COTA DuraMAX Grand Prix Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Ryan Preece
COTA Fantasy Outlook – Ryan Preece shouldn’t be overlooked and in 2025 on this track type, he gets my vote for the most improved driver on the track type. Preece’s COTA track record is ugly with him having a 29.3 Next Gen Average Finish but what I like about him is how he closed out the 2025 season at road courses. Last year on this track type over the last five races (so everything but COTA), Preece had a 10.6 average finish, and his Track Type Total Speed Ranking was the 9th best, with him ranking in the top 13 for speed every race. Heading into the weekend, I would view Preece as a dark horse top ten contender.
COTA Track History – At COTA, I wouldn’t read into Ryan Preece’s track record which isn’t very good. In the Next Gen, Preece has a 29.3 average finish, ranks 24th in terms of Next Gen Driver Rating Rankings and has the 26th best Next Gen Speed Ranking. Last year, Preece finished 33rd but that’s a misleading result. In the race, Preece started 28th, finished about 20th in Stage #1, was up to 12th on lap 40, won Stage #2 after others did pit strategy, ran around the mid-teens for a good portion of the last Stage but then in the last Stage, it appears he pitted during the last caution which dropped him back to the mid 20’s and from that point on, he just seemed to drop back more which led to his 33rd. In terms of speed stats, Preece ranked 13th for both Total Speed Rankings and Speed Late In A Run. In 2024, Preece had a pretty pedestrian performance. In the race, Preece finished 23rd, had a 25.4 average running position, had the 26th best Driver Rating and then ranked 27th in terms of Total Speed Rankings. In 2023, Preece had an eventful afternoon which led to him finishing 32nd. In the race, Preece had a 20.8 average running position and the 18th best Total Speed Ranking.

Don’t be a pretender, become a contender and get the ifantasyrace advantage to read all of our full exclusive content.

Ty Gibbs
COTA Fantasy Outlook – Don’t overlook Ty Gibbs at COTA. Gibbs had a clunker afternoon last year, but he’s run quite well here in his other starts with a 6th place average finish over his other two. Last year at road courses, Gibbs had a pretty solid season overall and minus COTA and Watkins Glen, Gibbs had an 8.0 average finish and had a result in the top 12 every race. Also in 2025 over the last five road course races, Gibbs had a 5.8 Average Speed Ranking. Heading into the weekend, I would view Gibbs as a top ten contender who’ll have further upside.
COTA Track History – Ty Gibbs had an afternoon to forget about at COTA last year when he was in the midst of a slump but other than that, he’s been great with a 6.0 average finish and a 7.5 average Speed Ranking over his first two. Last year, Gibbs was a teens performer but finished an asterisk mark 34th. In the race, Gibbs started 13th, finished 16th in Stage #1, restarted the last Stage in 18th, was up to 13th on lap 82 but then he was spun and damaged which had him quickly dropping back thru the running order, leading to his 34th. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Gibbs ranked 27th with his speed over the segments being 14th, 24th, 22nd and then 33rd. In 2024, Gibbs finished 3rd, had a 3.8 average running position, earned the 2nd best Driver Rating and then ranked 2nd in terms of Total Speed Rankings. In spring 2023, Gibbs rallied to finish 9th, despite him getting penalized for short cutting the esses and supposedly being down a cylinder early in Stage #2, so him getting that good result didn’t come easy.

Ryan Blaney
COTA Fantasy Outlook – Look for Ryan Blaney to have a solid but not flashy afternoon at COTA. Blaney’s a solid road course racer but expecting more than a top ten is asking too much. At COTA in the Next Gen, Blaney is 2 for 4 at finishing in the top 12 and over the combined races he has a 14.5 average finish and ranks 14th in terms of Next Gen Speed Rankings. Last year at road courses, Blaney had the 8th best Track Type Total Speed Ranking and minus Sonoma where he was top ten good but crashed, Blaney had a 12.8 average finish.
COTA Track History – In the Next Gen at COTA, Blaney ranks 11th in terms of average finish (14.5), ranks 14th in terms of Next Gen Speed Rankings and has the 16th best Next Gen Driver Rating. Last year, Blaney was just mid-pack and finished 19th. Additionally, Blaney had a 14.8 average running position and ranked 16th in terms of Total Speed Rankings. I’ll note, Blaney did hurt himself and finished 2nd in Stage #2 which dropped him back to the mid 20’s to begin the final Stage. In terms of the natural running order before that, Blaney was running in 15th. In 2024, Blaney was OK. In the race, Blaney started 28th, had a 17th place average running position, had the 14th best Total Speed Ranking and then finished 12th overall. In 2023, Blaney had all sorts of trouble but somehow finished 21st. In 2022, Blaney had his best COTA afternoon and finished 6th (4th best Total Speed Ranking).

Make sure you read the full spectrum of our COTA Fantasy NASCAR Rankings

Top Tier Elite Picks > Front Runners Rankings > Mid Pack Predictions & The Low Tier