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NASCAR · Track Type

What Is Track Type in NASCAR DFS?

Last updated November 1, 2026 by Ship It Nation

Track type groups NASCAR tracks by shared features such as length, layout, banking (the slope of the turns) and surface. In DFS research, the grouping may also consider tire combinations or how the cars are configured.

Why It Matters

You use track type to find relevant driver results and anticipate how a race might unfold. Races with many laps can increase the value of leading laps, while tracks where cars race in tight packs often increase crash risk. Your lineup still depends on scheduled laps, starting positions, salaries and your site's scoring, rather than the track label alone.

Example

Say you are choosing between two similarly priced drivers for a flat short track. One has stronger recent results on comparable flat ovals using the same tires, while the other has excelled mainly on steeply banked tracks. You might favor the first, then use practice speed and starting position to check whether that advantage still holds for this race.

Pro tip

Before trusting a track-type ranking, check which races it includes, its date range and whether the tire combination or car rules have changed. The same label can hide very different comparison groups.

Hear Us Break It Down

Hand-picked moments from our free live streams where our hosts break down this term.

Separate similar-track results from recent form You distinguish recent form across all tracks from results at one venue and results on comparable tracks. Here, track-type rankings focus on current-season mile-and-a-half races using the same tire combination, giving you a targeted comparison when practice data is limited. NASCAR · Saturday, Oct 10 7:29 ▶ Use comparable tracks to strengthen a driver evaluation You evaluate Denny Hamlin using both his Martinsville record and his performance on similar short, flat tracks using the same tire setup. Strong results in both groups support his appeal beyond success at one venue. NASCAR · Sunday, Nov 1 6:54 ▶ Build a comparison sample around the same tires You group current-season races using the same tire combination to evaluate drivers across multiple venues. With practice unavailable, that track-type sample gives you another source of evidence for building your player pool. “And for this week, the track type rank has six, seven, eight races in it. It's a decent amount of data.” NASCAR · Saturday, Sep 26 7:45 ▶
More mentions 6
SAT 10/10 “This year I highly recommend using the track type rank okay so use your power rankings use the results from the past two weeks and you should be able to build a very nice player pool in my opinion if you have any questions hey ask...” 8:16 ▶ SAT 9/26 “I highly highly highly highly recommend using these power rankings the power rankings are there to help you they're not just there for show recent form is how they've been running over the last ten races regardless of track type is someone...” 6:46 ▶ SUN 9/13 “And I think it's just because of how he grades in like recent form, track rank, track type rank based off where he's starting.” 26:00 ▶ SUN 9/6 “So in that case, I am relying heavily on the power rankings and particularly the track rankings um track rankings is using uh from the darlington results from $2,000 and twenty three on up I I removed the twenty twenty two results from...” 7:31 ▶ SAT 8/29 “He seems like if you look at his recent form F, his track rank and track type rank don't look the greatest.” 21:42 ▶ SUN 8/23 “So yep he's good uh ty gibbs he doesn't have the greatest track rank or track type rank however he's been fast all season long and he again looked good in practice you got to keep him in the pool ryan blaney is probably everybody's top dom...” 11:59 ▶

Common Questions

What are the main NASCAR track types for DFS?

Common groups include short ovals, intermediate ovals, superspeedways and road or street courses. For DFS, you can refine those groups into flat ovals, steeply banked tracks or tracks where cars race in packs. Length alone does not describe how a track races.

What is the difference between track history and track-type history?

Track history covers a driver's results at one specific venue; track-type history combines results from a defined group of comparable tracks. The broader group gives you more races to evaluate, but its usefulness depends on which tracks and seasons are included.

Does using the same tires make NASCAR tracks comparable?

It can help, but it does not make them equivalent. A shared left-side and right-side tire combination gives you another basis for comparing driver results, yet banking, surface wear and car rules still affect how well those results transfer to another venue.

Every term we use on the shows, explained Written for the sport you play, with the moments where we use them.
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