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. Kyle Busch ($14,500) — He’s back in the indomitable No. 54 car. Busch has only raced twice this season, and one of those races was a road course with very few laps, yet he has led the fifth-most laps in the Xfinity Series. That’s embarrassing for the field and amazing for him.
2. Justin Allgaier ($10,400) — Over the last month, the tides have shifted and Allgaier appears to be the favorite to win the championship, not Austin Cindric. This weekend, it doesn’t matter if he’s the favorite, no one is beating Kyle Busch and the No. 54 JGR car.
3. Austin Cindric ($11,000) — His wins at Phoenix and Dover were impressive, and he’s capable of five more wins this season. The No. 22 Penske car will be fast enough to battle for the win at Nashville, but if last week is an example, Austin Cindric is not going to hold off Kyle Busch.
4. Josh Berry ($9,000) — Normally, Josh Berry is at a slight disadvantage. Teams have notebooks on each track and drivers have laps. Nashville is a clean slate. It all comes down to talent, and Berry has a lot of it.
5. Noah Gragson ($10,700) — Family money will keep him in the sport for years to come, but for those following his career, we’ve seen enough. He doesn’t have it. Gragson lacks the talent and the mental toughness to compete at the highest levels of stock car racing.
6. Harrison Burton ($9,500) — The clock is ticking. Ty Gibbs should be a full-time Xfinity driver. Toyota should promote John Hunter Nemechek to the Xfinity Series. Burton has the last name, but an average finish of 13th in the 2021 Xfinity Series isn’t living up to that name.
7. Brandon Jones ($8,800) — It’s all about perspective with Brandon Jones. His career has been a disappointment, if he’s considered a promising young racer. If he’s not a good driver, and he probably isn’t, then it’s remarkable that he has won races. If Jones starts outside of the top 10, then it will be hard to ignore a JGR car priced under $9,000.
8. Brett Moffitt ($7,800) — This is a reasonable price for an Our Motorsports car. If Moffitt can finish 8th like he did last week at Texas, then he has a great chance at being in the winning lineup. Moffitt has a top 15 finish in 9 of 14 races.
9. Myatt Snider ($7,400) — Wrecks happen; Snider’s 33rd place finish last week is not indicative of his skill or the quality of his car. An RCR car priced this low is an absolute steal. Snider is usually priced in the mid $8,000 range and needs a ceiling day to pay off his price tag. If he doesn’t wreck at Nashville, then he should be fine.
10. Justin Haley ($8,500) — The Kaulig Cars are great cars, but they are irrelevant in DFS. However, Haley’s price is getting low enough that he might become relevant. He doesn’t have the finishes to show it, but he averages the eighth-best driver rating each week.
Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NXS $70K Piston [$20K to 1st] (XFIN)
11. Daniel Hemric ($9,300) — There’s a reason RCR fired Hemric and promoted Tyler Reddick. One driver has won races, the other is just out there. Hemric has been blessed with great equipment at RCR, JR Motorsports, and JGR, but he has nothing to show for it. His teammates have wins, but not Hemric.
12. AJ Allmendinger ($10,000) — It would not be surprising to see Kaulig Racing struggle a little this week. It’s hard for a small team to adjust to new tracks, but then again, the addition of practice might be just what Kaulig Racing needs.
13. Riley Herbst ($7,600) — Practice was supposed to be a cure-all for Herbst at Charlotte and he looked great in practice. However, as Allen Iverson once said, “What are we talking about, practice? Not a game, not a game, practice?” There are a lot of athletes that look good in practice, but the game is a different story.
14. Ryan Sieg ($7,300) — In April, crew chief Shane Wilson was fired by David Gilliland. He immediately rejoined the team that he brought to prominence. Since he took over as crew chief for the No. 39 car, Ryan Sieg has finished 11th or better in 4 of 6 races.
15. Alex Labbe ($5,400) — He hasn’t been this cheap since his first race in 2018. The old school DFS Xfinity players will remember those Alex Labbe chalk weeks. He was a lock based on Pinty Series data. As long as he doesn’t qualify inside the top 10, Labbe will be a popular play this weekend.
16. Tommy Joe Martins ($6,300) — Where will this team be in 2022? They were a brand new team in 2021 that dealt with mechanical failure and a pandemic. Martins is a top 20 driver this season. He’s not too far behind Jeremy Clements and Brandon Brown.
17. Jade Buford ($5,500) — What happened to the pricing algorithm? Buford is a decent driver and his small team is much better funded than most small teams. Somehow Buford is priced next to borderline start-and-park cars. Buford has top 20 finishes in his last two intermediate track races.
18. Ryan Vargas ($4,500) — Kyle Busch is expensive and Ryan Vargas makes it much easier to fit Kyle Busch in lineups. Vargas isn’t a great driver, but he’s at least a $5,000 driver. A JD Motorsports car has never been priced this low.
19. Timmy Hill ($4,700) — The car has a big time sponsor this week, so it’s going to run the distance. It’s still a Carl Long car, so Hill can earn a top 20 finish or finish outside of the top 30. At this price, it’s worth a chance in GPPs.
20. Natalie Decker ($5,700) — This ranking is strategic. If Decker were ranked higher, most readers would click away after seeing her name. Stop, don’t go anywhere. This is an Our Motorsports car priced below $6,000 and Decker gets to practice. Wait until after practice before crossing her off your list.
Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NXS $70K Piston [$20K to 1st] (XFIN)
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