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Justin Carter's DraftKings DFS lineup picks for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Pennzoil 250 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Read his daily fantasy NASCAR advice and Xfinity sleepers.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series is in Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend as the series returns to the oval layout of the track for the first time since 2019, when Kyle Busch won. That was long enough ago that Cole Custer hadn't even had his three-year Cup Series stint yet.
Coming into this race, Custer holds a 51-point lead over Justin Allgaier in the point standings. Those two should both be set up for competitive runs on Saturday as they bring experience at this track to the table. Chander Smith, Austin Hill, and A.J. Allmendinger round out the top five.
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 Pennzoil 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 7/20/24 at 3:33 p.m. EDT.
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Potential Top Plays
Note: This is being written before qualifying. If you have questions after qualifying, feel free to ask me over on X later.
Justin Allgaier ($10.0K)
Justin Allgaier has a significant edge over the rest of this field when it comes to experience here as he's raced at this track nine times. That includes a 2018 Xfinity Series win, one of three top-five finishes that Allgaier has here. I'd pick him as my favorite to win this one.
Cole Custer ($10.2K)
Cole Custer won last week at Pocono, a track where one of its three turns is modeled after Indianapolis Motor Speedway. That seems like a good sign. Another good sign is that Custer has raced here four times, finishing fifth in half those starts, including in his lone Cup Series race here.
Pre-practice Xfinity sims for Indianapolis:
1. Cole Custer 13.9%
2. Riley Herbst 13.7%
3. Austin Hill 10.2%
4. Justin Allgaier 10.0%
5. Chandler Smith 7.9%Full win/T3/T5 sims plus values at @FDSportsbook ⤵️ https://t.co/NGB99YvBkZ
— Jim Sannes (@JimSannes) July 18, 2024
Aric Almirola ($9.8K)
After some controversy kept him out of this car for a few races, Aric Almirola is back at Joe Gibbs Racing for the first time since May. In his past three starts, Almirola has three top fives including a dominant win at Martinsville. Almirola was third in the 2020 Brickyard 400, the most recent NASCAR oval race here.
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Potential Mid-Tier Options
A.J. Allmendinger ($9.0K)
A.J. Allmendinger does have experience here, racing here in the Cup Series 10 times and also running the Indianapolis 500 in 2013. Allmendinger has two top 10s here in Cup plus was seventh in the 500. His track record here suggests he'll be a top-five contender on Saturday.
Sheldon Creed ($9.3K)
Considering NASCAR hasn't been here since 2020 and we have a lot of drivers without experience here, I'm going to lean pretty heavily on Pocono last week as a guide for what drivers to target. Sheldon Creed has never raced here, but he started on the pole, led seven laps and finished fourth at Pocono last weekend. He may end up starting from the back after engine issues in practice, which would lead to a ton of place differential upside.
Man, @SheldonCreed is reporting ANOTHER engine issue on his No. 18 in Xfinity Series practice at Indianapolis.
There has been an influx of engine issues for Joe Gibbs Racing in the last few months, and it seems like at least half of them happen to Sheldon Creed...#NASCAR
— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) July 19, 2024
Sammy Smith ($8.2K)
Sammy Smith is another driver without experience on the oval here, but he finished ninth at Pocono last weekend and should contend for another top 10 this time out. He has 10 top 10s in 19 races so far.
Carson Kvapil ($7.8K)
While this track type might not suit Carson Kvapil best, I can't imagine not having decent exposure to him if he starts outside the top 10, as he has in his first five starts this season. Kvapil has positive place differential in four of his five races, which has helped him average 54.8 DK points per race.
Potential Value Options
Joe Graf Jr. ($7.5K)
Most people seem to have a fairly low opinion of Joe Graf Jr., but he's driving a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota this weekend, so a price of $7.5K feels low. Graf ran the full season last year, splitting time between JGR and RSS Racing, and the RSS results weigh down his averages a lot, but Graf managed two top 10s in Gibbs equipment.
Conor Daly ($6.5K)
Here's where we see if experience at this track outweighs experience in the series. Conor Daly has started 11 races at this track, but all have come in the Indianapolis 500, where he has four top 10s. Daly, who is in a pretty good Sam Hunt Racing car this weekend, has two career Xfinity Series starts and hasn't finished better than 31st. But if he's going to have a good run in a stock car, this is where it will happen.
Man, @SheldonCreed is reporting ANOTHER engine issue on his No. 18 in Xfinity Series practice at Indianapolis.
There has been an influx of engine issues for Joe Gibbs Racing in the last few months, and it seems like at least half of them happen to Sheldon Creed...#NASCAR
— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) July 19, 2024
Anthony Alfredo ($6.6K)
Anthony Alfredo has been solid lately, finishing 14th at Pocono, his fourth finish of 21st or better in the last five races. If he qualified anywhere from 18th on back, then I'll sprinkle him in some lineups.
David Starr ($5.8K)
I can't believe I'm recommending David Starr in the year 2024, but here we are. Starr has positive place differential points in four of his five starts this season and the only time he didn't was when he raced the No. 66 car for Carl Long. He's in the No. 14 this weekend and will look to continue his trend of having a poor qualifying effort and then steadily moving up through the field.
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