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Justin Carter's DraftKings DFS lineup picks for the NASCAR Xfinity Series United Rentals 250 at Talladega Superspeedway. Read his daily fantasy NASCAR advice and Xfinity sleepers.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Talladega this weekend for the United Rentals 250. Superspeedway races are always significantly different than other races because pack racing makes for a lot of movement and a lot of big crashes.
Place differential is more important than ever. You're going to want to mostly pick drivers that start outside the top 20, at least when it comes to finding value. You can afford to play a couple of top drivers if they start up front, but don't have too many drivers with good starting spots because you'll almost certainly lose place differential points because of it.
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 NASCAR Xfinity Series United Rentals 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. This slate locks on 10/4/24 at 4:08 p.m. EDT.
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Be sure to also check out all of our other weekly NASCAR DFS articles and analyses to help you set your optimal DFS lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Top Plays
Note: This was written before qualifying. Feel free to ask me over on X if you have questions after qualifying.
Austin Hill ($10.5K)
Austin Hill wins the Daytona Xfinity Series race for the third year in a row.
There was another multi-car crash on the final lap but surprisingly, no yellow was thrown.
FS1 jumps out without covering the crash at all.@DAYTONA | #NASCAR
— Motorsportsnaut (@SportsnautRacin) February 20, 2024
Any time you're at a superspeedway, you have to expect Austin Hill to be a contender. In five starts this year at this track type, Hill has three wins. Talladega was one that he didn't win...but he started on pole and led 41 laps, so it wasn't like he had a bad race.
Jesse Love ($10.3K)
If you want to pivot off Austin Hill, you could look at his RCR teammate Jesse Love, who won at Talladega earlier this season and who has been up front in every superspeedway race this season, with the second Daytona race being the only one where he didn't lead laps.
Aric Almirola ($9.5K)
Aric Almirola has made eight starts this season, posting two wins and five top 10s. This is his first superspeedway start of the season, but two of his three career Cup Series wins have come on this track type so I think he'll be fine.
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Mid-Tier Options
Sheldon Creed ($9.3K)
Sheldon Creed had a bad week last time out at Kansas, as he finished just fifth.
After finishing in 5th, Sheldon Creed tells @IveBeenTimMoore what else he needed at the end, whether his first win can come at Talladega next week, and more:#NASCAR #NASCARPlayoffs #XfinitySeries #Creed #JGR pic.twitter.com/viv1DowaYg
— Motorsports Today (@MtrsprtsToday) September 28, 2024
Okay, yeah, that was a joke. But see, Creed entered that race with two second-place finishes in a row, so a fifth was a step back, right? Creed was sixth here earlier in the year and second in the season opener at Daytona.
Justin Allgaier ($9.2K)
Justin Allgaier is a little cheaper than usual because he hasn't been good here lately, finishing outside the top 20 in three of his last four Talladega starts. Still, he'll have the speed to be up front—he just needs to keep the car out of the wall.
Riley Herbst ($8.7K)
Hot take, but Riley Herbst might be the most underrated superspeedway racer in the Xfinity Series. He's never won one, but he's 6-for-11 when it comes to getting top 10s at Daytona and 3-for-8 at Talladega, finishing 11th or better in the four Talladega starts that he hasn't DNFed. If he keeps the car clean, he should deliver a strong result.
Parker Kligerman ($8.5K)
This might be Parker Kligerman's last realistic shot at a first career win. He crashed out of the first Talladega race, but not before leading 10 laps and looking like a contender.
Value Options
Alright, so we're going to quickly run through a bunch of names here because that's the kind of race this will likely be: one where a number of drivers are intriguing. Only play these guys if they start 21st or worse.
Ryan Sieg ($7.8K)
It hasn't been a great year for Ryan Sieg on superspeedways as he has just one top 10 in five races, but he has five top 10s at Talladega in his career and has led laps in three consecutive starts at the track.
Carson Kvapil ($7.7K)
The call he's been waiting for.
JR Motorsports is proud to promote @Carson_Kvapil to FULL TIME @NASCAR_Xfinity Series racing in 2025 with backing from @BassProShops. pic.twitter.com/Z6OSrI9TMN
— JR Motorsports (@JRMotorsports) October 1, 2024
This being Carson Kvapil's first superspeedway start is a little scary, but he's recorded a top 10 in half of his starts this season and is in a fast JR Motorsports car. He just has to avoid making a rookie mistake.
Jordan Anderson ($7.5K)
Jordan Anderson only runs superspeedways at this point and he basically only either has a shockingly good finish or crashes out. In four starts this season, Anderson has two top 10s and has also finished outside the top 30 twice. Real checkers or wreckers energy from this No. 32 car.
Anthony Alfredo ($7.3K)
Talladega tends to be a solid track for Anthony Alfredo. His third-place finish in the spring made it three top 10s in six Xfinity starts here. He's finished outside the top 20 here just one time.
Parker Retzlaff ($7.1K)
Parker Retzlaff started the year off strong on superspeedways, finishing third at Daytona and fifth at Atlanta. He DNFed Talladega and the second Daytona race, but ran a solid 12th in the second Atlanta race.
Dean Thompson ($6.5K)
Dean Thompson isn't the best driver, but he's in a pretty solid Sam Hunt Racing car this weekend and he was third in the 2023 Truck Series race here. (I'm ignoring that he crashed out of Friday's Truck Series race and finished 32nd.)
Dylan Lupton ($5.4K)
You can really dive deep into the bargain bin at Talladega. One option down at the very bottom of the pricing list is Dylan Lupton, who is taking over the No. 15 for AM Racing. Hailee Deegan netted a surprising 12th-place finish in this car in the first Talladega race
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