This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200
Location: Avondale, Ariz.
Course: Phoenix Raceway
Format: 1.0-mile oval
Laps: 200
Race Preview
Chase Briscoe, Justin Allgaier, Justin Haley and Austin Cindric will battle it out this weekend in the Desert Diamond Casino West Valley 200 at Phoenix Raceway for the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series championship. Briscoe leads the pack with nine wins on the season. Austin Cindric is next on that list with five victories, while Haley and Allgaier have three each. The championship contenders may have to stave off Harrison Burton who took the win last week at Martinsville for his second in a row, however. Brandon Jones won at Phoenix earlier this season, while Justin Allgaier took the win in this fall race last season. This year's event has significantly larger implications with a championship on the line, though.
An eventful 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series season comes to an end this week. All four drivers fighting for the title are worthy adversaries and have made their marks throughout the year, combining for 20 total wins this season. Fantasy players should be in for an exciting season finale as Phoenix takes the spotlight for the championship decider for the first time.
Key Stats at Phoenix Raceway
- Number of races: 37
- Winners from pole: 10
- Winners from top-5 starters: 31
- Winners from top-10 starters: 33
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 1
- Fastest race: 116.317 mph
Previous 10 Phoenix Winners
2020 spring - Brandon Jones
2019 fall - Justin Allgaier
2019 spring - Kyle Busch
2018 fall - Christopher Bell
2018 spring - Brad Keselowski
2017 fall - William Byron
2017 spring - Justin Allgaier
2016 fall - Kyle Busch
2016 spring - Kyle Busch
2015 fall - Kyle Busch
Phoenix Raceway is a 1.0-mile uniquely shaped flat oval. The circuit races like a short track or even a road course, as drivers have to compromise their setups in certain corners to maximize the overall lap time. Like both short tracks and road courses, Phoenix is a track position circuit. Only four of the 37 series races have been won by a driver starting outside of the top 10. Christopher Bell's win from 38th position in the fall of 2018 was the deepest anyone has started to win, and was the first time someone outside of the top 10 starters won at the circuit since Kevin Harvick won from 14th in 2006. While four-tire calls will be the choice of the day for teams, those plans could be upended by late cautions. Teams with nothing to lose could opt for two- or no-tire stops in a bid to move forward and hope they can hold off the cars with more grip charging up from behind.
DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Chase Briscoe - $11,200
Justin Allgaier - $10,900
Austin Cindric - $10,600
Justin Haley - $10,100
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Harrison Burton - $9,900
Noah Gragson - $9,700
Daniel Hemric - $9,500
Brandon Jones - $9,300
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Ryan Sieg - $8,800
Brett Moffitt - $8,600
Riley Herbst - $8,400
Myatt Snider - $8,000
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Brandon Brown - $7,700
Alex Labbe - $7,100
Timmy Hill - $6,900
Joe Graf Jr. - $5,800
MY PICKS THIS WEEK
Lower-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Justin Allgaier - $10,900
Noah Gragson - $9,700
Riley Herbst - $8,400
Brandon Brown - $7,700
Alex Labbe - $7,100
Kyle Weatherman - $6,200
Justin Allgaier is arguably the best series driver at Phoenix. The veteran championship contender has two wins from 20 starts at the track, including this race last season. He will have extra incentive to win this weekend with a title on the line. Noah Gragson has won twice so far this season, and has been on a terrific run of form with four top-three finishes in the last five races. His average Phoenix finish from three starts is 9.3. Riley Herbst has two Phoenix starts, and one of those was his 10th-place finish there earlier this season. Herbst was sixth last week at Martinsville and will start Saturday's race ninth. Brandon Brown may also be an interesting choice for fantasy players this week. He will start Saturday's race 14th and has a best finish at the track of 12th, which came earlier this season. Brown was a playoff contender and has two top-10 finishes in the last five races. Alex Labbe should be a top-20 driver for fantasy rosters this week. His average Phoenix finish from four series starts is 21.8. He was 20th in this race last season but was 11th or better in three of the last five races. Kyle Weatherman rounds out this lineup. He can be hit or miss depending on the weekend but offers some upside potential with the 31st-place starting position.
Higher-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Chase Briscoe - $11,200
Brandon Jones - $9,300
Brett Moffitt - $8,600
Myatt Snider - $8,000
Timmy Hill - $6,900
Joe Graf Jr. - $5,800
Chase Briscoe is arguably the favorite to win the 2020 series title despite Justin Allgaier having the better Phoenix record. Briscoe is moving to the Cup Series next season, and there wouldn't be a better accomplishment to send him on his way than a championship. Briscoe has three Phoenix top-10s from three series starts. Brandon Jones won last time out at Phoenix. Jones has two other Phoenix top-10s and hasn't finished worse than 18th at the track in his nine series starts. Brett Moffit's only Phoenix series start came earlier this year when he finished 19th. He starts this week's race 12th and scored one top-10 and three top-15 finishes in the last three races. Myatt Snider will start this final race 15th. He has had a bit of a rough patch with just one top-15 in the last five races but was 14th at Phoenix in March. Timmy Hill will start 19th this week and has a best Phoenix finish in the series of 18th. He could beat that this weekend. Lastly, Joe Graf Jr. will look to overcome his Phoenix wreck from March and get his second top-20 finish in the last five races from the 23rd starting spot.
