmetrical turns. It makes handling an incredible challenge.
In DFS, this is a 300-lap race that is perhaps the most difficult passing challenge on the entire circuit — especially in this Next Gen car. The top lap leader in each of the last five trips to Gateway has averaged 85.5 laps led across four Cup races here.
The green flag for Saturday’s race is expected at 2:10 p.m. EST on USA Network.
Every week, DraftKings Daily Fantasy has NASCAR contests for all three of the top touring series. Here are my favorite picks for Saturday’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at World Wide Technology Raceway near St. Louis.
Gateway DraftKings NASCAR DFS Studs to Target
Denny Hamlin ($10,500)
The next driver is projected to lead quite a bit of Sunday’s race, so I probably won’t be in this $10,000+ range often outside of him. My numbers say Denny Hamlin should be an exception.
Hamlin is second in blended speed among similar tracks with the second-best median laps at Phoenix (2nd) and North Wilkersboro (2nd). But, his most recent effort at New Hampshire (9th) wasn’t very sexy.
It does help his case that he won and led 75 laps in this aero package a year ago, though.
He returns to @WWTRaceway as defending winner and points leader.
Another victory would be huge for @dennyhamlin’s championship chances. pic.twitter.com/TdD1GHaSo4
– NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 12, 2026
Joey Logano ($10,200)
You just don’t see pole speeds nearly three tenths of a second faster in this era. Joey Logano has a hot rod.
That’s not really surprising to me. He dominate the field at North Wilkesboro with the best median lap, and he was second at Phoenix. His ranking at New Hampshire (16th) probably had to do with his crash damage considering his teammate, Ryan Blaney, won the race.
Logano is a former Gateway winner from 2022. He’ll easily be the most popular driver, but a contrarian strategy could pay off if he gets shuffled via strategy at any point. Lineups without him can work in tournaments.
Gateway DraftKings NASCAR DFS Mid Tier Picks
Ty Gibbs ($9,200)
Dude, is DraftKings going to fix Ty Gibbs‘ salary?
Gibbs was bizzarely in this range last week and finished 2nd from the 28th starting spot. He’s a top-five car on most oval configurations — but especially short flats. He’s third in my blended speed rankings behind Blaney and Hamlin, and this algorithm doesn’t even count short track wins at Bristol and Iowa.
Gibbs has an 11th and 10th in the last two years at this track, and he’s never had a stronger season in Cup. Now is the time to buy.
Austin Cindric ($8,200)
I think Tyler Reddick and William Byron are better darts in this tier, but they’re also in the $9,000s like Gibbs. Austin Cindric is the stop in the $8,000s.
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Cindric won the 2024 race at Gateway after his teammate, Blaney, ran out of fuel. Don’t discount that happening today with how tight crew chiefs will manage fuel to save track position.
Ain’t over till it’s over. Repost to congratulate Austin Cindric on his NASCAR Cup Series WIN at WWT Raceway! pic.twitter.com/7J9siexm9b
– FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) June 2, 2024
He’s 11th in my blended speed rankings, which is weighed down a touch by a crash at the least relevant track in the sample, Nashville (32nd).
A fast Penske Ford with a former track winner will certainly work.
Coke Zero 400 at Daytona DraftKings NASCAR DFS Budget Plays
Bubba Wallace ($7,700)
A value salary for Bubba Wallace is crazy. He’s among the favorites to win today’s race.
I’ve got him 5th in my blended speed rankings, including top-10 efforts at Phoenix (10th), North Wikesboro (8th), and New Hampshire (4th), where he slid one tire or probably topped Ryan Blaney a few weeks ago.
I really don’t think he’ll be popular from 7th starting spot, but Wallace leading 80 laps and winning would not be a surprise to anyone after a strong, consistent summer at all track types.
Shane Van Gisbergen ($6,200)
I’m trusting “SVG”, which is normally not a good thing at ovals. I, personally, can’t seem to get the play or fade correct.
Van Gisbergen nearly made “The Chase” because of his improvements on ovals this year, and it was particularly these short, flat ones that have corners which drive similarly to that of ones you’ll see on road courses.
The Trackhouse driver had a top-15 median lap at Nashville (7th), North Wilkesboro (3rd), and New Hampshire (14th). That’s just elite speed.
I’ve tried to erase more practice data from my process, but I’m chalking his starting spot (35th) up to a mistake in qualifying. He had top-15 speed on a 10-lap and 20-lap average in practice.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/onsi/fantasy as Fantasy NASCAR DFS Picks on DraftKings for the Enjoy Illinois 300 at St. Louis.
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This story was originally published September 13, 2026 at 8:56 AM.