Tips for 2023 NASCAR Fantasy Live

With the Busch Light Clash less than one month away, the NASCAR world is begging to roar once again.

The offseason is nearly complete, and soon we will have 38 weeks of Cup Series racing. NASCAR Fantasy Live returns for another season, so let’s look at 10 helpful – hopefully – tips for you to set your teams entering 2023.

Use drivers sparingly

For the 26 regular season races, fantasy players can get up to 10 uses out of each driver. Don’t overload your lineups at the beginning of the season, knowing you won’t have a driver to fall back on later in the regular season. For instance, Chase Elliott had a five-week streak in the middle of the 2022 campaign when he finished either first or second.

Chase Elliott was most reliable driver in 2022

While Elliott struggled in the postseason with just a trio of top-10 finishes, the playoff points he accumulated in the regular season propelled him to Phoenix. The No. 9 team scored 1,195 fantasy points in 2022, 63 points above second-place Ryan Blaney (1,132). Elliott also had the best average finish in the series at 12.5.

Use underdogs at superspeedways

In recent years, superspeedway racing has been extremely entertaining. It’s also led to some surprise winners with a lot of cars wrecking out late in races (i.e. Austin Cindric winning last year’s Daytona 500). Daytona and Talladega – and now even Atlanta – are tracks where you can stretch your roster out and use drivers that might not be used elsewhere. Some of these drivers include Justin Haley, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and Corey LaJoie.

Don’t overlook part-timers

Aside from the 36 chartered cars, this year’s Daytona 500 looks like it's going to have a stacked open team lineup to fight for the final four starting spots in the field. Arguably the GOAT, Jimmie Johnson is returning for a partial season with Petty GMS and will enter the Great American Race. Then, there’s Austin Hill, who has proven to be an elite superspeedway driver in the Xfinity Series and Craftsman Truck Series, as he takes the reign of the No. 62 Chevrolet for Beard Motorsports. Should Hill qualify for the race, he could be a real sleeper for your lineup.

Road course magic

Hendrick Motorsports has been dominant on road courses since 2018. Elliott had a stretch when he won seven out of 10 road course events between 2018 and 2021, and Kyle Larson has snagged four road course wins since joining the team in 2021. And while Toyota struggled at road courses in the Next Gen’s first year, Christopher Bell stood out, including his Round of 12 walk-off win at the Charlotte Roval last year.

AJ Allmendinger is back full-time

Spending the last few years chasing Xfinity Series trophies, Allmendinger is back running full-time in the Cup Series for the first time since 2018. This time, it’s with Kaulig Racing, having already delivered the team its first Cup win in 2021. Allmendinger should almost be a near-lock for your road-course lineups, but he’s proven to be valuable at all forms of tracks. In 18 starts last year, he earned eight top-10 finishes, including a stretch of six straight, the best of his career.

Tyler Reddick’s first year with 23XI Racing

Accumulating three victories, 2022 was Reddick’s breakout season. But going to Toyota, a manufacturer that thrived on intermediates in the Next Gen’s first season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Reddick up that total and become a championship contender in 2023. Surprisingly, Reddick earned just the 15th most fantasy points in 2022, with 834.

Chase Briscoe hoping to keep momentum

Late last year, Briscoe found his early-season success – which culminated in a March win at Phoenix – on a more consistent basis. Not many drivers ended the season hotter than the Indiana native did, with six top 10s in the last seven races. Briscoe’s fantasy stock should be high entering the 2023 campaign and likely a must-start at Phoenix, the fourth race of the season.

Rookies!?

Both Noah Gragson and Ty Gibbs gained valuable experience in the Next Gen car last year while also making great strides in the Xfinity Series. On paper, Gibbs looks to have the overwhelming advantage by driving for Joe Gibbs Racing compared to Gragson at Petty GMS. Remember, though, Erik Jones delivered Petty GMS a victory at Darlington last fall and was competitive more weeks than not.

Playoffs

For the 10 playoff races, fantasy players can use every driver up to five times. Here you should put your emphasis on filling your lineups with playoff drivers – except maybe Talladega – though the first round of last year’s postseason was swept by non-playoff drivers.