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Dave's NASCAR DFS Picks (Xfinity Series) for the Food City 300 at Food City 300 (2025). Read his daily fantasy NASCAR advice and Xfinity DFS sleepers.
The 2025 Xfinity Series Playoffs are set to begin. We kick off the round of 12 with an old-school Friday night short track race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Connor Zilisch locked up the regular season title after winning his ninth race of the season last weekend at Gateway.
Zilisch's teammate, and defending Xfinity Series Champion, Justin Allgaier, figures to have a say in things as well. Sam Mayer and Jesse Love, who finished third and fourth in the regular season standings, will also be contenders. Austin Hill, who has won three races this year, begins the playoffs in 12th place after he was stripped of all his playoff points following an incident at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He is a potential sleeper to win the title if he can overcome his lack of playoff points.
With Bristol being a track notorious for intense racing and tempers flaring, we should be in for a real treat in the playoff opener. Can Zilisch snag his fifth consecutive victory this weekend? Or will someone else break through and punch their ticket to the Round of 8? Let's break down some NASCAR Xfinity DFS lineup picks for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Food City 300 at Bristol on DraftKings. Also, make sure to check out our NASCAR Premium Tools for the Xfinity Series, including our DFS Lineup Optimizer and powerful Research Station. This slate locks on 9/12/25 at 7:38 p.m. EDT.
Happy New Year! Save 30% on any Premium Pass using discount code NEW. Win more with our DFS, Betting and Season-Long Pass, get expert tools and advice from proven winners! GAIN ACCESS*Please note: Xfinity Series qualifying takes place on 9/12 at 3:05 PM EST. Check back after qualifying for any updates.*
Xfinity DFS Preview - DraftKings
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Top NASCAR Xfinity Series DFS Plays
Connor Zilisch ($12.5K)
Starts Fourth
Zilisch's amazing ascent continued last weekend when he captured the checkered flag at Gateway and won his fourth straight race in the process.
.@ConnorZilisch wins his record-tying fourth race in a row and captures the @NASCAR_Xfinity regular season championship in his rookie season!!! pic.twitter.com/Tk1LPD8n3F
— The CW Sports (@TheCW_Sports) September 7, 2025
Connor Zilisch wins his 10th career race at St. Louis:
- 10 career wins in 29 starts is the second quickest in Series history (Darrell Waltrip: 24 starts)
- Third driver in Xfinity history to win four consecutive races (Sam Ard - 1983 & Noah Gragson - 2022)
- Winningest Rookie… pic.twitter.com/okyN6iMKTr— NASCAR Insights (@NASCARInsights) September 7, 2025
The rookie rolls into the playoffs with all the momentum in the world and is the prohibitive favorite to win the Xfinity Series Championship. Let's not get too ahead of ourselves, though, as Zilisch first needs to tackle a Bristol track that gave him some fits earlier this year.
In the spring Bristol race, Zilisch finished 12th after starting on the front row. He did not lead a lap but registered stage finishes of sixth and fifth before settling on said 12th-place finish. Zilisch didn't fare so well at Martinsville earlier this year either, but had a good showing at Iowa. Zilisch finished fourth in that race and also led 62 laps.
If there is one area to critique Zilisch this year, it would be his performance on the short circuits. However, given the way we have seen him learn and adapt on the fly over the course of the year, fading Zilisch doesn't feel like the right move. Expect him to learn from his spring Bristol performance and make a run at his fifth consecutive victory.
Justin Allgaier ($11.5K)
Starts First
Allgaier begins the playoffs in second place and is 30 points above the cutline for the Round of 8. He is in a pretty good position and really just needs to avoid a catastrophic finish in the next three races to advance to the next round. Bristol presents a great opportunity for the JR Motorsports veteran to start the postseason on a good note.
Allgaier's history at Bristol in the Xfinity Series dates back to 2009. He's got two career victories at the track. Allgaier also has 12 top-fives, 16 top 10s, and an average finish of 11.36 in 25 career Xfinity Series Bristol starts. He finished third here back in April and should be in contention for his third Bristol victory this weekend.
Aric Almirola ($11K)
Starts Third
Almirola has only started one short track race so far in 2025, and that was a 13th-place finish at Martinsville in March. He has not started an Xfinity Series race at Bristol since 2017, but does have a solid history at the track. Almirola has four top 10s in seven career Xfinity Series Bristol starts.
This price is a bit expensive given Almirola's history at the track. However, he is one of the better drivers in the field and has the added benefit of driving in Joe Gibbs Racing equipment. He's a fine alternative to Zilisch and Allgaier if you want to try and save some cash.
NASCAR Xfinity Series DFS Fades
Jesse Love ($10K)
Starts Ninth
Love finished second at Iowa and sixth at Bristol earlier this year. An accident at Martinsville relegated him to a 37th-place finish. Love has two top 10s in both of his Bristol starts in his Xfinity Series career, but he's only led one lap in those races. Neither of his two career Xfinity Series victories has come on short tracks, either.
I keep wracking my brain to figure out what I am missing about Love's price this week, but I keep concluding that he is ridiculously overpriced at this $10K number. He just hasn't shown an ability to be dominant on short tracks, and that skill is highly important for DFS purposes.
William Sawalich ($8K)
Starts Sixth
Sawalich finished 27th at Martinsville, 34th at Bristol earlier this year, and 11th at Iowa. While that 11th-place Iowa finish was a good real-life points day, it was not helpful for DFS gamers as Sawalich started on the front row.
He's not super expensive this week, but Sawalich has not shown an ability to earn key place differential points or run toward the front of the field at short tracks. Now that we know Sawalich is starting sixth, there is no real upside to playing him this week.
There are better options in this price range, and gamers can feel comfortable leaving Sawalich out of their lineups.
Mid-Tier NASCAR Xfinity Series DFS Options
Brandon Jones ($9.5K)
Starts 22nd
Jones finished fifth after starting 14th in the spring Bristol race. He has an average finish of 12.3 and has led 136 laps at the track in 16 career Bristol starts. Jones has also finished inside the top 10 in six of his last seven Bristol races. Starting 22nd, Jones becomes a very intriguing option as he offers plenty of place differential upside.
Sammy Smith ($8.8K)
Starts 14th
Smith has top 10s at Martinsville and Bristol already this year. He also scored a top 15 at Iowa. Smith finished fourth in the spring Bristol race and should post another strong finish this weekend. He's a great play at this price, especially if he qualifies poorly.
Carson Kvapil ($8.6K)
Starts 11th
Kvapil was the runner-up here in the spring. I like taking another chance on him this weekend.
Austin Hill ($8.5K)
Starts 21st
Hill finished 24th at Bristol back in April, but did score a victory at Martinsville earlier this year. Unfortunately, he missed the Iowa race due to a suspension imposed by NASCAR for intentionally wrecking Aric Almirola at Indianapolis.
Hill does not have a great track record at Bristol, but I prefer playing him at this price as opposed to his RCR teammate Jesse Love.
Christian Eckes ($7.9K)
Starts 12th
Eckes finished ninth at Bristol in April after starting 22nd. He's a good potential place differential target.
Daniel Dye ($7K)
Starts 31st
Dye finished seventh at Martinsville and 13th at Bristol earlier this year. Starting 31st, Dye is a great place differential target and is a sneaky play to finish inside the top 10.
NASCAR Xfinity Series DFS Value Options
Josh Williams ($5.4K)
Starts 33rd
Williams finished 11th at Bristol back in April after starting 26th. He has switched from Kaulig Racing to DGM Racing since that race, but has six top 20s in 12 career Bristol starts. Target Williams as a dirt-cheap place differential play if you load up on a few of the higher-priced drivers.
More DFS Lineup Picks and Analysis
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