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Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop for Saturday’s Xfinity Series race from Kansas!
This week the Xfinity Series makes its 2022 debut at Kansas Speedway. Last season in this race, Ty Gibbs ($10,600) won but did not dominate, more on Gibbs later. Austin Cindric dominated to the tune of 151 laps led and earning a P2 finish. This is a 200-lap race on Saturday, as it has been for all those races as well, and wit that means we have 140 dominator points available. Similar to the Truck Series on Friday night, finding that dominator is going to be vital. Since 2018 (5 races) one driver has led at least 128 laps in four of those races and at least 85 in all five. There are two drivers that stand out when it comes to potential dominators to me but there are also a handful of other drivers who could be a surprise lap leader.
Since this is the first time the series has been here in 2022, I will be looking at two similar tracks for comparison. Both Michigan and Las Vegas are low tire wear intermediate tracks, both races Gibbs won this season (I think you may see a pattern developing here), still more on him to come later. There is some good value in this race so stacking up three top-tier drivers won’t be overly difficult on Saturday.
NASCAR DFS: Top Tier
Ty Gibbs ($10,600)
Starting Position: 2nd
I bet no one saw this coming, Ty Gibbs is the top play on the slate. Gibbs didn’t dominate but ran well on his way to the win last season at Kansas. Gibbs led only 14 laps, but had 33 fastest laps, ran 96% of his laps in the top 15, and had the second-best driver rating. Gibbs won both Michigan and Vegas this season only leading 6 laps at Vegas but he did have the most laps led at Michigan. With there being so many good plays in this tier I am not worried about ownership being high on Gibbs, especially with two drivers cheaper in this tier starting in 10th and 15th.
Noah Gragson ($11,000)
Starting Position: 5th
Some would say Gragson is due at this track type, ok maybe not some, but I think he is. Gragson has finished 2nd and 3rd to Gibbs in the two comparison races this season and has led a combined 91 laps in those races. Last season at Kansas, Gragson got caught up in a wreck on lap 180 which put him out of the race but before that, he led 9 laps and ran 172 laps in the top 15. In Friday’s practice session, Gragson was second to Gibbs in single-lap speed and second to Brandon Jones ($9,500) in ten-lap average. Gibbs and Gragson are the two drivers I believe will dominate this race and I intend to pair them together as much as possible but roster at least one in each lineup.
Justin Allgaier ($10,800)
Starting Position: 9th
Allgaier did not show good single-lap speed in practice but was top ten in ten-lap average. This is a veteran driver with a veteran team so I have no reservations about running Allgaier as a potential low-end dominator with some small PD upside. Earlier this season, Allgaier finished 2nd and 5th at Michigan and Las Vegas leading the most laps at Vegas (62) and just 17 at Michigan. I know all three of these drivers listed are pricey, but they are actually all playable together if you wanted to go that route.
Other Opitons: Ross Chastain ($9,900 – P15) – His equipment isn’t nearly as good as the ones ahead of him, but he is an experienced driver that will be racing for the win only. Josh Berry ($10,100 – P10) – This will be Berry’s first Kansas race, but he finished 6th or better in both comparison races this season so expectations are high. AJ Allmendinger ($10,300 – P4) – It’s AJ, he’s in contention every week in this car. Brandon Jones ($9,500 – P1) – Jones is risky, but showed some great speed in practice and make for a good large-field GPP play.
NASCAR DFS: Mid Tier
Derek Griffith ($7,400)
Starting Position: 35th
Griffith will be in the #26 for Sam Hunt Racing on Satuday for whom he has already raced three times in 2022. In those three races, all short track, Griffith has not finished lower than 26th and has finished as high as 18th. This car was running laps just outside the top 20 on Friday in practice and should have incredible place-differential upside on Saturday.
Sheldon Creed ($8,600)
Starting Position: 3rd
Creed is a risky play, just like he was last week but he ended up finishing 2nd after leading 47 laps so I am going back to the well this week with him. In both races at the comparison tracks, Creed had finishes of 8th and 11th. In lineups where I don’t run three top tier drivers, I will be using Creed.
Brett Moffitt ($7,100)
Starting Position: 16th
Moffitt is back in the Xfinity Series this week in the 07 for the first time in 2022. This car has had success this season with drivers like Cole Custer, Chase Briscoe, and even Joe Graf Jr. behind the wheel. Moffitt was fast in practice with this car on Friday with the 7th best single-lap speed. Moffitt is another driver that offers good PD upside on the cheap to help us fit three top tier drivers in our lineups.
Other Options: Sammy Smith ($8,900 – P11) – Smith has had some bad luck in his few races this season, but is an extremely talented driver in the JGR #18 car. Riley Herbst ($8,200 – P12), Myatt Snider ($7,700 – P21)
Value Tier Rankings:
- Rajah Carruth ($6,800) – P27
- Garrett Smithley ($5,100) – P33
- Ryan Varags ($5,700) – P38
- CJ McLaughlin ($5,200) – P32
- Stefan Parsons ($6,400) – P34
- Bayley Currey ($5,500) – P23
- Kris Wright ($5,300) – P37
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/)
