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The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Bristol on Friday night for the Food City 300. This is the final race before the playoffs begin. Can someone win his way into the postseason?
Last week, Noah Gragson won at Kansas, earning his second win in a row. Gragson is already positioned to lead the points once things are reset for the playoffs, but don't expect him to just coast on that. Gragson will likely want to earn even more bonus points.
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 Food City 300 on DraftKings. Be sure to also check out our NASCAR Premium Tools for Xfinity Series including our DFS Lineup Optimizer and powerful Research Station. This slate locks on 9/16/22 at 7:45 p.m. ET.
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Xfinity DFS Picks - DraftKings
Be sure to also check out all of our other weekly NASCAR DFS articles and analysis to help you set your optimal DFS lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Post-Qualifying Update Thread
Hopefully, I'll have time before the race to provide some updates once we know qualifying info. If I do, I'll tweet the info out and then will link the thread here.
How The Top Drivers Have Done Here
Let's compare the expensive drivers. This week, we have six drivers who cost at least $10,000.
Ty Gibbs ($11,400): 11th here in his only Xfinity start, Gibbs didn't lead any laps in that race. And of the nine races that Gibbs has won in the series, just one came on a short track, and that was at Richmond, which is nothing like Bristol. I think Gibbs might be overvalued this week.
Noah Gragson ($11,200): Gragson won here in 2020, leading 55 laps. He has three top 10s in five Bristol starts. This is the kind of track where Gragson can excel—I would consider him my favorite to win today.
Justin Allgaier ($11,000): Allgaier has a ton of experience here, with 21 Xfinity starts. He's finished top five in 10 of those and had a win here in 2010 when he was driving a Penske car. He's led 92 of more laps in five consecutive Bristol races but has faded late, either via a wreck or just not having the fastest car at the end. Allgaier is a great pick to win this one.
Josh Berry ($10,600): Berry's only Xfinity start here was last year, when he finished 35th. But he's run late model races here in the past and has a background in short tracks, so I don't think we should count Berry out, even though he's probably the top driver who I'll have the least exposure to, barring a struggle in qualifying, which would suddenly give him place differential upside.
A.J. Allmendinger ($10,300): Allmendinger won this race last year, but only led the final lap. He hasn't been as fast this year, so I would expect Allmendinger to finish somewhere around fifth. Qualifying determines if he's in play.
Brandon Jones ($10,000): Jones has three top 10s in a row here and once led 106 laps in a Bristol race. I doubt Jones wins on Friday, but there's PD upside for DFS purposes if he qualifies outside of the top 10.
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Mid-Priced Driver Options
Here are some drivers between $7,000 and $10,000 to monitor.
Sam Mayer ($9,700): I'm really intrigued by Mayer tonight. He had a Truck Series win here in 2020, and last year he led 49 laps in the Xfinity race here, finishing ninth after starting 22nd. Could this be the time for Mayer's first Xfinity win?
Riley Herbst ($8,500): Herbst has the best average finish of his career this year at 13.6 and has already tied his career high for top fives. Bristol is a good track for him, as he's had top 10s in his last two starts here, including a third last year.
Jeremy Clements ($7,200): Clements is heading to the playoffs, as he won the appeal that would have stripped his Daytona win of playoff eligibility. Clements has run really well here over the last few years, with six finishes in a row of 13th or better, including a fourth in 2019.
Potential Value Options
Obviously, qualifying will impact this, but here are some drivers under $7,000 that I have my eyes on.
Nick Sanchez ($6,100): Sanchez will make his third Xfinity Series start, but it comes in the 48 car, which has shown speed this season. Because of that, I'm disregarding his earlier runs this year in B.J. McLeod-owned cars because...well, those were McLeod cars. Sanchez was fourth here in an ARCA race last year.
Ryan Ellis ($5,500): Ellis has trouble in qualifying, as he's started 30th or worse in three consecutive races. His average start this year is 31.0, while his average finish is 23.3. There's going to be place differential upside here.
CJ McLaughlin ($5,300): The RSS cars have been solid this year. McLaughlin hasn't had great luck in his starts for the team, with two DNFs and a 34th at Kansas, but he did finish 13th at Loudon and in the Truck race here last year, he started 38th and finished 26th. He can keep a car clean. Keep an eye on McLaughlin.
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