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Justin Carter's DraftKings DFS lineup picks for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Ag-Pro 300 at Talladega Superspeedway. Read his daily fantasy NASCAR advice and Xfinity sleepers. (2025)
The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Talladega this weekend for the Ag-Pro 300. This superspeedway track is known for pack racing and big crashes, so your DFS strategy needs to be oriented more toward place differential than it usually is. Big crashes produce strange results.
Last weekend, the Xfinity Series was in Rockingham, where Jesse Love crossed the finish line first in the series' return to the legendary track. Unfortunately for Love, he was later disqualified, handing the victory to Sammy Smith.
Let's look at some NASCAR Xfinity DFS lineup picks for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Ag-Pro 300 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 4/26/25 at 4:08 p.m. EDT.
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Top Plays
Austin Hill ($10.5K)
Starts Second
You should usually go very underweight — or fade completely — drivers starting in the first few rows at Talladega, but there's one notable exception: when those drivers drive for Richard Childress Racing.
Now, it's worth noting that RCR hasn't been as good at Talladega as it is at Daytona. In fact, Austin Hill has three wins at Daytona and five at Atlanta but none at Talladega. In fact, he's never even recorded a top 10 at Talladega despite three poles.
But while that should be a bit concerning, the three poles suggest that Hill's just had some bad luck here. He's still the best superspeedway racer in the series.
Jesse Love ($10.2K)
Starts First
The other driver starting up front that I'm willing to pay up for shouldn't be a surprise at all, because it's another RCR driver. Jesse Love won this race as a rookie last season and also won at Daytona this year.
Jesse Love wins the pole at Talladega.
He becomes the first driver in Xfinity Series HISTORY to win 4 consecutive drafting track poles. pic.twitter.com/5tKn9TwFCU
— NASCAR Insights (@NASCARInsights) April 25, 2025
If anyone can take away Hill's status as Xfinity's best superspeedway racer, it's Love, who led 28 laps in both the spring and fall races at Talladega in 2024, winning the first one and finishing a strong sixth in the return visit.
Aric Almirola ($10.0K)
Starts 17th
Alright, this is where we start to worry about place differential.
Drivers starting in the teens sometimes get ignored at superspeedways, but an Aric Almirola win on Saturday would be worth 16 place differential points alone, not to mention the DFS points he'd get for the win and for any laps he leads.
Almirola is an experienced superspeedway racer, winning Cup Series races both here and at Daytona. He should be the biggest threat to the RCR boys.
Sam Mayer ($8.6K)
Starts 34th
The thing about Sam Mayer is that he crashes a lot at superspeedways. He's finished just two of his six Talladega races, but one of the ones he finished saw him end up in second place.
Mayer would be a fade if he started in the top 15 because of his crash record here, but that's not where he starts. This No. 41 car fires off way back in 34th, giving Mayer huge place differential upside. He's one of the top plays because of that.
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Mid-Tier Options
Carson Kvapil ($9.0K)
Starts 20th
Carson Kvapil lacks much experience on superspeedways, as this will be just his fourth Xfinity start on the track type. He finished 27th in his first Talladega start.
.@Carson_Kvapil and @jesselovejr1 are engaged in a BATTLE up front 👀 pic.twitter.com/fNRorTdDoQ
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) April 19, 2025
But Kvapil finished a strong fourth at Daytona and he starts in the middle of the pack this weekend, giving him place differential upside. There's risk, but there's risk with every single driver at a track like this. Kvapil should be viewed as a fairly strong play.
Sammy Smith ($8.8K)
Starts 14th
It'd be nice if Sammy Smith started just a bit deeper than 14th, but last week's winner was also the winner the last time the Xfinity Series came to Talladega, going from 27th to first last fall. He's not a favorite to win, but he's capable of keeping the car clean and hanging around until the end.
Ryan Sieg ($8.2K)
Starts 35th
Ryan Sieg will probably be just a little too chalky for my liking, but he needs to be mentioned because of his upside and how important he'll be in Cash games.
Sieg's 35th-place starting spot combined with the fact that he's finished in the top five in one-third of his Talladega starts makes him the highest-upside play in this field.
It's impossible to make a strong prediction at this track, but if Sieg finished as the highest-scoring DFS play on Saturday, I wouldn't be shocked at all.
Nick Sanchez ($7.8K)
Starts 23rd
Nick Sanchez crashed at Daytona, but made up for that with a fifth-place run at Atlanta. This No. 48 team had a pair of superspeedway top fives last season with Parker Kligerman driving. Sanchez is an appealing, mid-priced option this weekend. Nothing fancy here, but he should be a top 15 or better play if he stays clean.
Harrison Burton ($7.7K)
Starts 29th
I love this play. Harrison Burton had six top 10s during his three-year foray into the Cup Series. Half of those were at drafting tracks, including a victory at Daytona.
Xfinity Series: Average Finish vs. Average Start at Daytona & Talladega since 2022 pic.twitter.com/opMTVxTso2
— Daniel Céspedes (@_DanielCespedes) April 25, 2025
This season, Burton has four top 10s in the Xfinity Series, with half of those also coming at this track type — sixth at Daytona and 10th at Atlanta. His 29th-place starting spot offers huge place differential upside for the second-generation driver.
Value Options
Parker Retzlaff ($7.4K)
Starts 33rd
One week after Parker Retzlaff's incredible run at Rockingham that saw him start and finish second, the No. 4 car struggled in qualifying and will fire off from all the way back in 33rd.
Alpha Prime Racing placed 2 cars in the Top 5 today (Retzlaff - 3rd, Poole - 5th). This is the first time the team has EVER scored multiple Top 5s in a race.
Parker Retzlaff’s 3rd place finish is also the best in the team’s history. pic.twitter.com/8sGDEVp59i
— NASCAR Insights (@NASCARInsights) April 19, 2025
Retzlaff has had some good superspeedway runs in the past, including a seventh-place finish at Talladega in 2023 and top fives last year at both Daytona and Atlanta. His starting spot makes him one of the top place differential plays in this field.
Brennan Poole ($6.9K)
Starts 37th
It's been a pretty impressive year for Brennan Poole, who has two top fives already, both of which came at short tracks.
Now, he heads to Talladega, where he's run well in the spring race the last two seasons, coming in fifth in both 2023 and 2024. Poole starts 37th, so there's tremendous place differential upside from this No. 44 car.
You never want to go too heavy on one driver here, but I have a feeling when I start building lineups, Poole will be in more of them than probably any other driver.
Dean Thompson ($6.8K)
Starts 22nd
Dean Thompson has been arguably the biggest surprise of the season. After crashing seemingly every week in the Truck Series, Thompson is keeping this No. 26 car clean and sits a respectable 15th in points.
Thompson finished eighth at Daytona to open the year. He's definitely not an exciting play this weekend, but he continues to improve, posting six top 20s in a row.
Jeffrey Earnhardt ($6.7K)
Starts 30th
Jeffrey Earnhardt's not as good a superspeedway driver as his last name might suggest. In 15 Daytona starts, he has zero top 1os and in 13 Talladega starts, he has just one.
But Earnhardt costs under $7.0K and is in a Sam Hunt Racing car that should run well, assuming Earnhardt can keep it clean. Staying out of trouble has been one of his biggest issues at Talladega, as he has six DNFs here.
Caesar Bacarella ($5.7K)
Starts 38th
Of all the drivers priced $6.0K or lower, Caesar Bacarella is probably my favorite DFS option this weekend. The 49-year-old ran solidly at Daytona, starting 36th and finishing 13th. He's in an Alpha Prime car that should have some upside, so as long as he doesn't wreck, he'll deliver decent DFS points.
Katherine Legge ($5.1K)
Starts 27th
Katherine Legge has been a controversial figure lately. Yes, her current foray into stock car racing has been full of crashes, but she's in a solid Jordan Anderson Racing Chevy and is the second-cheapest driver in the field. She probably needs a chaotic race to pay off, but Legge's worth sprinkling in some lineups.
Jesse Iwuji ($5.0K)
Starts 36th
Jesse Iwuiji is over his head racing in the Xfinity Series, but he has some appeal as a total chaos play. He's the cheapest driver in this field and is in a fairly solid DGM car. I don't really trust this play, but at just $5.0K, I'll have some exposure.
