rmferenc@gmail.com 
Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop breakdown for Circuit of the Americas (aka COTA)! This track is a 3.4-mile road track that produces some exciting racing. COTA is a 20-turn track with a large 133-foot hill in turn one. Similar to the Truck Series, no driver starting lower than 12th finished inside the top 10 in this race last season. Kyle Busch led 35 of 46 laps from the pole last year here. Luckily Kyle is not in this race, but I do see one or two drivers who could dominate this race as Busch did in 2021.
Roster Construction
COTA, as it at all road courses, is not a place to go hunting for dominator points. At this race on Saturday, there are only 48 laps so that means there are only 33.6 dominator points available. When building lineups for road courses you generally look to finishing position and place differential plays. There are some good value plays starting deep in the field to give you the potential PD plays combined with a couple of great drivers starting near or at the front of the field.
NASCAR DFS: Top Tier ($9K +)
AJ Allmendinger ($10,500)
Starting Position: 4th
Most of you probably already know this, but Allmendinger is one of the premier road course drivers in all of NASCAR. Over his last seven road course races in the Xfinity Series, Allmendinger has six top 5’s, two victories, and is averaging 44.4 DKFP. The next best driver in this race when it comes to DKFP per race is a full 11.4 points lower than Allmendinger. AJ is the class of the field when it comes to this track type and he will be in a high percentage of my lineups on Saturday.
Ty Gibbs ($10,400)
Starting Position: 1st
Gibbs is still incredibly young but he is blazing his own path of greatness in the Xfinity Series and on road courses. Last season Gibbs ran six road course races and won two of them and finished top 5 in three total. With the amount of value in this race, I really like the path of using both Gibbs and Allmendinger as your dominators as I think one of these two drivers will win this race.
Cole Custer ($9,500)
Starting Position: 3rd
Custer has already won a race in the Xfinity Series this season and will look to do it again on Saturday. Road Courses are traditionally a great track type for Custer, but he does have ten top 10’s in twelve career road course races. Custer does have an outside chance of winning this race in my opinion after seeing how well his car ran in practice, but realistically I see Custer as a top 5 finisher.
Other Options: Brandon Jones ($9,100 – P38): Jones’ car stalled in practice and was not able to run any laps and did make a qualifying effort. There is some concern here, but I am confident the JGR team will get his car working before the green flag drops on Saturday. Because of where he’s starting, Jones will be the ultimate chalk play but I think you can fade him if you’re building one lineup, but you should have some exposure if doing multiple builds. Noah Gragson ($9,900 – P12): Gragson is a decent road course driver but had a bad finish here last year. I see Gragson as a top 10 car with top 5 upside. Daniel Hemric ($9,700 – P19)
NASCAR DFS: Mid Tier ($7K – $8.9K)
Sheldon Creed ($8,700)
Starting Position: 6th
If you read the Truck Series article then you already know how great Creed can be at this track type. This race will be Creed’s first Xfinity Series race in a competitive car on Saturday and with the speed he showed in practice on Friday I see this car as a top 5 finisher. Creed was 2nd fastest in single lap time on Friday and will be hopping into his Xfinity car right after he finishes in the truck race. I don’t see fatigue being an issue for Creed and you can roster him without worry.
Parker Kligerman ($8,300)
Starting Position: 11th
Kligerman is pretty much a carbon copy of Creed. Both are excellent road course drivers who will be running in the Truck Series races prior to this race on Saturday. Kligerman will be in the 35 car that has had a few quality races this season but Kligerman is the best driver to get in this car in 2022 and a top 10 is not out of the question here.
Myatt Snider ($7,200)
Starting Position: 21st
Snider is a solid cheap play in this tier that probably won’t be incredibly popular. In eleven career races at this track type, Snider has three top 10’s and an average finish of 17th. I don’t expect a huge day out of Snider on Saturday, but a top 15 would suffice for him to make value.
Other Options: Miguel Paludo ($8,900 – P17), Riley Herbst ($8,100 – P22), Josh Berry ($7,900 – P25)
NASCAR DFS: Value Tier (Under $7K)
- Brandon Brown ($6,400) – P28: Brown is one of my favorite plays on this slate. In 15 career road course races, Brown owns a career avg finish inside the top 20.
- Jeb Burton ($6,100) – P20: Burton is quietly a really good road course racers. Last season here, Burton finished 10th. I don’t think he’s in a top 10 car this week, but a top 15 is definitely possible.
- Scott Heckert ($6,300) – P32: Heckert is a road course specialist who has fared well in both Cup and Xfinity Series races. There are better options, but not at ownership this low.
- Alex Labbe ($6,500) – P5: Labbe is probably the best driver in this tier when it comes to this track type but his upside is limited. I stll think Labbe makes for a great GPP play.
- Patrick Gallagher ($5,200) – P30: Another road course specialist that has top 20 potential.
- Jeremy Clements ($6,800) – P26: Clements has the best PD upside for drivers in this price range.
- Ryan Sieg ($6,200) – P35: Sieg is hot and cold each week it seems but with his price and upside he is worth the risk this week
- Josh Bilicki ($5,700) – P27: Showed some speed in practice, has good upside.
- Will Rodgers ($5,900) – P37: Proceed with caution on Rodgers. He was unable to make a practice and qualifying lap so he will start near the back. If his car is fixed at race time, he will be a top play.
Make sure you head to the Win Daily Sports Discord for up-to-date info and help directly from our pros! Head over to Twitter and give the @WinDailySports account and me (@MVecchio81) a follow for all things Fantasy Sports! You can find more FREE NASCAR content over at WinDailySports.com!
Make sure to check out my NASCAR DFS Tutorial to make sure you are ready and understand how I break down the races and build lineups (https://windailysports.com/nascar-dfs-pit-stop-2021-introduction-to-nascar-dfs/).
There were a lot of changes in the cars and what driver is in what car/truck in 2022, check out my What’s new in 2022 article (https://windailysports.com/nascar-dfs-whats-new-in-2022/)
