This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
Drive for the Cure 250
Location: Concord, N.C.
Course: Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL
Format: 2.28-mile road course
Laps: 67
Race Preview
Justin Haley grabbed another superspeedway win last week at Talladega Superspeedway, guaranteeing his spot alongside Chase Briscoe in the next round of the NASCAR Xfinity Series playoffs. Playoff contenders completed the top four finishing positions while others lost ground with finishes deep in the order. This weekend's race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL is the last chance for the playoff contenders to secure their spots in the next round of championship eliminations. Chase Briscoe and AJ Allmendinger won the two series races held at the circuit, and Austin Cindric is the only driver to have finished in the top five in both of those.
Every point will be hotly contested as the remaining playoff drivers do all they can to secure their position among the final eight championship combatants. Ross Chastain enters the final race of this round on the bubble with seven points separating him from Harrison Burton in ninth. Brandon Brown sits just 12 points behind Burton, while Riley Herbst and Michael Annett sit 17 and 19 points further back. Annett will rue the points lost after last week's post-race inspection failure, but all of those drivers will be fighting tooth and nail this weekend to keep their championship bids alive.
Key Stats at Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL
- Number of races: 2
- Winners from pole: 0
- Winners from top-5 starters: 1
- Winners from top-10 starters: 2
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 0
- Fastest race: 81.267 mph
Previous 10 Charlotte ROVAL Winners
2019 - AJ Allmendinger
2018 - Chase Briscoe
Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL is a 2.28-mile road course built inside the traditional 1.5-mile quad-oval. The Xfinity drivers raced on a similar configuration earlier this season when they tackled the Daytona infield road course, but Charlotte holds little similarity to that track other than being a road course. First, Charlotte's oval is packed into a much tighter area, whereas Daytona had some long straights with heavier braking points. Second, Charlotte is also remarkably hilly. The track has a 35-foot elevation change throughout the 2.28-mile lap distance, which makes braking and turning points more difficult to get perfectly. As with all road courses, track position is king. Structuring pit strategy from the finish backward is how teams will determine their pit windows, but every decision will be optimized to ensure drivers have the opportunity to run as many laps as possible without traffic holding them back.
DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
AJ Allmendinger - $11,500
Austin Cindric - $11,000
Justin Allgaier - $10,700
Kaz Grala - $10,100
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Noah Gragson - $9,800
Ross Chastain - $9,600
Daniel Hemric - $9,200
Brandon Jones - $8,700
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Jeremy Clements - $8,500
Michael Annett - $8,000
Myatt Snider - $7,800
Alex Labbe - $7,700
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Brett Moffitt - $6,700
Brandon Brown - $6,500
Ryan Vargas - $6,400
Josh Williams - $5,800
MY PICKS THIS WEEK
Lower-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Austin Cindric - $11,000
Kaz Grala - $10,100
Michael Annett - $8,000
Alex Labbe - $7,700
Brett Moffitt - $6,700
Brandon Brown - $6,500
Austin Cindric has been a revelation on road courses. The Penske Racing driver announced a multiyear contract with the organization this week that will see him make the step up to the Cup series after another season full-time in Xfinity next year. Cindric has a pair of third-place finishes at this track and won at both Road America and Daytona road courses earlier this year. Kaz Grala is a road course specialist who finished eighth in this race in 2018 and drove to a fourth-place finish at Road America earlier this season, too. Michael Annett will start this week's race 14th. That will be his best start at the track where he has a best finish of 15th. Alex Labbe started and finished sixth in this race last season. He is a competent road course racer and starts 16th on Saturday. Brett Moffitt and Brandon Brown both should be capable of delivering top-20 finishes to fantasy owners this week. Brown would be the more obvious selection of the pair with his consistent top-15 finishes on various road courses. Moffitt could also be a good selection with his 19th-place starting spot on Saturday.
Higher-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
AJ Allmendinger - $11,500
Noah Gragson - $9,800
Preston Pardus - $8,300
Riley Herbst - $7,300
Ryan Sieg - $7,100
Gray Gaulding - $6,000
The road course ringer AJ Allmendinger returns for another Xfinity race this week at Charlotte. He finished second at Road America and then backed that up with a fourth-place finish on the Daytona road course. He is almost always a top pick on road courses. Noah Gragson started 12th and finished fifth at this track last season. He was sixth at Road America earlier this summer and third at Daytona's road course. He will start from pole on Saturday. Preston Pardus has taken part in three Xfinity road course races so far this season and finished in the top 10 in two of them. He will start Saturday's race in 30th position. He started 37th at Road American and finished eighth, which makes him a nice option for fantasy owners this week, too. Riley Herbst has four top-10 finishes so far this season and one of those was on the Daytona road course. This week will be his first start on Charlotte's ROVAL. Ryan Sieg finished ninth and 11th in the two most recent visits to road courses. He will start sixth on Saturday in an attempt to get his first top-10 on this track. Lastly, Gray Gaulding finished 29th in this race last season. This will be his fifth Xfinity start of the 2020 season.
