RADIO
The NASCAR Xfinity Series opens its 2025 season on Saturday evening at the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway. Last season ended with Justin Allgaier hoisting his long-awaited first Xfinity Series title. Who'll win this year? We have a fairly different Xfinity field this time around, with several rookies in the field and many drivers on new teams.
Of the 12 playoff drivers last season, just four return to the same team they ran for in 2024 and four others have moved to the Cup Series. Here at RotoBaller, we want to help you make informed decisions about your DFS lineups, which is why I'll be breaking down the slates for the Xfinity Series.
Let's look at some NASCAR Xfinity DFS lineup picks for the NASCAR Xfinity Series United Rentals 300 on DraftKings. Be sure to also check out our NASCAR Premium Tools for Xfinity Series, including our DFS Lineup Optimizer and powerful Research Station. This slate locks on 2/15/25 at 5:08 p.m. EST.
Xfinity DFS Preview - DraftKings
Be sure to also check out all of our other weekly NASCAR DFS articles and analyses to help you set your optimal DFS lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Top Plays
Note: This was written before qualifying, but feel free to ask me over on X if you have questions after qualifying.
Austin Hill ($10.5K)
We're at Daytona this weekend, so Austin Hill's probably going to win.
Austin Hill wins the Xfinity Series race at Daytona! pic.twitter.com/2sbBqsWhXy
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) February 19, 2023
Obviously, I'm saying that in a slightly tongue-in-cheek way since you can never truly predict winners here, but Hill has won the season-opening race at Daytona three years in a row, so there's plenty of reason to trust him this weekend.
That doesn't mean he'll grab his fourth United Rentals 300 victory in a row, but he's the closest thing you can get to a sure bet.
Jesse Love ($10.2K)
Don't forget about Hill's RCR teammate Jesse Love. He might not have the same track record here that Hill has, but Love led 34 laps in this race last season and also won at Talladega.
I don't necessarily love the price, but I'll have exposure if he starts in the top five or outside the top 20. (The former for the chance of early laps led and the latter for place differential.)
Justin Allgaier ($10.0K)
On Thursday night, Justin Allgaier raced his way into the Daytona 500 field. On Sunday, when he takes the green flag, JR Motorsports will officially make its Cup Series debut.
Before that, he'll begin his Xfinity Series title defense at one of his best tracks. While he has just one win here, he's finished in the top 10 in half of his 28 Daytona starts.
Connor Zilisch ($9.6K)
NASCAR's No. 1 prospect will run his first full-time season this year, taking the wheel of the JR Motorsports No. 88 car. Zilisch ran four races last year for JRM, winning his Xfinity debut at Watkins Glen and never finishing lower than 12th.
The @ConnorZilisch full-time Xfinity Series era is here‼️@WeatherTech | @JRMotorsports pic.twitter.com/V6MLQZDCJX
— Trackhouse Racing (@TeamTrackhouse) February 14, 2025
The only concern here is his lack of superspeedway experience. His lone Truck Series start at Talladega ended in a crash and he never ran one of these tracks in ARCA. Still, Zilisch is a quick learner and should figure everything out quickly.
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Mid-Tier Options
Christian Eckes ($8.6K)
Christian Eckes moves to the Xfinity Series after running in the Truck Series full-time for the past three seasons, where he finished a career-best third in points last year.
This will be his Xfinity debut on Saturday, but his extensive Truck Series experience should translate. Eckes has run five Daytona races in the Truck Series with a pair of top-five finishes.
Taylor Gray ($8.4K)
Taylor Gray moves to the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 54 this season after finally having his breakout season in the Truck Series last year. Gray didn't win a race, but he had 14 top 10s and finished sixth in points.
Taylor Gray tops Xfinity Series practice at Daytona.
Jesse Love, in 15th, had the quickest single-car run.
— Jayski (@jayski) February 14, 2025
On Friday, Gray turned in the fastest practice lap here. He should be a contender on Saturday because JGR cars are always contenders here.
Carson Kvapil ($8.1K)
This feels like a good price for Carson Kvapil, who only has one superspeedway start in his career but is also in a JR Motorsports car, so he should have speed.
Ryan Truex ($8.0K)
The last time the Xfinity Series was here in August, Ryan Truex drove the Joe Gibbs Racing No. 20 car into victory lane. This year he's in a Sam Hunt Racing car, but that shouldn't hurt his chances too badly.
Daytona is about surviving. Anyone can get a good finish if they keep the car clean. Truex has been running at the finish in his past five Xfinity Series starts here, so he's proven he can stay out of trouble.
Value Options
Nick Sanchez ($7.7K)
Nick Sanchez moves to the No. 48 car this season after two full-time seasons in the Truck Series. Last year, Sanchez won the season-opening Truck Series race at Daytona. This Big Machine Racing car finished third here in August with Parker Kligerman driving.
Justin Bonsignore ($7.3K)
The No. 19 car will likely be the weak link at Joe Gibbs Racing this year, but even the fourth-best JGR car should probably cost DFS players more than $7.3K.
A big deal for the NASCAR Modified Tour: After running so well at New Hampshire a year ago, Modified star and champion Justin Bonsignore will run an expanded part-time schedule for Joe Gibbs Racing. Starts this weekend with the season opener in Daytona pic.twitter.com/6lubfRn6en
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) February 14, 2025
Justin Bonsignore lacks experience at tracks like this though. He ran last year's ARCA race here, qualifying well but ultimately suffering an oil line failure that ended his day early. I probably won't play him if he qualifies well, but if we get a JGR car starting 25th or worse, I'll hammer this play.
Jordan Anderson ($7.2K)
Jordan Anderson has mostly transitioned into team ownership, but he still straps in a few times a year for some superspeedway racing. Last year, he finished fourth in this race and then sixth in the August race.
Anderson also has a pair of runner-up finishes here in the Truck Series. Add in that he's not a very good qualifier and you get a recipe for huge place differential upside with this No. 32 car.
Matt DiBenedetto ($6.6K)
I'm not sure how important practice speed is at a superspeedway since the cars all run so close together, but it's worth pointing out that Matt DiBenedetto and this Viking Motorsports team were ninth in practice. He's an experienced driver who should be able to make some moves on Saturday.
Daniel Dye ($6.5K)
This price feels wrong for Daniel Dye. He's not a great driver, but he had two top 10s last year in 10 starts while running part-time in Xfinity. He also has multiple Truck Series top 10s at Talladega.
Leland Honeyman ($6.0K)
Last year, Leland Honeyman drove the No. 42 car and had a decent season with two top 10s and an average finish of 23.5. He was fourth at Talladega and ninth in the August race here.
This year, he moves to the No. 70 for Cope Family Racing. I'll be real with y'all: I have no idea if this car is going to be decent or not. While this isn't technically a new team, the Derrike Cope-owned car hasn't raced since 2016.
Honeyman was 28th in practice speed. Not great, but also not awful. This car should be able to at least stick in the pack.
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