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The 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season continues on Sunday with the first road race of the season, the 2025 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin. Kyle Busch is typically priced near the favorites, but he's outside the top 10 at 25-1 with the series' move to a road course. His name could make him an attractive option for those quickly making NASCAR Fantasy picks, but where should he fall in the NASCAR at COTA Fantasy rankings? The latest Austin weather forecast is calling for partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the 70s.

The green flag drops at 3:30 p.m. ET for the 95-lap race. Shane Van Gisbergen is the +400 favorite for NASCAR at COTA 2025, followed by Tyler Reddick at +500 and Kyle Larson at +750 for your NASCAR Fantasy picks. Before locking in your NASCAR Fantasy picks for the 2025 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, be sure to check out the optimal NASCAR at Austin Fantasy strategy and advice from SportsLine's Mike McClure. 

McClure has won over $2 million in his career as a daily Fantasy pro, and his NASCAR DFS driver pool, projections and advice can help you score a big win on Sunday on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings.

McClure's model began the 2025 season by calling Chase Elliott's win in the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray for a +300 payout. Then at Daytona, it was also high on William Byron despite +2000 odds. In 2024, it nailed Kyle Larson to win in Las Vegas for a 21-5 betting payout and predicted Denny Hamlin's wins in Bristol at 5-1 and Richmond at 17-4.

It also impressively nailed five of Larson's wins during his historic season in 2021. All told, the model has nailed a whopping 19 winners since 2021, including nine in 2023 and three in the first seven races last season. Anyone who followed its lead on betting apps and sportsbooks on those NASCAR picks could have seen huge returns. 

Now, he's turned his attention to Sunday's 2025 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix. He's only sharing his picks and NASCAR Fantasy rankings here.

Top 2025 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix NASCAR Fantasy picks

One of McClure's top 2025 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix Fantasy picks is AJ Allmendinger, even though he's a longshot at 23-1. Allmendinger has been one of the top road course drivers in NASCAR over the last few years. He won the 2023 Bank of America Roval 400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course and he's finished sixth or better in five of his last six road course races. Allmendinger finished sixth at last year's EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix.

All three of Allmendinger's career NASCAR victories have come on road courses, so his Fantasy appeal stems from Sunday's race conditions. The 43-year-old finished sixth at the Bank of America Roval 400 in October in his last road course race and led 14 laps. The veteran driver has run 41 road course races with 22 top-10 finishes and McClure expects that experience to aid him on Sunday. See which other drivers to back here. 

Another curveball: William Byron, one of the top betting favorites and this year's Daytona 500 winner, barely cracks the top 10 of McClure's Fantasy NASCAR rankings. Byron won this race last year, and that alone will garner him plenty of interest in NASCAR Fantasy lineups. But his road course results outside of that victory have McClure concerned.

The 27-year-old finished 30th at Sonoma Raceway and 34th at Watkins Glen in two of his four road course races last year. He's finished outside the top 10 in two of his four career COTA races and has placed outside the top 10 in 15 of his last 22 road course competitions. McClure sees more value in avoiding him for NASCAR Fantasy lineups. See which other drivers to avoid here.

How to make 2025 NASCAR at Austin Fantasy rankings

McClure is also targeting an undervalued driver set to return plenty of value for his NASCAR Fantasy picks. This driver is in a prime position to make a run at the checkered flag for the ultimate EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix sleeper. You can see who it is, and every other pick, right here.

So what are the top NASCAR Fantasy picks for the 2025 NASCAR at Circuit of the Americas race, and which value driver is a must-roster? Visit SportsLine now to see DFS millionaire Mike McClure's complete EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix Fantasy rankings, for a chance to cash in big on NASCAR Fantasy.