NASCAR DFS Pit Stop: Xfinity Series Saturday February 16th Daytona

Welcome to NASCAR DFS Pit Stop: Xfinity Series for Saturday February 16th from Daytona International Speedway. For those of you unsure of what the Xfinity series is, it’s basically like the AAA version of NASCAR. You will find the NASCAR Stars of tomorrow driving in this series, and occasionally the current stars (who I like to refer to as invaders).

NASCAR made the decision a few years back to not allow drivers who are full-time in the Monster Energy Series to accrue points in the standings in the Xfinity series which in turn has led to less and less invaders taking slots from younger driver. Unfortunately qualifying is on Saturday morning so I don’t have that info for you, but I will tweet out the starting grid before the race starts on Saturday so make sure you follow me on Twitter for that info.

Race: NASCAR Racing Experience 300

Laps: 120

Cars: 38

Defending Champion: Tyler Reddick

NASCAR DFS: Invaders

Brad Keselowski ($12,500)

Chase Elliott ($12,100)

Keselowski and Elliot are the only two full-time MENCS drivers in this race and there is a good chance one of them will win this race. Keselowski ran 4 Xfinity races last year and finished inside the top 10 in all 4 races and had an average finish of 3.5 ( 2 wins).  As for Elliot, he ran 7 races in the Xfinity series including last years season opener in Daytona where he finished 12th and only earned 33 DKFP. Looking at the prices of these 2 drivers it is pretty clear you cannot use both of them. I do plan on using Keselowski on Saturday as my top driver and I expect him to win this race, barring him getting wrapped up in the big one

NASCAR DFS: Leaders of the Pack ( Top Tier)

Christopher Bell ($11,600)

2018 T10s: 19

DKFP Per Race: 52.8

Bell is one of the favorites to win the title this year and will look to start the season off right with a win on Saturday. If you plan on fading both invaders than Bell should be the top driver in your lineup.

Justin Allgaier ($10,400)

2018 T10s: 21

DKFP Per Race: 43.4

Allgaier is the other driver many people are predicting to win the championship this season along with Bell. They both were the best drivers last year, and if it wasn’t for some bad luck one of them would’ve won the title. Allgaier is my pick to win the title and ending the day inside the top 5.

Austin Cindric ($9,300)

2018 T10s: 11

DKFP Per Race: 26.2

Cindric ran 11th in practice on Friday in his Team Penske Ford and will probably qualify towards the front of the field on Saturday morning. If Cindric qualifies out of the top 10 it might be hard to fade him because he will probably run in the top 5 all day, which is where he ran most of the 2018 season. Cindric finished no lower than 8th in the final 4 races of 2018.

NASCAR DFS: Middle of the Pack

Chase Briscoe ($8,000)

2018 T10s: 4

DKFP Per Race: 27.8 

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Briscoe is technically a rookie this season in the Xfinity series even though he ran 15 races in ’18 and now has the backing of Stewart-Haas racing. In the first practice on Friday (where all drivers ran, only 22 ran in the second practice) Briscoe ran the fastest of all drivers and also had the best 10 lap consecutive average. It’ll be tough to fit him in if you take an invader and a top-tier driver, but I will try to find a way to make it work.

Noah Gragson ($7,300)

2018 T10s: 3 (only ran 3 races)

DKFP Per Race: 53.3

Noah Gragson and the #9 JR Motorsports Chevy will be a dominant team this season and will probably run away with the rookie of the year award. Gragson takes over the car vacated by 2018 champion Tyler Reddick  and has been running great all week in practice. In practice Friday Gragson ran 14th in first practice and 2nd in the 2nd practice. I don’t care where he qualifies on Saturday morning, I am locking Gragson into my lineups.

NASCAR DFS: Back of the Pack (Value)

Justin Haley ($6,800)

2018 T10s: 0

DKFP Per Race: 23.2

Haley is another of the talented Xfinity series rookies joining the series full-time this season. In just 3 races last season Haley recorded his best finish in Iowa last June, a 12th place finish. Haley ran the 5th best practice speed on Friday and looks to have a very fast car going into the weekend. For his price a top 15 finish should net you great value.

David Starr ($6,100)

2018 T10s: 0

DKFP Per Race: 23.4

Starr is not going to win this race, and probably won’t even finish top 15, but he will give you the chance to pick up point differential points. Looking over last seasons races Starr tends to qualify poorly and ends up starting in the 30’s, which is great because at a track like Daytona there’s always the chance of the “big one” that could take out a lot of drivers ahead of Starr and he could steal you a high finish for little salary. Also, if you want to fit an invader, a leader of the pack or 2 you will need to find some cheap drivers, and Starr fits the bill.

Another value option is Caesar Bacarella ($5,500). Bacarella ran top 20 in practice and will probably qualify in the mid 20’s – low 30’s.

Remember to check qualifying Saturday morning before setting your lineups, qualifying is scheduled to begin at 9:40am EST. Daytona is a track you’d like to stay away from the pole sitter unless it’s a guy like Keselowski or Elliott who could realistically lead the race from beginning to end.

Thank you for reading my NASCAR DFS article for the Xfinity series and remember to look for my NASCAR Monster Energy Series article for the Daytona 500 on Sunday morning. Also make sure to follow @FantasyCPR for your DFS needs for all sports and remember that all articles are always completely FREE!