RADIO
The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Las Vegas on Saturday for the Ambetter Health 302. This is the first race of the Round of 8, with just eight drivers left in the race for the 2024 title.
John Hunter Nemechek was the victor when the series was here earlier in the season, but he won't be in this field as Xfinity Series playoff races are restricted to drivers running for Xfinity or Truck Series points, preventing Cup Series drivers from dipping down and stealing wins.
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 Ambetter Health 302 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 10/19/24 at 7:33 p.m. EDT.
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Xfinity DFS Preview - DraftKings
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Top Plays
Sheldon Creed ($10.0K)
Starts 38th
Sheldon Creed tells USA that his @JoeGibbsRacing team will have to change the engine on his No. 18 Toyota. He won't post a qualifying lap and will start from the rear.#NASCAR
— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) October 18, 2024
Well, we have some obvious chalk here as Sheldon Creed blew an engine in practice and is set to start last on Saturday, giving him obvious place differential upside. Creed has an average finish of 12.3 with 15 top fives this season, so the appeal here is obvious.
Aric Almirola ($11.0K)
Starts 12th
Aric Almirola has won two of his 10 Xfinity Series starts this season, including at another 1.5-mile track, Kansas. He's also in the No. 20 car this weekend, the team that won in the first visit of the season to Vegas with John Hunter Nemechek behind the wheel.
Chandler Smith ($10.2K)
Starts Third
Chandler Smith has started three Xfinity Series races here. He's started and finished in the top five in all three runs and led double-digit laps each time. Back in March, Smith led 74 of 200 laps at LVMS and finished in third place.
Smith also might be the hottest driver in the series right now. Entering this weekend, he's posted six consecutive top fives and eight consecutive top 10s. It feels like Smith is the favorite to take home the Xfinity Series title at this point.
Cole Custer ($10.8K)
Starts Second
Last season's champion has run well here in the past, including a second-place finish earlier this season. In this race last season, Custer started second and led 62 laps before finishing third. He has a great shot to contend for the victory.
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Mid-Tier Options
Austin Hill ($9.8K)
Starts 17th
Austin Hill has an incredible track record here and a lot of place differential upside, making him one of my favorite plays on this slate.
Xfinity Series win sims for Las Vegas:
1. Chandler Smith 20.6%
2. Cole Custer 19.5%
3. Justin Allgaier 12.9%
4. Austin Hill 7.8%
5. Sheldon Creed 7.5%Full win/T3/T5 sims plus values at @FDSportsbook ⤵️ https://t.co/DT51qlqR3P
— Jim Sannes (@JimSannes) October 18, 2024
Hill has wins here in multiple series taking the checkered flag last March in Xfinity while also winning here in the Truck Series in 2019 and 2020. He was fourth this March, leading six laps and posting his fourth top 10 in a row at Vegas.
Riley Herbst ($9.4K)
Starts Seventh
Last year in this race, Riley Herbst earned his first career Xfinity Series win, and it was far from a fluke as Herbst dominated, leading 103 laps and taking the checkered flag. He was fifth here earlier this season, proving that a strong performance at Vegas was not a fluke.
Taylor Gray ($8.3K)
Starts 13th
While Taylor Gray's foray into Xfinity has been met with middling results, a lot of his issues have come because of the car, with four DNFs, including in his past three starts. Still, he's in a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and he finished fourth in the Truck Series race earlier this season.
Value Options
Daniel Dye ($7.0K)
Starts 30th
Next season, Daniel Dye is set to move to the Xfinity Series on a full time basis with Kaulig Racing. After lackluster results in the past, he's definitely figured some things out in 2024. In eight Xfinity starts, Dye—who starts 30th on Saturday—has a pair of top 10s and an average finish that is 5.8 spots better than his average start.
Josh Williams ($6.9K)
Starts 23rd
It's been a largely disappointing year for Josh Williams at Kaulig, but he's had some good runs on intermediate tracks, including an eighth at Charlotte and a 14th in March at this track in a race where he started 32nd.
Corey Heim ($7.7K)
Starts 14th
Corey Heim is dominant in the Truck Series, but that hasn't translated yet to Xfinity, with four top 10s in 12 starts and an average finish of 18.0. He's good, but he's not consistently up front.
It’s insane to me that Corey Heim has won 20% of the Truck races in the last two years yet there is no talk of him moving up.
— Hester (@TheHestercution) October 16, 2024
But Heim has an average finish of 3.5 at Vegas in the Truck Series and has shown speed at intermediates. I don't know how much I trust this play, but something just feels right with Heim this weekend.
Ryan Ellis ($5.0K)
Starts 34th
Ryan Ellis announced on Friday that he won't be back with Alpha Prime Racing next year. It'll be interesting to see how the team replaces him, because Ellis has quietly had a solid year, with an average finish of 23.7. He's not a star and has zero top 10s, but he can easily achieve 10 points of place differential this week.
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