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It's time for some Friday night racing at Daytona!
The Xfinity Series regular-season still has four races left, but this will be the best chance for someone outside of the top 12 to get a surprise win and lock their way into the playoffs.
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 Wawa 250 on DraftKings. 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
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.
Chase Briscoe #99 ($11,500)
Starting 37th
Daytona is a chaos race, so you shouldn't play every driver I recommend at a lower rate than you usually would. If I would, for example, go heavy on one of my sleeper plays usually, I'll be significantly lighter on them this week because anything can happen at Daytona, including large crashes that take out half the field.
Anyway, now that we've gotten that out there, Chase Briscoe is my top play.
The case for him is simple: he starts 37th.
The Cup Series rookie is dropping down for this race, looking to get more track experience here as he chases a must-win on Saturday night. And last year, this was a good track for Briscoe. He was fifth in the season opener, then finished third when NASCAR came back here, leading 22 laps in the process.
Sure, navigating all the traffic to get to the front without an incident will be tough. But I think Briscoe is someone who can do that.
Daniel Hemric #18 ($10,700)
Starting 21st
Some nice PD upside here for Hemric, who starts just outside the top 20. Though he is still yet to win an Xfinity Series race, Hemric has 38 top fives , though none of those have come at Daytona, where he was two top 10s in six starts.
The good news: after crashing out of both races here in 2017, Hemric has been running at the finish in the other four races, and both times that he kept the car clean enough to finish on the lead lap, he came away with a top 10.
This isn't a slam dunk play. But Hemric is an experienced driver who has some really nice upside, so I'll play him in a few lineups.
A.J. Allmendinger #16 ($7,700)
Starting 1st
DraftKings has priced down all the top drivers this week, because them starting near the front introduces a ton of downside that isn't usually present. They're almost daring you to play a bunch of good drivers just so you can watch in horror as a fifth lap crash takes them all out.
But that's not scaring me off of A.J. Allmendinger.
Yes, a DNF here will kill any lineup you have Allmendinger in, which is why I'll continue to preach that you need to diversify your lines. But what Allmendinger lacks in PD upside, he gains in the potential for laps led. Starting first in a car that's been good on superspeedway, Allmendinger could lead a ton here.
While A.J. has yet to win on a superspeedway, his Daytona runs have gone well. In 2019, he led 33 laps and finished in the top five before he was disqualified, but DraftKings doesn't take DQs into account. In 2020, he crashed, but not before leading 58 laps and still finishing 15th. And then earlier this year, he didn't lead any laps, but started 31st and finished fifth.
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Jordan Anderson #31 ($7,200)
Starting 18th
Anderson will need a top 10 for this play to really work for you, but he's one of NASCAR's most underrated superspeedway racers.
Anderson has six top 10s in the Truck Series in 130 starts. Of those, five were at either Daytona or Talladega, including a second-place finish here in the season-opening Truck Series race.
Anderson doesn't lead laps at superspeedways, but he knows how to stay out of trouble and coax a good finish out of a car that probably has no business having too good of a finish. There's a reason he's in the 31 himself this week instead of bringing in someone else to drive for him.
Does it worry me some that he starts in the top 20? Sure! And does it worry me that he hasn't raced Xfinity at a superspeedway? Also sure! But I'll still play him a decent bit.
Colby Howard #15 ($6,300)
Starting 33rd
Oh yeah, I'm all in on a JD Motorsports superspeedway play from a starting spot of 33rd.
Howard has no top 10s in 41 Xfinity starts, but he did finish 12th here in 2020, and 19th earlier this year at Talladega.
This race team likes to find a way to stick around at tracks like this. So far, Howard hasn't necessarily been running as well at superspeedway as some of his teammates have, but I really like the idea of throwing a dart at him this week.
Joe Graf Jr. #01 ($6,000)
Starting 39th
Most weeks I would avoid Graf because...well, because he's Joe Graf Jr. and nothing he's done in NASCAR has shown that he needs to be rostered most weeks.
But this week, I've got some interest, because he starts so far back.
While Grad has no top 10s here at Daytona, he survived the race earlier this year and finished 11th. He also crashed out of his other three starts here, but in 2019 he crashed out late enough to still finish 23rd. At this price, I'll take a top 25.
Granted, in seven starts at superspeedways, Graf has five DNFs. But in a race like this, you have to take a risk on an extremely cheap driver with a lot of place differential upside. Graf is one of those guys.
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