RADIO
The NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs head to Talladega.
The Round of 12 continues with a potentially wild one at Talladega. This is a track known for pack racing and the crashes that accompany pack racing. It's also a race that is super tough to predict from a DFS perspective, as literally anyone could crash at any time. You don't need to use all your salary here. You can get weird as hell. Just do you, etc., etc., etc.
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 Sparks 300 on DraftKings. Be sure to also check out our NASCAR Premium Tools for Xfinity Series including our DFS Lineup Optimizer and powerful Research Station.
Xfinity DFS Lineup 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.
Jeb Burton #10 ($10,600)
Starting 14th
Superspeedways are unpredictable, yet Kaulig Racing just keeps consistently finding itself up front here and at Daytona. The teamwork between the three cars is just impeccable.
Jeb Burton is a playoff driver, but he currently sits really, really far behind the cut line to make it to the next round. Quite simply, Burton needs to win this race. Kaulig needs to team up, keep the 10 at the front of the pack, and get to victory lane. He has a decent amount of place differential upside for a driver who can contend for the win, so I'll be interested in playing him even at his high price.
Oh, and Burton won here earlier this year.
Justin Haley #11 (10,200)
Starting 8th
Hey, while we're grabbing Kaulig drivers for their perceived safety -- which, I mean, it's Talladega so that safety can dissipate in an instant -- let's take Justin Haley.
Haley swept the races here last year, then finished eighth in the spring race this year. He's a really good superspeedway racer, and while you can probably credit some of that to the strength of the team as a whole, we shouldn't discount Haley's ability to keep a car clean through the calamity of Talladega.
JJ Yeley #99 ($8,100)
Starting 38th
I'm super intrigued by this. The B.J. McLeod 99 car has hosted some really good drivers this season, with people like Kevin Harvick, Chase Briscoe, and Sam Mayer jumping into it. But those races were McLeod races in name only -- this is set to be the 99 team running its own equipment.
But hey, Stefan Parsons was 13th in this car at Daytona and Yeley is one of the best backmarker drivers in NASCAR. He can take a bad car and he can keep it clean. He took a Rick Ware car to a 13th place finish at Daytona earlier in the season.
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Garrett Smithley #17 ($7,300)
Starting 35th
Remember when I mentioned Yeley doing well at Daytona in a Rick Ware car? Well, here's that Rick Ware car, piloted by Garrett Smithley this week.
This is Smithley's third time in this car this seaosn. He was 24th at Vegas and 25th at Texas, but neither of those is comparable to a superspeedway, where literally anything can happen.
Smithley finished eighth at Talladega last year while driving the 07 car, and his average finish here in five Xfinity starts is 12.6, with just one DNF. Those sound like good numbers.
Jordan Anderson #31 ($7,000)
Starting 29th
In the Truck Series, Jordan Anderson is an extremely solid superspeedway racer. Since 2018, he has five top 10s at these kinds of tracks, including a pair of runner-up finishes at Daytona. Maybe it's because he's an owner-driver and plays it safe at these tracks, which usually allows him to be running at the finish? Or maybe he just has an eye for how to get a car to move through the draft.
In Xfinity though, Anderson isn't quite as successful. His lone superspeedway start was earlier this year at Daytona, which saw Anderson finish 22nd. He's made four starts this year, with just one top 20. And his Xfinity career before 2021 was just a bunch of start-and-park runs, so we can ignore those.
But yeah, anyways...Anderson has shown he can find success at this track type in a truck. Let's bet on him doing it in a car now.
Joe Graf Jr. #07 ($6,300)
Starting 40th
Starting the driver who starts last and hoping for maximum chaos definitely isn't the worst approach that one could take when building a Talladega lineup.
Now, Graf has never finished better than 31st at Talladega. And in five Daytona starts, he has one race where he didn't crash out. But he finished 11th in that race!
Look, Graf is a bad play on paper. But Talladega is the ultimate "nothing matters, just vibes" race. Who cares if Graf usually crashes here -- all he has to do is not crash and he'll have a ton of upside due to the place differential available since he starts last.
