Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop for the Xfinity Series race from Texas! Traditionally Texas is not a fun track, it is one of the least exciting mile and a half tracks on the circuit. That being said, we could still get a good DFS day out of Texas on Saturday. There are decisions to be made at the top with William Byron and Tyler Reddick running in this race. Last season we saw Kyle Busch dominate this race leading over 50% of the laps. There is a possibility that this happens again with one of these drivers. At the same time, we could have a full-time Xfinity driver dominate this race ahead of them.
Last season in the fall race at Texas, every driver who started inside the top 10 finished inside the top 10. That is something extremely rare for racing, especially in this series. There were no Cup drivers in this race (Cup drivers can not drop down in playoff races) so that was not a reason. John Hunter Nemechek did lead 92 of 200 laps in that race on his way to winning in the #54 car that Ty Gibbs will be in on Saturday.
This week we go with two dominator builds. Looking at previous races here, two drivers seem to dominate the LL and FL points. You can go with 2-3 mid-tier options, especially with the two chalk drivers we have in this tier. There are some good value plays this week to round out our builds
Starting Position: 7th
Gibbs is in the same car that JHN dominated the fall race at Texas with and Gibbs should be in a similar spot on Saturday. In practice on Friday, Gibbs posted the 8th best single lap time and had the best 10-lap average speed. With other drivers garnering much of the ownership in this tier, Gibbs could go overlooked on his way to victory lane on Saturday.
Starting Position: 15th
Byron is going to be the chalk play of this race and with good reason. Even though he is in a JRM car, Byron will have his Cup Series HMS pit crew for this race (one of the best in the series) and JRM cars get their engines from Hendrick. Essentially, Byron is driving a Hendrick car (it literally says so on his hood) and could dominate this race. There is a good amount of value where you can take Gibbs/Byron as your dominators and build comfortably.
Starting Position: 6th
Allgaier is the more popular play among the Xfinity regulars in this tier and with good reason. In practice, Allgaier was the second-fastest in single-lap speed and has a great track record here in Texas. In eight races since 2018, Allgaier has finished 12th or better six times (he has issues in the other two races) and has led a series-best 193 laps in those races. Allgaier is one of the hottest drivers in the Xfinity Series and if you are playing cash games he is a lock, but in GPP’s you can go here if you want to fade Byron.
Starting Position: 1st
Gragson is your pole-sitter for Saturday’s race, but could still see some ownership. I think people are starting to realize that in the lower series, playing pole-sitters is just fine. Usually, the top teams start near the front and finish there as well and Gragson is no exception. Gragson has started top five in two of the last three races in 2022 and finishes top 5 in all three. Gragson was top 5 in practice on Friday and even though I don’t think he wins this race, a fourth straight top 5 is a relatively safe bet. In his last three races at Texas, Gragson has finishes of 2nd, 7th, and 3rd.
Other Options: Tyler Reddick ($10,000 – P2), Josh Berry ($9,600 – P8), AJ Allmendinger ($9,700 – P13), Ryan Truex ($9,200 – P5)
Starting Position: 38th
Cassill will be the chalkiest of chalk plays, but I don’t know if you can get a takedown without him. Cassill is in the Kaulig #10 car this season and has shown speed each week in 2022. This car has top 10 upside and if he reaches that potential, you probably won’t be in contention for a big day without him. In 11 races this season, Cassill has only finished a race outside the top 15 once (31st at COTA) if you don’t count Fontana where his car went up in flames 6 laps in. I am not looking back at track history here because Cassill has never had a car that is this good while racing here.
Starting Position: 37th
Another super chalky play will be Alfredo. Now, if you wanted to fade one of the chalkiest plays on the slate, Alfredo would be my pick. His upside is not as great as Cassill’s, but his ownership could be 10-12% lower. I will take the higher score over the lower ownership because you can be different in other ways. With all this being said, Alfredo is still one of the top Fpt/$ plays on this slate. In the fall 2020 race here, Alfredo did finish 3rd in the RCR #21.
Starting Position: 10th
There is another chalk play in this tier, but I will save him for the “other options” section and instead give you a pivot off the chalkier plays in this tier. Herbst could be in the low teens to single-digit ownership for this race and could be the difference in a chalky race like this. Herbst finishes 12th in both races at Texas last season, but more importantly, he has been on a roll recently in the 2022 season. Coming into the weekend, Herbst has finished 9th or better in five straight races and six of the last season. Included in those races are three top 5 finishes at well. With him being completely overlooked today, Herbst is my favorite mid-tier pivot for Saturday.
Other Options: Jeffrey Earnhardt ($7,900 – P35) – Earnhardt is the other chalky play I mentioned above. This car has top 20 upside as shown in practice. Sheldon Creed ($8,100 – P21), Daniel Hemric ($8,900 – P11), Brandon Brown ($7,000 – P23)
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/)
Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop for the NASCAR Truck Series from Texas! Unfortunately, Texas is traditionally not an exciting track. Last season only four trucks failed to finish the race, which sounds good but the more trucks out the better chance of our value plays moving up and picking up more points. Also, only 12 trucks finished on the lead lap and ten more finished between 1 and 3 laps down. All this usually makes for a very boring race and Friday night should be no different.
In 2021, two drivers led 74.1% of the laps in this race. This is not a one-off event either, in the first race here in 2020, two drivers led 74.2%. In the second 2020 race, Sheldon Creed led 86.2% of the laps. Looking at these stats over the previous three races, it will be pertinent to get 1-2 of the dominators correct.
Similar to last week, there is a group of drivers that are in a class of their own. I will want to roster two of those drivers and then fill in with a lower-priced top-tier driver. Lastly, we should look to round out with 2 values and a mid-tier depending on salary. Unfortunately, this article is being written pre-practice and qualifying so things may change after we see how that shakes out.
Starting Position: 15th
If you haven’t been paying attention then you may not realize that Zane Smith is the best driver in the Truck Series in 2022. So far this season, Smith has three wins, has finished top 10 in EVERY race, and is top five in five races. Smith is averaging 59 DKFP per race, nearly 17 points more than the next driver ( Ben Rhodes), and has 117 more total points than Rhodes as well. Texas has been a good track for Smith in his short truck career. In three races, Smith has led 38 laps here and has finished 6th and 3rd in the last two races. It’s probably safe to assume that Smith will qualify towards the front and will be a threat to dominate this race and lead a lot of laps.
Starting Position: 5th
Preece has run three races in this number 17 DGR truck in 2022 and has not finished any worse than 7th. This truck has three top 10’s in 2022, and all three were when Preece was behind the wheel. Preece is my favorite option in the low $9K tier, but depending on how qualifying finishes there are two other great options in this range.
Starting Position: 8th
As you already saw, the only driver who has been better than Rhodes is Smith in 2022. Rhodes hasn’t been great at Texas, but he has shown speed in every race this season and similar to Smith, has five top-fives in eight races. One thing that puts Rhodes ahead of someone like John Hunter Nemechek is his propensity for qualifying poorly. In eight races this season, Rhodes has qualified 13th or worse in five races and has finished top 5 three times and top 10 four times.
Other Options: John Hunter Nemechek ($10,900 – P1) – Will potentially be low owned starting from the pole. JHN has the potential to lead a lot of laps on Frida., Carson Hocevar ($9,400 – P20) – I expect Hocevar to carry some ownership, but the upside here is almost too good to pass up. Corey Heim ($9,000 P2) – Like last week Heim is risky, but if he can avoid the carnage he could threaten for his second win on the season. Chandler Smith ($10,000 – P7) – Smith is fast every week and will be again on Friday.
Starting Position: 19th
Purdy has been good in his two races at Texas in the Truck Series. In two career races here, Purdy has finishes of 12th and 17th. In eight races this season, Purdy has never qualified better than 14th and qualified 28th in both of his Texas races. I expect Purdy to be a mid to low-teens driver after qualifying in the low 20’s (my guess).
Starting Position: 3rd
Friesen seems to be up and down when it comes to Texas. In his career in the Truck Series, Friesen has raced here nine times but has wrecked in four of those races. If you take out his wrecks, Friesen has never finished lower than 14th and has an average finish of 6th. If you have the salary or want to go two mid-tier plays over a low $9K driver then Friesen is my favorite play.
Other Options: Matt Crafton ($8,700 – P21), Ty Majeski ($8,900 – P10), Todd Bodine ($7,700 – P24), Matt DiBenedetto ($8,000 – P33) – I do not, I repeat DO NOT like Matty D as he has not been good this season, but it’s hard to pass on an $8K truck starting 33rd with top 20 practice speed.
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/)
Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop breakdown for the Truck Series from Kansas! Matt Crafton ($8,400) has the distinction of being the only driver to have previously won at Kansas in the field for Saturday night’s race. Crafton is also the only driver to compete in all 23 previous Truck Series races at this track. Clearly, Crafton holds an experience advantage over the other drivers in the field, but that does not make him the automatic favorite. DraftKings did well to price up the top three drivers in the series this week making it nearly impossible to roster all three for this race. For more on this race, check out my weekend preview.
Stewart Friesen ($8,800) was stuck in Laguardia airport overnight as his flight was canceled to get into Kansas. Because of this, he missed practice and qualifying but hopes to be there for the race. As of this writing, Friesen had landed in Chicago and was waiting to get a flight to Kansas. Bubba Wallace did practice and qualify Friesen’s truck for him. I am only mentioning this because this truck was fast in practice and if for some reason Friesen cannot get to Kansas and Wallace does race this truck, he could be a great play (If DK adds him).
This is a pretty simple formula this week:
2 of the top 3 (JHN, Zane, Rhodes)
Then one of a group of 4-5 drivers right below them
1 mid-tier driver
2 value
As you read above, there is a group of three drivers that are dominating the series in 2022. This season, the combo of Ben Rhodes ($10.4), Zane Smith ($10.6), and John Hunter Nemechek ($11.3) have combined to win four of seven races this season. They have also finished with 12 top 5’s, and 15 top 10’s, and have led a combined 415 laps in 2022. I want to start any build today with two of these three drivers. Even though they are priced up they are worth the money. With Rhodes starting from P15 and being the cheapest of this group he will be the chalk. Rhodes was a top 5 truck in practice so there is no need to worry about him getting upfront. After Rhodes, Nemechek will probably be the next highest owned followed by Zane. Smith had the best truck in practice and will be hard to pass once he gets into clean air upfront. In cash, I would go Rhodes/JHN but in tournaments, I would switch Nemechek to Smith.
There is a group of four, or five, drivers that are just a little behind the top group mentioned above but are great compliments to those drivers.
Chandler Smith ($10,200 – P6) – Smith is just below that top echelon group and with a second win today could push himself into that group. In his two previous races at Kansas, Smith finished 5th and 11th. In practice on Saturday, the #18 Toyota Tundra showed speed and was 9th best in 10-lap average.
Carson Hocevar ($9,700 – P16) – Mr. 2nd Place, Carson Hocevar is coming off back-to-back 2nd place finishes at Bristol (dirt) and Darlington. Hocevar also has finished runner up for the championship in 2020 and 2021. In Saturday’s practice session, Hocevar was top 10 in single lap and 4th in 10-lap speed. I think Hocevar finally exercises his 2nd place demons and earns his first career victory.
Christian Eckes ($9,400 – P17) – Kansas is one of Eckes’s best tracks throughout the past two seasons. In four races here, Eckes has never finished lower than 13th, has three straight finishes of 6th or better, and has led at least 3 laps in every race here.
Other Options: Corey Heim (9,200 – P2): Has a really fast truck but is also super risky. Heim has won a race this season, but in his other two finishes, he has a 23rd and 32nd. Grant Enfinger ($9,900 – P21): Enfinger is always a solid play, but he will be high-owned. I would be higher on him, but because of the ownership, I’d rather look elsewhere for tournament plays. Enfinger is still a great cash play. Riley Herbst ($9,000 – P7)
Starting Position: 10th
As I mentioned in the open, Crafton is the most experienced driver at this track in the field. Crafton’s truck was one of the top trucks in practice placing 4th in single-lap speed and second in the 10-lap average. Crafton may not win this race, but he has a top 5 truck and should be near the front when the checkers wave.
Starting Position: 20th
Ankrum is another driver in this tier who has a fast truck, not as fast as Crafton, but the upside is definitely here with the 16. Coming into this race, Ankrum has three straight top-ten finishes on pavement (finished 31st on the dirt at Bristol) and he has finished lower than 17th since Daytona (on pavement) this season.
Other Options: Ty Majeski ($8,600 – P3), Tanner Gray ($7,400 – P9)
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/)
Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop for the Xfinity Series race from Darlington! This track typically eats up the youth and inexperienced but there are some extremely talented young drivers that have little to no experience here and will do well. If you want more info about this race and the track, check out my weekend preview.
Because qualifying was rained out on Friday, Chase Elliott will not be racing on Saturday. Now, there is a chance that JRM pays one of the other teams to withdraw from the race so they can race or use their # and paint scheme so he can run.
Similar to the truck race on Friday, I think we need to use the experienced and/or talented drivers up top for finishing position and dominator points while filling out the remaining spots with cheap mid tier or value plays. There will be two cars that are the chalk in the top tier, but I think they need to be in your lineups. You can be different with your four remaining drivers to balance out those plays.
Starting Position: 34th
Tyler Reddick represents the first of those two chalky plays. Reddick will come off 34th thanks to the formula and the fact the car he is in, the #48 BMV Chevy, has not been good in races. That will change on Saturday as I assume RCR will give some help to this team to make sure Reddick runs well. In the Xfinity Series, Reddick has never finished lower than 16th in four races at Darlington and has two top 3 finishes as well. Reddick has some dominator potential, but this will be a safe CHALKY place differential play that I think should be the first button you hit on Saturday when building.
Starting Position: 2nd
Berry is great at shorter tracks and he is coming off his first victory in 2022 last week at Dover. In his second career Darlington race last season, Berry started P20 but finished 2nd in this same #8 JRM Chevy. Berry has four top 5s in ten races this season and six finishes of 11th or better.
Starting Position: 3rd
If Berry or Gibbs slip up early and give Allgaier some room he could push to the lead. Allgaier is no stranger to winning races at Darlington as he won this race last season while only leading 10 laps. Since 2017, Allgaier has six top 10’s in seven races at Darlington including his aforementioned win. After starting out hot in the first four races, Allgaier spuddered with no top 10’s in the next five but last week he returned to form with a second place finish after leading 67 laps and having 41 fastest laps.
Starting Position: 23rd
There are two drivers who will be chalky on Saturday, I already mentioned Reddick, and Nemechel would be the second on those two. Reddick will probably be higher owned, but I trust the car that JHN will be in more. So far this season Nemechek has raced four times in the Xfinity Series, twice in this #26 Toyota where he finished 12th and 5th. Three weeks ago in Richmond, Nemechek was in the JGR 18 and led 135 laps while finishing second. On Friday, Nemechek was dominant in the Truck Series race earning his first victory of 2022 so that experience will only help him on Saturday.
Other Options: Noah Gragson ($10,800 – P4), Ryan Truex ($9,000 – P28), Ty Gibbs ($10,500 – P1)
Starting Position: 9th
Ryan Sieg is the Rodney Dangerfield of the Xfinity Series, he gets no respect. Sieg is having one of the best seasons of any driver in this series in 2022 and he still is priced well under his value. The one good thing is that no one will play him at this price either because of where he starts. In 2022, Sieg has finished lower than 11th one in ten races and has an average finish of 11.9. In four races at Darlington since 2020, Sieg has finished between 3rd and 11th in all four and I view Sieg as a top 10 car again on Saturday.
Starting Position: 6th
Jones has been a solid performer at Darlington in the past and will be a contender for a top 5 on Saturday. In five races since 2019, Jones has finished 7th or better three times, including a win in the fall race here and a 3rd in this race last season. Jones is risky because he can wreck out as he is an aggressive driver starting up front. The upside in this play is we know Darlington does not scare Jones and he has an outside chance at the win here.
Other Options: Brandon Brown ($7,000 – P17), Sam Mayer ($8,600 – P7), Austin Hill ($8,200 – P12), Anthony Alfredo ($7,200 – P14), Jeb Burton ($7,700 – P15)
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/)
Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop breakdown for the Truck Series from Darlington! This should be a great weekend of racing with NASCAR celebrating the past for Throwback Weekend from the Lady in Black. You can read more about the track in my weekend preview article.
With there being a fair amount of laps in this race, we will want to get 2 dominators into your builds. We saw that this strategy worked in previous Darlington races and should hold true here. I want to pay UP and get 2-3 MINIMUM top salary guys and take the cheap guys with PD upside in this race.
Starting Position: 1st
With three straight poor starts where JHN finished in the mid-20s to start the season he has rebounded nicely since. In his last three races, Nemechek has finished 2nd, 4th, and 3rd consecutively. It appears that whatever issues were ailing the 4 team have been fixed and he is back in championship form. In two races at Darlington in 2021, Nemechek finished top 10 in both races including a 2nd place finish in the fall. Nemechek also led 104 laps combined in those two races. I expect Nemechek to be up front in this race if he can avoid the eventual carnage, and be in contention for the win.
Starting Position: 3rd
Enfinger is once again underpriced, as he is most weeks. Similar to Nemechek, Enfinger did not start strong but has since finished between 8th and 12th in four consecutive races. Darlington is a track that has been so difficult for so many, but not Grant Enfinger. In his three career races here, Enfinger has never finished lower than 6th and has two top 5’s in his other two finishes. The only downside I can see with Enfinger is he has never led a lap here, but if he can manage another top 5 on Friday he can be your third top tier play and do just fine as that.
Starting Position: 15th
If you are looking for another driver with dominator potential, then let me introduce you to Ben Rhodes. No driver in this series has been as consistent as Rhodes has in 2022. The 2021 series champion has started his road to repeating with five top 5’s and 166 laps led in six races this season. The last time we saw Rhodes all he did was lead 95 laps, have 39 fastest laps, and win the Bristol Dirt Race two weeks ago. Rhodes already has a victory at Darlington (2020) and is another driver I can see pushing for the win on Friday night.
Starting Position: 4th
If Ben Rhodes isn’t the hottest driver in the series, then Zane Smith is. Smith is the only driver in the series to have a top 10 in all six races this season and has two victories already solidifying him as the favorite for the championship early on. Smith has finished 2nd two years in a row for the title and is determined to win this season and it’s showing early on. Experience matters at Darlington, and while Smith hasn’t been outstanding here, he does have three races under his belt and finished 9th in the fall race here in 2021. I don’t think Smith comes out on top in this race, but I see no reason he can’t lead laps, he’s led at least 3 laps in 4 of 6 races in 2022, and get his seventh straight top 10 to start the season.
Other Options: Ross Chastain ($10,900 – P10), Chandler Smith ($9,800 – P28) – Smith is going to be the chalkiest play on the slate. I love this play but he projects near 60%. , Stewart Friesen ($9,300 – P23) – Friesen projects are near 35% LESS ownership than Smith is $500 cheaper, seems like the obvious tournament pivot. Friesen also has two top 10’s in three Darlington races.
Starting Position: 6th
Hocevar has raced at Darlington twice in his career (both in 2021) and held his own here. At this race last season, Hocevar started 14th and came home with a 3rd place finish. In the fall, Hocevar wasn’t as good, but he did manage to finish 11th. In 2022, it has been a roller-coaster type season, but Hocevar does have three top 10s including his 2nd last race on the dirt at Bristol.
Starting Position: 22nd
Purdy is having a pretty solid season thus far and had a good race here at Darlington last fall. Since we want to potentially stack two $10K drivers, we need some savings somewhere and Purdy fits that role perfectly. Last season at this race, Purdy crashed about halfway through the race and finished 36th. When the series came back in the fall though, Purdy finished 15th and looked strong throughout. So far in 2022, Purdy has finished between 13 and 16th in four of his five races. Purdy looks to be a mid-teen driver on Friday with low teens to top 10 upside.
Starting Position: 12th
Ankrum, Purdy’s teammate, is probably the most consistent driver at Darlington in this tier. In three career races here, Ankrum has finished between 11th and 18th but similar to Enfinger he has never led a lap here. Also similar to Enfinger, he is not someone we need to lead laps to make value. Depending on you build your lineups, you could come up from Purdy to Ankrum as I believe he has a greater upside.
Other Options: Tanner Gray ($7,500 – P17), Christian Eckes ($8,300 – P11), Parker Kligerman ($8,500 – P9)
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/)
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