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Dave's NASCAR DFS Picks (Xfinity Series) for the Mission 200 at The Glen (2025). Read his daily fantasy NASCAR advice and Xfinity DFS sleepers.
We’re back with another round of Xfinity Series action this weekend. Sam Mayer captured the checkered flag last week at Iowa. The win was his first of the year and marked his second consecutive victory at Iowa Speedway. This week, the series makes a right-hand turn and heads to Watkins Glen International for some road course action. Back in the day, road course races were unique “one-off” type of events. They were often placed in the middle of the schedule. As a result, poor road course racers could escape these events without bad results impacting their overall season. That’s not the case anymore as the Xfinity Series runs a total of seven road course events this year.
Rookie sensation Connor Zilisch won the series’ last road course race at Sonoma. He held off road course ace Shane Van Gisbergen in the process, which is an impressive feat. Van Gisbergen returns to the Xfinity Series this weekend. He’ll be driving the #9 Chevrolet for JR Motorsports and is looking to snag his second Xfinity Series victory of the year.
Can anyone besides Zilich challenge Van Gisbergen for the checkered flag? Let's break down some NASCAR Xfinity DFS lineup picks for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Mission 200 at The Glen 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 8/9/25 at 3:18 p.m. EDT.
Featured Promo! 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 8/9 at 10:35 AM. Check back after qualifying for any updates.*
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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.
Post Practice/Qualifying Updates
Check back after practice and qualifying for any updates.
Top NASCAR Xfinity Series DFS Plays
Shane Van Gisbergen ($13.2K)
Starts Second
You don’t tug on Superman’s cape. You don’t spit into the wind. And you don’t bet against Shane Van Gisbergen at a road course.
SHANE VAN GISBERGEN DOES IT AGAIN. The No. 88 team WINS at Sonoma! pic.twitter.com/NrYHwOKbUu
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) July 13, 2025
The man they call “SVG” has been flat-out dominant on the road courses in the Cup Series this year. Van Gisbergen has three Cup wins at road course races in 2025 and finished sixth at Circuit of the Americas (COTA). He has also won the last two Xfinity Series races at the Chicago Street Course, won at Portland Speedway in 2024, and has a Sonoma Xfinity Series victory on his resume, too.
Van Gisbergen finished fifth in this race last year and is very expensive this weekend. But the reality is that Van Gisbergen is just that good on the road courses. DFS players should feel confident building their lineups around him.
Connor Zilisch ($12.5K)
Starts First
Zilisch’s fourth-place finish at Iowa last week marked his 10th straight top-five finish in the Xfinity Series.
Following a 4th place finish at Iowa, Connor Zilisch now has 10 consecutive top-5s in the Xfinity Series
Zilisch becomes one of just six drivers to score 10 straight top-5s in Xfinity Series history pic.twitter.com/NYr8bQjIT0
— NASCAR Insights (@NASCARInsights) August 5, 2025
The 19-year-old phenom has been on a tear and has registered victories at COTA and Sonoma earlier this year. What was most impressive about his Sonoma victory, though, was that he held off Shane Van Gisbergen for the win.
CONNOR ZILISCH WINS SONOMA! pic.twitter.com/d4Y2hxlExd
— JR Motorsports (@JRMotorsports) July 12, 2025
That is an impressive feat and means Zilisch is no road course slouch himself. Zilisch also won the Xfinity Series race at Watkins Glen last year.
He should be in contention for another victory this weekend and is a great alternative to Van Gisbergen if gamers want to go that route.
NASCAR Xfinity Series DFS Fades
Michael McDowell ($10.1K)
Starts 12th
McDowell will drive the #11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet this weekend. Carson Hocevar finished sixth in this ride last week, and McDowell will be looking for similar results at the Glen.
He hasn’t started an Xfinity Series race since 2016. However, he did score a victory for Richard Childress Racing at Road America in that start. McDowell has performed well on the road courses in the Cup Series over the last few years. He even scored his only Cup Series victory at the Indianapolis Road Course back in 2023.
McDowell has five top 10s in his last eight Cup Series road course starts. He’s an intriguing name to throw into lineups this weekend and is very live for a good finish. However, he might be a better target as a place differential play, as he probably won’t be in contention for the victory. We’ll list him as a fade for now, but check after practice/qualifying for a final verdict.
Justin Allgaier ($9.3K)
Starts Ninth
While Allgaier has done some great things in the Xfinity Series this year, road course racing has not been one of them. His best road course finish this year is a sixth-place result at Sonoma. Allgaier’s other finishes are 23rd, 34th, and 29th.
He does have three Xfinity Series road course victories on his resume. So it’s not like Allgaier is a poor road racer. For whatever reason, though, the results haven’t been there this year. Target other drivers for a better price.
Taylor Gray ($9K)
Starts Third
Gray is 67 points above the cut line for the Xfinity Series playoffs entering this weekend’s race. He needs to keep stacking solid finishes to avoid falling out of the playoffs.
This weekend is a great opportunity to do so. Gray has scored three top 10s in four road course starts already in 2025. However, it's hard to see him contending for the win behind Van Gisbergen and Zilisch. There also isn't much room for place differential points after his third-place qualifying effort.
Gray should post a solid finish, but he might not be the best lineup choice to optimize points.
Mid-Tier NASCAR Xfinity Series DFS Options
Sam Mayer ($9.5K)
Starts Fourth
Mayer finally broke through for a victory last weekend at Iowa. He’s had some mixed results at the road courses this year. Mayer has finished third at COTA, eighth at the Chicago Street Race, 17th at Sonoma, and 23rd at Mexico City.
However, four of his eight career Xfinity Series wins have come on road courses. Mayer won at Watkins Glen back in 2023 and has three top 10 finishes in four career Watkins Glen starts. This is another good week to insert him into lineups.
Sheldon Creed ($9.1K)
Starts 11th
Creed’s worst road course finish this year is a 12th at COTA. He was runner-up in this race a year ago. Expect Creed to post another quality finish this weekend.
Christian Eckes ($8.2K)
Starts 36th
Eckes is 69 points behind Harrison Burton for the final playoff spot. He will most likely need a win to make the playoffs.
That probably doesn’t happen here, but Eckes has had some good finishes on the road courses this year. He’s got two top fives in four road starts already in 2025.
He's a must-play now that he qualified toward the back and should be a great place differential play.
Nicholas Sanchez ($8.1K)
Starts Seventh
Sanchez has three straight finishes of 19th or worse. Before that, though, Sanchez was on fire. He scored a victory at Atlanta and posted top-five finishes at Sonoma and the Chicago Street Race, too.
The Glen may have arrived at the perfect time for Sanchez to regain some momentum. He’ll look to secure his third straight top-five finish on a road course this weekend.
Riley Herbst ($8K)
Starts 16th
Herbst will make his fourth start of the season this week at Watkins Glen. It will also mark his third road course start of the year. Herbst has been solid in his previous two road course starts in 2025. He finished fifth at Sonoma and 13th at COTA.
Herbst posted a respectable 13th-place finish in this race last year, but he hasn’t really been a serious contender for a road course victory yet. However, this is a pretty good price to take a shot on Herbst this weekend.
NASCAR Xfinity Series DFS Value Options
Blaine Perkins ($5.8K)
Starts 32nd
Perkins is potentially a good play this weekend, as he finished 10th at COTA earlier this year. He also posted top 20s at the Chicago Street Race and Sonoma.
Depending on how he qualifies, Perkins is a good place differential target and could be live for a top 10 finish.
Jeremy Clements ($5.2K)
Starts 30th
Clements has a win at Road America back in 2017 on his resume. He's a good place differential target to offset the prices of the highest-paid drivers. Throwing him into lineups could be a fun way to build a Zilisch/Van Gisbergen stack.
