The rankings below are based on a mixture of expected output and DraftKings’ NASCAR salaries for that day. The ordering is not based on the highest projected fantasy totals, but rather by value of each driver.
DraftKings’ Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard slate locks at 3:00 p.m. ET on Saturday. Set your lineups here: NXS $150K Indy-pendence Day Special [$25K to 1st] (XFIN).
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1. A.J. Allmendinger ($11,500) - This is not the Cup Series. Allmendinger regularly disappoints in road course races in the Cup Series against great drivers in great cars. The drivers in the Xfinity Series lack talent on ovals let alone road courses. In six Xfinity road course races, Allmendinger has three wins.
2. Myatt Snider ($7,800) - This is going to be a thing, and it may be a disaster. Snider spent the 2019 season in Europe running road races. He didn’t win any races, but he finished 6th in the standings. At the very least, he gained a ton of experience racing stock cars at road courses.
3. Austin Cindric ($10,500) - Will it be A.J. or Austin Cindric? Maybe neither. The truth is that no matter the skill or the machine, it’s hard to win races. Both A.J. and Austin have been common favorites at road courses because of their backgrounds, but they have few wins to show for it. Whether the breaks go their way or not, these two drivers are the most talented road racers in the field.
4. Noah Gragson ($9,800) - In three of four road course races last season, Gragson earned a top 5 finish. His worst finish was 10th at Watkins Glen, but that was against a very strong field and it was his first Xfinity race at Watkins Glen. Gragson has struggled in several K&N races at the Glen, so it appears to be a track specific issue.
5. Riley Herbst ($9,000) - Rejoice JGR, practice is back! Herbst is going to need it. In 2017, Herbst finished 2nd in an ARCA race at Road America, but Natalie Decker finished 7th in that race (Austin Cindric finished 12th, yikes).
6. Justin Allgaier ($10,000) - It’s hard to believe that Allgaier won 5 races in 2018. It was hard to believe in 2018, but the wins were littered with asterisks. Soft fields, problems for his competitors, and relevant to this week - road courses. Allgaier won two road course races against putrid fields. This week, the field is not pure garbage, but it’s rotten.
7. Jeremy Clements ($8,700) - It’s a road course race, so now for the obligatory “Clements won at Road America in 2017.” Although he dumped the leader on the last lap and the strategy played out perfectly for him, Clements ran a good race. Overall, he’s been a decent road racer.
8. Alex Labbe ($8,900) - During his 2017 Pinty Series (NASCAR Canada) championship, Labbe’s best races were at ovals, but he held his own at road courses, averaging a 5th place finish. In Labbe’s six Xfinity road races, he’s earned a top 20 finish in every race and has an average finish of 13th.
9. Chase Briscoe ($10,200) - His road course win at the Roval was heavily aided by being able to forfeit stage points as a part time driver. Although he had a sizable advantage via strategy, he still nailed every corner, lap after lap, his first time on the track.
10. Anthony Alfredo ($8,000) - Does iRacing matter? This week we will find out. This is the inaugural NASCAR event at the Indy road course. Other than the two practices, the only experience drivers will get is iRacing reps. Anthony Alfredo, AKA Fast Pasta, is one of the most active Xfinity series iRacers.
11. Joe Graf Jr. ($5,300) - He’s Improved a lot this year, but this weekend might be his biggest challenge yet. Then again, it might not be at all. If Graf pushes it 100%, then his car might not finish the race in one piece. If Graf walks the car around the road course at three-quarters speed, then he should safely earn a 20th place finish.
12. Ross Chastain ($9,400) - The numbers do not look good, but Chastain has never had a top tier race car at a road course. Still, his JD Motorsports cars were not terrible, and the competition was not that demanding, especially at races at Mid-Ohio and Road America.
13. Stefan Parsons ($6,300) - The B.J. Motorsports 99 car is a top 25 car, but Stefan Parsons does not have any experience road racing in NASCAR. The good news is that no one has any experience at the Indy road course, but at least some of them have turned right a couple times in their careers.
14. Stephen Leicht ($4,600) - A little birdie said that Leicht won’t start and park this weekend. Apparently, Chad Finchum is still shaken up from his wreck at Pocono, so Leicht will attempt to run the full race for Carl Long. If Leicht does run the race in full, he is by no means a lock. This is still a Carl Long car at a novel road course.
15. Preston Pardus ($4,900) - In the 2019 Roval race, Pardus finished 27th, but his average running position was 19th. Pardus was in 15th place with 3 laps left when Harrison Burton dumped him.
16. Justin Haley ($9,200) - Two things matter this weekend. Haley can lean on his teammate A.J. Allmendinger for help, and Haley won a Truck Series road race in 2018. Before you jam him into your lineups, Haley only lep two laps in the road race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
17. Harrison Burton ($9,600) - The JGR rookie finished 13th at the Roval last year in the famed 18 car. At Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in 2019, Burton was in 4th with two laps left before blowing his engine in the Truck Series road race.
18. Brandon Jones ($8,500) - In 15 Xfinity road course races, his average finish is 17th. Jones has earned just two road course top 10 finishes in top tier RCR and JGR equipment. He has not improved the slightest over his career. As we would expect, Jones has purchased additional rides in the K&N Series to get extra reps at road course races, and his results are just as bad.
19. Michael Annett ($8,200) - In his first season with Jr Motorsprots, Annet earned a 2nd place finish at Road America in 2017. In his other 10 road course races, his average finish is 15th. Annett isn’t terrible, but better results are expected from a top tier car in soft road race fields.
20. Jade Buford ($6,900) - The Bobby Dotter 07 car has been disappointing this season. It may not be the car, but instead the cavalcade of below average drivers motoring the 07. The one weekend that a decent driver was behind the wheel, J.J. Yeley finished 11th. Buford is a bit of an unknown, but he has 11 wins in various road racing series.
DraftKings’ Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard slate locks at 3:00 p.m. ET on Saturday. Set your lineups here: NXS $150K Indy-pendence Day Special [$25K to 1st] (XFIN).
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is greenflagradio2) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above.