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The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to the Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway this weekend for the final race of the Round of 12. Noah Gragson and A.J. Allmendinger have raced their way into the Round of 8. Which six drivers will join them?
Last year at the Roval, Allmendinger drove to victory lane in a race that saw the top six finishers all be playoff drivers. Just one playoff driver DNFed last year, as Riley Herbst had a mechanical failure. It was a big change from 2020, when three playoff drivers had DNFs and drivers like Cody Ware and Jade Buford finished in the top 10.
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 Drive for the Cure 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 10/8/22 at 3:36 p.m. ET.
Xfinity DFS Picks - DraftKings
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A.J. Allmendinger - Starting 1st ($11,000)
If you're a betting person, betting on an Allmendinger victory is an easy way to make some money.
This is the fifth Xfinity race at this track. A.J. Allmendinger has raced in three of the previous four. He won them all. It didn't matter that he started 22nd in 2020. He found his way to the front.
And now for this race, Allmendinger starts on the pole. He might just dominate the field in this race, leading from the start and only losing that lead during the pit stop sequences around stage breaks.
Also of note: this season, the Xfinity Series has run five road courses. Allmendinger has won three of those races.
Noah Gragson - Starting 37th ($10,100)
Gragson crashed in practice and was unable to qualify for this one, which means that he's firing off from really, really far back, as the 9 car will start 37th in this one.
The place differential upside here for Gragson makes him a must-play option. Sure, the chalkiness of this play means that in GPPs, you should diversify some and not have him in every lineup, but in H2H, you pretty much have to play Gragson. He's never finished worse than sixth at this track, which includes a second-place finish here in 2020 when he led 16 laps.
James Davison - Starting 16th ($9,000)
Davison is in an interesting spot here. A 16th place starting spot offers some decent place differential upside, but I don't usually like to play a part-time, non-Cup driver unless he starts 20th or worse, just because I think it's tough to jump into one of these cars and compete against the guys who do it every week.
But Davison is jumping into a Joe Gibbs car. The last time he did that was in 2018, when he led a lap and finished eighth at Road America.
Davison has a lot of NASCAR experience, as ran 20 races last year in the Cup Series for Rick Ware. That isn't good equipment, but experience is experience, right?
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Kaz Grala - Starting 21st ($7,800)
I'm conflicted on Grala this week. He's a really skilled road racer who has just enough place differential upside for me to recommend him, but he's also in the 34 car that Jesse Iwuji owns, and it can be tough to get a read on how good this car is.
But I think it's decent? Iwuji struggled in this car, but Kyle Weatherman has had some decent runs in it, with seven top 20 finishes in the car. Weatherman isn't a great driver, but he's solid, and he got a lot out of this car. Grala is an even better driver than Weatherman. I think he can challenge for a top 10 in this car.
Marco Andretti - Starting 30th ($6,600)
Okay. Hear me out here. Yes, I'm partially mentioning Andretti here because it's his first NASCAR start and I wanted a chance to talk about him. If you're worried about playing Andretti for that reason, you can play Preston Pardus at $6,800 or Andy Lally at $7,000.
But while Andretti hasn't raced in NASCAR, he does have stock car experience in SRX, and he's got a lot of just overall experience from his time in IndyCar, plus he's raced in Supercars and has done some sports car racing.
He's in the 48 car this week, which has shown some good speed lately. Nick Sanchez was 11th in this car at Texas. Kaz Grala was fifth in it at Watkins Glen. This isn't an elite car, but it has speed, and the machinery won't hold Andretti back. If the skill he showed in SRX can translate into a NASCAR Xfinity car, then there's some good upside here.
Brandon Brown - Starting 33rd ($5,500)
The bad news for Brandon Brown is that he isn't in the 68 car that his family owns and that he's instead in a B.J. McLeod car this week. Those cars don't have the speed of a Brandonbilt car.
But this 78 car has had some moments. Josh Williams collected a 17th place finish at Road America in it. Scott Heckert was 23rd at Watkins Glen. And Brown has run decently at this track before, including a 17th here in 2019.
This is a risky play, but the place differential upside makes him worth it when your other deep value options are guys like Joe Graf Jr. and Kris Wright.
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