Welcome to the NASCAR DFS Pit Stop breakdown for Talladega! If you are in discord (if you aren’t you are missing out!) then you already saw my preview looking back at previous races here. For those who aren’t, here is a quick synopsis:
Stacking the back can work, but I view it more as a cash-type build in this race. Most of the drivers in the optimal Xfinity Series have come from the mid-teens and twenties. Looking at how qualifying shook out on Friday, I can see a similar path to those lineups being optimal again on Saturday.
With only 113 laps equaling 79.1 dominator points for this race we are not chasing those points. Of course, we want to get dominator points, but there aren’t enough laps here that those points will make that big of a difference. Like I said, stacking the back is a great cash strategy, but I believe that stacking the mid may be a better build type. Looking at pricing, 2-3 top-tier drivers might be the best path.
Starting Position: 19th
Just based on my knowledge of the sport I did not think Gragson would be my top driver, but when I looked at how he has fared at Superspeedways I couldn’t go anywhere else. Gragson has run well at this track type, especially Talladega. In six career races on this track, Gragson has five finishes of 11th or better including two top 5’s. With Gragson starting P19, he has the best place differential in this tier.
Starting Position: 13th
Dinger is the driver I expected to be my number one driver, but number two isn’t bad. In four career races here, Allmendinger has two finishes of 7th or better, but also has two finishes of 24th or worse. Allmendinger has been solid so far in 2022 and if he can navigate through the potential carnage like he has many times before he should be in contention for the win. We know Kaulig has been dominant at Superspeedways and if they can get together they will be touch to pass let alone beat.
Starting Position: 11th
Allgaier is the old(er), wily veteran in this race and should be one of the top considerations at low ownership on Saturday. Before he had a string of bad luck from 2019-21 where he wrecked three times in four races, Allgaier had six straight finishes of 8th or better. Last fall here Allgaier got back on track with a third-place finish after starting on the pole. Allgaier clearly knows how to make his way through these races and if he can do it again a top 5 could be in the cars.
Starting Position: 15th
Jones is coming off his first win in 2022 and is at a track he has enjoyed some minimal success at in his Xfinity Series career. In eight career races here at Talladega, Jones has only wrecked twice. If you remove those two 37th place finishes, Jones has an average finish of 10th in the remaining 6 races including three top 5’s. Jones got off to a slow start this season, but he has four top 10s in the last six races and has finished no worse than 18th in any of those races.
Other Options Josh Berry ($10,100 – P16), Ty Gibbs ($10,500 – P3), Sam Mayer ($9,200 – P14), Daniel Hemric ($9,900 – P5)
Starting Position: 22nd
Jeb Burton has one career victory and it came here at Talladega, yes it was rain-shortened, but a win is a win. In four career Talladega races, Burton has three top 10s so that win was not a fluke. Now, much of his success came in a Kaulig Chevy, but now Burton is in the #27 Our Motorsports Chevy. While that is somewhat of a downgrade in equipment, Burton has only two finishes outside the top 20 this season including three top 15s in his last five races.
Starting Position: 6th
Cassill has historically run well here with three finishes of 11th or better in much lesser equipment. In 2022, Cassill signed with Kaulig and he is in the car that Jeb Burton vacated. There is an outside chance that Cassill wins this race and I can all but guarantee that he will come in somewhere in the teens in ownership as well. Cassill is by no means safe and should only be used in GPP’s.
Starting Position: 21st
Labbe is in that sweet spot where he won’t be high owned, but also not super low owned. If you are in discord then you already saw that Labbe was in two of the previous four optimal lineups for this track. Labbe has been consistent at Talladega with four straight finishes of 21st or better including two top 10s.
Other Options: Riley Herbst ($8,500 P20), Myatt Snider ($7,900 – P31): Great cash play, Brandon Brown ($7,300 – P17)
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 Bristol Dirt race! I’m just going to come out and say it, these races suck. I know I am in the minority with that statement but it’s how I feel. I have never watched REAL dirt racing so it is not something I am accustomed to and it is not something I want in NASCAR. These vehicles are meant to drive on paved roads, not dirt especially manufactured dirt tracks. These races are not overly enjoyable for me to watch, but also they are next to impossible to predict for DFS and betting purposes as well.
Last season in two Truck Series races on dirt we had a combined 22 trucks fail to finish races because of crashing or electrical issues. Between the two races, they averaged only 24 trucks finishing on the lead lap and had a combined 26 cautions for 136 laps run under caution. At Knoxville in particular it was a nightmare of a race. What was supposed to be a 150-lap race turned into 179 laps and 80 of those laps were run under caution. Looking back at this race last season, Martin Truex Jr. dominated leading 105 of 150 laps on his way to victory lane. Truex is not in this race, but there are plenty of other Cup drivers trying their hand at this race in 2022.
Saturday’s race has 150 laps so that means we have 105 dominator points available and I will be leaning into a 2 dominator type build. There are two trucks that looked to be the class of the field in the heat races and I will get into them soon. Like I said a two dominator build is probably the best way to build and then look at some good value place differential plays. There were a couple of trucks that were good in practice on Friday and are starting towards the back.
Starting Position: 1st
Logano has the potential to lead over 100 laps and win this race making him my favorite play on Saturday. In his qualifying heats, Logano looked impressive and he will be hard to pass. Logano won the Cup Series race here last season and is the favorite to win in my book. I know there is a chance Logano garners high ownership, but if he leads the bulk of this race and wins, you probably won’t have a shot at a takedown without him.
Starting Position: 2nd
If there is a driver who could take down Logano, it’s Ben Rhodes. After watching how well Rhodes ran in the qualifying heats, I have to consider him one of the favorites to dominate this race as well. Rhodes led only three laps in 2021 here on the dirt at Bristol, but he came home 2nd so he is no stranger to running well here. If Logano is the chalkier play in this group, Rhodes could be considered the cheaper, lower-owned pivot, but I actually like the idea of playing them together.
Starting Position: 3rd
I promise I am not just listing the drivers in starting position order. Friesen is probably the most experienced dirt driver in this field, at least of the NASCAR regulars. Last season in this race Friesen finished 12th but does own three top-five finishes in 6 total races including a victory at Eldora. Friesen was fastest in first practice on Friday and ran exceptionally well in his heat. If you want to fade Logano, I think Friesen is the real pivot in this $10K+ price range.
Other Options: Buddy Kofoid ($9,300 – P32): Dirt track expert in the KBM 51. He was fast in practice and should be a good PD play. Chase Elliott ($10,700 – P7): I expect Elliott will carry some high ownership on Saturday night, but he could be worth it with his upside here. Grant Enfinger ($9,800 – P16) ): Enfinger finished 6th here in 2021 and has 5 top 10’s in 5 career dirt races with an average finish of 3.6. Enfinger could be a sneaky PD top 5 pick on Saturday. Chandler Smith ($9,700 – P5): Smith was another truck that was fast throughout the practice sessions and was 3rd overall in 10-lap average.
Starting Position: 14th
Crafton is another driver who excels on dirt. In his career in the Truck Series, Crafton has eight top 10’s in nine career races including a win and an average finish of 7.9. With how well Crafton and the 88 ran in practice coupled with his experience on dirt he could be an extremely low-owned play that gets you to the top. In builds where I go with two top-tier drivers, I will use Crafton as a pseudo-top-tier play.
Starting Position: 25th
Grala’s truck wasn’t great in single-lap speed, but he did improve as the practice sessions went on Friday. I like the potential upside with Grala because of how his truck improved throughout the sessions. In his qualifying heat, this same principle held true as he was coming for the leaders as his heat went along, but Grala just ran out of laps to get a top 3.
Starting Position: 15th
Kraus did not run well at Bristol on the dirt in 2021, but he did have a great run and a top 5 finish at Knoxville later in the year. In practice on Friday, Kraus was a top 15 car in almost all categories and if he can avoid the potential carnage, he could finish top 10.
Other Options: Christian Eckes ($8,400 – P19), Mike Marler ($7,100 – P21), Tyler Ankrum ($7,300 – P20), Ty Majeski ($7,700 – P8)
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 Martinsville! The Paper Clip as it is otherwise known is a 1/2 mile short track and is the shortest track on the NASCAR circuit. The last time the Xfinity Series was at Martinsville, Noah Gragson dominated on his way to winning that race. Gragson led 153 of 257 laps while nobody else led more than 64. In that race, we saw 10 cautions for incidents, and only 27 cars finish on the lead lap. In the spring race here in 2021 it was a similar race with Josh Berry leading a race-high 95 laps. In that race, we saw 10 cautions for incidents, and only 19 cars finish on the lead lap. Needless to say, Martinsville is a race of attrition and is not easy to predict.
Friday’s race is 250 laps, which means we have 175 total dominator points available and it will be important to try and collect as many as possible. Like I said in the previous paragraph typically one car dominates this race and it will be key to find that person. Looking at where drivers qualified and how they ran in practice there are a couple of drivers who could be that guy on Friday. As far as building lineups, the way to go appears to be similar to the truck race and build a balanced type of lineup.
Starting Position: 1st
Gibbs has been the best driver in the Xfinity Series in 2022 and he was the second-fastest car in practice on Thursday. There isn’t a scenario where I see Gibbs falter on Friday night, other than someone else wrecking him. Gibbs is the top play on this slate and should be the top dominator come the end of the night on Friday.
Starting Position: 3rd
Gragson was not a top car in practice but that is not a concern. I mentioned in the open how Gragson dominated the race the last time the series was here. No driver in the Xfinity Series has been in more optimal lineups than Gragson has with five. In seven races this season, Gragson has one win included in his five top 5’s and three top 2 finishes. With how well Gragson has run in 2022 and at Martinsville in the past he is a driver who can dominate this race on Friday.
Starting Position: 30th
Junior is back in the 88 this weekend for his team. This will be Earnhardt’s first-ever Xfinity Series race at Martinsville but he does have 35 Cup Series races here. In those 35 races, Junior has one win, 13 top 5’s, and 18 top 10’s so it’s no wonder why he chose Martinsville to come race this season. In practice on Thursday, the 88 was fast and ran the 7th best single lap time. I view Earnhardt as similar to Byron who starts in the 30s but has a fast car and could push for the win. Realistically, Junior is more likely to get a top 10 and not be a factor for the win, but he has massive upside.
Starting Position: 2nd
If not Gragson or Gibbs, then it could be Allgaier who dominates Friday night. Allgaier has been outstanding in his three races here never finishing lower than 9th. Allgaier has never led a lap at Martinsville, but starting on the outside pole he could get out in front of Gibbs and lead this race for a while.
Other Options: Josh Berry ($10,800 – P10), AJ Allmendinger ($10,500 – P13), Daniel Hemric ($9,500 – P9)
Starting Position: 21st
Mayer has traditionally run well at short tracks in his short career. Last fall at Martinsville, Mayer started 11th and finished 4th. Mayer has run four short track races in the Xfinity Series and has two top 5’s and three top 10’s.
Starting Position: 19th
In practice on Thursday, Snider had top 5 speed but it didn’t show through in qualifying. Last season Snider finished top 15 in both races here at Martinsville. Looking at his price, the speed he showed, and his history here Snider appears to be one of the top plays in this tier on Friday.
Starting Position: 6th
Moffitt is strictly a GPP play since he is starting from P6. In the past, Moffitt has been successful at Martinsville in both the Xfinity Series and Truck Series. In his first four Truck Series races here, Moffitt finished no lower than 6th and had three finished 2nd or 3rd. In the Xfinity Series, Moffitt has never finished outside the top 20 and has a track-high finish of 12th. In practice on Thursday, Moffitt was 5th fastest.
Other Options: Jeb Burton ($7,800 – P25), Parker Retzlaff ($7,000 – P20), Ryan Truex ($8,400 – P4)
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 Martinsville! The Paper Clip as it is otherwise known is a 1/2 mile short track and is the shortest track on the NASCAR circuit. Unlike at a 1.5-track, it is not easy to pass here which is exemplified by the fact only two drivers led 60 or more laps at this race last season. Most passing is done under caution at this track, and there were a lot of them last time the series was here. Last season we had 12 cautions for accidents at this race but only two trucks did not finish the race.
With how everything shook out with qualifying or lack thereof, I think you need to prioritize locking in two top-tier drivers. There is a good chance that one driver leads 75-90% of this race (Kyle) and if that happens you will be out in the cold if not rostering him. There are other build types for GPP’s but I think you need William Byron for SE and cash, in fact, I think it’s mandatory in cash you pair him with Kyle. My ideal roster build is a 2-1-3 build for this race. You can do, 2-2-2 but you will be risking a lot on really cheap value pieces that could hurt you in the end.
Starting Position: 32nd
With no qualifying or practice times to look it we have nothing to gauge this truck on, but at COTA Bowman ran well in this same truck so I have worries about Byron. Byron will be chalky, probably the highest owned driver, but he could actually outscore Busch if he leads laps. Either way, I am not fading Byron in this race.
Starting Position: 12th
Martinsville is one of Enfinger’s better tracks and he should be in for another solid finish on Thursday night. In his last four races here (since 2019), Enfinger has one win (2020), two top 5’s, and three top 10’s. Starting from P12, Enfinger has some of the best PD upside (outside of Byron) in this tier.
Starting Position: 2nd
Busch is incredibly expensive and I will not argue a fade on him. But, the last time he ran the truck race here at Martinsville (2019) Busch started on the front row (2nd) and won. In that same race, Busch led 174 laps and racked up over 120 DKFP. I know it’s hard to stomach this price, but I think there is a path to roster him comfortably.
Starting Position: 5th
If anyone can unseat Busch here at Martinsville, it would be a car he owns. Nemechek has had issues in three of his last five races here. In the two races he didn’t wreck or have a mechanical issue, Nemechek finished 7th and 1st. I don’t think we can roster Busch and Nemechek together and I do prefer Busch because of the dominator potential, but JHN will be a solid GPP play.
Other Options: Zane Smith ($11,400 – P1), Stewart Friesen ($9,000 – P6)
Starting Position: 36th
Sauter, like Byron, will be massive chalk, but again, it will be hard to avoid him. Based on where he starts, his salary, and his history at Martinsville you can argue that Sauter is the best play in this race. Since 2013 (16 races), Sauter has three wins, eight top 5’s, and twelve top 10’s. I may be 100% on Sauter, and I never do that in NASCAR so that is how high I am on him on Thursday.
Starting Position: 35th
Holmes can be used as the lower owned and cheaper pivot off the chalk Sauter if you so desire. Holmes has run once here at Martinsville, a 22nd place finish in 2021. I don’t think Holmes’s upside is as great as Sauter’s but if I do pivot off Sauter in any lineups, it will be to Holmes.
Other Options: Parker Kligerman ($8,200 – P16), Christian Eckes ($8,700 – P7), Tanner Gray (7,600 – P13), Colby Howard ($7,100 – P26)
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 Richmond! This will be the second short track race of the season for the Xfinity Series. The last time the series was here Noah Gragson went to victory lane, stealing a victory away from Ty Gibbs who dominated this race leading 67 laps. Both of these drivers will be favorites to win this race again on Saturday, but they aren’t my pick (more on that later). This is once again a weekend where we don’t have practice or qualifying prior to writing this article. This is a track where I think I have a handle on who will perform well, but we still need to wait for qualifying before building rosters. Make sure to check back in Discord after qualifying on Saturday morning to see if any changes are made to the player pool.
With there being 175 dominator points available in this race, we will need to try and get exposure to as many drivers who could dominate this race as possible. My ideal roster construction will be a stars and scrubs type build, but it’s not 100% necessary. There are different ways to build for races like this, but it will come down to qualifying on Saturday.
Nemechek will be in the #18 Toyota for JGR this weekend. This car has been incredibly fast all season and should be no different on Saturday. If you remove the two times this car wrecked this season and when Bubba Wallace drove it at COTA you have three races with Trevor Bayne behind the wheel. In those three races, Bayne led 100 laps and had two top-five finishes. Last season in the Sam Hunt #26, JHN drove from 27th to finish 3rd in much lesser equipment, and in the Truck Series race, Nemeheck led 114 of 250 laps after starting 18th to win. Richmond is a good track for Nemechek, and in top-tier equipment, he will be a force to be reckoned with.
Richmond has been a place of greatness for Allgaier in recent years. Allgaier has won two of the last three races here leading 213 laps in the process. Allgaier also has five straight top 5 finishes here and seven in the last ten races. I don’t really care where Allgaier and the 7 car qualify, I will have exposure because of his ability to dominate here.
Allgaier has been the best driver here in the last six years, but Gragson is pushing him for that title. In six career races at Richmond, Gragson has only finished lower than 9th one time (22nd in Spring ’19). Gragson won this race last season while only leading 22 laps. In 2022, Gragson has been the best and most consistent driver in the Xfinity Series. If you remove his finish in Atlanta (contact in a big wreck late) Gragson has not finished lower than 4th in a race this season. Also in 2022, Gragson has led at least 12 laps in every race except for COTA.
Other Options: AJ Allmendinger ($10,200), Ty Gibbs ($11,500), Sheldon Creed ($9,000), Ryan Preece ($9,800)
Sam Mayer has performed exceptionally well at short tracks in his young career thus far. In three career short track races, Mayer has two top 10s and a top 5. Last season at this race, Mayer started 38th but came across the finish line in 12th place. Mayer was in the #99 car that week, not the higher-end JRM equipment he drives now. Mayer is a fringe top 5 candidate but likely will have a top 10 car on Saturday.
Burton has been having a pretty solid season in the #27 Our Motorsports Chevy. Before he finished 23rd last week, Burton had finished top 20 every this season. Burton has finished 12th or better in three of the last four Richmond races and overall has finished top 20 in five of his six career Xfinity Series races here. I need to take a wait-and-see approach with Burton on Saturday. For him to make value, Burton will need to qualify in the mid 20’s.
Clements is not the best play in this tier, but my goal in this article is to help you build lineups and if we want to roster three $10K+ drivers we will need drivers in the low $7K range to make that work. While I may not consider him the best option, Clements has performed admirably at Richmond in his career. Clements has eight finishes of 17th or better in the last ten Richmond races and if he qualifies far enough back Clements could turn into one of the top plays on the slate.
Other Options: Riley Herbst ($8,100), Autin Hill ($8,400), Brett Moffitt ($7,900), Anthony Alfredo ($7,400)
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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