RADIO
It's Talladega time, y'all! The longest track on the NASCAR circuit at 2.66 miles, Talladega Superspeedway is one of the two restrictor plate tracks that NASCAR visits. If you aren't super familiar with NASCAR, what that means is a lot of large packs of cars running together and an expanded field of "good" cars, as teams that sometimes would struggle to stay on the lead lap will now be running up there in the large front pack.
This also means two more things: the chance for unpredictable drivers to finish in the top 10, and the chance for huge accidents that take out competitive drivers. In running the lineup optimizer this week, I've expanded the number of drivers who I'm willing to play. At Daytona, for instance, Timmy Hill, Ray Black Jr., and Alex Labbe all finished in the top 10.
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 Unhinged 300 on DraftKings. (And if any other DFS providers want to start doing Xfinity, we'll do those too!) Be sure to also check out our NASCAR Premium Tools for Xfinity Series including our DFS Lineup Optimizer and powerful Research Station.
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Xfinity DFS Lineup Picks - DraftKings
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A.J. Allmendinger #16 ($10,800) - Starting 34th
Look, Talladega is always a bit of a crapshoot, so something I'm focusing on pretty heavily this week is upside, which means I'm grabbing more guys from the back of the starting lineup than usual. If they manage to keep their cars clean, you'll get a lot of place differential points. If they don't, you don't take quite the hit that you would if drivers starting near the front wreck. For a race as unpredictable as this one might be, it seems like a good strategy.
Allmendinger starts 34th. Last year, he originally finished third at Daytona in what seemed like a 1-2-3 finish for Kaulig Racing, but Allmendinger was later disqualified for an issue with the engine. Allmendinger's last Cup race at 'Dega ended with him finishing sixth, though he also has a history of crashing out at this track.
But hey, the upside here is too great to ignore, and Allmendinger's run really well in his Xfinity starts this season.
Myatt Snider #93 ($8,600) - Starting 31st
No, Snider in the 93 isn't quite the same as Snider in the 21, but he has piloted the Louisiana Hot Sauce car to consecutive top 15 finishes this season, including a seventh in the second Homestead race.
Snider's crashed out of most of his plate races, but when he didn't, he's finished well. Second at Talladega in the Trucks in 2018. Third in Trucks here in 2017. Snider seems to be on his way to being a solid plate track racer, and this 93 car continues to improve. I love the upside with him starting 31st.
Justin Allgaier #7 ($10,500) - Starting 12th
Justin Allgaier has six top 10s in nine Xfinity starts at Talladega, and he's crashed in the other three races. Allgaier seems like a good bet to run up front for most of the day on Saturday, and he's got top fives in half of his JR Motorsports starts here.
Allgaier has fared less well at Daytona if you want to expand your plate track sample size, as he's got just a 42.1 percent top-10 rate there, but overall, this team has performed well at this kind of track.
What the 7 car hasn't done so well is run this season, as Allgaier has only four top 10s in 10 races. Luck has played a factor in that, though, as he has the fourth-best average running position among full-time drivers this year.
Riley Herbst #18 ($7,600) - Starting 22nd
Just when I thought I learned my lesson with Riley Herbst, I recommend him again.
With the 18 no longer top-12 in owner's points, Herbst moves down a tier in the lineup draw, which means he's got his worst starting spot of the season. Finally, there's some actual upside to exploit here.
Herbst had a pair of top 10s at Homestead and actually has more top 10s than Allgaier this year, even though it seems like there's no realm where that could be true. Herbst is definitely not one of the stronger cars in this series, but he does have a fast car and starts outside the top 20.
He's also run well in his limited Talladega action, bringing home the 51 truck in third place in last year's Truck Series race here.
Timmy Hill #61 ($6,700) - Starting 33rd
Hill finished third at Daytona -- albeit in a different car than this one -- and while he's never had Xfinity success at Talladega, he has finished in the top 10 in 44.4 percent of his Daytona starts, posting an average finish of 12.9 there.
I don't really have much else to say about Hill. He's shown he can stay out of trouble at plate tracks. If we get a messy race, don't be shocked to see him pop up in the top 10 by the end of things, and don't feel discouraged when he's running poorly for much of the day.
Mason Massey #99 ($5,400) - Starting 35th
Another "ehh, why not?" driver from the back of the starting grid, Massey hasn't recorded a top-20 finish yet in Xfinity, but he has had some relatively solid runs in this 99 car.
B.J. McLeod cars have run five times at Talladega in the past two years, with lead lap finishes out of each car. In fact, aside from a blown engine in 2016, McLeod cars have never finished more than one lap down here.
Massey might not be able to stick with the lead pack. If this race is relatively clean, you won't get much out of him. But the advantage of not having a lot of speed here? You avoid the big melees, and with no practice beforehand, this race could result in a lot of issues in the lead pack, allowing Massey to sneak in with a solid run. And with barely any place differential downside, Massey simply finishing the race can be a great result for DFS purposes.
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