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The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Richmond on Saturday as part of a split-weekend in the top three series. Cup and Xfinity are in Richmond, while the Truck Series is joining IndyCar in Texas.
Last week, Cup Series regular A.J. Allmendinger won at COTA, making him the first non-Xfinity regular to win a race this season. Austin Hill, winner of half the races this season, has a 15-point lead over Riley Herbst right now in the series standings, followed by John Hunter Nemechek, Justin Allgaier and Chandler Smith.
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 ToyotaCare 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 4/1/23 at 1:10 p.m. ET.
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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.
Post-Qualifying Updates
My schedule for Saturday is really hectic, but I'll try my best to thread some post-qualifying updates here. Apologies in advance if I'm unable to get those up. Someone tell NASCAR qualifying should go back to always being the day before the races!
What We Can Learn From Recent Richmond Races
Last year, Richmond was moved to the spring in the Xfinity calendar, marking a return to the early part of the schedule for the first time since 2019. Ty Gibbs, who is now in Cup full-time, led 114 laps last year on his way to the win here. But Gibbs won't be racing in this year's race.
John Hunter Nemechek is, though. He led 135 laps and finished second last year.
I think the biggest takeaway here last year was the importance of track position. Gibbs and Nemechek started on the front row. They led 249 of the 250 laps. Josh Berry led one lap under caution.
That isn't always the case here, as the 2021 race saw the polesitter finish 16th. But even in that race, Austin Cindric led the first 45 laps of the race.
If you want laps-led points, you should probably target one of the two drivers sitting on the front row. Hopefully, qualifying will shake out in a way that makes it obvious which guy to grab. If John Hunter Nemechek starts on the front row, you play him and count on him leading a lot of laps and fighting for the win. Where things would get complicated would be if we get a weak front row, one where someone will likely lead some laps early but fade after the first round of pit stops shake things up.
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Potential Top Plays
John Hunter Nemechek ($10,900) is the clear driver to watch after how he ran here last season. He's already won once in 2023, and if he starts on the first or second row, then I think he can drive off with this one.
Justin Allgaier ($10,700) is someone who can give him a run for his money, though. Allgaier's won two of the last four races here, and has a top five in five of the last six. He's led over 100 laps at this track twice.
Chandler Smith ($10,300) could be a nice pivot if you're worried those guys will be too highly rostered in GPPs. He won the Truck Series race here last year and has shown some good speed this season. Also of note: he didn't just win here in 2022, but he was dominant, leading 176 laps.
Potential Value Plays
It's obviously too early to lock in any value plays, since this is where place differential will really come into play. But looking at this season's results plus track history, there are a few names who are popping up on my radar.
Anthony Alfredo ($7,400) has finished better than he qualified in four straight races. All four of those races resulted in top 20 finishes for Alfredo, and in three of those he started outside the top 20. Alfredo's pretty much an instant play for me if he starts 25th or worse.
Kyle Weatherman ($6,400) has had some good runs for Our Motorsports this season, but this week he steps into a new car, the 96 for FRS Racing. This is FRS's first race, but this team is basically the remnants of the Brandonbilt team from last year. That team finished 21st in owner points, which was two spots behind Our. But that's also a little misleading, as Kris Wright drove nine races for the team and had an average finish of 28.4. In Brandon Brown's 23 races, his average finish was 19.0, which is more in line with what I expect from Weatherman in this car. Brown was eighth here last year.
Kyle Sieg ($5,700) had an engine failure here last year, but the other RSS Racing cars both finished in the top 10. Sieg has just two top 20 finishes this year, but this is a race where I think he can make some noise and get into the top 15.
Chris Hacker ($5,000) has never run an Xfinity Series race, and his average finish in Trucks is 26.5. But like Kyle Sieg, he's in an RSS Racing car, and I think there's a little upside because of that.
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