RADIO
It's time for a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at COTA, part of a tripleheader weekend for NASCAR.
Last week, Noah Gragson won his first race of the season. Based on how he's been driving, it won't be his last win. He already has four top fives and leads Ty Gibbs and A.J. Allmendinger by 19 points.
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 Pit Boss 250 on DraftKings. Be sure to also check out our NASCAR Premium Tools for Xfinity Series including our DFS Lineup Optimizer and powerful Research Station.
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Xfinity DFS Picks - DraftKings
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AJ Allmendinger ($10,500)
Starts 4th
Kyle Busch dominated this race last year, but he isn't running on Saturday. Allmendinger was second here, leading three laps and winning a stage.
Allmendinger is the best road course driver in Xfinity. He won a pair of Xfinity road course races last year, leading 23 laps at Mid-Ohio and 21 at Charlotte.
I think if you're looking for who'll be the dominant driver on Saturday, your options are Allmendinger and Ty Gibbs. Given the slight amount of place differential upside for Allmendinger over Gibbs, I'm leaning toward the Dinger, even though both are solid lead anchors for your lineup.
Noah Gragson ($9,900)
Starts 12th
When the driver who has performed the best this season starts 12th and is under 10k, you have to play him.
Gragson's track record here isn't good, as he finished 36th last year after an engine failure. But it's hard to hold that against him when Gragson has been incredible this season, and when he was fourth in practice on Saturday.
I have to assume that this DFS pricing was assuming a top five qualifying run for Gragson, or that it was baking WAY too much of last year's result into things.
Whatever it is, this is a great price for the ceiling that Gragson carries with him.
Brandon Jones ($9,100)
Starts 38th
Well, this is an obvious one.
Brandon Jones starts 38th in a Gibbs car. I will repeat this again: Brandon Jones starts 38th in a Gibbs car.
Do I need to say it a third time?
Jones only finished 17th here last year, but even a top 20 run from a starting position of 38th would be a solid day for the 19 car.
Overall, Jones has an average finish of 15.5 on road courses. Sure, you should have some contrarian lines without him just because of how chalky he'll be, but chalk is also chalk for a reason.
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Sheldon Creed ($8,700)
Starts 6th
The starting spot gives me some pause because of the potential for negative place differential points, but when you consider that Creed won the pole for the Truck Series race this weekend in the 02 truck, I think you have to play him at this price. He's third on my list of win picks this weekend after Allmendinger and Gibbs and if you can get a potential race winner at this price, you've got to do it in at least a few lineups, right?
Creed was second-fastest in Xfinity practice behind Preston Pardus (who terrifies me because he starts seventh and could run around there but could also drop 10ish spots if the car doesn't have long-run speed). He was fifth in the Truck Series race here last year.
Ryan Sieg ($6,200)
Starts 35th
Sieg is like Brandon Jones this week -- he's a big place differential play who'll end up being almost too chalky, but he'll be chalky for a reason.
Sieg struggled to find speed so far this weekend, but he has three top 10 this season, with his other two results being an 11th and a DNF due to a crash.
Sieg only finished 25th here last year, but he was on the lead lap and ran a solid race. At this price, I'll take something around a plus-10 place differential.
Ryan Vargas ($4,800)
Starts 34th
This is my deep value play of the race.
Vargas didn't get a practice lap in due to mechanical issues, then struggled in qualifying.
But he has had some solid runs this year, with a pair of top 20s. And in his other three races, Vargas crashed out twice.
I think this is a 25th-place car. The potential for a plus-10 place differential makes this my favorite play in this salary range.
Vargas has an average finish of 25.2 on road courses. Again, not overly impressive, but solid enough to justify putting him in lineups, since it allows you to use more salary on other spots.
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