RADIO
The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to COTA this weekend as part of a NASCAR tripleheader weekend in Austin, Texas. The Truck Series takes to the track during the day, while the Xfinity cars hit the 3.426-mile road course in the evening.
This will be the third Xfinity Series race here. Last year, A.J. Allmendinger was dominant here, leading 27 of the 4 laps on his way to the win. Ross Chastain led 14 laps, but faded and finished 17th.
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 Pit Boss 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 3/25/23 at 5:14 p.m. ET.
Xfinity DFS Picks - DraftKings
Be sure to also check out all of our other weekly NASCAR DFS articles and analysis to help you set your optimal DFS lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel.
A.J. Allmendinger
Starting 1st - $10,600
With NASCAR eliminating stage cautions at road courses, we shouldn't see a lot of the weird shenanigans that lead to shake-ups in the running order that we'd usually see here—i.e., drivers pitting just before the stage caution, which then puts the winner of the first stage at a disadvantage.
Because of that, I think someone like Allmendinger might just run away with this one. He's the defending champion of this race and was the only driver with multiple runs of 10-plus laps led, as he led from laps four to 16 and then again from lap 33 to the end of the race.
Consider Allmendinger the favorite here, though Ty Gibbs, who starts third, could have a shot at the lead early.
William Byron
Starting 9th - $10,400
Byron steps down to the Xfinity Series on Saturday to run the 17 car for Hendrick Motorsports.
A solid road course racer, Byron has raced at COTA twice in the Cup Series, finishing 11th in 2021 and 12th last year. While he wasn't in contention to win those races, he kept the car clean and got a solid finish against elite competition. I'd expect him to be more competitive against Xfinity competition on Saturday.
Byron currently has the best odds to win this race on DraftKings, though part of that's because Allmendinger's odds have been taken off the board.
Chandler Smith
Starting 27th - $8,600
With limited laps here, place differential becomes more important than laps led/fastest laps, especially if we assume someone like Allmendinger will dominate the race. The rest of these picks are in that vein.
Smith's first full-time season in Xfinity is off to a strong start, as he has three top fives so far and ranks fourth in the point standings. While Smith probably won't break through with an Xfinity win this week, you can tell that first win's coming.
For this race, Smith's 27th-place starting spot gives him some really solid upside because of place differential. He's run here twice in the Truck Series, including a fifth-place finish in last season's race.
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Kaz Grala
Starting 20th - $7,900
Look: at some point, we might have to admit that Grala at Sam Hunt Racing isn't going the way we expected, and by "we" I mean "me." I thought he'd be a lot more competitive, but instead, he has an average finish of 27.4.
But one thing Grala's good at is road courses, so I'm giving him another chance this week. He starts 20th, which offers decent place differential upside, and he's run well here before, finishing second in the Truck Series race back in 2021. He's also racing Saturday's Truck Series race, so he'll get some extra laps under him ahead of this race.
Jeremy Clements
Starting 25th - $6,200
Clements has always been a solid road course driver. One of his two career Xfinity wins came at a road course, and his 19.4 average finish is his best at any track type.
That luck hasn't happened at COTA, though. In two starts here, Clements has an average finish of 23.5. But in both races, he gained on his starting spot, including a +10 place differential in 2021. He's a little risky, but Clements has the talent to get a top 15 here, so I'll sprinkle him into some lineups. I wish he started at least a few spots deeper for the PD upside, but maybe that'll just mean he gets overlooked and can give you an edge in GPP contests.
Kyle Weatherman
Starting 33rd - $6,000
Weatherman has been really solid in this 02 car this season. He crashed at Atlanta, but had top-20 finishes in his other two starts. He'll fire off from 33rd on Saturday, his worst start of the season...and theoretically his best chance at place differential points this season as well.
While Weatherman hasn't raced here, road courses have been decent for him, with an average finish of 23.4 in 11 road course starts. That makes it his best track type by average finish. His most recent road course start was at Watkins Glen, where he finished 22nd. Solid upside here, though don't expect Weatherman to finish better than maybe 15th, with something closer to 20th being more likely. Still, there are good place differential opportunities if he can gain 10 or more spots.
