This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
Alsco Uniforms 250
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Course: Texas Motor Speedway
Format: 1.5-mile quad-oval
Laps: 167
Race Preview
The NASCAR Xfinity Series makes a return to oval racing this week after spending last week at the Mid-Ohio Sportscar Course. AJ Allmendinger put his road racing skills on display to grab his second win of the season after coming from the rear of the field in the final stage. Last week's success helped earn him the pole for this week's visit to Texas Motor Speedway. Teammate Justin Haley will start alongside him on the front row in a lockout for Kaulig Racing. Saturday's race will be the 41st for the series at the track. Despite being a track-position kind of track, only six races have been won from the top starting position. More than half of the races have been won by someone starting inside the top 10, however. Austin Cindric and Harrison Burton won last year's races at the track.
Key Stats at Texas Motor Speedway
- Number of races: 40
- Winners from pole: 6
- Winners from top-five starters: 25
- Winners from top-10 starters: 33
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 2
- Fastest race: 151.707 mph
Previous 10 Texas Winners
2020 fall - Harrison Burton
2020 spring - Austin Cindric
2019 fall - Christopher Bell
2019 spring - Kyle Busch
2018 fall - Cole Custer
2018 spring - Ryan Blaney
2017 fall - Erik Jones
2017 spring - Erik Jones
2016 fall - Kyle Larson
2016 spring - Kyle Busch
Texas Motor Speedway is a 1.5-mile quad-oval that has a lot of similarities to Charlotte Motor Speedway, where the Xfinity teams competed two weeks ago. Ty Gibbs won that race in another impressive display from the up-and-coming young driver. Like Charlotte, Texas is a fast circuit with room in the turns to enable drivers to take different lines for navigating traffic or compensating for handling changes. The track rewards track position, and long green-flag periods could give the leaders a chance to run away from the competition. As usual, restarts will be good opportunities for drivers to make up positions, and cautions could instantly jumble the order if they come as the field cycles through pit stops. Teams will generally pit under caution, and making up spots on pit road by using two-tire stops is the easiest way to move forward.
DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Kyle Busch - $14,500
Noah Gragson - $11,500
Austin Cindric - $11,000
AJ Allmendinger - $10,500
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Justin Allgaier - $9,900
Harrison Burton - $9,700
Brandon Jones - $9,400
Daniel Hemric - $9,100
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Michael Annett - $8,500
Jeb Burton - $8,300
Justin Haley - $8,100
Riley Herbst - $7,900
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Brett Moffitt - $7,700
Myatt Snider - $7,500
Ryan Sieg - $7,400
Jeffrey Earnhardt - $6,400
MY PICKS THIS WEEK
Lower-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Noah Gragson - $11,500
Justin Allgaier - $9,900
Riley Herbst - $7,900
Myatt Snider - $7,500
Brandon Brown - $6,700
Jeffrey Earnhardt - $6,400
Despite being one of the fastest drivers early in the season, Noah Gragson has slipped to the last playoff position in the standings. An early exit last week at Mid-Ohio didn't help his cause, but 1.5-mile ovals have been his best performances this year. He led 43 laps and finished second last fall at Texas, too. Justin Allgaier has the 16th starting position for Saturday's race. He has two wins so far this year, one of which was at Atlanta – another 1.5-mile quad-oval. He also has 10 top-10 finishes from 21 Xfinity starts at Texas. Riley Herbst failed to finish both prior Texas starts due to damage last season. He will start this week's race 12th and has finished inside the top 15 at all 1.5-mile ovals visited so far this season except Las Vegas where he was involved in a crash. Similarly, Myatt Snider crashed out of both Texas races last season. Snider won at Miami earlier this year and was 11th at Atlanta – both 1.5-mile ovals. Brandon Brown has a top-10 starting position for Saturday. His best Texas finish came last fall when he finished fifth. He also finished 10th in the spring race. Jeffrey Earnhardt then closes out the lower-risk lineup. He has the 33rd starting position and would be looking for a top-20 finish. Four of his six Texas starts hit that mark, which makes him a budget play this week.
Higher-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Kyle Busch - $14,500
Josh Berry - $10,200
Ryan Sieg - $7,400
Joe Graf Jr. - $6,500
Stefan Parsons - $6,100
Alex Labbe - $5,300
Kyle Busch is a common favorite when he competes in the Xfinity Series. This week's price tag reflects that. He could win from the 14th starting position and would be expected to lead laps, but he comes at a cost that reflects those expectations. By selecting Busch, fantasy players will be forced to dig deeper in the starting lineup and focus a bit more heavily on driver potential to pick up finish differential points. Josh Berry starts deeper in the field in 28th, but with a win, three top-fives and six top-10s so far this season, he should move forward swiftly. Ryan Sieg starts inside the top 10 and has 14 prior Texas starts. He failed to finish both races at the track last year but does have three top-10s at the venue. Joe Graf Jr. is another driver starting deep in the field. His two prior starts at the track came last season with 21st- and 22nd-place finishes. Stefan Parsons also has two prior Texas starts. The best of those two came last spring when he finished 18th. He will start Saturday's race 37th. Tenth-place starter Alex Labbe is a bit of an exception in this higher-risk strategy. He has a better starting position than most in the lineup but comes at a discount price. He has three top-15s and five top-20 finishes in the last five races and finished 11th at Texas last fall.
