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Ready for a spooky Halloween race at Martinsville, as the final race of the Round of 8 gets set in the Xfinity Series?
Let's hope it's not as scary as yesterday's Truck Series race, when five of the six drivers I highlighted ended up with DNFs. Short track racing can be a real pain sometimes.
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 Draft Top 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 Lineup Picks - DraftKings
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A.J. Allmendinger #16 ($12,500) - Starting 37th
I'm going heavy on place differential guys in this race, because short tracks breed chaos, which to me means that we want some guys who'd have huge days if they survive the chaos, but we'll also have a little wiggle room to still hit the money if one of these guys starting in the back falters, as we won't get a ton of negative place differential.
Allmendinger's part time schedule means that whenever he races, he'll be starting from the back. That makes him really chalky every time he's on the track, because everyone wants top five upside from the 37th starting position.
The potential for wrecks here might make you pivot off of Allmendinger more than it would at a more predictable track, but Martinsville is also a track where A.J. has seven top 10s in the Cup Series, more than at any other track. In fact, it's the only place that isn't a superspeedway or a road course where he has more than four top 10s. He's even got a pair of second place finishes here. Allmendinger has a good chance of winning here if he can safely work through the field.
Ross Chastain #10 ($9,700) - Starting 4th
This is our one guy from the front of the pack. It's going to be really important that Chastain or whoever else you play from the playoff drivers has a really clean race, because this is where a wreck will kill your lineup.
But with top five finishes at the last three short track races in Xfinity, Chastain feels like a good bet to compete for this victory.
Last year, he was fourth in the Spring Martinsville Truck race, leading 53 laps, then followed that up by running second in the Fall race, leading 68 laps. Like his teammate Allmendinger, this is a track that's well-suited to Chastain's driving style, and he should be considered one of the favorites to find himself in Victory Lane and clinch that finale spot in the Xfinity championship race next week.
Gray Gaulding #07 ($7,600) - Starting 31st
Alright, we're done with the front of the field.
Gaulding is in the 07 this week, his fifth start of the year for Bobby Dotter's team. I don't think his superspeedway top 10s mean much this week, but an 18th at Bristol does.
Driving the full season in this car last year, Gaulding posted an average finish of 16th, including a sixth-place finish at Bristol.
He's got a decent amount of experience at this track from Trucks and Cup, and while he never did much here in either series, he's kept the car clean a good bit of the time and should be in a better position to succeed in the 07 than he was when he was driving BK Racing cars and Premium Motorsports trucks.
Myatt Snider #21 ($7,100) - Starting 22nd
Doesn't really feel like the DraftKings pricing is taking into account that Snider is in the 21 this week, does it?
Snider has been in the 93 for much of the season, splitting the full schedule between that car and this one. This is his first RCR start since Pocono, so it's been awhile.
All in all, Snider has raced this car six times. He has top 10s in three of those -- his most recent three races. He was top five in the last two races, including fifth at Bristol.
Hopefully, a lot of people building lineups on this slate focus on Snider's recent production as a driver running in the 20s, and we can sneak this top 10 upside past them.
Mason Diaz #26 ($6,900) - Starting 38th
Always a risk to play a driver who is making his first start of the season, especially one who ran three races last year and crashed out of all of them.
But Diaz has some short track top 10s in other series, and this 26 car has performed pretty well with other drivers in it. They've been running at the finish in five of their seven races, and if we discount the Darlington race where they technically were running at the end but spent time behind the wall with an issue, the other four races have seen finishes of 21st, 14th, 12th, and 16th. There's clear top 20 upside for Diaz in this car, with lots of PD points available and a cheap salary.
J.J. Yeley #17 ($6,000) - Starting 39th
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm so excited to play a Rick Ware Racing driver.
The ultimate backmarkers in the Cup Series, RWR hasn't been nearly as a bad in Xfinity this year in their...one start.
That start was from Cody Ware at the Charlotte Roval, a race where Ware started 38th and finished seventh. Sure, rain contributed to that and Ware wasn't a top 10 car, but I do think RWR isn't in this race to just start and park or something. They have to think Yeley can deliver solid results at a track where he finished ninth in his lone Xfinity start back in 2006. Martinsville isn't a traditional Xfinity track -- it hosted that 2006 race, which was the first and only Martinsville Xfinity race since 1994 -- and having a driver with experience here in other series should give this team top 25 upside. Don't be too bullish on them, but there's some good opportunities to score DFS points here.
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