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The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Martinsville on Saturday, with three spots in the Championship 4 up for grabs still. Sam Mayer has clinched a spot in the next round and John Hunter Nemechek sits 44 spots above the cut line.
Meanwhile, Cole Custer and Austin Hill have the other two spots right now, but Justin Allgaier is just three points behind both. Sammy Smith, Chandler Smith, and Sheldon Creed are all significantly farther back and likely need a win to advance to Phoenix.
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 Dead On Tools 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. This slate locks on 10/28/23 at 3:46 p.m. ET.
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Xfinity DFS Picks - DraftKings
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John Hunter Nemechek - $11,500
Starts Fifth
John Hunter Nemechek is the favorite to win Saturday's race, with FanDuel's Jim Sannes' model giving Nemechek a 16.6% chance of winning the race, the highest of any driver.
That makes sense considering Nemechek was the winner here earlier this season. In April's Call 811 Before You Dig 250, Nemechek was almost untouchable. Starting second, he grabbed the lead from Cole Custer on Lap 6 and rarely gave it up after, leading 198 of the 250 laps on his way to the win.
That's one of two wins for Nemechek at this track, with the other coming in the 2018 Truck Series race, where he led 31 of 250 laps. He was fourth in the Truck Series race at Martinsville in 2022.
Sammy Smith - $9,500
Starts First
Sammy Smith, who is moving over to JR Motorsports after this season, faces a virtual must-win here if he wants to advance to the Championship 4. A pole position makes that a distinct possibility.
Back in April, Smith led six laps on his way to a second-place finish, behind only the dominant car of his teammate, John Hunter Nemechek. I think Smith's a sneaky pick to win this race and even if he doesn't, he should compete for a top five.
Layne Riggs - $8,400
Starts 19th
Layne Riggs is set to make his third Xfinity Series start this weekend for Kaulig Racing. He ran really well in the first two. Despite starting 38th at Texas in his Xfinity debut, Riggs worked his way up to 19th. He followed that up with a ninth-place finish at Vegas.
This will be Riggs' first short track start in Xfinity, but short tracks are where he's done his best racing. Both of his top 10 finishes in the Truck Series have come at IRP, including a third-place finish there this season.
Riggs last ran at Martinsville in a 2021 race in the Virginia Late Model Triple Crown Series, where he finished third, one spot ahead of Xfinity Series playoff driver and Saturday's polesitter Sammy Smith.
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Jeb Burton - $7,200
Starts 38th
Jeb Burton's car had some issues on Friday and he was unable to turn a qualifying lap. That means he'll have to come from all the way back in 38th place on Saturday.
This 27 car has struggled lately, with just one top 20 in the last four races—and that was just a 20th at Homestead last week. He was 13th the last time the Xfinity Series was at a short track, though, as he came from this same 38th-place starting position at Bristol five races ago.
Earlier this season in the first Martinsville race, Burton started 31st and finished 14th. He's got a lot of experience at this track across various series, making 20 starts here between late models and NASCAR's three touring series.
Kaz Grala - $6,900
Starts 23rd
Kaz Grala's first full-time NASCAR season since the 2017 Truck Series campaign hasn't gone as well as I expected. I really thought he'd be a playoff contender.
That didn't happen, but he does have eight top 10s, including a fourth at Richmond and a 10th at Bristol. He didn't manage a top 10 in the first Martinsville race, but he finished a solid 15th.
His best finish at Martinsville came in 2017 when he finished seventh in the Truck Series race here. It's not his best track, but he does have three Truck Series top 15s here in four starts. There should be a little place differential upside for Grala on Saturday afternoon.
Ryan Ellis - $5,900
Starts 32nd
Saturday will mark the fifth race in a row that Ryan Ellis has started 30th or worse. He's ended up with positive place differential in three of those and he crashed out of the other.
At just $5,900, Ellis is a really solid place differential play on Saturday's slate. He wasn't great in the first Martinsville race, but a poor starting spot meant he still ended up at plus-seven in PD. In 2021, he started 34th here and finished 23rd. Not an exciting play, but there's value in the Alpha Prime Racing driver.
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