NASCAR Xfinity Series The Loop 110 DFS: DraftKings Lineup Picks for Chicago (7/5/25)

Justin Carter's DraftKings DFS lineup picks for the NASCAR Xfinity Series The Loop 110 at the Chicago Street Course. Read his daily fantasy NASCAR advice and Xfinity sleepers (2025).

The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to the Chicago street course this weekend for The Loop 110. Defending race winner Shane Van Gisbergen, who now races full-time in the Cup Series, dips back into Xfinity this weekend for the race. Can anyone stop him?

Last weekend in Atlanta, a crash-filled race saw Nick Sanchez survive to capture the first Xfinity Series win of his career, locking up a playoff spot for the rookie driver. Will we get another new winner on Saturday?

Let's look at some NASCAR Xfinity DFS lineup picks for the NASCAR Xfinity Series The Loop 110 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 7/5/25 at 4:38 p.m. EDT.

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Post-Qualifying Updates

Check back here for updates after qualifying.

Top Contenders

With Connor Zilisch not turning a qualifying lap and starting 35th, polesitter Shane Van Gisbergen becomes the top driver. Austin Hill starts second and Sam Mayer third, making both solid pivots in case Van Gisbergen runs into any trouble.

Place Differential Plays

Drivers to target for place differential:

• Josh Williams (27th)
• Kaz Grala (30th)
• Jeb Burton (31st)
• Dean Thompson (33rd)
• Connor Zilisch (35th) - Obvious chalk play.
• Taylor Gray (36th) - Love this play.
• Christian Eckes (38th) - Love this play even more.

Drivers To Fade

These drivers start too high for my liking:

• Sheldon Creed (Fourth)
• William Sawalich (Seventh) - He's run well on road courses, but I'm not sure I'm ready to play him when he starts this high.
• Preston Pardus (12th)
• Thomas Annunziata (20th)

Top Plays

Shane Van Gisbergen ($12.5K)

This race track belongs to Shane Van Gisbergen. It was the site of his first career Cup Series victory in 2023 in what also happened to be SVG's first career Cup Series start. He unfortunately crashed out of the Cup Series race here in 2024, but not before winning the previous day's Xfinity race.

Now, Van Gisbergen returns to the track for his first Xfinity start of the season, and he does it in what's probably the best NASCAR car he's ever run, the JR Motorsports No. 9.

JR Motorsports cars have won both road course races this season, including Daniel Suarez in Mexico City in this car. Van Gisbergen is the clear favorite.

Connor Zilisch ($11.5K)

If anyone can stop Van Gisbergen, it's Connor Zilisch in the No. 88 car. In three Xfinity Series starts on road courses, Zilisch has two wins and an average finish of 2.3. He's already the best road course racer in the series despite being a rookie.

who remembers what happened the last time Connor Zilisch raced at a street circuit…

Last to first in TA2 at Nashville 2023 👌
Still one of his finest drivers to date! pic.twitter.com/awNC2bL16i

— magnus 🦈 (@Magnus2331) July 4, 2025

Zilisch is also riding high this weekend, as it appears he's set to head to the Cup Series next season to take over for Daniel Suarez at Trackhouse. What better way to celebrate than by beating future teammate SVG on Saturday?

Sam Mayer ($10.0K)

There are two clear top plays this weekend, but if you want to be a DFS hipster who goes against the grain, Sam Mayer is definitely in play as well.

He lacks some of the consistency on road courses that SVG and Zilisch bring, but he's still capable of putting on a show on tracks like this, as he has four road course victories in his Xfinity career.

The one big concern here? Road courses have been good to Mayer, but Chicago itself hasn't. In two previous races, Mayer was 18th and 19th. But hey — maybe that will just drive his rostered percentage down on Saturday?

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Mid-Tier Options

Justin Allgaier ($9.7K)

2025 has been a disaster on road courses for Justin Allgaier, as he's finished 29th at COTA and 34th at Mexico City. Maybe Chicago will fix things for the No. 7 car, though, as he's finished in the top 10 in both races here. That includes a third-place finish in 2023.

Jack Perkins ($9.5K)

I know nothing about 38-year-old Jack Perkins except that he comes over from Supercars, where he hasn't had nearly the same success as Shane Van Gisbergen, winning just one of his 157 races.

Still, he's an experienced road course racer driving a Joe Gibbs car, so he needs to be on your radar. It's hard to know what, exactly, to expect from him because it will depend on how fast he picks up this equipment. I could see anything from a fifth-place finish to a 20th-place finish.

Navigating a clean path through what is likely to be a chaotic Xfinity Series race on the streets of Chicago is Jack Perkins’ goal for his NASCAR debut.#NASCAR #RepcoSC https://t.co/UifZRBpbWM

— Speedcafe.com (@speedcafe) July 4, 2025

Play Perkins at your own risk, but I'd probably suggest having at least some exposure to him for the scenario where he's an instant contender.

Austin Hill ($9.2K)

Austin Hill enters this weekend with three consecutive top-5s on road courses. He's finished fifth and seventh at Chicago. While none of his 13 Xfinity wins have been at road courses, he's been close plenty of times and should have a shot at another top-5 on Saturday.

Taylor Gray ($9.0K)

The runner-up at Mexico City, Gray has made two road course starts in the Xfinity Series and has finished in the top 10 in both. Maybe he's due for regression, considering he had an average finish of 17.3 in six Truck Series road course starts, but some exposure is likely warranted this weekend.

Jesse Love ($8.7K)

When thinking about road course aces, Jesse Love's name doesn't spring to mind. However, maybe it should! Love has four career top 10s on road/street courses, including a fifth last year at Chicago.

Christian Eckes ($8.3K)

While Christian Eckes has struggled overall in his first year in Xfinity, he does have three top fives. Two were on road courses, and the other was at Pocono, a triangle-shaped track that races sort of like a road course.

While most weeks I'd be wary of Eckes at this price, his road course showings in 2025 have been enough to keep him firmly on the radar, especially after Mexico City, since he gained 30 positions throughout that race.

Sammy Smith ($8.0K)

Sammy Smith is another driver who I don't immediately think of as being a good road course racer, but he's finished 10th and 11th on road courses this season. He was sixth in the inaugural street race and then 13th last season. Solid value at this cost.

Value Options

William Sawalich ($7.8K)

It's been a rough rookie season for William Sawalich as he's recorded just three top 10s all season, despite being in a Joe Gibbs Racing car. There's no good way to slice that overall.

William Sawalich finished in sixth today, and continues his streak of scoring top 10s in all of his Xfinity road course starts, as he captured ninth at COTA in March. A much needed momentum boost for a tough year he’s had. #NASCAR #TheChilango150 #ThePodiumFinish

— Declan Wayman (@declan_wayman) June 14, 2025

However, there is a good way to slice it for this particular track! Of those three top 10s, two have come on road courses, including a career-best sixth in Mexico City. Chicago is probably one of the few tracks left this year where I'll willingly recommend Sawalich.

Kaz Grala ($7.7K)

Kaz Grala returns to Sam Hunt Racing, where he ran full-time back in 2023. Grala has seven top fives in his Xfinity career, with four of those coming on road courses. He was 10th when he ran Chicago in 2023.

Austin Green ($7.4K)

This price is a little higher than I'd like for a part-time Jordan Anderson Racing driver, but Green was seventh at Mexico City and had three road course top 10s in 2024, including a 10th at Chicago.

Alex Labbe ($6.9K)

I wish Alex Labbe were a little cheaper because I don't necessarily trust the speed of this No. 07 car, but he's an experienced road course racer who was top 15 at both COTA and Mexico City. He seems like a lock to finish with positive place differential points.

Jeb Burton ($6.8K)

This is a relatively boring play, but Jeb Burton was eighth in Mexico City and will cost you under $7.0K, so as long as he doesn't have a shockingly good qualifying run, he'll likely be in play for a cheap place differential.

Josh Williams ($6.1K)

I usually fade Josh Williams because he runs in the high 20s and doesn't have a ton of upside, but he's finished with a positive place differential in both road course races this season. This is a spot where he's likely to qualify worse than usual and then run slightly better than usual, putting him firmly on the DFS radar.

Blaine Perkins ($5.4K)

If you want to dive for value, Blaine Perkins had a top 10 at COTA earlier this year. I wouldn't expect a lot out of him, considering he usually struggles on road courses, but if you expect a chaotic race where simply surviving to the end matters, Perkins will likely be in play.

More DFS Lineup Picks and Analysis

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