This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
Pit Boss 250
Location: Austin, Texas
Course: Circuit of the Americas
Format: 3.41-mile road course
Laps: 44
Race Preview
Austin Cindric captured the win last week at Dover. It was his third win this season and gives him the edge this week as the NASCAR Xfinity Series visits a road course, which is where Cindric is at his best. Four of his 11 series wins have come on road courses, but the Xfinity field is stacked with talent on these types of tracks. AJ Allmendinger is known as one of the best road course drivers in NASCAR and multiple road course specialists will be attempting to qualify and race this weekend, too. This is the first time NASCAR will race at the Circuit of the Americas, but fantasy players will get the chance to see practice and qualifying results before Saturday's race gets underway.
Key Stats at Circuit of the Americas
- Number of races: 0
- Winners from pole: 0
- Winners from top-5 starters: 0
- Winners from top-10 starters: 0
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 0
- Fastest race: N/A
Recent Road Course Winners
2021 Daytona Road Course - Ty Gibbs
2020 Daytona Road Course - Austin Cindric
2020 Road America - Austin Cindric
2020 Indianapolis Road Course - Chase Briscoe
2019 Charlotte Road Course - AJ Allmendinger
2019 Road America - Christopher Bell
2019 Mid-Ohio - Austin Cindric
2019 Watkins Glen - Austin Cindric
2018 Charlotte Road Course - Chase Briscoe
2018 Road America - Justin Allgaier
Circuit of the Americas is a long, 20-turn, natural-terrain road course with elevation changes and plenty of variety in the turns. Its straights are long and feature heavy braking areas where passing opportunities will abound. Teams must maximize mechanical grip through the many fast curves while also maximizing top speed and gearing for the long straights. Braking deeper into the corners than the competition, while not missing the apex, will be how passes get done, but there will be opportunities to pull of a bump-and-run move in the final laps if cars are close enough together. COTA's long lap allows teams to approach the race with different pit strategies. Those strategies coupled with the frequency and timing of yellow flags could be where this race is won.
DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Kyle Busch - $10,800
Austin Cindric - $10,700
AJ Allmendinger - $10,400
Justin Allgaier - $10,100
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Kevin Harvick - $9,900
Noah Gragson - $9,700
Daniel Hemric - $9,500
Harrison Burton - $9,300
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Brandon Jones - $8,700
Tyler Reddick - $8,500
Andy Lally - $8,300
Miguel Paludo - $8,200
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Jade Buford - $6,800
Boris Said - $6,500
Spencer Pumpelly - $6,400
Stephen Leicht - $4,800
My Picks
Lower-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Austin Cindric - $10,700
AJ Allmendinger - $10,400
Andy Lally - $8,300
Michael Annett - $7,400
Jade Buford - $6,800
Spencer Pumpelly - $6,400
Austin Cindric led Friday's practice at COTA, firmly grasping the road course favorite title that he has grown into in the Xfinity Series recently. The Penske Racing driver has won four of the last 10 road course races and will also be racing in the Cup Series this week. Another top road course selection is AJ Allmendinger. He won in the Cup Series at Watkins Glen and finished seventh in the same series at the Daytona road course earlier this year. He already has a 2021 win and will be looking to capitalize on this week's road course opportunity. Andy Lally makes his return to the series this weekend. He is a road course specialist and had the 16th-fastest time Friday with five Rolex Daytona 24 Hours wins on his resume. Michael Annett got 10 laps completed in Friday's interrupted practice. He has a best road course finish of second in the Xfinity Series at Road America. Jade Buford will be making his 10th series start of the season. He retired from the Daytona Road Course race earlier this year and is a seasoned road course racer with a sportscar background. He actually won at COTA in the Pirelli Challenge in 2019, too. Another sportscar veteran for fantasy owners to consider this week is Spencer Pumpelly. He turned the 13th-fastest time in Friday's practice session and is a very reasonable price for rosters this week.
Higher-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Kyle Busch - $10,800
Kevin Harvick - $9,900
Noah Gragson - $9,700
Miguel Paludo - $8,200
Boris Said - $6,500
Stephen Leicht - $4,800
Kyle Busch can win on any type of circuit. He will be making his first Xfinity start of the year and was fourth in Friday's practice. Cup Series veteran Kevin Harvick is also going to take on the Xfinity Series race this week to gain more seat time at the new circuit. He is a Cup Series champion with road course wins in that series, but he also is a two-time road course winner in the Xfinity Series. Regardless of the venue or competition, Noah Gragson can usually be found racing at the front of the field this season, but he has yet to convert that speed into a victory. His 2021 winless streak continued through Dover, but he continues to be in contention each week. Gragson was sixth in practice on Friday and has top-five finishes at all the Xfinity road courses except Watkins Glen. Miguel Paludo is another road course specialist trying his hand at Xfinity racing this week. He was 18th in practice on Friday and was seventh at Daytona's road course earlier this year. Boris Said should be a name familiar to fantasy players at road courses. The veteran has multiple top-10 road course finishes in both Xfinity and Cup. He won the Xfinity race on Montreal's Gilles Villeneuve circuit in 2010. This will be his first return to the series since 2015 when he finished sixth at Road America. Stephen Leicht is another part-time racer focusing on road courses. His last start was at Daytona's road course earlier this season where he finished 29th from the 34th starting position.
