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.
The DraftKings Henry 180 NASCAR slate locks at 2:27 p.m. ET on Saturday.
1. Kyle Busch ($10,900) — He’s a perfect 3-for-3 this season, and one of those Xfinity wins was at a road course (COTA). Kyle Busch is a check box guy. At one point, he had won at every track in the Cup Series. He’s earned 200 NASCAR wins and 100 Xfinity Series wins. Busch has never won at Road America because he’s never raced at this track, but Busch is likely itching to check this box as completed.
2. Austin Cindric ($10,700) — Without a doubt, Cindric is one of the greatest road course racers in the history of the Xfinity Series (four wins and 11 top 5s). In a couple years, it will not be a surprise, if Cindric is considered one of the best road course racers in the Cup Series.
3. AJ Allmendinger ($10,300) — His first career NASCAR win was at Road America in 2013. Last season at Road America, he drove from 33rd to a runner-up finish behind Austin Cindric. Allmendinger has the third-best odds to win (+400) at the Draftkings Sportsbook.
4. Ty Gibbs ($10,500) — Technically, he is in the #81 JGR car this weekend, but that’s just a number. Chris Gayle is the crew chief for the #54 JGR car that annihilates the field weekly, but this week he’ll be in charge of the #81 car. Also, Ty Gibbs is participating in the Trans Am race in order to get extra practice.
5. Kevin Harvick ($9,900) — If his SHR car is fast in practice, then Harvick will be a possible target at Road America. Otherwise, Harvick isn’t trying to win, he’s running laps for experience. His +2000 odds to win at the DraftKings Sportsbook seems to indicate that this is glorified practice for the Cup Series veteran.
6. Justin Allgaier ($9,500) — He’s having a terrific season and he’s one of the better road racers in the series, but this field is stacked. Allgaier won at Road America in 2018, but that was in a stand alone event with Cup drivers out of town.
7. Alex Labbe ($7,200) — As a point of reference, Labbe cost $8,800 at Road America last season and he wasn’t starting in the back. This price is way too low for a driver that established himself in the road course heavy Pinty’s Series in Canada.
8. Daniel Hemric ($9,300) — At Mid-Ohio, he spent nearly 25% of the race inside the top 5, but that’s nothing compared to Austin Cindric’s 78%. Hemric will have to fight and claw for a top 10 finish at Road America against this field.
9. Sam Mayer ($8,400) — In the final Trans Am practice at Road America, Mayer recorded the fifth-fastest lap. If he’s fast in the Xfinity practice on Friday afternoon, then a top 5 finish from the #8 JR Motorsports car is not out of the question.
10. Noah Gragson ($9,700) — In the spring, his season unraveled, but over the last three weeks, Gragson has put the pieces back together with three consecutive top 10 finishes. The competition is fierce this weekend, but his biggest challenge will be his equipment. At COTA, his car died and at Mid-Ohio, Gragson killed his car.
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11. Harrison Burton ($8,700) — This is a steep price for a driver that could not run inside the top 10 at Road America last season. Burton’s average running position was 12th and that was against a very weak field of drivers.
12. Kaz Grala ($9,100) — The Jordan Anderson #31 car is a former RCR car, so this isn’t the typical small team ride. Kaz Grala is a skilled road racer. He’s earned a top 10 finish at a road course in all three series. In his three races at Road America, he has two top 5s and an 11th place finish.
13. Myatt Snider ($6,900) — It’s become clear that his 2019 season spent racing road courses in Euro NASCAR meant nothing. Snider has never earned better than a 10th place finish at a road course in the Xfinity Series. Still, this is a very cheap price to pay for an RCR car.
14. Jeremy Clements ($6,500) — Lightning does not strike twice, but at this price Clements does not have to win. Since 2013, Clements has 18 top 20 finishes at road courses with an average finish of 12th in those 18 races.
15. Cody Ware ($5,100) — Hear me out, his odds to win are +50,000 at the DraftKings Sportsbook. Sure, it’s a suckers bet, but Ware raced at Road America in the IndyCar series last week and he’s pulling triple duty this week (Cup, Xfinity, and Trans AM Series). It’s a long shot, but Jeremy Clements won at Road America in 2017.
16. Jade Buford ($6,100) — This is an egregious salary. Buford is an experienced road racer and Big Machine Racing builds decent cars. In seven NASCAR road course races, Buford has six top 20 finishes and his average finish in those races is 14th place.
17. Josh Bilicki ($6,700) — He’s an experienced road racer, but his Xfinity results have been mixed. His poor finishes are largely due to poor equipment and the chaos that can unfold in a road race with inexperienced drivers. He’s running double duty this weekend, and he’ll have pretty good equipment in the Xfinity race (Dotter/Ware car).
18. Brandon Jones ($8,000) — In five Xfinity races at Road America, Jones has never finished better than ninth. However, a ninth place finish might work at this price. In three of his four Road America races, qualifying was held, and Jones started outside of the top 20.
19. Justin Haley ($8,900) — On regular weeks, Haley is an afterthought for DFS players. With a loaded field, he won’t even be on the radar, but this could be a mistake. Haley finished second at the Indy GP last season and second in the last road course race (Mid-Ohio).
20. Spencer Pumpelly ($5,900) — At COTA, he finished 19th. That’s exactly what should be expected from a veteran road course racer in a JD Motorsports car. Obviously, DFS players want more, but at least he got a top 20. Many of the road racing veterans that drive for small teams fail to finish inside the top 30.
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