This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
Wawa 250
Location: Daytona Beach, Fla.
Course: Daytona International Speedway
Format: 2.5-mile tri-oval
Laps: 100
Race Preview
The NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to Daytona International Speedway this week for the Wawa 250. Austin Cindric won there back in February to kick-start his 2021 season and now returns with five total wins and the top spot in the championship standings. Four races remain in the regular season for drivers to work their way into the field of 12 drivers who will compete for this year's title. AJ Allmendinger grabbed his third win of the season last week at Michigan with his second win in as many weeks after coming home first in the Cup Series the week prior. He will start on pole this week with Noah Gragson alongside, who is still looking for his first win of 2021. Riley Herbst currently holds the 12th and final playoff position with an 82-cushion over Brandon Brown in 13th. This will be the 60th time the series has raced on Daytona's high banks.
Key Stats at Daytona International Speedway
- Number of races: 59
- Winners from pole: 5
- Winners from top-5 starters: 26
- Winners from top-10 starters: 40
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 4
- Fastest race: 157.137 mph
Previous 10 Daytona Winners
2021 spring - Austin Cindric
2020 fall - Justin Haley
2020 spring - Noah Gragson
2019 fall - Ross Chastain
2019 spring - Michael Annett
2018 fall - Kyle Larson
2018 spring - Tyler Reddick
2017 fall - William Byron
2017 spring - Ryan Reed
2016 fall - Aric Almirola
Daytona International Speedway is a 2.5-mile high-banked tri-oval where drivers run wide open and draft their way through the field. The trend of close finishes continued at the circuit in February to make it 32 of the last 33 Xfinity Series green-flag finishes having ended with a margin of victory of less than a second. The closest finish in series history was also here when Tyler Reddick beat Elliott Sadler to the line in 2018. Drivers with cars capable of winning will likely want to be at the front of the field throughout the day to avoid any trouble that occurs in the pack. They'll have to find friends to work with throughout the race to move forward or stay out front. Daytona can produce unpredictable results due to its tendency to create multicar accidents. Drivers must survive the first two stages to race the final 40 laps for the win.
DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Chase Briscoe - $11,500
Daniel Hemric - $10,700
Sam Mayer - $10,400
Brandon Brown - $10,100
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Michael Annett - $9,800
Myatt Snider - $9,600
Jeb Burton - $9,400
Christopher Bell - $8,900
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Austin Cindric - $8,800
Justin Haley - $8,600
Justin Allgaier - $8,200
Harrison Burton - $8,000
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
AJ Allmendinger - $7,700
Noah Gragson - $7,600
Landon Cassill - $7,400
Ryan Sieg - $6,900
MY PICKS THIS WEEK
Lower-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Daniel Hemric - $10,700
Christopher Bell - $8,900
Austin Cindric - $8,800
Justin Allgaier - $8,200
Noah Gragson - $7,900
Jeffrey Earnhardt - $5,800
Daytona has been a good hunting ground recently for Daniel Hemric, who added two top-10s to his track resume in the last three series visits. He will start this week's race 21st. Christopher Bell will be using this week's race to gain seat time ahead of the regular-season finale for the Cup Series on Saturday. He will line up 15th and has three top-10s from four Xfinity starts at Daytona. This will be his first Xfinity start at the track since 2019. February Daytona winner Cindric has gone on to have a great 2021 season so far. He has five total victories and leads the standings. With finishes of eighth or better in three of his last four Daytona starts, he should be a reliable fantasy option this week, too. Justin Allgaier is another top superspeedway driver for fantasy managers to consider. He will start Friday's race on the second row and has eight top-10s from 21 starts at the track. Front-row starter Gragson won at Daytona in 2020. He crashed out of both Daytona visits since that win and is still looking for his first win of 2021. However, he continues to show winning potential and enters this week with eight top-10s from the last nine races. Jeffrey Earnhardt completes the selections after leading 29 laps at the circuit in 2019. He crashed out of the last two Daytona visits and will start 27th.
Higher-Risk Lineup ($50K Salary Cap)
Chase Briscoe - $11,500
Jeb Burton - $9,400
Justin Haley - $8,600
Landon Cassill - $7,400
Ryan Sieg - $6,900
Joe Graf Jr. - $6,100
Chase Briscoe will join the Xfinity field this Friday and will start 37th. He has four series starts at Daytona and led 22 laps in a third place finish in this race last season. Jeb Burton led 26 laps in that race last year and then went on to finish fourth at the track this past February. He has two fourth-place finishes from four Daytona starts and will line up 13th Friday night. Kaulig Racing's Justin Haley actually won the second 2019 Cup Series race at Daytona in a rain-shortened event. He backed that up by winning at the track in the Xfinity race in 2020, but hasn't found Victory Lane yet this season. A win Friday would be a big boost to his playoff hopes, and he has a top-10 starting position to help him on that quest. Landon Cassill brings a veteran's approach this week. He frequently outperformed expectations on superspeedways during his Cup years and has a best Xfinity Series finish of third at Daytona. He crashed out in February's stop at Daytona, but could be a good fantasy option this week with a 26th-place starting spot. Ryan Sieg will start Friday's race 11th. He started 13th at the track in February but went on to lead 23 laps before retiring with damage. He has three top-fives at Daytona from 15 series starts. Joe Graf Jr. has a Daytona finishing average of 26.8, but that number includes three crashes from four starts. He finished 11th there earlier this year and will start 39th Friday.
