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Justin Carter's DraftKings DFS lineup picks for the NASCAR Xfinity Series US Marine Corps 250 at Martinsville Speedway. Read his daily fantasy NASCAR advice and Xfinity sleepers. (2025)
The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Martinsville Speedway on Saturday for the US Marine Corps 250. With two wins on the year, defending champion Justin Allgaier currently sits atop the point standings, 29 points ahead of his former teammate Sam Mayer.
Last week at Homestead, Allgaier captured the win despite Kyle Larson posting a dominant performance much of the day. The Hendrick Motorsports star dipped down to do triple duty last week, winning the Cup and Truck race and leading 132 laps in the Xfinity Series race before finishing fourth.
Let's look at some NASCAR Xfinity DFS lineup picks for the NASCAR Xfinity Series US Marine Corps 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 3/29/25 at 5:08 p.m. EDT.
Xfinity DFS Preview - DraftKings
Be sure to also check out all of our other weekly NASCAR DFS articles and analyses to help you set your optimal DFS lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Top Plays
Aric Almirola ($12.0K)
Starts 15th
This is the chalk play of the race. If everything goes the way it seems to go when Aric Almirola steps into an Xfinity Series car, he could finish with 20 more fantasy points than anyone else in this field.
Just realized Aric Almirola is tied for the highest ranking Toyota in the NASCAR Xfinity Series standings (tied for 9th) with Taylor Gray, and Almirola has done just three races while everyone else in the top 25 in the standings has done all six races.#NASCAR | #Martinsville
— Matthew Breault (@MatthewBreault7) March 29, 2025
However, I am just a bit concerned this weekend about the lack of speed in this car. His 10-lap practice average was only 28th-fastest and while his 15th-place qualifying run gives us some really nice place differential upside, IDK. Something feels off.
That's not to say I won't play him. I just think that with so many people building around Almirola this weekend, you might want to experiment with building lineups without him in GPPs, though you kind of have to go with him in most Cash lineups.
Justin Allgaier ($11.7K)
Starts Sixth
Of the most expensive drivers, Justin Allgaier is the only one who starts in the top 10. Theoretically, that offers him the best chance to get the win on Saturday.
This has been a good track for Allgaier. He's never really dominated here, topping out at 21 laps led in the fall 2023 race, but he has a win and eight top 10s in nine starts. He'll be around at the end of the day, even if it's in fourth place instead of in the lead.
Sam Mayer ($10.5K)
Starts 16th
The move to Haas Factory Team has been a good one for Sam Mayer, who sits second in points with four top fives through six races. The seven-time Xfinity Series winner is going to get his first victory of the season soon.
It would be tough for "soon" to mean "today," but not impossible as he finished second in this race last year, leading 11 laps in the process. The problem is that in the past four races here, that was the only time he didn't DNF due to a crash. Definitely a little risk involved, but Mayer should be a contender to get +10 in place differential.
Sheldon Creed ($10.3K)
Starts 18th
Sheldon Creed hasn't been quite as good as his Haas teammate Mayer, but he still sits fifth in points with three top 10s. The extra two points Creed has available in place differential this weekend really makes the two a bit of a wash.
Unless one car suffers a mechanical issue or one driver surprisingly just runs away with his thing, both cars should score around the same number of DFS points, and Creed can do it for a slight bit less salary.
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Mid-Tier Options
Connor Zilisch ($9.8K)
Starts First
Polesitter Connor Zilisch is still figuring out ovals and has negative place differential at all five ovals that Xfinity has run this season, but Martinsville is probably the oval so far that best fits his skill set.
It's also a track where being at the front matters. Parker Retzlaff managed to fend off a much faster Chandler Smith for the first 17 laps of the fall race last year and Cole Custer led the first 27 laps here last spring after starting on the front row.
That clean air at the jump could help Zilisch lead early on. He just has to figure out how to put a full race together.
Carson Kvapil ($9.6K)
Starts Second
This is the pivot off of Zilisch. JRM teammate Carson Kvapil also starts on the front row and while he's the less talented of the two, that clean air could give him a shot to lead laps early if he can get past Zilisch.
Starting P2 for tomorrow’s race at Martinsville! We have a really fast @RotoRooter Chevrolet, super proud of my @JRMotorsports team with the work we’ve done. Ready for tomorrow📎 pic.twitter.com/Z64RpFEyN1
— Carson Kvapil (@Carson_Kvapil) March 29, 2025
There's definitely more risk here than there is with the No. 88 car, but Kvapil is coming off a strong run at Homestead last week, posting his first top 10 since Daytona. Don't go overweight here, but I'd say 10-15 percent of your lineups should have Kvapil in them.
Christian Eckes ($8.6K)
Starts 19th
Christian Eckes has had some issues since moving to Xfinity, but in the four races he's finished this year, his worst finish is 13th. He's a very good driver in a car that's not top tier, but is better than most of the field still. Eckes starts 19th on Saturday, giving him pretty decent place differential upside.
Nick Sanchez ($8.3K)
Starts 20th
Nick Sanchez already has three top 10s this season, including a 10th at Phoenix, the shortest track the series had visited before this weekend. He starts 20th on Saturday, offering an upside around +10 in place differential.
Value Options
Jeb Burton ($7.7K)
Starts 38th
Probably the most obvious play of this race. Jeb Burton's car lost power in practice and he was unable to make a qualifying run, which means he'll bring up the tail of this race in 38th.
Starting in the rear tomorrow. Excited to pass a lot of cars. https://t.co/nT4bHWwNv7
— Jeb Burton (@JebBurtonRacing) March 28, 2025
This isn't an elite team, but Burton's in a much better car than everyone else starting in the back. He's got to keep it clean, but if he does then he can easily get you 15-20 place differential points.
Corey Day ($7.5K)
Starts Eighth
I'm hesitant here because he starts just a bit high for my liking, but Corey Day costs under $8.0K and is in a Hendrick Motorsports car, so you probably should have at least a little bit of exposure here.
Still, you have to assume some risk. This is Day's Xfinity debut and his average finish in the Truck Series is just 22.6 over his seven starts there. I'd go light on Day, but I would use him in a couple of chaos lineups, ones where I'm betting on things getting weird.
Josh Williams ($7.1K)
Starts 26th
Last year, Josh Williams moved to Kaulig and hopes were high that it was a move that would change the trajectory of his career. And it was—just not in a good way, as Williams posted an average finish of 21.7.
He's running better this year though, with an average finish of 18.3 and a lead-lap finish in half the races. He starts 26th on Saturday, offering a small amount of place differential upside.
William Sawalich ($6.8K)
Starts 14th
So here's the thing: William Sawalich isn't really producing in this JGR car yet, but as long as he's priced this low, I'm going to keep playing him every week.
Especially on a week where he starts 14th, his second-worst starting spot of the season. If he can finally turn things around—or even if he just repeats his previous best finish of ninth—then you'll be happy he's in your lineup.
Brennan Poole ($6.0K)
Starts 29th
Brennan Poole starts nine spots behind his average finish of 20.0. Not a super fun option, but if you need someone to soldier around in the much near the midfield and get a better finish at the end of the day than you expected, Poole is probably your guy. He's finished all six races this season.
Patrick Starpoli ($5.5K)
Starts 33rd
I'll be real with y'all: I don't know who this guy is. On Friday, he ran his second career Truck Series race (and first since 2016) and finished 20th after starting 35th. On Saturday, he's in a solid Sam Hunt Racing car and starts 33rd. There might be something worth exploring here, especially at just $5.5K.
