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 Explore The Pocono Mountains 225 at Pocono slate locks at 5 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NXS $60K Piston [$20K to 1st] (XFIN)
1. Justin Allgaier ($10,500) — After another win last week, it appears the Xfinity Series Championship is his to lose. His win at New Hampshire wasn’t very impressive, but he finished in one piece and that was all it took last week.
2. Ty Gibbs ($10,700) — His JGR Toyota is one of, if not the, fastest cars in the series. Gibbs is one of, if not the, most talented drivers in the series. There will be off weeks and bad breaks, but more often than not, he’ll hit.
3. Cole Custer ($10,100) — This is Custer’s fourth Xfinity race this season. Two were at road courses and one was at Fontana — he won the Fontana race. If Custer gets a rocket ship like he had at Fontana, then he’ll be the favorite on Saturday.
4. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. ($9,700) — After Stenhouse won his second Xfinity Series championship, he barely returned. This is only his third Xfinity race since winning the 2012 title. Two-time champ Tyler Reddick won in this Big Machine Racing No. 48 Chevy at Texas.
5. Josh Berry ($9,900) — New Hampshire was his second wreck in the last four races. His other races have been fine. Over the last 10 races, he has five top-5 finishes, including two wins.
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6. Noah Gragson ($10,300) — This JRM car has vanished. Gragson finished fourth last week, but he was never a contender. He has a lot of top-10 finishes, but he hasn’t controlled a race since the beginning of the season.
7. Sammy Smith ($8,200) — The 18-year-old has looked good in two ARCA seasons. He has two ARCA wins and six ARCA East wins. He’s never raced at Pocono before, but he’ll get extra reps in Friday’s ARCA race.
8. AJ Allmendinger ($9,300) — Last season, Allmendinger finished fifth at Pocono. That seems to be the ceiling for a Kaulig Racing car at Pocono. This track rewards machine over man, and the Kaulig Racing cars can’t quite run with JRM and JGR.
9. Daniel Hemric ($8,900) — Without JGR speed, Hemric looks like the 2018 RCR version of Daniel Hemric. He’s a skilled driver with a solid car that can pile up top 10s with ease. Occasionally, he’ll grab a top-5 finish, but wins are out of the question.
10. Brandon Jones ($8,600) — This is a race track that heavily favors equipment. The proof of this is Jones’ Pocono Truck Series win in 2020. He’ll have a car capable of winning on Saturday. Also, he’s going to get extra reps in the ARCA race on Friday.
11. Austin Hill ($9,100) — He has earned his price tag. Irrespective of his plate track success, Hill is routinely a top-10 driver in his RCR car. When everything goes right – and wrong for everyone else – he’s a top-5 driver.
12. Sam Mayer ($9,500) — This is a pretty steep price for Mayer, but he could be an interesting play. His lack of experience hasn’t hurt him much this season and it shouldn’t matter too much at a track that favors equipment. He will not be completely lost this week because he has two ARCA races at Pocono under his belt.
13. Landon Cassill ($7,900) — Technically, Cassill finished last at New Hampshire (DQ for failing post-race inspection). Unofficially, he almost won and finished third. His car has just enough speed to creep into the top 10. The other Kaulig Racing cars are too expensive for just a top 10, but Cassill is a steal.
14. Sheldon Creed ($8,000) — It would be great if Creed could finish more races. He has scored a top-15 driver rating 14 times, but he only has nine top-15 finishes. That’s not terrible, and he finished 12th at Atlanta and seventh at New Hampshire.
15. Jeremy Clements ($7,000) — His worst finish in the last five Pocono races is 17th and his average finish is 12th. Clements has two top-10 finishes in his last three races (Road America and New Hampshire). The finish outside of the top 10 was a 17th-place finish at the Atlanta plate track.
Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NXS $60K Piston [$20K to 1st] (XFIN)
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