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Justin Carter's DraftKings DFS lineup picks for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 at Pocono Raceway. Read his daily fantasy NASCAR advice and Xfinity sleepers.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Pocono on Saturday as part of a tripleheader day of action on the three-turn track. A rain-delayed ARCA race opened the action this morning, then the Truck Series gets going, and finally, Xfinity closes out the day. The Cup Series will be on track as well today, with qualifying for Sunday's race.
Entering this race, John Hunter Nemechek is the Xfinity Series points leader. He's up by 33 points on Austin Hill after winning last week at New Hampshire. Hill finished third, but Nemechek's stage points added up and helped expand his lead in the race for the regular season title.
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 Explore the Pocono Mountains 225 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 7/22/23 at 5:48 p.m. ET.
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Chase Elliott
Starting 13th - $11,200
Chase Elliott makes his first Xfinity Series appearance since 2021 today, firing off 13th. But don't let the starting spot fool you—he's one of the favorites to win this thing.
Technically, Elliott won the Cup race here last year, though it came via a Denny Hamlin disqualification. Even if you ignore that race though, he has three other top fives here in Cup.
And he's in a 17 car that's been fast when it's hit the track. Hendrick has run this car twice this year, with William Byron leading one lap and finishing second at COTA, followed by Kyle Larson leading 53 laps and finishing third at Sonoma.
Austin Hill
Starting 11th - $9,500
This has been a good track for Austin Hill during his NASCAR career. While he struggled in his first Xfinity Series race here for Hattori in 2021, he was eighth here last year for RCR, leading four laps during the race.
Similar story in the Truck Series. He had some uneven races here in his Young Motorsports days, but won the pole in his first Pocono race for Hattori. A clutch failure ended his day, but he had top 10s in his last three starts in the Truck Series here.
Hill should be competitive all day long. Not sure I see him contending for a win, but he can get up there and battle for a top five.
Riley Herbst
Starting 21st - $8,400
There was so much promise early this year for Riley Herbst, as he opened the season with six top 10s in a row and was second in points after COTA.
Now, he's 11th in the standings with just one top 10 since, and he's finished 20th or worse in three consecutive races. But I think there's upside this week. For one, Herbst starts 21st, his second-lowest starting spot all year. There's place differential upside that isn't usually here with this 98 car.
Beyond that, Herbst has run well here. He crashed in 2021, but his other Pocono finishes in Xfinity are ninth and 12th, and he led four laps here last year.
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Kaz Grala
Starting 24th - $7,900
Grala's season has been fairly uneven, but he's on a good run right now, as he's finished in the top 15 in three consecutive races and the top 20 in five straight. Maybe fortunes are changing for Grala, who has moved to a season-high 16th in points.
Starting 24th on Saturday gives Grala some place differential upside, as long as he can keep his recent streak of top 15 runs going. And I think he probably can. He has one Xfinity start here, finishing 16th in 2018 in a Fury Race Cars car. This Sam Hunt Racing team should provide him the speed he needs to get up there and battle for a finish just outside the top 10.
Ty Dillon
Starting 25th - $7,100
If you're new to NASCAR, you might think Ty Dillon is a very bad race car driver based on his performance in Cup this year, as he sits 32nd in points there.
But Dillon's a former Xfinity Series winner, who was top five in points in his three full-time seasons in this series. Put him in a good Xfinity car and he can be solid. And this week, he's in an RCR car, so he should have a shot at a top 15 result, if not better. He gained 11 spots in his lone RCR start this season back at Darlington, and he was top 15 in all but one of his starts with RCR in 2018, the last time he drove in Xfinity for the team that his grandfather owns.
Josh Williams
Starting 28th - $5,800
Williams has run really well lately. After three consecutive finishes outside the top 30, he's bounced back the last two races, finishing ninth at Atlanta and then eighth at Loudon last weekend.
That Loudon race is particularly interesting, since it's not a track like Atlanta, where drafting can make anything happen. Williams survived a long race to post his best finish of the season. Overall, he's had a lot of solid results this year, and at $5,800 he's a great value option to fill out your lineup.
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