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 the value of each driver.
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1. Austin Cindric ($10,300) — The No. 1 road racer in the Xfinity Series — possibly, all of NASCAR — is starting first and has the best pit stall. How can Cindric fail? He can beat himself or NASCAR tags him with a penalty. Cindric has already advanced to the next round of the playoffs, so NASCAR doesn’t have to do the star of the series any favors in this race.
2. Ty Gibbs ($10,500) — There’s another way that Austin Cindric loses at the Roval, Ty Gibbs straight up beats him. No one doubts the No. 54 JGR Toyota and Gibbs has won two road course races this season.
3. AJ Allmendinger ($10,700) — Okay, so there is a third way that Cindric loses. Allmendinger can beat him because he has done it the last two years (2019 and 2020 Roval winner). That first blurb did not age well.
4. Justin Allgaier ($9,400) — Somehow, Xfinity playoff points are a thing. Quick, who won the 2016 Xfinity Championship? It was the 2020 Gaunt Bros. Toyota driver, Daniel Suarez. Point racing for this championship is silly; that’s the kindest way to put it. At least Algaier won’t be point racing this weekend. He’ll go for the win, and that’s what DFS players need at this price.
5. Noah Gragson ($10,000) — Ignore his road course results. He’s suffered mechanical failures and a bad luck wreck at Mid-Ohio. With normal luck, he’s a top-5 driver, but that’s it. He’ll need an assist from mother nature, if he is to beat the favorites.
6. Josh Berry ($8,900) — This will be his first race at the Roval, but Chase Briscoe won the inaugural race — obviously, Briscoe did not have any experience at this track — and AJ Allmendinger won the 2019 race in only his second time at the track. Berry has won at every other type of track, so why not a road course, too?
7. Daniel Hemric ($9,100) — Last season, the Xfinity Roval race was a mess similar to the COTA Cup Series race that was run during a monsoon. Normally, it would be wise to ignore Hemric’s third place finish under those conditions, but the forecast does not look good for Charlotte. Under similar conditions, it is fair to expect similar results.
8. Justin Haley ($9,600) — In 2018, he got lucky and won the Truck Series road course race, but he put himself in a position to get lucky. He’s earned three podium finishes in the Xfinity Series, and in each of those races, he was one lucky break away from winning.
9. Brandon Jones ($8,100) — He never looks good and he never looks like he is improving despite all of his additional road course races. However, sometimes he gets out of the way and lets his superior equipment do the work. Herbie has earned a top-10 road course finish seven times and two top 5s this season.
10. Harrison Burton ($9,800) — This team is point racing at intermediate tracks, so they’re definitely going to be ultra conservative at the Roval. In the defense of the JGR No. 20 team, they’re not going to beat Cindric, Allmendinger or Gibbs, so it’s wise to play it safe and earn as many points as they can.
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11. Austin Hill ($7,700) — He wasn’t a dirt racer, but he won the Truck Series race at Knoxville. He wasn’t a road racer, but he won the Truck Series race at Watkins Glen. Hill is one of the most underrated drivers in NASCAR and the only thing holding him back this weekend is his equipment, but a top-15 finish is still possible.
12. Myatt Snider ($7,900) — It’s win or go home for the RCR No. 2 car. Charlotte is home, so this shouldn’t be too long of a drive. Snider’s road racing experience in Europe has not helped and being in RSS equipment last season was not the problem. The kid just doesn’t have it.
13. Landon Cassill ($6,600) — If his suddenly unreliable JD Motorsports car doesn’t fail, then he should easily drive into the top 20. Cassill has more experience than almost any driver in the field and he’s patient. His methodical approach could easily translate into a top-15 finish similar to how he finished 12th at the Daytona roval in February.
14. Loris Hezemans ($5,100) — The Dutchman is here to race. He wasn’t great at Phoenix or Pocono this season, but his equipment wasn’t great, and better yet, he didn’t park. Like most Euro drivers, Hezemans has a background in road racing, and it showed in his Xfinity debut last season when he finished 22nd at Road America.
15. Josh Bilicki ($7,500) — He has the talent, but does he have the car? Most of the time, the answer is no. This time, it might be yes? He’s driving a Bobby Dotter car again, and at Indy he finished 25th for Dotter.
16. Will Rodgers ($7,000) — It’s time to refamiliarize ourselves with Rodgers. In 2018, he won a K&N race at Sonoma with a field that included Aric Almirola, William Byron, Daniel Suarez and Erik Jones. In limited and inconsistent opportunities in the Xfinity Series, he’s been inconsistent — imagine that. He finished 12th at Mid-Ohio in 2019, so there is plenty of upside.
17. Sage Karam ($6,800) — This could be a weekend for the IndyCar driver to shine, but it will be hard to top his 16th place finish at Bristol. Tyler Reddick finished eighth in the Jordan Anderson car at COTA and Karam was on his way to earning this team its second top-10 road course finish of the season at Indy before a stage 3 mechanical failure knocked the car off of the lead lap.
18. Ty Dillon ($9,300) — At first glance, this doesn’t seem like the best time to play Ty Dillon, but the opposite might be true. His Our Motorsports car is good, but it’s not a top-10 car. At a road course with chaos and strategy, Dillon could sneak this ride into the top 5. That would never happen at an oval.
19. Jade Buford ($5,500) — This car is better than its sub $6,000 price tag and Buford — an experienced road racer — is better than this price tag. His starting position doesn’t scream “play me,” but he has seven top-20 finishes in 10 road course races with an average finish of 15th in those seven races.
20. Kris Wright ($5,700) — Here we go again. Kris Wright has won DFS players a lot of money as a road course value play (two top-20 finishes in 2021), but he’s lost DFS players a lot more money (four finishes of 25th or worse with an average finish of 30th in 2021).
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