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 NASCAR Xfinity Series Alsco Uniforms 300 at Las Vegas slate locks at 4:41 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NXS $100K Piston [$20K to 1st] (XFIN)
1. Noah Gragson ($10,800) — Can the hometown kid finally win at Las Vegas? He finished third behind his teammates last fall, but he overcame two pit road penalties in that race. JR Motorsports was the fastest stable at Auto Club last week, and they’ll likely be the team to beat on Saturday.
2. Justin Allgaier ($10,400) — The countless restarts at the end of the Fontana race took their toll, and Allgaier finished eighth despite having a top-3 car. Last season at Las Vegas, Allgaier had a top-3 car and finished second to his JR Motorsport teammate, Josh Berry.
3. Ty Gibbs ($11,000) — Fontana was not a great start for Gibbs. He got wrecked by Daniel Hemric and then was doomed in stage 3 because he was down a set of tires. Irrespective of the wreck and tire situation, Gibbs was only a 5th-place driver. That’s pretty good, but he set the bar high with four wins last season.
4. Josh Berry ($9,700) — When Michael Annett could not race at Las Vegas last fall, Berry hopped into the No. 1 JR Motorsports car and won. Berry and crew chief Mike Bumgarner are back for more. Allgaier and Gragson will be the favorites, but Berry was ridiculously fast and smooth last season in Sin City.
5. Daniel Hemric ($9,900) — His Kaulig Racing No. 11 Chevy was not the best car on the grid last week. It was just a top-10 car, but Hemric got every ounce of speed out of his car. He was as aggressive as he’s ever been. Winning a championship has changed Hemric. Is it for better or worse? He’ll likely wreck more, but he might actually win some races now that he has some attitude.
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6. AJ Allmendinger ($10,200) — In clean air, the Kaulig Racing cars are great at intermediate tracks. In traffic, these cars are top-10 cars. When do we ever see Kaulig Racing cars slicing and dicing through the top 10? Allmendinger won this race last season in clean air. He looked great last week in clean air. No one gets to spend all race in clean air.
7. Brandon Jones ($9,500) — Last week was a disaster, but thankfully, Jones is alive. He wrecked in just about every way imaginable at Fontana. Jones has skill and a good car, but it’s not a great car and he’s not great. Actually, he’s far from great and may be the biggest disappointment in Xfinity Series history.
8. John Hunter Nemechek ($9,200) — This is not a top-tier car, but the Sam Hunt Racing equipment is solid. Nemechek will get everything out of it that he can. He finished third in the Sam Hunt No. 26 Toyota at Richmond last season. If there are plenty of wrecks, and JHN is not one of them, he can come away with a top-5 finish.
9. Sam Mayer ($8,600) — Throw out last season. Mayer was a part-time driver for JR Motorsports, and that pay-to-play ride was suspect over the last several seasons. JR Motorsports had the best cars last week, and Mayer finished up front with his teammates (sixth).
10. Ryan Truex ($8,500) — The check cleared, so Truex gets to race the No. 18 JGR car this week. Truex has rented good and bad rides over the last several seasons with mixed results. He is good enough to run in the top 10, but he’ll need chaos to win. The chaos part is not the reach.
11. Sheldon Creed ($8,300) — He’ll never change and no one wants him to. Creed tore up a lot of trucks over the last four years, but he won eight races and a championship. Creed is the ultimate GPP play this week and every week. He’s still figuring out the low-downforce cars, but he doesn’t have to figure them out to win.
12. Ryan Sieg ($7,200) — RSS Racing brought some hotrods to the track at Fontana. This week, just like everyone else, they will be racing the same cars. Since 2019, Sieg has three finishes of sixth or better at Las Vegas
13. Brandon Brown ($7,600) — You’ve been playing DFS NASCAR too long when you are worried about the Cryptocurrency narrative (these cars always crash). Aside from that, Brown looked great last week. He drove through the field and battled back with a damaged car to finish 11th.
14. Joey Gase ($5,300) — This sounds crazy, but it’s crazy like a fox. All of the value drivers will be racing. They have incentives. Their careers hang in the balance. Desperate drivers in inferior equipment don’t deliver. They don’t finish. Gase owns his car. He doesn’t want to destroy his car. While the clowns around him jump into the wall, the turtle moves forward through the field slow and steady.
Editor’s Note: David Starr failed to qualify for the Alsco Uniforms 300.
15. David Starr ($4,500) — Bobby Dotter (SS Green Light Racing) formed a technical alliance with Stewart-Haas Racing during the offseason. Last week, Cole Custer drove a Bobby Dotter car and won at Fontana. Normally, one would assume that Custer was in special equipment and not a typical Dotter car. However, on this West Coast swing, teams have to use the same car. Starr is priced at the minimum, but he’s driving last week’s winning car. What a world.
Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NXS $100K Piston [$20K to 1st] (XFIN)
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