The NASCAR Cup Series season is creeping closer! It’s less than 50 days until the 2026 Daytona 500, and just over a month until the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium. As we prepare for the 2026 NASCAR season, let’s take a look at NASCAR fantasy’s version of a survivor pool. The 36 for 36 one-and-done pool. We’ve already been through the first 18 races. In this article, we’ll cover the last 18 races as we map out a preseason plan for each race.
Click here for the first 18 races
We’ll use NASCAR’s official fantasy site, fantasygames.nascar.com, for this, so the rules for your pool may vary. Unlike your traditional NFL survivor pool, you don’t get eliminated from this game. Instead, the score is kept across all 36 races; each driver earns the same points for your fantasy team as they do in the race, based on finishing position, stage points, and anything else NASCAR awards points for. The catch, each of the 36 full-time drivers can only be used one time all season. So pick your spot wisely! Some pools allow open drivers, like Jimmie Johnson or Justin Allgaier, who are entered for the Daytona 500 to be used (NASCAR’s 36 for 36 does not). If your pool allows this, I’d highly suggest using the open drivers to keep your options open later.
Only points-paying events count, so you will not make selections for the Clash, Duel races, or All-Star Race. For a more in-depth conversation between myself and Rod Villagomez on each race and the reasoning for each selection, be sure to check out Part 1 and Part 2 of the NASCAR Gambling Podcast One and Done Picks 2026. Available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever good podcasts are found. In part 1, we left off with the last pick of Michael McDowell at Sonoma.
*Average finishes will refer to the NextGen era 2022-present unless otherwise noted.
2026 NASCAR Fantasy: 36 For 36, One and Done Pool Survivor Map: Last 18 Races
Chicagoland – Bubba Wallace
Top Alternates
Kyle Larson
Denny Hamlin
Bubba Wallace won last year’s Brickyard 400 and has been solid on intermediate tracks with 23XI. Let’s see if he can channel some of the Kansas magic at a similar track.
EchoPark (Atlanta) – AJ Allmendinger
Top Alternates
Chase Elliott
Ryan Blaney
I’m nervous using Allmendinger outside of a “drafting track” because of the Dodge relationship this year. He’s also been good at “drafting tracks.” 11.3 is his average finish here with no DNF’s.
North Wilkesboro – Joey Logano
Top Alternates
Kyle Larson
Christopher Bell
The first point race back, Logano loves new things. Logano dominated here in the first race back, leading 199 of 200 All-Star laps. Granted, it’s been repaved, but at a track where nobody has a ton of experience, I love having Logano.
Indianapolis – Kyle Larson
Top Alternates
Bubba Wallace
Ryan Blaney
You have to use the IndyCar driver for this one, right? All jokes aside, there are a lot of places you can use Larson, but if you have the discipline to save him this long, it’ll make you different from everyone else. He’s been good here with a win and second place in the two races.
Iowa – Josh Berry
Top Alternates
Ryan Blaney
William Byron
Berry has a 10.0 average finish in the two races here, and this is the style of track that fits Berry.
Richmond – Austin Dillon
Top Alternates
Denny Hamlin
Kyle Larson
Dillon has won this race two years in a row; it’s clearly his best track. That’s about all you need; case closed.
New Hampshire – John Hunter Nemechek
Top Alternates
Christopher Bell
Kyle Larson
We’ve got to use every driver this year, so we’re getting to the point where you fill in the best you can. Nemechek was involved in a crash last year, but had a solid eighth-place run here in 2024.
Daytona – Cody Ware
Top Alternates
Ty Dillon
AJ Allmendinger
Cody Ware has the fourth-best average finish in the NextGen era at Daytona among full-time drivers. There are very few other places you’d want to use him, and he’s solid here. Checks all the boxes.
Darlington – Chase Briscoe
Top Alternates
Tyler Reddick
Denny Hamlin
Briscoe has won back-to-back Southern 500 races. There are a lot of places you could use him, but this seems like a worthy place to save him for.
Gateway – Austin Cindric
Top Alternates
Joey Logano
Christopher Bell
This has easily been Cindric’s best track over the last few years. He’s almost won the race twice and did win it in 2024.
Bristol – Noah Gragson
Top Alternates
Christopher Bell
Kyle Larson
The way it’s laid out, this is basically a punt play. Gragson has the upside of a 12th-place finish in the fall 2024 race here. The hope is that he has a better season than last year and catches a decent finish here.
Kansas – Erik Jones
Top Alternates
Kyle Larson
Denny Hamlin
Trying to fill in the gaps, Jones has a third-place finish here in 2023 and finished 16th here in the fall of 2025.
Las Vegas – Kyle Busch
Top Alternates
Ross Chastain
Kyle Larson
Kyle Busch at home in Las Vegas is much better in the fall than in the spring, so it’s important to save him for this race vs the spring. In the fall race for the NextGen era, he’s finished third twice and no worse than 13th.
Charlotte Roval – Connor Zilisch
Top Alternates
Shane Van Gisbergen
AJ Allmendinger
I think Zilisch won’t start the season as hot as everyone else does. Let them burn him early, and we’ll save him for the last road course of the year when he has almost a full season of Cup action under his belt.
Phoenix – Cole Custer
Top Alternates
Ryan Blaney
Christopher Bell
Have to use him somewhere. At this point, we’ve used all the top drivers at this track. He did manage a ninth-place finish here in 2020.
Talladega – Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Top Alternates
Todd Gilliland
Brad Keselowski
Stenhouse has a win, two top fives, and three top 12 finishes in the last four Talladega races. He’s always in the mix on drafting tracks.
Martinsville – Ryan Blaney
Top Alternates
Kyle Larson
Joey Logano
We’ve saved two studs for these last two races, and for good reason. Blaney has been dominant in this fall race. He’s finished top two three years in a row, leading well over 300 laps.
Homestead – Tyler Reddick
Top Alternates
Kyle Larson
William Byron
Reddick won at Homestead the last time they raced here in the fall. In six career races here, Reddick has four top-four finishes.
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