The rankings below are based on a mixture of expected output and DraftKings’ NASCAR salaries for Saturday. The ordering is not based on the highest projected fantasy totals, but rather by the value of each driver.
The DraftKings NASCAR Xfinity Series Drive for the Cure 250 presented by BlueCross BlueShield of North Carolina slate locks at 3 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NXS $60K Piston [$20K to 1st] (XFIN)
1. AJ Allmendinger ($11,000) — Double-duty Allmendinger is looking to make it two wins in a row this weekend. Also, if he wins on Saturday, it will be his fourth consecutive Roval win. The second streak is slightly more significant.
2. Noah Gragson ($10,100) — It took a super speedway race to snap his win streak. It’s doubtful that Gragson starts a new streak this week. He’s a top-5 driver but he has yet to prove he can win a road course race.
3. Ty Gibbs ($10,600) — Besides Road Course Emperor Allmendinger, Gibbs is the only Xfinity regular with a road course win this season. Gibbs does not have many reps at The Roval.
4. Justin Allgaier ($9,600) — A top-5 finish from Allgaier seems reasonable. It’s unreasonable to expect him to beat Allmendinger, Gragson or Gibbs. He might not have to win. There are other ways to score fantasy points.
5. James Davidson ($9,000) — From 2017 to 2018, Davidson raced the legendary No. 18 JGR Toyota three times. He finished fourth, 37th and eighth in those road races. Those were watered-down fields, too.
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6. Daniel Hemric ($9,400) — This could be a good week for Hemric. He finished third in a monsoon at Charlotte in 2020, but he finished third again in 2021. This season he’ll race in a sporty Kaulig Racing car — Roval winners from 2019-2021.
7. Sam Mayer ($10,000) — In terms of Dietrich Data (a statistic that comprehensively synthesizes each of a driver’s laps), Mayer has the fourth-best road course score among the Xfinity regulars.
8. Brandon Jones ($8,800) — With 31 road races under his belt — not even counting Trucks, ARCA, Trans-Am, etc — one would expect Jones to be a top-5 road course driver. Some days he is and some days he’s Brandon Jones.
9. Josh Berry ($9,200) — He’s been decent in his limited number of road course races. The legendary late model driver is out of his element, but his JRM Chevy makes up for his inexperience. Berry has never raced at The Roval.
10. Austin Hill ($10,300) — The rookie is a good road racer (2021 Truck Series Watkins Glen winner) and his RCR equipment is top tier. Hill has experience at The Roval. The results weren’t great but his equipment wasn’t great.
11. Sheldon Creed ($9,800) — Points do not matter. He’s not in the playoffs and will pit cycle before the end of the stages. Creed has been a top-5 road racer this season, but he’s never raced at The Roval before.
12. Sage Karam ($7,700) — There are several road ringers in second-tier equipment this weekend at The Roval. Karam (Our), Andy Lally (Dotter), Josh Bilicki (Martins), Preston Pardus (Gosselin), Daniil Kvyat (Hunt) and Patrick Gallagher (Sieg). It’s very unlikely that any win or earn a top-5 finish, but one will end up in the top 10.
13. Riley Herbst ($8,600) — He’s a decent road racer with an above-average car. In 16 Xfinity Series road course races, Herbst has six top-10 finishes.
14. Jeremy Clements ($7,400) — The typical DFS NASCAR talking point is that Clements won at Road America in 2017. The real story is that Clements has 27 top-20 finishes in 37 road course races.
15. Josh Williams ($5,600) — This is the story of The Tortoise and the Hare. There are plenty of affordable road ringers on every road course slate, but it’s always Williams — with help from his low price — that sneaks into the optimal lineup in road course contests.
Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NXS $60K Piston [$20K to 1st] (XFIN)
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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 do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.